"Notting Academy should have started classes by now, shouldn't it?" Lin Yu had been at Martial Soul Academy for nearly two months. He was holding a book and reading, but the expression on his face made it clear his mind was elsewhere.
"Xiao Yu, it's time to head back." Just as Lin Yu was lost in thought, Hu Liena's voice sounded beside him.
After spending more than two months together, Hu Liena and Lin Yu had become fairly familiar with each other.
They weren't especially close, but they could at least hold a simple conversation.
"Coming." A glint appeared in Lin Yu's eyes.
After more than two months, Lin Yu was now certain that Bibi Dong wouldn't lay a hand on him, at least not in the short term. So he had gradually relaxed and no longer felt as wary of her.
Then Lin Yu closed the book in his hands and headed outside.
"This is the work-study students' dormitory. You'll be staying here for the time being." A teacher from Notting Academy brought Tang San to the dormitory entrance, pointed it out, and looked at the six-year-old boy before him.
Lin Yu's arrival hadn't changed Tang San's path. Tang San still enrolled in Notting Junior Academy and, just as before, became a disciple of Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
Not long after Tang San went inside, a little girl followed him in.
"Hello, I'm Tang San. I-I'm the..." He couldn't bring himself to say "Eldest." His mind raced, and he said, "I'm the dorm leader here. You can just call me by my name. May I ask what your Martial Soul is?"
The gears of Fate began to turn. The two people whose paths had long been entangled on the Douluo Continent began to meet.
Only this time, their meeting wasn't as sweet as it had been in the book.
When Xiao Wu saw Tang San, her eyes filled with indescribable confusion.
She suddenly felt conflicted about the little boy before her. On one hand, she wanted to get close to him, but on the other, she felt an intense revulsion toward him.
Still, Xiao Wu didn't voice her confusion. Instead, she held out her little hand.
Xiao Wu blinked her big eyes and smiled. "My Martial Soul is a Rabbit—a cute little white Rabbit. What about yours?"
"A Rabbit? Your Martial Soul is a Rabbit?" When Tang San heard Xiao Wu's answer, he automatically ignored her question about his own Martial Soul. All his attention was fixed on the fact that she said her Martial Soul was a Rabbit.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with my Martial Soul being a Rabbit?" Xiao Wu looked utterly confused.
She didn't understand why Tang San got so excited when he heard that her Martial Soul was a Rabbit.
Tang San said, "Doesn't that mean I'm the perfect counter to you? My Martial Soul is your Martial Soul's food: Blue Silver Grass."
Tang San sounded a little nervous as he said this, but that nervousness was quickly overtaken by another emotion.
"But I know Rabbit tastes great, especially Spicy Rabbit Head. The flavor really stays with you. I'll treat you to some Spicy Rabbit Head." Tang San was so excited that he didn't even notice Xiao Wu's expression crumbling.
In Xiao Wu's eyes, Tang San was like a terrifying demon, about to open his enormous jaws and swallow her whole.
"R-Rabbits are so cute. Why would you eat them?" Xiao Wu's voice trembled.
"Why shouldn't I? They're delicious." Tang San looked confused by her question.
Xiao Wu didn't want to say another word to Tang San. She was afraid he'd eat her.
If she weren't stuck staying in Dorm Seven, she would have run for it. But a transformed Soul Beast could only grow stronger by interacting with humans, so she had no choice but to study here.
Xiao Wu lowered her head and started toward Dorm Seven.
But before she could go inside, Tang San reached out and stopped her.
"W-what do you want now?" Xiao Wu folded her arms across her chest and eyed Tang San warily.
Tang San didn't know why she was acting like this, but he still explained what he wanted.
"Well... it's like this. There's a rule in Dorm Seven: new work-study students have to demonstrate their Martial Soul's strength.
"So I'd like to spar with you." Tang San spoke awkwardly.
But to Xiao Wu, his awkward manner only made him seem more terrifying.
"No... I don't want to. I don't want to stay in Dorm Seven anymore." Xiao Wu had no intention of fighting Tang San. She turned and ran out.
However, before long, Xiao Wu returned to Dorm Seven with a middle-aged man beside her.
The man was Notting Academy's dean, and he was visibly furious.
"Who said you could bully the new student?" The dean stood in Dorm Seven and angrily scolded every student there, Tang San included.
The students all obediently lowered their heads and let him reprimand them.
"Dean, you've got it wrong. We didn't bully her. We just..." In the end, Tang San stepped forward and looked cautiously at the dean.
"Didn't bully her? Are you saying I'm accusing you unfairly? Were you the one who wouldn't let her into the dormitory?" The dean wouldn't listen. Seeing Tang San dare to talk back, he pointed right at his nose and started berating him.
Though Tang San bowed his head deeply at the dean's merciless words, his eyes shone with barely concealed killing intent.
"I believe my disciple wouldn't do such a thing." Just as the dean was about to continue scolding them, Yu Xiaogang's voice sounded in their ears.
Everyone turned around. A somewhat thin, average-height man who looked to be in his forties or fifties was walking toward them.
His short black hair was parted in a three-seven style, and his features were ordinary. He held his hands behind his back, yet there was something distinctive about him. His eyes carried a hint of laziness and despondency.
"You believe him? Then I believe Xiao Wu is telling the truth." The dean showed Yu Xiaogang no consideration whatsoever.
After all, Yu Xiaogang was only staying at Notting Academy as a guest. All he did day after day was freeload. If it weren't for the dean, Yu Xiaogang would have been kicked out long ago. Tang San was Yu Xiaogang's disciple—the one who had knelt before him as soon as they met.
In other words, if Yu Xiaogang left, Tang San would leave the academy without hesitation.
Tang San had good talent and Innate Full Soul Power, but his Martial Soul was the useless Blue Silver Grass.
Xiao Wu, however, was different. She also had Innate Full Soul Power, but her Martial Soul was Soft Bone Rabbit, a decent Power Attack System Martial Soul.
Anyone could see which of the two the dean should choose, and he was, after all, the dean of Notting Academy.
At the dean's words, anger clearly appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face. But when he remembered that, outside Notting Academy, he had nowhere else to freeload meals, he could only force down the rage rising within him.
"Xiao San will live with me from now on. You don't need to worry." Yu Xiaogang took Tang San by the hand and led him toward his residence.
"Wait. Besides moving out of Dorm Seven, Tang San, you'll also need to teach classes at Notting Academy and instruct the students in Martial Soul knowledge." The dean didn't let Yu Xiaogang off. He spoke again.
He knew that Yu Xiaogang might not have much ability, but he did have a good deal of knowledge. This was the perfect chance to keep him from freeloading all day.
"All right. I understand." Yu Xiaogang gritted out the words. Then he took Tang San and quickly left.
"All right, Xiao Wu. You don't need to worry now. You'll stay in Dorm Seven from now on. If anyone bullies you, tell me right away. Come on, I'll buy you a quilt first, so you won't get cold at night." Then the dean led Xiao Wu away too.
Only the children of Dorm Seven remained, looking at one another without knowing what to say.
The dean had considered finding Xiao Wu a different dormitory, but Notting Academy had only one work-study dormitory: Dorm Seven. Xiao Wu didn't want to accept his help without a good reason, so he could only bring her back there.
The two who should have been sharing a quilt ended up not staying in the same dormitory at all.
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