Dream School

The sky over Eastsea City was a deep, profound blue. Sunlight pierced through thin clouds, spilling onto the metal dome of the Soul Guidance station and reflecting a blinding glare.

Situ Xuan's footsteps were steady; each step seemed measured, landing precisely in the gaps between the paving stones of the platform.

His figure stood out in the crowd—at 1.7 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a cold, stern face, he caused the surrounding pedestrians to subconsciously clear a path for him.

"Situ Xuan!"

Tang Wulin's shout came from behind. Situ Xuan frowned slightly, but his pace did not falter.

He didn't dislike this overly sunny classmate, but right now, he only wanted to find the shuttle to Eastsea Academy as quickly as possible and had no desire to waste time on meaningless small talk.

"Situ Xuan! Wait for me!"

Tang Wulin caught up, panting, and grabbed the hem of Situ Xuan's shirt with his small hand. His large eyes were filled with excitement and a trace of unease; it was clear that the nervousness of traveling far from home for the first time was taking its toll.

"That's great! I didn't expect you to be reporting today too!"

Tang Wulin smiled brightly. "We can take the academy shuttle together!"

Situ Xuan turned his head, his gaze lingering on Tang Wulin's face for a second.

The black hair on the boy's forehead was soaked with sweat and plastered to his skin, clearly the result of running in a hurry. His backpack was bulging, looking as if it were stuffed with many things; one could even see the packaging of a few loaves of bread through a gap.

"Mn." Situ Xuan responded indifferently, his gaze turning back toward the station exit.

Tang Wulin seemed long accustomed to Situ Xuan's coldness and followed him without a care, his mouth unable to stop moving: "I saw a promotional video for Eastsea City on the train earlier. The seafood here is especially famous! And that largest building over there, they say it's the Eastsea Federal Government Office. My dad said there are Soul Masters of the seventh ring or higher stationed there!"

Situ Xuan didn't respond, but his ears twitched slightly.

A seventh-ring Soul Master.

In a second-tier city like Eastsea City, Soul Masters of the seventh or eighth ring should already be top-tier combatants.

If he could have the chance to spar with such a powerhouse...

The corners of Situ Xuan's mouth lifted in an imperceptible arc.

Exiting the station, the cacophony of human voices and the sound of wheels grinding against the stone road rushed toward him.

The Soul Guidance station in Eastsea City was several times larger than the one in Aolai City. The plaza in front of the station was filled with all sorts of Soul Guidance vehicles, ranging from private hovercars to public transport Soul Guidance buses.

Situ Xuan's gaze swept across the plaza, and he quickly spotted a deep blue Soul Guidance bus in the temporary parking area on the right, the words [Eastsea Academy] painted on the side in white.

"Over there," he said in a low voice, stepping toward it.

Tang Wulin followed his line of sight and immediately cheered: "Really! We're so lucky, the shuttle is right here!"

As they approached, they saw a sign with blue text on a white background standing there, bearing the words: Eastsea Academy.

Beneath the sign were tables and chairs, and sitting behind them were several young men and women in blue sportswear who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old.

Tang Wulin ran the fastest. A delicate-looking girl stepped forward and smiled as she asked him: "Little brother, are you here to register for Eastsea Academy?"

Meanwhile, Situ Xuan walked up to another senior student. The young man noticed the shadow looming over him and looked up, visibly stunned when he saw Situ Xuan.

"You are... a new student?"

The young man's gaze swept over Situ Xuan, asking with some uncertainty.

Situ Xuan didn't speak; he simply took the recommendation letter from his pocket and handed it over.

The young man took the letter, opened it, and glanced at it, his eyebrows shooting up: "Recommendation from Red Mountain Academy in Aolai City... Situ Xuan?" He looked at Situ Xuan again. "How old are you?"

"Ten," Situ Xuan said flatly.

The hell, ten years old?!

The young man's expression became even stranger.

A ten-year-old kid, looking like this?

He hesitated for a moment, ultimately deciding not to ask further, and simply nodded: "Alright, get on the bus. It departs in half an hour."

Relying on the new student metal badges given to them by Liu Yuxin and the recommendation letters from Red Mountain Academy, the two finished their registration and each received two sets of school uniforms.

"My dormitory is 208."

Situ Xuan looked at Tang Wulin, who was trailing behind him, and clicked his tongue, speaking simply.

