Handling and Debt

"Bastard!" Tang Wuyang's furious roar rang out again.

This time, his voice echoed through the entire corridor. His wind-like figure rushed back into the dormitory and lunged at the cold, arrogant boy again.

A flicker of surprise flashed through the cold boy's eyes. He had never known how to hold back. He had put considerable force into that blow just now, yet his opponent had gotten back up so quickly.

Moreover, when his elbow had struck Tang Wuyang's back, he had clearly felt a faint rebounding force from it, which had dispersed much of his strength.

Leap, turn, spinning kick—three movements flowed together in an instant. He not only dodged Tang Wuyang's pounce, but also swept a kick across his back, sending him flying into the upper bunk Tang Wulin had chosen.

The wooden upper bunk was immediately smashed to pieces. Splinters scattered across Tang Wuyang's lower bunk, and his clothes were torn in several places as well.

The cold boy landed lightly, directly on Tang Wuyang's blanket lying on the floor. He even happened to step on the little embroidered flower Na'er had made.

"You bastards!" Tang Wuyang let out a grief-stricken roar as white light surged from his body.

A white Ten-Year Soul Ring rose beneath his feet. Dragon Horns and a dragon tail appeared on his forehead and behind him respectively. At the same time, the temperature in the dormitory plummeted, and five Ice Chains shot toward the cold boy.

Qilin Martial Soul Ten-Year Soul Ring skill—Tang Wuyang's First Soul Skill: Water, Ice Element Control.

Although the cold boy was highly skilled, he faced five chains attacking from different directions, the sudden drop in temperature around him, and Tang Wulin blocking the way behind him.

Under such unfavorable conditions, even he could not evade Tang Wuyang's attack in such a confined space.

Yet his reaction was still extraordinarily quick. He raised his right hand, and a brilliant golden light lit up in his palm.

At the same time, a yellow Soul Ring rose beneath his feet. Golden light flashed, tracing an arc through the air as it slashed toward the incoming Ice Chains.

The cold boy's strikes were incredibly precise. His golden dagger accurately struck every Ice Chain hurtling toward him.

Then something that astonished him happened.

The instant the five Ice Chains were hit, they turned from ice into water. Once his slashes passed through, they condensed into ice again.

Not good! the cold boy cried inwardly.

If he had retreated immediately, he might still have been able to circle around Tang Wulin at the door, rush out of the dormitory, and avoid the five Ice Chains.

But now, that was clearly impossible.

The five Ice Chains swept over him in an instant, binding his entire body tightly as a chill invaded his body.

The Century Soul Ring beneath the cold boy's feet blazed brightly. Blade light flickered from his dagger, accompanied by a faint Dragon Roar, as he used all his strength to break free from the Ice Chains.

With a thought, a white Ten-Year Soul Ring appeared around Tang Wulin. He waved his right hand, and several Blue Silver Grass Vines surged forward, wrapping around the cold boy from behind and reinforcing the restraint around him.

But at that very moment, a fist rapidly enlarged before his eyes.

Bang!

The cold boy's body was instantly sent flying. At the moment Tang Wuyang's fist smashed into his face, the Ice Chains binding him loosened at the same time.

Like a cannonball, the cold boy shot straight out through the doorway.

Tang Wulin shifted slightly beneath his feet, neatly avoiding the body flying toward him.

Another thunderous crash rang out. The cold boy had been embedded in the corridor wall.

That was right—"embedded." Tang Wuyang's terrifying strength had left the cold boy utterly unable to resist.

The cold boy was an Agile Attack System Battle Soul Master, specializing in speed and instantaneous explosive attacks. But Agile Attack Soul Masters had a common weakness: poor defense. Once struck by the overwhelming power of someone like Tang Wuyang, whose strength exceeded that of Battle Soul Masters focused on strength at the same level, the outcome was obvious.

Thus, the instant he was sent flying, the cold boy lost consciousness.

Tang Wulin, standing at the doorway, did not care about any of that. To prevent the cold boy from getting back up, he sent countless Blue Silver Grass surging forward with a thought, binding him tightly until only his head remained exposed.

Yun Xiao, who had originally only come to watch the excitement, now had weak legs. He hurriedly begged, "Brother, big brother, I really wasn't with them! I just came to watch the drama. Please let me go!"

His voice already carried a hint of tears as he spoke.

The one inside that room was not human at all. He was clearly a Beast!

Tang Wuyang crouched down and carefully picked up his blanket. He brushed off the dust, then hugged it tightly to his chest as though he had recovered a priceless treasure.

Fortunately, the blanket was not damaged. It was merely a little dirty.

Seeing that, Tang Wulin did not even bother with his luggage scattered all over the floor. He hurried forward and pulled his distressed younger brother into his arms.

He understood. Tang Wuyang missed Na'er.

"What happened here?"

Just then, a deep voice came from the corridor.

Ten minutes later.

Eastsea Academy, Intermediate Department Academic Affairs Office.

"So, this tragedy was caused by a blanket?" Long Hengxu stared coldly at the five boys before him, his face so gloomy it seemed as if water might drip from it.

