The shrill scrape of the wooden door broke the commotion in Dorm Seven.
Air tainted with sour sweat and mildew rushed toward him.
Su Chen furrowed his brow slightly.
He stopped at the threshold.
The Cardinal and Temple Knights behind him immediately moved to follow him in and clear the room.
Su Chen raised his right hand.
He gestured for them to stop.
"Stay outside. Close the door."
The Cardinal stopped at once.
He respectfully took hold of the doorknob.
With a muffled bang,
the dilapidated wooden door swung shut again.
It completely cut off the sunlight outside and the killing air of Spirit Hall.
The light inside Dorm Seven was dim.
More than a dozen boys in coarse hemp clothes turned their heads as one.
Their gazes passed over Xiao Wu, who stood surrounded by them.
Every eye fixed on Su Chen.
His black brocade clothes were embroidered with gold thread.
A purple-gold token hung at his waist.
The quality and craftsmanship of his clothes were utterly out of place in this shabby dormitory.
Wang Sheng pushed his way out of the crowd.
He was the former leader here.
He was used to seeing noble young masters bully the Work-Study Students.
Now, seeing the way Su Chen was dressed,
hostility surged through him at once.
"Hey. You in the wrong place?"
Wang Sheng spoke gruffly.
"This is Dorm Seven, where the Work-Study Students live. The noble young masters' dormitory is on the second floor."
"Get out while we're still in a good mood."
Several of the older boys clenched their fists, too.
They put on threatening looks.
Su Chen ignored Wang Sheng.
His gaze passed straight over the boys.
It settled on the pink-skirted girl in the middle of the crowd.
Xiao Wu.
She was tilting her head.
Her big eyes sized Su Chen up from head to toe.
The two pink rabbit-ear ornaments in her hair bobbed with her movements.
As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit who had taken human form,
her senses were far sharper than an ordinary human's.
The black-clad boy before her was clearly only six or seven years old.
Yet he had none of the childishness of someone his age.
Instead, he gave off an oppressive air that made her instinctively feel endangered.
Like a prehistoric behemoth lying in wait.
"I'm not in the wrong place."
Su Chen started forward.
His steps fell steadily on the uneven wooden floorboards.
He looked Wang Sheng straight in the eye.
"Starting today, I'm living here."
Wang Sheng froze for a moment.
He looked closely at Su Chen's empty hands.
"A Work-Study Student? You don't even have any luggage. Who do you think you're fooling?"
Wang Sheng felt that he was being made a fool of.
He charged forward.
His right hand reached straight for Su Chen's shoulder.
He meant to shove this arrogant young master out the door.
Su Chen didn't move his feet.
He only tilted his head slightly.
His dark eyes held not a trace of emotion.
He gave Wang Sheng a cold look.
That one look
made Wang Sheng's outstretched hand freeze in midair.
He felt as though a bloodthirsty Ferocious Beast had fixed its gaze on him.
All the blood in his body seemed to freeze solid.
It was as if an invisible hand had clenched his heart in a crushing grip.
Wang Sheng's Adam's apple bobbed violently.
Cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
He backed away two steps without meaning to.
His legs turned weak.
He nearly dropped onto the floor.
"What a terrifying look."
Wang Sheng gasped for breath.
Even his voice was trembling.
The boys around him hadn't noticed what had happened.
All they saw was Wang Sheng suddenly backing down.
"Wang Sheng, what are you afraid of?"
Xiao Wu sprang out from behind the crowd.
She put her hands on her hips.
She stepped in front of Su Chen.
She was getting more and more curious about him.
"My name's Xiao Wu. Wu as in dance. My Martial Soul is a Soft Bone Rabbit."
Xiao Wu lifted her chin.
Her voice carried her distinctive pride.
"Dorm Seven has its rules. All newcomers have to fight the leader."
"Whoever wins becomes the leader here."
"I just knocked Wang Sheng down, so now I'm the leader of Dorm Seven."
"If you want to live here, you have to beat me first."
When Xiao Wu finished,
she stepped back half a pace with her right leg.
She struck a combat stance that showed off her extraordinary flexibility.
Su Chen looked at the lively girl in front of him.
In the original story,
Tang San and Xiao Wu had met through fighting right here.
Relying on those underhanded Hidden Weapon techniques and the Mysterious Heaven Skill,
Tang San had fought Xiao Wu to a draw.
And so their supposed bond as siblings had begun.
Now that Su Chen was here,
that sort of thing would naturally never happen.