Tang Wulin, who understood Situ Xuan well enough, knew that his old classmate was annoyed by him following him around.

"Oh, oh! I'm in 205. Shall we go eat together later?"

Tang Wulin clearly pretended not to hear, attempting to brush it off.

Situ Xuan stood still, his eyes quietly watching Tang Wulin, as if answering with his actions.

"Uh... I'll go organize my bed first and come find you later."

Stared at by Situ Xuan's gaze, Tang Wulin felt a chill for no reason, but the unfamiliarity and rejection of the new environment made him hold back. He avoided Situ Xuan's answer and walked quickly toward the other side.

Shaking his head, Situ Xuan clicked his tongue again and headed toward Dormitory 208.

When Situ Xuan pushed the door open to enter Dormitory 208, the chatter inside came to an abrupt halt.

Three metal beds against the wall had already been made, and three boys were sitting cross-legged on their respective beds, chatting.

Upon seeing the tall figure standing at the doorway, they all stiffened in unison—this youth, who was at least twenty centimeters taller than them, didn't look like a freshman of the same age no matter how one viewed him.

On the lower bunk by the window, a thin, bespectacled boy instinctively gripped the bed railing. The brown-haired boy next to him had his mouth half-open, and the cookie he had been breaking in half dropped onto his quilt.

On the innermost upper bunk, a curly-haired youth in a plaid shirt silently pulled his legs back toward the inside of the bed.

Situ Xuan's gaze swept over the three of them, and the air seemed to freeze for several seconds.

"My name is Situ Xuan."

His voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet dormitory.

The three boys' Adam's apples bobbed simultaneously, and none of them dared to speak first.

Walking to the only empty lower bunk, Situ Xuan set down his duffel bag. He spread out the school-issued blue bedsheet with efficient movements, patting the four corners until they were as sharp and angular as a military quilt. A few changes of clothes were neatly folded and placed in the nightstand, emitting a faint sound of fabric rubbing against fabric.

Throughout the entire process, the only sounds in the dormitory were the occasional creaks of the metal bed frames and the distant clamor of the playground outside the window.

"From now on, you will take turns being responsible for dormitory hygiene according to a chore roster."

Situ Xuan straightened up and wiped his finger across the surface of the nightstand to confirm there was no dust. "I do not want to see any filth or disorder."

His gaze swept over his three roommates one by one, and three heads immediately began nodding like chickens pecking at rice.

"If you have any questions, you can ask now."

Situ Xuan added.

The bespectacled boy opened his mouth, but in the end, he only shook his head vigorously, his eyes blinking uneasily behind his lenses.

The brown-haired youth quietly gathered the fallen cookie crumbs into his palm, his movements as stiff as if he were defusing a bomb.

The curly-haired youth on the upper bunk had pressed himself completely against the wall, as if attempting to merge with the wallpaper.

Situ Xuan nodded imperceptibly and turned to walk toward the door. Just as he gripped the doorknob, a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum came from behind him: "Um... the chore roster..."

"You guys sort it out yourselves."

Situ Xuan said without looking back. "Just don't include me."

The moment the door closed, three sighs of relief echoed in the dormitory. This was immediately followed by the brown-haired boy's hushed exclamation: "Good heavens, I thought a senior student had walked into the wrong dorm!"

"Is he really in our year?"

The bespectacled boy pushed up his frames, his voice still trembling. "That punch could probably kill an ox, right?"

Rustling sounds came from the upper bunk as the curly-haired youth poked half his head out: "I'm saying, we're supposed to be in the same class as him, right?"

In the hallway, Situ Xuan did not stop his pace as he headed toward the stairwell, but it was at this very moment that a figure flew out of the door of Dormitory 205; that figure stood up extremely quickly and charged back toward the dormitory.

"You bastard!"

Tang Wulin's roar rang out, laced with fury.

Immediately afterward, not long after, another figure flew out.

Except it wasn't Tang Wulin, but another guy who looked rather arrogant.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Situ Xuan watched this scene unfold, a flash of delight in his eyes; he had said he came to the right school, hadn't he!

Look at this—people fighting right after school starts; isn't this simply the dream school?!

Watching the four people from Dormitory 205 being taken away, Situ Xuan couldn't help but sigh: "Why hasn't anyone come looking for a fight with me?"

The freshmen passing by all looked at him in shock, the expressions on their faces seeming to say, "Who would be stupid enough to pick a fight with someone like you?"