That morning, after the entrance exams ended, the new students began receiving their dorm assignments.
The City of Brilliance covered an area as large as a municipality, and its transportation system was underdeveloped.
The best way for ordinary residents to get around was by animal-drawn cart. More often, they took the number eleven bus—their own two feet.
To save students precious study time and spare them the difficulty of commuting, Sacred Orchid Academy had specially prepared dormitories for them.
It was worth mentioning that not all students were required to live on campus.
Students from prominent and Peak Families who enjoyed noble privileges could choose to commute. Xiao Ning'er was one of them.
"Hey, buddy, I heard you like playing with fire?" asked a male student who seemed a little too interested in other guys, sidling up to Xian Wu.
Xian Wu figured the other guy wanted to tease him about losing his pants, or maybe he wanted to be some kind of knight in shining armor—or lovesick lapdog.
So he replied crossly, "Whether I like playing with fire or not has nothing to do with you, does it?"
Lu Piao froze at that. As expected of a guy who played with fire—he had quite a temper.
"Let's get acquainted. I'm Lu Piao. Lu as in 'land,' Piao as in 'soaring like an immortal.' We'll be classmates from now on."
As the saying went, you didn't hit someone who greeted you with a smile.
But Xian Wu didn't reach out to shake Lu Piao's hand, because... he didn't have a hand to spare.
He couldn't shake with his left hand, or Lu Piao would lose his.
His right hand was holding up his pants; if he shook with it, his own pants would fall down.
"Xian Wu," he replied coldly.
"..." Lu Piao paused. "That's a pretty rare surname. Whatever, I'll just call you Brother Wu from now on."
"Brother Wu, you're in trouble. You know that, right?"
"Do you know who Xiao Ning'er is? A prodigy, someone everyone fawns over."
"You dropped your pants in front of her. Her admirers definitely won't let you off."
"Not 'in front of her.' In front of her back," Xian Wu corrected him.
"It's all the same." Lu Piao waved a hand. "Besides, Xiao Ning'er is engaged to Shen Fei of the Sacred Family."
"You dropped your pants in front of his fiancée. Shen Fei will definitely teach you a lesson. Otherwise, where would the Sacred Family's reputation be?"
"So, like I said, you're in trouble. Get it?"
Xian Wu frowned. "It wasn't on purpose."
"Whether you meant to do it or not, people who don't get along with Shen Fei will use this to mock and humiliate him." Lu Piao shook his head.
"Most people who dare provoke Shen Fei are direct descendants of Peak Families. He can't do anything to them, so he'll take it out on you instead."
"If I'm not mistaken, with a Soul Force of only one, you must come from an ordinary family."
Xian Wu gave a couple of snorts and said proudly, "You're wrong. I'm not even from an ordinary family. I'm an orphan."
"Then Shen Fei will have even fewer qualms about dealing with you." Lu Piao patted Xian Wu's shoulder sympathetically.
An orphan with no family or friends could only take it if someone beat him up. If he was beaten to death, there'd be no one to seek justice for him.
Xian Wu clenched his left fist. "Let him come! I, Xian Wu, don't go looking for trouble, but I'm not afraid of it either."
"So what if he's from the Sacred Family? Are kings and nobles born to be rulers? If anyone dares bully me, I'll break his legs!"
Lu Piao gaped in astonishment. He'd thought the kid would be so scared he'd crawl into a rat hole, but who knew...
He had some real guts!
He seemed like someone worth befriending.
"Fine. If I hear anything, I'll let you know right away. Be careful."
Lu Piao patted Xian Wu on the shoulder and returned to his original spot, as the line had reached the dormitory area marked "Mysterious."
Sacred Orchid Academy's dormitories were divided into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.
The "Heaven" dormitories were the best: luxurious single rooms reserved for students from the three Peak Families—the Wind and Snow, Sacred Nether, and Sacred Families.
The "Earth" dormitories weren't bad either. They were also single rooms, reserved for students from the Seven Great Noble Families, such as Xiao Ning'er.
The "Mysterious" dormitories were double rooms for students from the twenty noble families. Lu Piao was one of them.
The "Yellow" dormitories were triple rooms for commoners, including people like Xian Wu, who wasn't even from a commoner family.
After Lu Piao and the other students from noble families left, quite a few people remained in the line.
At the head stood a handsome young man with a face like jade, looking so miserable he seemed to owe someone a fortune.
His name was Du Ze. He had the best talent among the commoner freshmen, and his Soul Force even surpassed that of most students from noble families.
With neither resources nor guidance, commoner students who managed to cultivate to this level had to put in an unimaginable amount of effort.
Xian Wu didn't dislike people like him, but he didn't particularly like them either, because he'd been the same kind of person before he transmigrated.
They were too driven by self-interest, carried too many burdens, had too narrow a perspective, and followed paths already trodden by others.
Unless something unexpected happened, he'd achieve some success in the future, but he was destined never to reach the very top of the pyramid.
Without the Demon Left Hand, Xian Wu figured he would probably have become just like Du Ze.
After assigning the students from noble families to the "Mysterious" dormitory area, the male dorm supervisor led the rest to the "Yellow" dormitory area.
The "Yellow" dormitories were the farthest from the main road, and they weren't close to buildings like the cafeteria, bathhouse, or library either.
The commoner dormitory area was not only remote, but also in poor condition, especially when it came to natural light.
Even during the day, the rooms were unusually dark.
Only after Xian Wu propped open the paper-covered window did the room brighten up considerably.
While a cross-breeze dispersed the musty smell, Xian Wu picked up the bedding supplied by the dorm supervisor and made his bed.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Zhang Ming. We'll be roommates from now on, so please take good care of me."
Zhang Ming had big, bright eyes that fluttered like a doll's.
"My name is Zhu Jun Xiang. Let's look out for each other."
Zhu Jun Xiang had red hair, red eyes, and red clothes. He looked like a little Christmas elf.
When Xian Wu was about to introduce himself, someone interrupted him.
"No need. I know you—you're Xian Wu, the Pants-Stripping Fiend!"
An angry vein popped out on Xian Wu's forehead. He clenched his fist. This was just too damn much.
"Nice to meet you, Big Eyeballs Zhang Ming," Xian Wu shot back.
At that, Zhang Ming's expression instantly darkened.
Zhu Jun Xiang hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "We're all classmates here."
Seeing that he'd been given an out, Zhang Ming snorted and started making his bed too.
Dormitory Forty-Four in the Yellow section was long and narrow, like a corridor.
The door and window faced each other, both set in the middle of their respective walls.
There were three beds in the dormitory: two on the west side and one on the east.
Xian Wu chose the one on the west side near the door, Zhu Jun Xiang chose the one on the west side near the window, and Zhang Ming took the one on the east side by himself.
There was also a long table and three round stools in the dormitory, placed beside Zhang Ming's bed.
Aside from that, there were brooms, dustpans, basins, and various other cleaning supplies, all provided by the academy for free.
Meals and showers were free too.
Xian Wu thought they should be free. Tuition was over three thousand Demon Spirit Coins per semester, with two semesters a year.
That was no small sum.
After all, an ordinary family in the City of Brilliance spent only a little over two thousand Demon Spirit Coins a year.
But that raised a question: with no family or friends to turn to, how was he supposed to scrape together next semester's tuition? Should he get another part-time job at the garbage processing plant?
Before you continue