This heartfelt shout, wrapped in an endless thirst for knowledge, exploded across the dead silent training ground.
Swish—
Almost at the exact same time, everyone's necks let out a faint turning sound as their gazes shifted away from Lin Qingyue and fixed dead upon Chen Jing's face.
Gaze after gaze, blazing and scalding hot.
They were filled with a thirst for knowledge and a longing for the future.
Those eyes practically screamed out loud: Teacher, don't hide it anymore, hurry up and start the class! Mecha piloting, mecha combat, whatever it is, we'll even pay extra!
Having taught for many years, Chen Jing felt for the first time that her professional expertise was being subjected to such an outrageous provocation.
Ancient Martial Arts?
Mechas?
How did these two words even end up together?
She maintained an expressionless face, looking at the buzz-cut boy who asked the question, and spoke in an extremely flat tone without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
"You want to learn this?"
"I do!"
The buzz-cut boy nodded vigorously, his eyes shining like 2000-watt searchlights.
Chen Jing nodded, then pointed a finger in a certain direction.
"Go out the door, turn right, cross through two campuses, and head to the Technology Academy next door."
"Start learning from mecha theory, mechanics of materials, and energy engineering."
"When you can build a mecha yourself, then come back to me."
"I'll personally open an elective course for you on The Practice and Application of Combining Mecha Piloting with Ancient Martial Arts."
The buzz-cut boy's smile froze on his face.
The newly ignited enthusiasm of the students was instantly doused by a basin of ice water poured from head to toe, chilling them to the bone.
So... she really wasn't going to teach that.
Chen Jing looked around, and seeing those faces instantly fall, she felt inexplicably satisfied.
She had finally dragged the minds of these little brats back from a sci-fi movie to a martial arts film.
"Alright, dismissed!"
Dropping those words, she turned and left without looking back.
If she stayed any longer, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to maintain her poker face.
The students dispersed in twos and threes, discussing heatedly as they walked, their gazes toward Lin Qingyue filled with complexity.
The Quantum Battleship Squad naturally gathered together.
"Sis!"
Lin Xiyue was the first to rush up, grabbing onto Lin Qingyue's arm and practically hanging off of her.
Her big eyes sparkled like a Star, her cheeks turning red with excitement.
"That mecha of yours is too cool! Next time you transform, can you let me get in and try it out? Is the cockpit big? Is the visibility good?"
Lin Qingyue helplessly poked her forehead with a finger.
"That's a combat form, not a sightseeing model."
She silently added in her heart.
Transforming into Sam means I'll only have two pieces of fabric left on my body! If I really let you in, am I supposed to just wander around outside in a bikini?
Though... I think I've figured out a way to use the Yixuan Card! I can just wear a sports bra! I'll find a chance to try it out.
Lin Xiyue wasn't discouraged by the rejection. She just pouted and whined while shaking her Sis's arm, clearly not having given up on the idea.
"You walked onto the wrong set. You belong in the sci-fi section."
Su Wan walked over with her arms crossed, giving her standard evaluation as always.
But this time, she added another remark after her evaluation.
"However, the power is indeed massive. It's much fiercer than the Maid Knight."
She paused and then added.
"From now on, is our squad's aesthetic going to constantly jump back and forth between fantasy and sci-fi?"
Xia Lian followed behind, softly agreeing.
"I feel like... staying in our squad for too long puts a heavy strain on one's worldview."
She glanced weakly at Lin Qingyue.
"Sister Qingyue, how... how many more weird Heroic Spirits do you actually have?"
Lin Qingyue spread her hands.
"Well, it's just like opening a blind box. Even I don't know what the next one will be."
This was half true and half false.
She knew the list of transformation characters, but she really couldn't control which specific one Melody Beyond the Strings would trigger.
The four of them talked and laughed as they left the Dungeon.
Suddenly, a boy nearby abruptly raised his terminal and let out a cry of surprise.
"Holy crap! It's on the forum! That fast?!"
This shout instantly attracted the attention of everyone around.
Almost at the same time, everyone's terminals began to vibrate crazily, notification sounds chiming one after another.
Tianshu University's campus forum had exploded.
