Moonlit Night Black Shadow

Chapter 36: Shadows in the Moonlit Night

Dongqi University has two campuses, east and west. Zhao Rui's main campus is relatively remote, located in a suburban development zone of the city.

However, the suburbs of the provincial capital are not much worse than the center of Lin City. At most, there are fewer comprehensive supermarkets and sparser tall buildings.

Zhao Rui strolled along the wide road outside the campus, wandering casually and observing his surroundings.

Many of the residential complexes here are old buildings without elevators, no more than five or six stories high, and have been around for a long time.

Especially those close to the school, most of them were former faculty dormitories or family buildings.

There are also newly built modern residential complexes, but they are located farther from the university.

Zhao Rui circled the campus and chose a residential complex not far from the school gate, with convenient access.

It's just that the buildings are a bit old.

He went directly to the real estate agent on the street side of the complex, inspected the place on the spot, and rented an apartment.

Zhao Rui is not short of money at all now. With the money he earned from his summer job plus what "Brother Hu" gifted him, he has a full sixty thousand yuan in his card.

This apartment costs 1500 yuan per month to rent, with a discount to 1450 yuan per year. It's not much pressure for Zhao Rui.

The apartment he rented is on the fourth floor, a three-bedroom unit with a balcony in the old-fashioned bedroom configuration. The bedroom is quite large. If he lived alone, he could even practice boxing inside.

The most important thing is that this apartment comes with furniture and appliances, so he doesn't need to buy anything new. He just needs to change the bedding and he can move in.

However, Zhao Rui doesn't plan to move in right away. After all, school has just started, and he doesn't quite grasp the school's regulations yet. He plans to wait a couple of days.

After renting the apartment, Zhao Rui opened his WeChat service on his phone, checked the locations of nearby martial arts halls, and then took a taxi to one.

The model of martial arts halls here is no different from those in Lin City. After all, it's not a prosperous area of the provincial capital, and it feels a bit like the taekwondo studios of his past life.

They mainly serve martial arts students in the surrounding area, providing training venues and extracurricular classes.

They are not involved in the research of high-level martial arts or the cultivation of lineage inheritance.

Zhao Rui consulted two or three places. They did need Sparring Partners, but they weren't short of part-time ones. If he could work full-time, he could even be interviewed and hired.

Zhao Rui thought about it. This is the provincial capital, and it's right next to the university. What's most abundant here are college students looking for part-time jobs.

After a brief understanding, Zhao Rui took a taxi back to the school dormitory.

With the new students arriving, everything is fresh. First-year students can be seen everywhere on campus, wandering around in small groups.

Old students and new students can be easily identified by their expressions on campus; that sense of curiosity and greenness cannot be hidden.

Zhao Rui's dormitory was no exception. His roommates Lao Da and Lao San were the most enthusiastic. After a brief rest in the dorm, they suggested going out to explore the campus.

Since it was their first time here, Zhao Rui didn't want to refuse their invitation and went along with the crowd.

Along the way, they admired the campus scenery and the pretty girls they passed, chatting happily.

Only Lao Si, Chu Yunlei, disliked talking. He followed behind Zhao Rui and the other two like a little follower, feeling somewhat superfluous!

After a short while, Zhao Rui's phone began to ring incessantly.

He received calls from Yang Fan and Sun Tiantian, who had already started school. They were all asking about his initial impressions of the new semester.

He also received WeChat video calls from senior brothers and sisters from the martial arts hall. They were gathered at a barbecue restaurant.

They told him to practice his alcohol tolerance well in college, as he was now an adult and could drink with them when they met again.

Zhao Rui chatted with them with a smile, using this excuse to slip away from the "campus tour" group and return to his dormitory.

After a simple wash, he went straight to bed.

He sat cross-legged, formed mudras with his hands, and circulated his internal energy through a full cycle, cultivating.

However, his cultivation session was short. After only thirty to forty minutes, Le Bin and the others returned from their walk.

"Second brother, do you have a girlfriend?"

Le Bin teased with a smile when he returned to the dorm. His appearance was quite delicate and handsome, and he had a certain charm when he smiled!

"No, do you guys?"

Except for Le Bin, the other two shook their heads.

"I have a girlfriend, but she's not from our school. I'll introduce you all when she visits."

Le Bin said with a smile.

"With your looks, it's no surprise you have a girlfriend. My goal is to not be single by the end of college!"

Lao Da, Jian Conglin, said enthusiastically.

Their major was accounting, which had a very high proportion of female students, roughly 1:3.

There was no shortage of girls.

"I wonder how good the girls in our class will be?"

Jian Conglin's gaze drifted, as if he could see through time and space to the situation in the girls' dormitories on campus.

"We'll know tomorrow!"

Zhao Rui said with a smile.

"I looked at the sign-in sheet during the day, but unfortunately, there were no photos!"

"Knowing the name is already one step ahead, boss!"

Le Bin chuckled.

"Haha!"

The night sky of Jeju seemed even hazier than that of Lincheng. Surrounded by mountains, the summer heat intensified.

A wobbling fan in the dormitory creaked, accompanied by a lively late-night discussion, bringing a barely perceptible coolness to the brand-new dorm.

The next morning, Zhao Rui woke up early as usual. This time, however, he didn't practice martial arts but went for a jog around campus.

He stretched his muscles while admiring the campus in the morning light.

