Entering the Dormitory

After taking a lap around the school, Jiang Chen and Tang San finally found the Academic Affairs Office to report in.

They registered their identities, collected their uniforms, and were assigned dormitories. The entire process took less than ten minutes.

Compared to the cumbersome enrollment procedures in his previous life, getting admitted in this world was much simpler.

The only minor incident was that, upon seeing Jiang Chen and Tang San's information, Director Su could not help but sigh in regret.

Two geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power—one had the useless Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, while the other had an unknown lotus Martial Soul, which was probably no better than a useless Martial Soul.

Otherwise, Spirit Hall would have recruited them long ago. How could they possibly have ended up here?

It seemed that Notting College had truly become a gathering place for "defective goods."

"By the way, did Master come looking for you just now?" Director Su suddenly asked when he noticed the two quilts.

"He did. He said he wanted to take us as disciples," Tang San answered subconsciously.

"Hahaha, I never thought that the ever-arrogant 'Master' would want to take disciples too. What could he possibly teach them with? That nonsense he spouts about the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul?"

"That's enough. Master is the dean's friend and quite renowned in the Martial Soul world. You'd better not let him hear you."

"Haha, Director, I'd say he's a famous clown."

"Watch yourself. There are students here. What will they think of Master if you speak like that?"

As soon as Tang San finished speaking, the instructors in the office began talking over one another, leaving him greatly alarmed.

From their conversation, Tang San gradually pieced together an image of a fraud who was all appearance and no substance.

Good thing he had listened to Brother Chen and had not acknowledged him as his master. Otherwise, his life would have been ruined.

At that thought, Tang San looked at Jiang Chen with even greater admiration.

[Detected that Tang San's respect for the host has deepened. His motivation to cultivate has increased!]

[Triple Return activated. Cultivation speed increased by 6%]

Jiang Chen: "???"

He had clearly done nothing, so why had Tang San started admiring him?

In the end, both Jiang Chen and Tang San were assigned to Dorm Seven, the dormitory specifically designated for Work-Study Students.

Fortunately, they had already walked around the campus earlier and quickly found the entrance to Dorm Seven.

"Brother Chen, aren't we a little late?"

Tang San stood before the door to Dorm Seven, carrying two bundles of bedding over his shoulders, one in front and one behind.

"Seems like it."

Jiang Chen stood beside him, his brows slightly furrowed.

The dormitory was more crowded than he had imagined.

Seven or eight crude wooden beds crammed the room. Aside from the three beds near the door, all the others were covered with quilts of different colors.

Yet the three beds that should have been empty were now piled full of miscellaneous junk.

"Tsk, tsk. Is this supposed to be a show of force?" Jiang Chen clicked his tongue.

Tang San removed the bedding from his shoulders and set it by the door, then frowned as he swept his gaze across the room.

Seven or eight children about their age were sitting or lying around the dormitory.

Upon noticing the newcomers, they all stopped what they were doing and stared in unison at the two new arrivals.

The air fell silent for several seconds.

Then, a sturdy boy with several faint scars on his face jumped down from a bed. He swaggered over, planted his hands on his hips, and sized them up from head to toe.

"You new Work-Study Students?"

Jiang Chen glanced at him. "We are. Is there a problem?"

"If you're Work-Study Students, then you have to follow the rules here."

"What rules? Hand over protection money before entering?"

The scar-faced boy froze. "Uh, no protection money. But newcomers have to fight the boss! If you win, you become the boss. If you lose..."

He gave a vicious grin, his fists cracking. "If you lose, you'll fetch water and sweep the floor every day from now on!"

"Which one of you wants to fight me? Or are you coming at me together?"

Tang San silently placed the quilt in his arms against the wall and turned to Jiang Chen. "Brother Chen, I'll do it."

There was no need for Brother Chen to deal with people like these.

"Fine. Make it quick. We still need to go out and eat later."

Jiang Chen took a step back and lazily leaned against the doorframe.

Tang San stepped forward, raised his right hand before him with his fingers together, and said, "Tang San. Please advise me."

"Remember this—the one defeating you is called Wang Sheng!"

Wang Sheng did not stand on ceremony. With a low roar, he swung his fist at Tang San's face.

Tang San shifted his footing and easily sidestepped, then casually guided the blow away with his right hand.

Wang Sheng only felt a deft force travel through his arm. His whole body lurched forward uncontrollably, and he nearly plunged headfirst into the quilts on the bed across from him.

"Boss!" several children cried out.

Wang Sheng steadied himself, his face flushing red. He turned and lunged again, wiser this time. He changed his fist into a grab, intending to use brute strength to throw Tang San down.

A trace of disdain flashed through Tang San's eyes. When Wang Sheng drew close, Tang San supported his waist with his left hand and gave his back a gentle push with his right.

Wang Sheng immediately spun half a circle like a top, then landed with a solid thump on his backside.

The dormitory instantly fell silent.

The fight had ended the moment it began.

Sitting on the ground, Wang Sheng was a little dazed.

Tang San patted nonexistent dust from his hands, his tone calm. "Still want to fight?"

The children looked at one another, but none of them dared make another sound.

Wang Sheng climbed to his feet and scratched his head. He was straightforward enough. "No more, no more... You're strong. I can't beat you. From now on, you're the boss of Dorm Seven!"

"I won't be the boss."

Tang San waved his hand and pointed at Jiang Chen, who was leaning by the door. "Besides, I'm not the strongest person here."

"Huh?"

Wang Sheng and the other children were all stunned, their gazes turning toward the door in unison.

So this tall, handsome boy was their boss's boss.

At that moment, Jiang Chen slowly straightened up, walked into the dormitory, and glanced around the room before asking, "Which dormitory in this building is the best?"

Though he did not know why Jiang Chen was asking, Wang Sheng answered honestly, "The best dormitory in this building is Three Dorm. Only three upperclassmen live there."

"How strong are those three upperclassmen?" Jiang Chen continued.

Wang Sheng scratched his head. "Uh, I don't know that."

"I know, I know."

At that moment, a boy with bruises still on his face raised his hand. "The leader of those three is called Xiao Huohuo. They say he's related to the city lord and has Soul Power at level eighteen. The other two are his lackeys, one at level fifteen and the other at level sixteen!"

Jiang Chen raised a brow, his gaze landing on the bruises on the boy's cheek. "Don't tell me they did that to you?"

The boy shrank his neck and nodded awkwardly. "Yeah... I ran into them while fetching water yesterday. They said I was blocking their way, so..."

"So they beat you up while they were at it?"

"It, it wasn't really a beating..."

The boy's voice grew quieter and quieter. "They just pushed me a few times. I hit the wall myself."

Wang Sheng could not help cutting in, his tone indignant. "What do you mean, pushed you a few times? Those upperclassmen always bully us Work-Study Students! They dump chores like fetching water and sweeping on us whenever they please, and if they're even slightly unhappy, they start hitting people! Several people in our dorm have been beaten by them!"

Tang San frowned. "Doesn't the college do anything?"

"Do what?"

The skinny boy muttered quietly, "Xiao Huohuo has the city lord backing him up. Even when the teachers see it, they pretend not to..."

After listening to their account, Tang San's brows knit even tighter.

At this point, he was still a boy with a strong sense of justice. Naturally, he could not stand such bullying of the weak by the strong.