Zhou Changxi, Yun Xiao, Tang Wulin, Tang Wuyang, and the cold boy stood in a row.

Cold light flickered in the cold boy's eyes. His sharp gaze drifted toward Tang Wuyang from time to time, as though he wanted to tear him apart.

Zhou Changxi's face was ashen, and his body bore quite a few injuries. But upon closer inspection, one could see a trace of fear deep in his eyes. Not once did he look in the direction of Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin recounted the earlier events without leaving out a single detail. Long Hengxu did not listen to only his side of the story, and he questioned Yun Xiao as well.

After hearing both accounts and combining them with what he had seen at the scene, Long Hengxu finally understood the full story.

Tang Wuyang stood there with his fists clenched, anger still faintly churning in his eyes.

"Zhou Changxi, given the type of Martial Soul you possess, you could originally have entered Class Three. Your level was just a little low."

"But now it seems your character is even lower than your Soul Power. You deserved that beating. Stay in Class Five forever." Long Hengxu spoke coldly.

Zhou Changxi wanted to argue, but when he saw Long Hengxu's gloomy gaze, the words reached his lips before he forcibly swallowed them back down.

"You two as well. Fighting on your first day of school—both of you are going to Class Five. You deserved the beating." This time, Long Hengxu pointed at Yun Xiao and the cold boy.

The cold boy did not react to Long Hengxu's words at all. His gaze remained fixed on Tang Wuyang.

One side of his face was already badly swollen. If he had not used his speed to rapidly disperse the force from his head at the instant before impact, he did not know how many teeth he would have had left.

Yun Xiao said in shock, "Director Long, I didn't take part in the fight! From beginning to end, I was only a bystander."

Long Hengxu said coldly, "You think watching the excitement gives you the right? You saw your classmates fighting, yet not only did you fail to stop them, you chose to stay out of it and protect yourself."

"You're already this sly at such a young age. What will become of you when you grow up?"

"As for you two brothers." Long Hengxu turned his gaze toward Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin. "You two did quite well. Two against three. You were not at fault in this matter. Zhou Changxi provoked you first, and it is good for men to have spirit."

"So I will not punish the two of you. But one of you has Blue Silver Grass as your Martial Soul, and the other only has Level 11 Soul Power. You can only go to Class Five."

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes. They had thought their punishment would be the harshest.

After all, one of them had beaten people up badly, while the other had used his Martial Soul to tie up a fellow student.

"Thank you for your fairness," Tang Wuyang hurriedly said.

Tang Wulin also thanked the academic affairs director, who looked extremely strict.

Long Hengxu said flatly, "Although there was a reason for the fight, you still have to compensate the academy for damaging public property."

"I'll have the finance office calculate the repair costs for the window, wall, and beds later. Remember to pay the money."

"Ah?" Both brothers were stunned.

Pay money?

Between them, all they had was the six thousand Federation Coins Tang Ziran had given them as spending money for one semester.

Since Intermediate Academy was compulsory education and provided food and lodging, there should not have been many places where they needed to spend money.

"All right, get out."

"If you have the guts, go back and keep fighting."

"If there is a next time, your records will be marked. Those records affect whether you can enter the Advanced Department in the future and whether you can become a Mecha Master."

"If you have the guts to fight, then don't let the academy find out. Otherwise, you will be severely punished."

As the brothers walked out of the Academic Affairs Office, Long Hengxu's stern voice still echoed in their ears. Yet Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin were in bright spirits.

Although they did not yet know how many Federation Coins they would have to pay, at least the academy had handled this fight impartially. It had not favored others because their Martial Souls were poor or their Soul Power was low.

Academic Affairs Office.

Long Hengxu narrowed his eyes and said to the secretary beside him, "Bring me Tang Wulin and Tang Wuyang's files."

"Director, those two children—one has Blue Silver Grass as his Martial Soul, while the other has a Beast Martial Soul but only Level 11 Soul Power, right? He isn't even as strong as his brother with Blue Silver Grass." The secretary spoke in great surprise.

Long Hengxu's earlier sternness had completely vanished. The corners of his mouth rose. "I'm afraid it isn't that simple. Tang Wuyang beat two people at once on his first day of school, including that brat from the Xie Family. Is that something an ordinary kid with Level 11 Soul Power can do?"

"And Tang Wulin has Blue Silver Grass, such a Useless Martial Soul, yet he cultivated to Level 12 at nine years old. There is clearly something unusual about him too."

"These two brothers are both oddballs. We should pay more attention to them."

When the four of them returned to the dormitory, they found the same mess as before.

After all, no one was going to clean it up for them.

As for why there were only four people, it was naturally because Yun Xiao was afraid of being dragged into it again. The moment he left the Academic Affairs Office, he hurriedly distanced himself from the four culprits.

Ignoring Zhou Changxi's burning stare and the unfamiliar cold boy beside him, Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin silently gathered up their belongings scattered across the floor and piled them on Tang Wuyang's lower bunk.

Zhou Changxi stood beside his bed, clenching and unclenching his fists several times.

The cold boy continued staring at Tang Wuyang for a few seconds, then walked up to Zhou Changxi and pointed upward. "You go up."

