Going Through the Motions

After Chen Chuan entered the dormitory building, the dorm security guard came up to him and said, "Student, please show your Student Card."

He took his Student Card from his pocket and handed it over.

The guard took it, inserted it into a slot on the machine beside him, and when the indicator light came on, pressed several buttons according to the color code above. With a few clacks, a slip bearing his name came out.

The guard returned the Student Card and slip to him. "Student Chen, this is your Departure Form for today. Please keep it safe. Your dorm is Room Four, Area One, seventh floor."

Chen Chuan thanked him and headed toward the stairs, only to discover that the dormitory building actually had an elevator. There did not seem to be many people around at this hour, so he walked over and pressed the button. The grated doors slid apart with their distinctive metallic scraping sound. He stepped inside, pressed the button for the seventh floor, and the elevator jolted as it began to rise.

After waiting a while, the number on the roller display turned to seven. His feet sank slightly as the elevator doors slid open to the sides, and he walked out.

Before him was a hall of several hundred square meters, with area signs overhead. Areas Three and Four were to the left, while Areas One and Two were to the right. He headed right and found Area One. Ahead was a broad carpeted corridor, with four pairs of doors facing each other along both sides.

He found his Room Four at the end of the corridor, took out his key, and opened the door. As soon as he entered, he saw a floor-to-ceiling window opposite him. The curtains were already drawn open, and the near-noon sunlight streamed in from outside.

He set his luggage aside, walked over, and pulled the curtains wider.

From here, he could see the view outside. Below the building was a stretch of emerald-green lakewater, with willows planted along the shore. He had looked at the map and knew this was the academy's famous Spring Autumn Lake. Across the lake stood the Wu Yi Academy Administration Building. There was also a running track around the lake, and quite a few students could be seen strolling below.

After looking for a while, he finally began inspecting the room.

This was a single dormitory of roughly ninety square meters. Besides the bedroom and living room, it included a drying room, bathroom, and a private Training Room. Water and electricity were available around the clock. Outside, there was also a lost-property notice board, a public telephone, and an internal delivery box.

He also found a dormitory handbook on his desk. The room was cleaned daily by dedicated staff, and sheets and other bedding were changed regularly. Clothes could be sent to the laundry below the dormitory for washing, but food could not be brought into the dorms. Drinking and smoking were prohibited, as was casually putting up posters or pictures on the walls...

There were all sorts of rules.

After reading through them and getting a general understanding, he decided to go to the cafeteria for a meal first. The rest could wait until he returned.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Just then, he heard knocking outside. The door had not been fully closed. When he turned around, he saw a student two or three years older than himself standing there in the same dormitory uniform, his gaze unfriendly.

Chen Chuan asked, "What can I do for you, Senior Apprentice?"

The student stood there and asked bluntly, "You're Chen Chuan?"

Chen Chuan asked, "May I know who you are, Senior Apprentice?"

The student pulled out a slip and waved it at him, saying with considerable resentment, "I'm Senior Apprentice Shu Han, the one assigned to coordinate with you. I waited for you all morning and never saw you. I was just left waiting outside like an idiot while the other students treated me as a joke. I've been enrolled for three years, and I've never seen a freshman as arrogant as you."

Chen Chuan apologized, "Sorry, Senior Apprentice Shu. The academy had some matters for me to handle this morning, so I wasn't able to contact you beforehand."

He guessed that the academy had not passed the message down. It might have been an oversight, or it might have been deliberate. But now that the matter was over, he intended to take out his Departure Form and clear up the misunderstanding.

However, Shu Han looked him up and down, rolled his wrists, and said, "Fine. Since you're here now, there's no point saying more. As the senior apprentice assigned to coordinate with you, I need to test your level first so I can understand your situation. That way, the report I submit later can be more detailed."

Chen Chuan said, "Oh? Is that part of the coordination process?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm the senior apprentice. Wouldn't I know better than you?" Shu Han looked impatient, but his eyes darted about.

Chen Chuan smiled, studied him for a moment, and said, "Sure." Whether there was such a process or not, he was curious about the level of upper-year senior apprentices.

He had seen Wei Changan's performance with his own eyes. From what Wei Changan had shown, he was truly formidable, worthy of being a third-year student. Judging from what had happened in the phone booth, there was a strong chance that he had mastered force. According to Yu Gang, even at Wu Yi Academy, someone like that counted as an elite.

Unfortunately, he had neither the time nor the opportunity to spar with him. He could instead seek a little guidance from the Class A Student senior apprentice before him.

Shu Han looked around and said, "There's not enough room here. Come outside with me."

Chen Chuan readily agreed and followed him to an open area on this floor. It was actually a practice ground, over five hundred square meters in size—more than enough space for spectators and a fight.

When they came outside, an upper-year senior apprentice was leaning against the wall, waiting boredly. Seeing the two of them emerge, he smiled and said, "What, going through the motions?"

Shu Han gave a grunt.

After all, people who practiced combat tended to have a bit of a temper. Some young students had never been properly beaten and acted as though heaven was first and they were second, looking down on everyone and speaking aggressively during coordination. That inevitably led to conflicts. At times like that, talking was useless. Only fists could settle things.

So this was a process that was not officially a process, another set of rules the students had come up with. Usually, once the troublemakers were beaten up, they would submit, and only then could everyone calmly talk things through.

But Chen Chuan's case was special. His attitude had been quite good, and there might have been other reasons, but he had left someone hanging with no definite word and made him wait all morning for nothing. Shu Han was genuinely annoyed, so he wanted to go through the motions.

At the same time, he had heard that Chen Chuan had knocked down the monster Zhong Wu after enrolling. Some had even compared Chen Chuan to an idol of his from the past. He was unconvinced by that and wanted to measure Chen Chuan for himself.

The upper-year student was interested as well. He took the initiative to walk up to Chen Chuan and shake his hand.

"You're Student Chen, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Shen Shao. I've heard about you. Hey, you have no idea how famous you are now. Even a third-year like me has heard of you. You managed to take down a monster like Zhong Wu—I'm honestly impressed. Go easy on Senior Apprentice Shu later, all right? Don't beat him up too badly. He's actually a pretty good guy. He's just pissed because he didn't see you today, especially since he was dumped a few days ago. Cut him some slack."

Shu Han could not help getting angry. "What are you talking about? Can you stop bringing up irrelevant crap? Do I need a lower-year student to go easy on me? And I told you, I wasn't dumped. We just rejected each other."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. She rejected you first, then you rejected her."

Shu Han flushed with embarrassment and anger. "Should you and I go through the motions here first?"

Shen Shao said, "All right, all right, I'll stop. You two be careful. It's only the start of the term. No need to hurt anyone."

Chen Chuan could tell that Shen Shao was enjoying the show, but it did not matter. Back when he was with Yu Gang, he could only spar with Lu Ke. Later, he had to go to a boxing gym to find opponents. Now that someone was willing to spar with him for free, he welcomed it wholeheartedly.

If he lost, he could find his flaws. If he won, he could advance his Second Self. Why wouldn't he?

He went to one side and loosened up a little. When he turned back, Shu Han was already waiting there.