First Meeting

First Meeting. Quan Yi planned to eat on the second floor, so he picked up two trays.

There were so many dishes that they were dazzling.

But Quan Yi's goal was clear. He first scooped up a huge serving of rice, which alone took up half of one tray.

Then came a large amount of vegetables and fruit. Quan Yi did not choose any meat dishes.

After paying, Quan Yi found a relatively quiet corner and planned to eat breakfast there.

As Quan Yi walked toward the empty seat, he suddenly sensed a peculiar fluctuation and instinctively glanced in the direction it came from.

His eyes happened to meet those of a girl.

Starry eyes and pearly teeth—she was a very pretty little girl. No, judging by her height, she should be an upperclassman, Quan Yi judged inwardly.

The girl's dark red hair also reminded Quan Yi of his mother.

At that moment, the little girl across from him was equally puzzled.

However, it was rude to keep staring at someone, so Quan Yi quickly looked away.

Quan Yi's seat was opposite the little girl's, though there was a table between them.

At the moment, Quan Yi had no energy to pay attention to the girl. His attention was entirely captured by the Delicious Food before him.

Quan Yi directly took out a jar of Soul Beast Meat from the Blazing Sun Heart. The jar was not tall, so he placed it directly on the Dining Table and began eating it with large mouthfuls of rice.

The little girl opposite him was named Huo Wu. She was a new student who had enrolled this year.

Her status was noble—she was the daughter of the Principal of Blazing Fire Academy.

She was exceptionally gifted and was already a level-twelve Spirit Master.

She sensed a special fluctuation from this "senior." From their earlier exchange of glances, the other party seemed to have reacted in the same way.

Thus, while Quan Yi observed Huo Wu, Huo Wu was also observing Quan Yi.

His fair skin and neat, crisp short hair gave off an extremely pleasant first impression.

More importantly, the lines of his muscles were exceptionally well-defined. Huo Wu could also tell that those muscles possessed both explosive power and flexibility.

This showed that he placed great importance on physical training.

Yet, as Huo Wu observed him, Quan Yi's next action surprised her.

She watched as Quan Yi pulled a jar from his chest.

Huo Wu's heart jolted. A Storage Soul Tool—this was an extremely rare Treasure. Even with Huo Wu's family background, she had never seen one before.

Yet she had encountered one in the school Dining Hall. Huo Wu had already decided that Quan Yi must be a member of some great family.

But what was even more surprising was that the jar contained dried meat.

He had actually brought his own meat. Huo Wu had never imagined such a thing.

Could the school's meat be unclean?

Huo Wu fell into doubt, but quickly realized that was impossible.

Brother is in this academy. If there were a problem with the academy's food, how could he not have told me, given his personality?

Huo Wu's Brother was the type to dote on his younger sister.

Huo Wu watched Quan Yi bite through the tough dried meat, then scoop up a large mouthful of rice and dishes and put it all into his mouth, chewing slowly. His movements looked exceptionally bold, but the careful chewing at the end completely ruined that uninhibited style.

Watching Quan Yi chew carefully with cheeks puffed out like a squirrel, the contrast made Huo Wu burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha!"

The sudden laughter immediately drew Quan Yi's attention. He looked up and saw the little girl from before laughing so hard that she was practically shaking.

The surrounding students noticed as well and turned to look at Huo Wu.

Quan Yi stared at her in confusion. Huo Wu also realized she had lost her composure and was just about to raise a hand to cover her mouth when she saw Quan Yi across from her staring at her with a puzzled expression.

But even as Quan Yi stared at her, he was still chewing the food in his mouth. Combined with his confused expression, Huo Wu could no longer hold it in.

"Pfft—!"

Huo Wu laughed even louder than before. The people around them now looked at her strangely, as if they were looking at someone from a disadvantaged group.

Quan Yi was even more bewildered.

She wasn't laughing at me, was she? Quan Yi clearly saw that after making eye contact with him, the little girl burst into laughter again.

Quan Yi was just about to stand and ask her when she moved even faster, laughing as she ran out of the Dining Hall.

Quan Yi was completely thrown into disarray.

Did I just get laughed at by a little girl? Although he was still somewhat confused, Quan Yi did not dwell on it. He sat back down and resumed eating.

He still stuffed food into his mouth in large bites, then chewed it carefully.

Quan Yi had invented this method of eating himself.

The most important thing about consuming food was absorbing its nutrients. Chewing repeatedly helped the body absorb nutrients more quickly.

However, as his appetite grew larger and larger, Quan Yi spent more and more time eating. In order to save time, he chose this method.

Whether this method was embarrassing or not was never within Quan Yi's consideration.

Outside the Dining Hall.

Huo Wu had finally calmed down. Remembering what she had just done, her cheeks flushed crimson.

Huo Wu had never expected to make such a huge fool of herself in public on her very first day. Yet whenever she thought of Quan Yi's appearance, she could not help wanting to laugh again.

That "scene" had somehow struck Huo Wu's funny bone.

But Huo Wu did not know that her behavior had already begun spreading throughout the entire academy.

Before long, some students even started calling her the "Red-Haired Laughing Girl."

"Ah, I haven't even finished my breakfast yet." Only then did Huo Wu remember her unfinished breakfast, but she was too embarrassed to go back.

"Forget it. I should go find Brother instead. I wonder if he knows that senior."

With that, Huo Wu skipped away from the Dining Hall to look for her brother.

Quan Yi still ate very quickly. In less than an hour, two large platters of food and a small jar of Soul Beast Meat had all gone into his stomach.

Quan Yi did not waste any time. Today, he planned to visit the academy's Library and Simulated Environment Training Ground.

The Library was near the Teaching Building, so it did not take Quan Yi long to get there.

The Library was not large, but its collection was extremely extensive.

Quan Yi was very satisfied with the academy's Library.

The Library also had three floors, each furnished with tables and chairs for students to read.

On Douluo Continent, books were controlled by the upper class. When Quan Yi had been collecting books, he had encountered the awkward situation of being unable to buy any.

It was not because he lacked money, but because there simply were not many books available on the market.

He had not expected the academy's Library to contain so many books. This was an unexpected delight.

Quan Yi wandered among the bookshelves. The Library's collection covered a wide range of subjects, but the largest portion consisted of books about martial souls and soul beasts.

After all, this was a Soul Master Academy, so books concerning soul masters naturally held the dominant position.

However, there were also quite a few books of other types, including history, music, and etiquette. It was clear that the academy had put considerable effort into its Library.

"Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul!"

Quan Yi spotted a peculiar book in the corner of a bookshelf. Compared to the other books, its cover was still quite new.

Yet it had been placed in the very corner of the shelf. If Quan Yi had not scanned through every book in the bookcase, he might not have noticed it.

Drawn in by the book's title, Quan Yi went to a nearby table and began reading it.