A newly posted thread had been pushed to the most prominent spot on the front page in less than five minutes, with a bright red "Viral" tag at the end of the title.
The title was incredibly eye-catching.
[[Nuclear Alert] They called her a Gundam, and she actually transformed into one! Interstellar Mecha shocks Ancient Martial Arts class! Teacher, this is totally beyond the syllabus!]
The poster clearly knew what they were doing. Not only did they come up with an attention-grabbing title, but they also attached the video recorded earlier by that quick-handed classmate.
The video started with Lin Qingyue using her spear to deflect the impact.
In the first half, the vibe was still quite normal, and the comment section was filled with praises like "Awesome, boss" and "This spear technique is incredible."
But when the video reached the point where Lin Qingyue applied the [Seal of Righteousness] to herself, the BGM abruptly changed, and her entire body was swallowed by dark red flames, causing the tone of the comments to take a sharp turn.
[??? Selling sunflower seeds, peanuts, and mineral water in the front row. Theater mode activated.]
[What's going on? Did she go berserk?]
[No! Listen to this music! Holy crap, something big is coming!]
Immediately after, that massive virtual Display unfolded, and the line of gilded characters, Glamoth Iron Cavalry, emerged.
The forum's servers lagged for 0.5 seconds.
[Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! It's this special effect again! Is the spiritual successor to the Maid Knight here?!]
[Glamoth Iron Cavalry? What is this? The unit designation of some lost civilization? So badass!]
[She's just fighting an elite monster, is there a need to bring out the aura of a decisive battle between civilizations?!]
And when, at the end of the video, that cold silver war machine stepped out of the light and flames, stomping the Blacksteel Rhino Beetle into a rug with a single kick in a true display of violent aesthetics...
The entire forum completely lost control.
The comments section refreshed wildly at a rate of hundreds per second, the content having completely turned into a sea of meaningless exclamations and emojis.
[!!!!!!!]
[I was there! I swear, the impact shown in the video isn't even a hundredth of what it was like at the scene! When that mech appeared, I felt like I forgot how to breathe!]
[Mom asked me why I'm watching this video on my knees... Wuwuwu, Goddess Qingyue, please accept my knees!]
[Juniors, listen to your Senior Brother, the waters of Tianshu University are very deep, you can't grasp it. Especially the Priest, absolutely do not provoke her!]
[(Guo Tao): ...Compared to this kick, that strike she hit me with yesterday was indeed showing mercy. About ninety-nine percent mercy.]
[(Li Mo): I already can't understand it anymore. I request to raise Junior Sister Lin Qingyue's threat level from "Tactical-Grade" to "Calamity-Grade".]
[(Yuan Feng): I have a question, where can I learn this mech piloting technique? I want to pilot a mech too!]
[(Liu Hui): Wake up, that's not Technology, that's magic! It's a miracle! It's faith!]
[So, can anyone answer the question that student asked? Does piloting a mech count as a type of Ancient Martial Arts?]
Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, and Xia Lian also clicked on the post. The three huddled together, looking at the video and the crazy comments below with different expressions.
Lin Xiyue's face was full of pride and arrogance, wishing she could reply to the post and shout, "This is my sis!"
Su Wan's mouth twitched uncontrollably. While she complained in disgust, "This is too exaggerated," she couldn't help but watch the video again.
Xia Lian covered her face, feeling the burden on her thick skin had increased again.
As the protagonist of the event, Lin Qingyue appeared unusually calm.
She clicked on the video, looked at the fatal kick that descended from the sky, and nodded in satisfaction.
'Mm, from this angle, it really does look cool.'
The next second, the long-awaited System notification sounded in her mind.
[Ding! Detected that the Host's deed of "driving a mecha in an Ancient Martial Arts class" has caused a massive sensation on the Tianshu University forum, dealing a subversive impact to the worldviews of the student body!]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained Elation Value +5888!]
Looking at this number, a brilliant smile appeared on Lin Qingyue's face.
'As expected, pulling stunts is the primary productive force!'
She looked up, ignoring the mixed gazes of awe and fear cast toward her, and waved cheerfully to her three teammates.
"Let's go back to the dorm. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll cook personally."
"Yay! Long live Sis!"