Zhou Changxi was already full of anger. "Ha! You—"

Before he could finish, he saw the Century Soul Ring appear around the cold boy, along with the dagger in his hand flashing with cold light.

He could only swallow his grievance and obediently move his things from the lower bunk to the upper bunk.

Light flashed in the cold boy's hand. No one saw how he did it, but a clean bedsheet was already in his hand, which he spread over the lower bunk.

On the other side, Tang Wulin's upper bunk had been smashed apart.

The brothers each took one side and quickly removed the damaged upper-bunk planks. They threw them into the corridor outside, then worked together to make Tang Wuyang's bed.

"This room?"

A voice came from outside. A middle-aged man who looked like an academy staff member entered the room carrying a wooden bed plank.

He glanced at the four boys inside, whose atmosphere was somewhat awkward, then chuckled. "Not bad, you lot. Fighting on your first day of school. Quite the achievement."

"If you have the guts, keep fighting. These wooden beds cost ten thousand Federation Coins each."

"Break a few more, and I'll have my bonus for the year."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and the wooden plank in his hand flew up and landed on the upper bunk, fitting perfectly without the slightest misalignment.

Ten thousand Federation Coins?

The brothers' eyes widened at the same time. It was just a plank of wood!

"Teacher, can we not have it, or can we buy one ourselves outside?" Tang Wulin asked urgently.

Tang Wuyang also looked at the staff member, his eyes full of inquiry.

The middle-aged man snorted. "Do you think the academy is your home? Damaging public property is a serious offense here."

"You two are Tang Wulin and Tang Wuyang, right? The window, the bed, and the corridor wall come to a total of thirty-four thousand Federation Coins. Remember to go to the Academic Affairs Office and pay as soon as possible."

Thirty-four thousand Federation Coins?

Hearing that number, Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin both froze. They had forged without fail for three years, yet each of them had only saved thirty thousand Federation Coins.

And now, just one wooden bed plank, one window, and one wall that was not even completely damaged...

That was far too expensive!

Zhou Changxi, who had been glaring angrily at the brothers, immediately climbed onto the cold boy's upper bunk and fell silent after hearing that number.

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin moved in perfect sync, dropping onto the newly made lower bunk. What were they supposed to do? How were they supposed to pay it?

Thirty-four thousand Federation Coins. That was thirty-four thousand Federation Coins!

"My name is Xie Xie." The cold boy stood in front of the silent brothers and spoke coolly.

"No need to thank us," Tang Wulin replied instinctively.

Tang Wuyang acted as if he had not heard, still lowering his head without the slightest response.

"No, not 'no need to thank you'..."

Xie Xie, who had maintained a cold expression the entire time, immediately looked deflated.

What did he mean, no need to thank them?

Xie Xie gritted his teeth. "I mean, my name is Xie Xie!"

Only then did Tang Wuyang raise his head and look at the figure standing before him.

The two of them now remembered that they had seen this boy before.

They had watched Xie Xie leave the Soul Guidance Train Platform and get into a luxury car.

"What do you want?" Tang Wuyang asked coldly.

Cold light flickered in Xie Xie's eyes. "Tang Wuyang, come outside the academy and fight me!"

At that moment, his heart was filled with humiliation.

Xie Xie simply could not understand how, with his strength, he had lost to someone whose Soul Power was even lower than that of a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master.

Besides, Tang Wuyang was incredibly strong. His swollen cheek even made his speech slightly slurred.

From childhood to now, he had never been beaten up like that. Naturally, he could not swallow this insult.

But he could not ignore what Long Hengxu had said earlier. After all, once his record was stained, it would cause a great deal of trouble in the future.

"Get lost!" Tang Wuyang snapped.

The sudden debt had already put him in a terrible mood.

"What did you say?" An icy, forceful aura instantly erupted from Xie Xie's body.

Tang Wuyang glared at him furiously. "You were the ones who bullied us first, and now you're still not done?"

"Thirty-four thousand. Do you know what thirty-four thousand means to our family?"

"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish. At worst, I won't go to school here anymore."

"You're fussing over that?" Xie Xie was taken aback.

He had never had much concept of money. What was thirty-four thousand to him?

Tang Wulin stepped forward and stood in front of Tang Wuyang. "To city people like you, thirty-four thousand Federation Coins may be nothing. But for Wuyang and me, it is money we couldn't earn back even after years of hard work."

Tang Wuyang said coldly, "Don't provoke my brother and me again. Otherwise, I'll fight you to the end."

Looking at Tang Wuyang's eyes gradually turning red, Xie Xie's aura weakened noticeably for some reason.

"Fight me, and I'll pay the money." Xie Xie stared straight at Tang Wuyang and spoke coldly.

Not only Tang Wuyang, but Tang Wulin was stunned as well.

"You'll pay?" Tang Wulin's voice carried disbelief.

Xie Xie looked at Tang Wuyang, who had not spoken but whose eyes had instantly lost their redness, with threads of surprise suddenly appearing in their depths. For a moment, he did not know what to say.

These two guys...