Disaster Out of Nowhere

After cleaning the room and making his bed, An Ping sat down to rest for a while. Then he decided to take a walk and familiarize himself with the surrounding area.

An Ping had just opened the dormitory door when, with a loud bang, the door to the dormitory across from his shattered and a figure flew toward him.

An Ping instinctively summoned a Magic Barrier. As he tried to dodge to the side, he increased his Magic Power output and cast another Slow Fall Spell on the flying figure.

There was another bang as the figure crashed into the Magic Barrier. Feeling the feedback from the barrier, An Ping thought, Good thing I added that Slow Fall Spell.

Only then did he lower his head to look at the person who had flown over and discover that it was Tang Wulin. He bent down to help him up, finally remembering that there had indeed been a fight like this in the original story.

Seeing Tang Wulin get up and prepare to charge back inside, An Ping quickly grabbed him. "What happened? You just got to school, and you're already fighting?"

Tang Wulin's eyes were red, and his expression was filled with grief and indignation. "They're all awful."

At that moment, a cold and arrogant youth walked out of the dormitory opposite them. Seeing An Ping help Tang Wulin up, he said, "You think the two of you can beat me?"

Before he even finished speaking, he charged over. Golden light flashed from his raised right hand, and a Golden Dagger appeared out of thin air. At the same time, a Yellow Soul Ring rose beneath his feet. He swung his right arm, drawing an arc as he slashed toward An Ping and Tang Wulin.

An Ping froze. This was simply a disaster out of nowhere. He cast Rope Transformation Spell, and a large wooden plank on the ground instantly turned into a rope that wrapped around the youth's legs, halting his movement. Taking advantage of that pause, An Ping cast another Ice Wall Spell. As the Water Element in the air rippled, an Ice Wall rose between the three of them.

Tang Wulin did not stand idle either. White light surged from his body as a white Soul Ring rose beneath him. Vine-like Blue Silver Grass swarmed forth and bound the youth tightly.

"What's going on?" Just as Tang Wulin was about to follow up with another attack, a deep, powerful voice rang out, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

When Long Hengxu arrived, An Ping dismissed the Ice Wall. Tang Wulin withdrew his Soul Power and Martial Soul, releasing Xie Xie, who had been tied up like a rice dumpling.

"You're fighting on the first day of school? You, you, you—and you. Come with me!" Long Hengxu snapped angrily as he looked at the mess on the ground. With that, he strode toward the stairs.

The group followed Long Hengxu all the way to the Academic Affairs Office.

After asking about what had happened, he made them stand in a row. They stood silently before Long Hengxu, who sat in his office chair with a grim expression.

"You started fighting over such a trivial matter. You lot are really something." As he spoke, he angrily slapped the desk.

"Zhou Changxi, your level may be low, but your Martial Soul is decent. Still, with your character, you deserved that beating. I really don't know where you got the superiority complex that makes you think you're above everyone else. You'll stay in Class Five forever."

Since he had been the one to start trouble, Zhou Changxi did not dare argue as he watched Long Hengxu fume.

"You lot too. All of you, get into Class Five." Long Hengxu pointed at them one by one.

An Ping could not be bothered to explain. No matter what he said, Long Hengxu would have a reason.

"Director Long, I didn't fight. From beginning to end, I was only watching." Yun Xiao protested somewhat indignantly upon hearing Long Hengxu's decision.

After all, class placement affected a teacher's teaching performance, as well as the school's attention and the allocation of certain resources.

Long Hengxu snorted. "You're in the same dormitory. You're classmates. Yet when you saw your classmates fighting, you didn't stop them and just stood by watching. So calculating at such a young age? Is that what your Primary Academy teachers taught you?"

"Fighting on the first day of school. I really don't know what to say about you. Since this is the first time, I'll let it go. If you really want to fight, don't let the school find out. If you're caught fighting privately again, wait until it goes on your records. Your records don't just determine whether you can advance to the Advanced Department—they also affect whether you can become a Mecha Master in the future. All right, that's it. Tang Wulin, I'll have the Finance Department calculate the damages. Pay them when the time comes." With that, he chased them out.

On the way back, Tang Wulin spoke apologetically. "An Ping, I'm sorry. I dragged you into this. If it weren't for me..."

Seeing Tang Wulin like this, An Ping waved dismissively. "I don't really care. It's the same no matter what class I'm in."

Hearing their conversation, Yun Xiao muttered softly, "How could it be the same? Forget the teachers—even the resource allocations are different."

"What resource allocations?" Tang Wulin asked when he heard Yun Xiao muttering.

"You don't even know that? Cultivation resources. The higher-ranked classes can apply for more resources."

Seeing Tang Wulin's ignorance, Zhou Changxi sneered, "What a Country Bumpkin. He doesn't know anything."

Tang Wulin's temper flared instantly. "What? You couldn't even beat a Country Bumpkin, and you still want another beating?"

"Did you forget what Director Long said? Don't you want to become Mecha Masters in the future?" Yun Xiao hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

At last, the two stopped glaring at each other. Xie Xie stepped forward again. "You're An Ping and Tang Wulin, right? My name is Xie Xie."

"No need to thank me," Tang Wulin replied.

An Ping could not hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

Xie Xie glared at An Ping and gritted his teeth. "I mean my name is Xie Xie. The second Xie is the Xiè from Xièhòu de Xiè."

"What do you want?" An Ping asked, wondering whether Xie Xie intended to challenge both of them at once.

"Come Outside the School and fight me again. This time, we'll fight one-on-one." Xie Xie gritted his teeth.

"Not interested. If you want to fight, you two go ahead." An Ping waved a hand, making it clear that he had no interest.

Tang Wulin shook his head forcefully. "Do you think everyone is rich like you? I still need to work hard to earn money. I don't know how much we'll have to pay this time."

"As long as you fight me once, I'll pay no matter how much it costs!" Xie Xie was stunned at first, not expecting the other party to focus on money.

"Really? You'll pay?"

Seeing Tang Wulin's face instantly light up with delight, Xie Xie gritted his teeth. "I'll pay!"

"All right. You pick the time, as long as I'm free."

"How about this afternoon?"

"This afternoon? I have something to do this afternoon. How about after the Opening Ceremony tomorrow?"

"Fine!" Xie Xie agreed.

After settling on a time, Xie Xie looked at An Ping again. "What about you? What would it take for you to agree to fight me?"

"I really don't understand why you're so persistent. I'm really not interested. What does it matter whether I win or lose?" An Ping shook his head, leaving Xie Xie with no choice but to give up for the moment.

Afterward, they went to have lunch together.

On the way back to the dormitory, Zhou Changxi looked dejected and horrified. It was one thing that he could not beat Tang Wulin, but he could not even out-eat him. What horrified him most was that he could not figure out at all how Tang Wulin had managed to eat so much.