After exercising, he returned to the dormitory. Everyone else had already woken up. Zhao Rui quickly washed up and then headed to the school cafeteria with everyone.

Next to their male dormitory was a large cafeteria, three stories high and quite spacious.

Compared to high school, university cafeterias were not only larger but also offered a wider variety of dishes. There were dozens of breakfast options alone, covering cuisines from all over the country, from north to south, east to west.

After a satisfying breakfast, the dormitory mates joined the flow of students heading to the pre-assigned lecture hall.

Today was the day they met their counselor. The main purpose was for teachers and students to get acquainted and to select temporary class leaders in preparation for the upcoming military training.

The process was unremarkable.

The counselor's surname was Liu, and her name was Liu Jie. She was a petite, thin girl with short, ear-length hair.

She was reportedly a new teacher who had stayed on after graduating in her senior year.

The entire meeting was relaxed. Liu Jie didn't waste time with pleasantries but pragmatically discussed important matters for university life and the arrangements for the upcoming military training.

Zhao Rui, as a freshman, dutifully listened to the counselor's speech. There was no need for him to stand out, and nothing outlandish happened.

The class leader was a tall girl pre-selected by the counselor, named Cai Xinyue. She had a decent appearance, around a six or seven out of ten, but possessed an uncommon aura and was quite outgoing and capable.

She looked like someone who had frequently served as a class officer.

The proportion of girls in the class was about as expected, around two-thirds. This ratio excited Boss Jian Conglin, whose gaze had been darting around, scrutinizing the female classmates all morning.

This was to lay a solid foundation for precisely finding a suitable girlfriend.

After the first class, everyone gathered at the base of the teaching building to collect their military training uniforms and shoes.

Tomorrow was the start of military training, which would last for two weeks. They would not only train on campus but also travel to a military camp for live-fire target practice!

The format was diverse and quite serious.

Zhao Rui was indifferent to military training. With his physical fitness as a Level 5 Martial Artist, any military training would be a piece of cake.

However, just because he didn't care didn't mean others didn't. Before the military training even began, several girls had already submitted requests to the counselor for exemption.

None were approved. According to school regulations, even if there were special circumstances preventing training, students had to follow their class and rest nearby.

After receiving their military training uniforms, Zhao Rui and his dorm mates returned to their dormitory.

This time, the interaction among the new students was no longer limited to their own dormitory but had spread to other dorms.

It was bustling and lively with people coming and going.

Jian Conglin, being tall and having a smoking habit, quickly became familiar with several fellow smokers from other dorms.

Zhao Rui also made new friends, two fellow townsmen from Lincheng.

Given the scarcity of males, even with another class in the same department, there were only about twenty-odd males. It was unexpected to have three from Lincheng.

This showed how diligently people from Lincheng studied.

These two from Lincheng came from county schools and had always been in regular classes, completely different from Zhao Rui, a Martial Arts Student.

Their academic achievements were solid high scores.

After chatting briefly with his new acquaintances, Zhao Rui found an excuse, picked up his backpack, and left the dormitory.

Although it was muggy outside, the bright moon hung high, and white clouds drifted by, leaving behind a cool, clear radiance.

Zhao Rui's emotions were stirred by the scene, and his internal energy surged, lifting his spirits.

Perhaps it was due to a great joy he had recently experienced, but he felt a subtle stirring within his Internal Energy.

He quickly found a secluded grove of trees and leaped onto the treetop, sitting cross-legged.

Under the moonlight and the moving clouds, he began to cultivate the Ethereal Divine Skill taught by Li Da Naodai.

The Ethereal Divine Skill was not a supreme martial art, but Zhao Rui currently had no better foundational skill. He could only proceed slowly, first increasing the capacity of his Dantian's sea of energy.

Before school started, he had accumulated another five advancement points by working as a Sparring Partner. He now used all of them to enhance his Internal Energy.

This brought his Internal Energy cultivation to the level of a Martial Artist with fifteen years of practice.

He could be considered to have gained some cultivation.

Zhao Rui meditated for a full hour until the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and a gentle breeze caressed his face. Only then did he conclude his practice and jump down from the tree.

However, the moment his feet touched the ground, a slightly panicked cry came from not far away.

"Who?"

Not far from the tree, a man and a woman, locked in an embrace, looked over with startled expressions.

"Ahem, I was just passing by! Please continue!"

Zhao Rui chuckled, stomped his feet on the ground, and leaped away.

"It's a Martial Artist! Let's get out of here, quick!"

Seeing Zhao Rui disappear in just a few steps, the young couple was thoroughly frightened. They forgot about their intimacy and quickly left the area.

Running into a Martial Artist in a small grove in the middle of the night was no laughing matter.

Who knew if this person might suddenly get wicked ideas!

There had been news reports before. Although the culprits were usually caught, those were just the ones reported in the news.

How many were never caught, or never reported?

In the end, the imperial court was simply unable to control all the Martial Artists.

Back in their dorm, the couple, flustered, recounted their encounter to their roommates and friends.

This small grove was not within the Martial Arts Academy's grounds, so Martial Arts Students wouldn't usually wander here.

Martial Arts Students had their own "territories," and the school provided them with a better living environment.

"Could it be a freshman? Or someone from outside the school?"

"It's possible. You should tell your counselor tomorrow!"

"Okay!"