Chapter 118: The Most Unpopular Department

Early the next morning, Shenxia University held a brief welcome ceremony specifically for the new students.

As the nation's premier institution of higher learning, it never put on airs or made a grand, ostentatious display; everything was, in fact, down-to-earth.

Take this welcome ceremony, for instance: it simply gathered all the new students together to meet the school's leadership and the teachers from the various departments.

The president of Shenxia University was a man wearing a long white robe, with a slender build; beneath a pointed, wide-brimmed hat was long, silver hair and a beard.

A faint, amiable smile hung upon his ruddy face.

It is said that this university president is over a hundred years old and is also the only Eight-Tier powerhouse in the Shenxia Empire.

Although his Soul Profession grade is only S-Grade, he possesses the formidable strength of the Eight-Tier.

And despite being over a hundred years old, time seems not to have left many marks upon him; he remains vigorous and sharp-minded, his every gesture exuding majesty and wisdom.

In the entire auditorium, only Zhou Chu and the other new students were seated.

Yu Dafu, in his capacity as president, stepped to the center of the stage, his gaze sweeping gently over the vibrant, youthful faces of the new students below as he began his speech.

"Dear new students, welcome to Shenxia University. This is a hall of knowledge, and it is also the place where you will pursue your dreams and hone yourselves."

The president's voice was steady and powerful; though he used no amplification equipment, it reached the ears of everyone present with clarity.

There seemed to be an invisible power in his voice, soothing yet striking, causing everyone to unconsciously quiet down and listen attentively.

"You have endured great hardships and passed through layers of selection to stand here, which already proves your excellence."

"But entering Shenxia University is merely the starting point of a new journey in your lives. In the days to come, you will face various opportunities and challenges; whether it is academic research or tempering yourselves in actual combat, you will need to give it your all."

"We at Shenxia University have always focused on cultivating well-rounded talent. We not only want you to achieve success in your studies, but even more so, to temper your will and improve your combat capabilities."

"Here, you will meet good teachers and helpful friends who will grow and progress alongside you. I hope you will cherish your time at the school, uphold your original intentions, and strive hard for your own futures."

It was just a simple speech, yet it lacked any hint of empty slogans, leaving Zhou Chu and the other new students feeling inspired.

After the president finished speaking, the teachers from the various departments took the stage one by one to briefly introduce their departments and their professional specialties.

This also gave the new students a preliminary understanding of the various academic fields, making it easier for them to choose a professional direction that suits them later on.

However, the most primary department remained the Combat Skills Department, which was also a core subject that every student at Shenxia University was required to study.

And to Zhou Chu's surprise, the teacher for the Combat Skills Department was none other than his high school homeroom teacher, Su Chang.

At this moment, Su Chang was wearing a form-fitting combat uniform with her long hair tied up high, making her look capable and heroic—a stark contrast to the gentle image she had when teaching on the high school podium.

Zhou Chu had originally thought that, given the nature of Su Chang's Soul Profession, she would not become a frontline teaching staff member at the school, but would instead take on second-line or logistical work.

He never expected that Su Chang would not only be a frontline teacher but also an instructor in the most important department.

Can an Array Master also serve as a combat skills teacher?

Since this was Su Chang's first time teaching at Shenxia, she also personally gave an introduction.

When she saw Zhou Chu sitting in the audience, she even winked at him, looking slightly mischievous.

After waiting for the teachers to finish their introductions, President Yu Dafu walked to the center of the stage again, his gaze sweeping over the new students once more before finally landing on Zhou Chu.

"You must be the College Entrance Exam Top Scholar, Zhou Chu, right?" Yu Dafu asked with a gentle expression.

Zhou Chu immediately stood up, bowed slightly to him, and said, "Yes, President."

Yu Dafu nodded and smiled, then made a gesture of invitation: "Then, Student Zhou Chu, please choose the department you wish to take as an elective first!"

Zhou Chu was slightly taken aback; he had not expected that choosing elective subjects would take place at this welcome ceremony.

However, as the College Entrance Exam Top Scholar, Zhou Chu's advantage was being able to choose one more department than the others.

That is to say, in addition to the required subject of the Combat Department, he could also choose two other departments.

The teachers from the various major departments looked at Zhou Chu with eager expressions, much like guests on a matchmaking show.

After all, being able to recruit the College Entrance Exam Top Scholar into their department would be a tremendous boost, both for the department's own strength and for dealing with future inter-departmental combat competitions.

However, some departments were currently popular—such as the Special Warfare Department, the Soul Arts Research Department, the Strategy Department, the Reconnaissance Department, and so on—which naturally held an absolute advantage in recruitment.

As for the less popular ones, such as the Mechanical Department or the Infrastructure Department, they did not have much competitive advantage.

Regarding this, the relevant teachers knew they could not compete with the teachers from the popular departments and held a pessimistic attitude toward the possibility of Zhou Chu choosing their departments.

Zhou Chu stood there, thinking quickly to himself.

The Combat Skills Department was mandatory, so he had to carefully consider the remaining two elective departments.

The first one he thought of was the Special Warfare Department.

It was not because the teacher was Xing Wanying, but because learning special operations would allow him to master various combat techniques and strategies for special environments and complex situations.

In the future, whether infiltrating behind enemy lines to execute classified missions or dealing with unexpected dangerous situations, the content learned in the Special Warfare Department could be put to great use.

Therefore, Zhou Chu chose the Special Warfare Department as his first elective.

Seeing that Zhou Chu had chosen her Special Warfare Department right off the bat, Xing Wanying's face instantly broke into a joyful smile, and she even gave Zhou Chu a thumbs-up.

The teachers from other departments could only sigh helplessly to themselves as they watched the College Entrance Exam Top Scholar choose the popular Special Warfare Department without hesitation.

Conversely, the teachers from those few popular departments all had impatient expressions in their eyes.

Especially the two teachers from the Soul Arts Research Department and the Strategy Department, who could barely resist coming up to snatch him personally.

But what happened next, regarding the department Zhou Chu chose, left all the teachers present stunned.

Because Zhou Chu actually chose the most unpopular Mechanical Department.

In fact, although the Mechanical Department was considered an unpopular department, it was one with a long historical heritage.

Because to a certain extent, the Mechanical Department was an important craft passed down by the Spirit Energy Clan, containing many crystallized wisdoms of the Spirit Energy Clan's predecessors.

Hundreds of years ago, the Spirit Energy Clan could use various high-tech mechanical devices to play a vital role in many aspects, such as combat and daily life.

They even had the powerful advantage of independently resisting the Calamity Forces.

It was only with the destruction of the Spirit Energy Clan and the gradual rise of the Soul Profession System that the Mechanical Department slowly became unpopular.

By now, it had almost become the bottom-tier discipline at Shenxia University, nearly facing the brink of elimination.

And the reason Zhou Chu chose this unpopular department was very simple: it was because he had a Spirit Energy Clan mechanical intelligent being, Li Er, by his side.

As a mechanical intelligent being of the Spirit Energy Clan, the mechanical knowledge and those unique mechanical structural principles contained within Li Er made Zhou Chu develop a deep interest and curiosity in the Mechanical Department.

He thought to himself that if he could enter the Mechanical Department to study in depth, perhaps he could gain a clearer understanding of the Spirit Energy Clan, and at the same time, he could also lend a hand if Li Er ever needed help.

Upon hearing that Zhou Chu had chosen the Mechanical Department, the teacher of the Mechanical Department first wore a look of astonishment, but quickly reacted, their eyes filled with surprise and emotion.

He walked excitedly up to Zhou Chu, gripped Zhou Chu's hand tightly, and his eyes instantly turned red!