The group of Work-Study Students froze for a moment. Wang Sheng, who loved talking about dorm rules and taking in underlings the most, stepped forward again.
"You're a Work-Study Student too, right?" Wang Sheng asked first.
Xiao Wu tilted her head in confusion. "Yes. So what?"
"It's like this. Dorm Seven has a rule..."
After Wang Sheng finished explaining, Xiao Wu immediately looked interested.
"Interesting. Then I want to be the boss too. You're the boss, right? I challenge you." Xiao Wu pointed directly at Wang Xian.
Wang Xian naturally agreed without hesitation. The outcome of the fight was no surprise—Xiao Wu lost.
After all, she had no Soul Ring, her Soul Power was lower than Wang Xian's, and the Control System restrained the Agility Attack System. It would have been strange if she could defeat him.
After capturing Xiao Wu's Martial Soul, Wang Xian ignored the two of them and left the dormitory, heading straight for the Back Mountain of Notting Academy.
Wang Xian sat cross-legged on the grass, took a deep breath, and silently recited in his heart.
"Open the System Panel."
A translucent screen unfolded before him, and two system notifications popped up at once.
Captured Martial Soul: Blue Silver Emperor (A-rank). Begin training? Captured Martial Soul: Soft Bone Rabbit (A-rank). Begin training?
Wang Xian stared at the two lines, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.
A-rank.
He had captured so many Martial Souls in Emperor Soul Village and Notting Academy, yet the highest rank he had ever seen was only D-rank. There had not even been more than five of those. Most were worthless F-rank and E-rank trash.
These two were A-rank from the start, raising the highest Martial Soul quality he had ever seen by several grades at once.
"It seems that once a soul beast cultivates for a hundred thousand years, it really greatly improves the quality of its Martial Soul. Even the Soft Bone Rabbit can rival the Blue Silver Emperor."
In the original story, the Shrek Seven Devils had basically all consumed Immortal Herbs, with only Xiao Wu as the exception. Yet her cultivation had always kept pace with the others, proving that her talent had never been poor.
A hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit that had taken human form naturally could not have a low-quality Martial Soul.
Moreover, the Blue Silver Emperor was already a Top-Tier Martial Soul in Douluo Continent's Martial Soul classification, yet it was only A-rank.
By that logic, only a God-Tier Martial Soul should be able to reach the threshold of a higher rank.
"But why isn't there a Clear Sky Hammer? Could it be that I can only capture one Martial Soul at a time? Do I need to defeat Tang San twice before I can capture the Clear Sky Hammer?" Wang Xian could not help but speculate.
"Forget it. I'll be staying at Notting Academy for a while. With Tang San's personality, he'll definitely fight me again. I'll find out then."
Wang Xian put those thoughts aside without hesitation.
"Put both the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul and the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul through extreme training."
Tang San was clearly his enemy, someone who had to be dealt with.
As for Xiao Wu, considering her relationship with Tang San in the original story, along with the fact that he had just defeated her, her unruly personality meant she would definitely refuse to let it go afterward. She might even bear a grudge.
Rather than wait for trouble to come knocking, it was better to settle it thoroughly now.
The system notification sounded again.
Extreme training initiated. Blue Silver Emperor (A-rank) training in progress. Progress: 1%. Estimated completion time: nine years. (For high-quality Martial Souls of the same type, once training progress reaches 50%, the other party's bloodline may be devoured.) Soft Bone Rabbit (A-rank) training in progress. Progress: 1%. Estimated completion time: nine years.
"It can even devour the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline." Wang Xian was overjoyed as he looked at the notification.
Although his Blue Silver Grass had become incredibly strong after fusing with many traits, its bloodline had never truly improved.
If he could devour Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor bloodline and evolve his Martial Soul into a Blue Silver Emperor, it would undoubtedly become even more powerful.
And without the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, Tang San would be greatly weakened as well.
"Nine years?"
Wang Xian frowned. This was the first time he had encountered a Martial Soul that required such a long training period, and this was even under extreme training.
After thinking it over, he figured it was probably because the difference in Martial Soul quality was too great.
His Martial Soul was only D-rank, a full three ranks below A-rank. That was already a nearly insurmountable gulf.
"System, if my Martial Soul quality improves, will this time be shortened?"
"It will."
Wang Xian let out a breath of relief. Nine years was indeed far too long, but as long as his Martial Soul quality could be raised, he could reduce the time.
He stopped thinking about training, closed his eyes, and began cultivating his Soul Power.
In the dormitory, Tang San sat at the edge of his bed, having just laid out the bedding issued by Notting Academy.
Xiao Wu leaned over from beside him. She looked at the brand-new quilt on his bed, then at her own completely empty bed, and pouted.
"Let's share a bed. I don't have a blanket," Xiao Wu said matter-of-factly, as if she saw nothing inappropriate about it.
Tang San opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he saw Xiao Wu's bright, sparkling eyes, the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down.
Just as Xiao Wu finished spreading out the bedding and sat down beside Tang San, both of their bodies trembled at the same time.
Tang San suddenly clutched his chest, his brows tightly furrowed as an indescribable discomfort surged up from deep within his body.
It felt as though something had been drawn away by the slightest bit, yet also as though someone had lightly plucked at something inside him.
The sensation came quickly and vanished just as fast. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Tang San lowered his head and looked at his palm, then sensed the Soul Power within his body. Everything was normal.
He turned to Xiao Wu. She was also frowning, one hand pressed against her chest, confusion written across her face.
Tang San fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and suppressed the faint suspicion in his heart.
Maybe it was because they had just arrived in a new environment, and their bodies had not adjusted yet.
Neither of them gave it any further thought.
The sky gradually darkened. The other Work-Study Students in the dormitory went about their own business. Someone occasionally glanced at Tang San and Xiao Wu, but no one came over to speak with them.
After the fight that afternoon, Dorm Seven's Work-Study Students had become much colder toward Tang San.
After all, none of them had acknowledged Wang Xian as their boss, so they were not on Tang San's side at all.
Xiao Wu's stomach growled. She rubbed it and stood up. "I'm hungry. Let's go eat."
Tang San nodded and rose to leave with her.
By evening, the sun was setting.
Wang Xian, who had been cultivating since morning, finally finished his cultivation as well. He opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.
He rubbed his stomach. He had not eaten anything all day, and his stomach felt completely empty. Hunger was starting to make him uneasy.
"I'll get dinner first, then head to the Black Market in the city to take a look. The things I wanted should have arrived by now, right?"
He stood, brushed the grass clippings from his clothes, and followed the small path down the Back Mountain toward the cafeteria.
There were not many people in the cafeteria. At this hour, most students had already finished eating.
Wang Xian ordered two bowls of rice, a serving of braised pork, and a bowl of vegetable soup. He found a seat in the corner and quickly cleaned his plate.
By the time he finished eating, the sky had gone completely dark.
Under the cover of night, Wang Xian left Notting Academy. The academy walls were not high, and climbing over them was no difficult task for him.
Before you continue