Dorm Seven

Ye Qiu and Tang San had just arrived at the entrance to Dorm Seven.

The dormitory door stood wide open, and they could faintly hear laughter and playful voices coming from inside.

Ye Qiu's eyes flickered. Without drawing attention, he fell a step behind Tang San.

Following behind Tang San, he walked inside.

As soon as they entered,

Ye Qiu's first impression of Dorm Seven was that it was spacious.

Dozens of beds filled the room, though most stood empty. Only eleven had bedding on them.

At that moment,

Seven or eight children between the ages of eight and twelve were playing around.

Knock, knock!

Tang San glanced at Ye Qiu behind him, then raised a hand and knocked on the door beside them.

At the sound,

The children who had been playing turned to look. After sizing up Ye Qiu and Tang San, they exchanged glances.

Finally, their eyes settled on the oldest child.

That must be Wang Sheng, Ye Qiu guessed.

Clutching his uniform, he stood calmly behind Tang San.

Surrounded by the other children, Wang Sheng slowly stepped forward. He looked at Tang San, then at Ye Qiu.

Although their clothes were fairly neat, they were covered in patches. It was easy to guess who they were.

Wang Sheng was two heads taller than Tang San and fairly stocky. He stopped in front of them and looked down at them as he said,

"New work-study students?"

"Hello. We're work-study students from Holy Soul Village."

Tang San nodded slightly, pulling his face into a fairly friendly smile.

"Hello!"

Meeting Wang Sheng's gaze, Ye Qiu greeted him.

Wang Sheng nodded and folded his arms, looking rather proud.

"Let's introduce ourselves. My name is Wang Sheng, my Martial Soul is War Tiger, and I'm going to be a Battle Soul Master. I'm the boss around here. What's your name, kid? And what's your Martial Soul?"

Tang San furrowed his brow, displeased by the way Wang Sheng spoke. He replied coolly, "My name is Tang San, and my Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."

"Blue Silver Grass? Since when could people cultivate with a trash Martial Soul like that?"

Wang Sheng looked utterly astonished, and most of the children in the dormitory joined in the mockery.

Before Ye Qiu could say anything, Wang Sheng was already getting impatient.

"Fine, Little San. From now on, I'm your boss. As long as you listen to me, I'll—"

"My name is Tang San, not Little San!"

Tang San's expression darkened. Before Wang Sheng could finish, he cut him off. At the same time, he glanced back at Ye Qiu, who always liked calling him "Little San."

Ye Qiu shrugged, looking utterly harmless.

"I'll call you Little San if I want to. What, you got a problem with that? If you've got what it takes, beat me! If you win, I'll call you boss!"

Wang Sheng raised a hand and shoved Tang San's shoulder, making him stumble back two steps.

Ye Qiu smiled.

Tang San smiled too.

But Tang San was smiling because Wang Sheng had made him angry.

He had wanted to get along with them like an ordinary person, but all he got in return was this show of dominance. In that case, Tang San wouldn't hold back.

"Ye Qiu, hold this for me."

"No problem."

Smiling, Ye Qiu took Tang San's uniform.

If Tang San wanted to enjoy his time here and study in peace, he would have to return Wang Sheng's little show of dominance!

He beckoned arrogantly to Wang Sheng.

"Come on!"

"Fine!"

Wang Sheng charged in—and went sprawling.

A child had knocked him flat on his face. He was furious.

"Why, you little San! You're asking for a beating!"

A yellow glow appeared around Wang Sheng, and he let out a low growl like a tiger before charging at Tang San again.

Tang San's gaze turned cold. He was curious about the power of Martial Souls, but he wasn't afraid of it!

"Ah! Ah!"

"Stop, don't—don't touch there! Oh~"

Amid Wang Sheng's cries,

Tang San used Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to throw him over his shoulder and slam him to the ground!

The match ended with Wang Sheng sprawled on the floor once again.

Keeping hold of Wang Sheng's arm with a grappling technique, Tang San said calmly,

"Can you talk properly now?"

"Ah! Tang San, okay, okay!"

Wang Sheng had been about to keep mouthing off, but the moment Tang San started applying pressure, he cried out in pain.

Hearing Wang Sheng correct himself, Tang San let him go.

"Tang San, is your Martial Soul really Blue Silver Grass?"

Wang Sheng got up and rubbed his wrist. He still felt shaken by Tang San's fighting skills.

"Of course!"

Seeing was believing.

Tang San raised his right hand and activated his Martial Soul. A faint blue light welled from his palm, revealing a small blue grass that swayed in the breeze.

"Then how are you so strong?"

It wasn't just Wang Sheng who wondered. The other children in the dormitory were just as puzzled.

"Because he has Innate Full Soul Power!"

Ye Qiu's voice came from behind Tang San. He started toward the bed that had caught his eye.

"What?! Innate Full Soul Power!"

Wang Sheng's expression changed dramatically, and the other students in the dormitory erupted in an uproar.

They had never imagined that there could be a genius with Innate Full Soul Power among the work-study students.

"Ye Qiu."

Tang San frowned at Ye Qiu. The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record had told him never to reveal the full extent of his abilities in front of others.

It was true that he couldn't hide his Innate Full Soul Power, but he was still somewhat displeased by Ye Qiu's decision to announce it without asking him.

"They were bound to find out sooner or later."

Ye Qiu waved a hand. He had already set his uniform on the empty bed beside him and sat down.

Wang Sheng looked at Tang San, a complicated light in his eyes—both envy and regret.

"Tang San, I'm really sorry about that just now. It's a rite of passage for every newcomer. We need a boss so we can stick together and stand up to the other students who bully us."

Tang San couldn't help but smile.

"So you deliberately provoked me so I'd beat you, and then you could bring me into the fold?"

Wang Sheng blushed, managing an awkward smile.

"You're the one who gave me a show of dominance. Now that you've beaten me, you're the boss of Dorm Seven from now on!"

Tang San shook his head.

"I'm here to study."

"Little San, just say yes."

Ye Qiu took out a lollipop and put it in his mouth. Spreading his hands, he said helplessly,

"Didn't you hear him? Work-study students get bullied all the time, and we're work-study students too. We can't avoid it."

"Yeah, exactly."

Seeing Tang San still trying to refuse, Wang Sheng quickly rolled up his sleeves, as if to show Tang San what he was dealing with.

His arms and body were covered in large bruises.

"Look, these are all from yesterday, when I first arrived at the academy. If it happened to me, imagine what it's like for the others."

The other students in the dormitory nodded repeatedly, looking at Tang San with hope in their eyes. The weak could only live better by relying on someone stronger.

Tang San furrowed his brow too.

Wang Sheng was no weakling, yet he'd been bullied this badly. It seemed Tang San really couldn't stay out of it.

With that in mind, Tang San gave a slight nod.

"In that case, if I'm the boss, I won't stand by and watch anyone in our dorm get bullied."

"Great! From now on, protecting Dorm Seven and the work-study students is your responsibility!"

Wang Sheng beamed and patted Tang San on the shoulder.

Just then, a clear, melodious voice came from the entrance to Dorm Seven.

"Excuse me, is this Dorm Seven?"

Everyone looked toward the door at once. They were so astonished that they froze in place.