Settling the Pecking Order?

Faced with Yan's glare, Zhou You merely raised an eyebrow and paid it no mind.

His disregard made Yan even angrier.

Just then, Liu Suxin said, "All right, let's leave it there for today. You must be tired from your journey. There are no classes today, so you can go back to the dormitory, rest, and settle in."

Then she looked at Yan. "I told you to clear out a bed. Is it ready?"

The Central Academy had money to burn and could afford a separate dormitory room for every student, but to foster friendship and rapport among them, it usually had them share rooms.

At present, Yan was the only one in the class without a roommate.

As for the state of a room where a boy lived alone, those who knew, knew.

So Liu Suxin had told Yan in advance to tidy his room before his new roommate moved in. Yan had readily agreed at the time.

"It's ready!" Yan answered loudly, though his eyes darted about.

Yang Tianxiong, who had been watching the fun from behind, saw at a glance that the boy had something to hide. He couldn't help laughing and smacked him on the forehead.

"Ow! Old man Yang, what did you hit me for?"

"Use my title on formal occasions!" Hearing what the boy had called him, Yang Tianxiong promptly followed up with a kick to his backside.

Liu Suxin watched coldly from the sidelines. She knew Yang Tianxiong was fooling around to gloss over the matter. She had seen through Yan's guilty conscience too, of course, but it was a small matter, hardly worth making an issue of.

So she merely gave Yan a warning look. He looked sheepish, but didn't take it to heart.

"All right, that's everything for today. You're dismissed. Yan, take Zhou You back to the dormitory."

"Oh..." Yan was somewhat reluctant.

After Liu Suxin and Yang Tianxiong left, the others didn't stay long either, gradually drifting away.

The students showed no particular interest in their new classmate Zhou You. They couldn't even be bothered to greet him.

Who among those admitted to the Central Academy wasn't a favored child of heaven? Innate Full Soul Power wasn't anything out of the ordinary here.

At least for now, the students couldn't see anything exceptional about Zhou You. If he was only so pleased with himself because he had a Titled Douluo for a teacher, they would think even less of him.

Even Hu Liena only gave Zhou You an extra glance because he was handsome and had a somewhat unusual bearing. That was all.

Soon, almost everyone had left. Only Zhou You and Yan remained in the spacious classroom.

Sensing his classmates' coldness, Zhou You thought, Now this feels right!

When a newcomer wanted to join an established group, he usually had to endure some cold treatment first. This was especially true among Soul Masters, a group with a strong wolf culture, where theoretically, anyone could be a hidden rival.

Besides, Zhou You was a newcomer who had received a great deal of attention from his teachers, which would make the other students scrutinize him more closely.

Zhou You had long been prepared for this. He looked at Yan, the only one who had stayed. "Your name's Yan, right? Sorry to trouble you, but could you lead the way? Let's head back to the dormitory."

Yan suddenly cast aside his earlier meekness and walked up to Zhou You with a defiant look on his face.

"What did you just call me?"

"Hm?" Zhou You didn't understand.

"Kid, from now on, you call me big brother, got it? If you want to move into my dormitory, you have to accept me as the boss. When the boss tells you to go east, you're not allowed to go west!

"Don't say I'm picking on you. You're new and don't know the rules. This is how we do things here. It's to help rookies like you fit in faster."

Yan puffed out his chest, looking very full of himself. He was indeed two years older than Zhou You, but that wasn't why he was pulling rank.

Yan's strength was what gave him the confidence to act so arrogantly. He was two years older than Zhou You, stood a head taller, and looked much more solidly built.

Not only did he have the advantage in size, but he was also quite talented. His Soul Power had already reached level nineteen, leaving him just a little short of being able to hunt for his second Soul Ring.

Yan had also started combat training early, and he was highly gifted in that area. He could scarcely find a match at his level.

Even a Soul Grandmaster a whole realm above him would have trouble defeating him easily.

So he believed he could handle Zhou You, this little junior who had just enrolled, and wanted to establish their respective positions before the other boy moved into the dormitory.

One turn of Zhou You's mind was enough to figure out what the boy was planning. He found it rather funny and couldn't resist teasing the kid.

"Oh? Sounds reasonable enough. If you have any other demands, why don't you tell me all of them?"

Hm? It's going that well?

This kid's a lump of dough!

Yan was delighted and seized the chance to make several more unreasonable demands.

"From now on, you'll clean the dormitory and wash my clothes. When I want water, you'll bring me a cup right away. When I eat, you'll hurry up and hand me my bowl and chopsticks. In short, you need to be attentive and keep an eye out for work!"

Whoa! You're already treating people like oxen and horses at your age. You're quite the little criminal, aren't you!

Zhou You raised an eyebrow, then nodded.

"Sounds like those things wouldn't be all that hard to do."

"Right!" Yan nodded vigorously. So hurry up and be my underling!

You little brat, as if I couldn't handle you. The corners of Yan's mouth rose as he chuckled inwardly. That's what you get for laughing at me.

"But I have one question." Zhou You held up a finger.

Yan was puzzled. "What question?"

Zhou You's smile faded slightly. "Why should you be the boss instead of me?"

Yan froze for a moment, then his expression changed. "You're screwing with me!" he snapped.

"If we're going to decide who's the big boss and who's the little boss, we need clear standards. I'm willing to accept those unreasonable demands of yours, but I have some objections to the criteria for choosing the 'boss.'

"What? You're not planning to order me around just because you've been here longer, are you? If that's the case..."

Zhou You smiled, showing a row of straight, white teeth. He looked perfectly respectable, but his next words made Yan's face flush red in an instant.

"Get the hell lost!"

"You!"

"Stop sputtering and lay down the terms. The stage is already set, so we're bound to have a fight. Just tell me what kind of fight will make you accept the result."

Yan was so angry his nose nearly went crooked. Zhou You wasn't taking him seriously at all!

"You want to challenge me?" Yan pointed at his own nose, so furious that he laughed.

Fine, fine, fine. You're a newcomer who's just enrolled, and you dare challenge me before you've learned a thing.

Do you think getting your First Soul Ring makes you as badass as a veteran student?

"Never mind who's challenging whom. Whoever wins gets to be the man, and whoever loses gets to be the mule. Any problem with that?"

"No!" Yan agreed at once. Still, he had some sense left, so he shot Zhou You a sidelong glance. "You don't have any combat experience, and I won't take advantage of you. We'll fight barehanded, without using our Martial Souls!"

Zhou You thought for a moment and understood Yan's concern. Soul Masters at only the teens in level might be weak little noobs, but they already had Soul Skills. Even when noobs pecked at each other, there was still some danger.

Children especially didn't know how to hold back when they fought. With no one watching, things really could get heated enough for someone to be killed.

"I didn't expect you to be so considerate. That's rare." Zhou You wasn't being sarcastic this time; he meant the compliment.

You could call the boy conceited, arrogant, and impulsive, but you couldn't say he had no brains at all.

Yan, however, didn't appreciate it one bit. "Don't try to get friendly with me. If you dare, let's go to the arena right now!"

To his surprise, Zhou You shook his head. Before Yan could mock him, he unleashed his ultimate move.

"Why go to the arena if we're not using our Martial Souls? We can do it right here. It won't take long."

Yan could no longer hold back his anger. With a savage grin, he lunged at Zhou You.

"Once I tear that mouth of yours to pieces, let's see how arrogant you can be!"