But he had no intention of treating Xiao Wu with the brutal, overwhelming force he had used in the Martial Arts Arena.
With Hu Liena,
he had needed to shatter her pride.
But with Xiao Wu, a purehearted, loyal Soul Beast who had taken human form,
pure violence would only make her afraid and resistant.
Gentleness,
backed by an overwhelming display of strength,
was the best way to win over this Soft Bone Rabbit.
"Fight?"
Su Chen chuckled.
He clasped his hands behind his back.
He stood ramrod straight.
"Sure. Since those are the rules, we'll follow them."
"Make your move."
Seeing that Su Chen didn't even take a defensive stance—
that he had even put his hands behind his back—
Xiao Wu immediately felt he was looking down on her.
"You asked for it. Don't cry when you lose."
Xiao Wu cried out.
She drove off hard with both legs.
She shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.
Her rabbit-type Martial Soul gave her tremendous explosive power and leaping ability.
When she was still two meters from Su Chen,
she touched the ground with her toes.
Her body leaped into the air.
Her right leg swept toward Su Chen's neck with a fierce rush of wind.
She moved so fast that the boys nearby could only see a pink blur.
Su Chen didn't dodge.
Only when Xiao Wu's ankle was three inches from his cheek
did his right hand, which had been behind his back, suddenly dart out.
He didn't use the terrifying strength of two thousand jin.
He simply pushed the reaction speed of his marrow-cleansed body to its limit.
Smack.
Su Chen's five fingers closed around Xiao Wu's ankle with pinpoint precision.
Xiao Wu felt her ankle tighten,
as though it had struck an iron shackle.
Her fierce sweeping kick stopped in midair at once.
She couldn't move it a fraction farther.
"Not bad strength, but your move is too direct."
Holding the slender ankle in his hand,
Su Chen even had time to offer a critique.
A flicker of surprise crossed Xiao Wu's eyes.
But she didn't panic.
The instant her right leg was caught,
her left foot shot off the ground.
Her body twisted forcefully in midair.
Using Su Chen's arm as a pivot,
she swung her left leg around his neck.
This was her signature move.
Soft Technique.
As long as she got close and locked her legs around someone,
even someone far stronger than her
would instantly lose their balance and be slammed hard onto the ground.
That was exactly how Wang Sheng had lost earlier.
Xiao Wu clamped her legs tight
and suddenly threw her weight backward,
trying to flip Su Chen right over.
But the moment she exerted herself,
she realized Su Chen's body was as heavy as Mount Tai.
No matter how hard she pulled,
Su Chen's feet were like nails driven into the wooden floorboards,
not moving an inch.
"The essence of the Soft Technique lies in using an opponent's force against them."
Su Chen's low voice sounded beside her ear.
"When you can't borrow their force, your moves become openings."
Su Chen's right wrist gave a slight twitch.
He used a deft bit of force to press downward.
Xiao Wu's legs, wrapped around his neck, instantly lost their purchase.
Her whole body lost its balance in midair
and tipped straight backward.
Xiao Wu's heart lurched.
The floor of Dorm Seven was made of hard, broken planks.
If she hit it,
her back would surely be bruised black and blue.
She shut her eyes on instinct.
However,
the pain she expected never came.
When her back was less than ten centimeters from the floor,
a broad, strong hand caught her firmly by the waist.
Su Chen bent slightly,
cradling Xiao Wu with his left arm
while completely easing the force in his right hand,
leaving her suspended in midair.
Xiao Wu opened her eyes
and met Su Chen's deep, dark gaze.
Their faces were very close.
She could even feel Su Chen's steady breathing.
He wasn't panting,
nor did he seem to be exerting himself in the slightest.
It was as if he hadn't just been in a fierce fight,
but had merely been playing house with a little girl.
Xiao Wu's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
In all her life,
this was the first time a boy her age had held her like this.
"You lost."
Su Chen's voice was gentle,
without the slightest trace of mockery or arrogance after winning.
He gave a light lift with his arm
and raised Xiao Wu up,
letting her land steadily on her feet.
Then he naturally withdrew his hands.
Xiao Wu straightened her slightly rumpled skirt.
She bit her lip.
Although she felt a little unwilling to admit defeat,
she knew
that if Su Chen hadn't held back just now,
she would already have hit the floor and been unable to get back up.
This boy looked about the same age as her,
yet his strength and technique completely outclassed hers.
Most importantly,
the way he had caught her by the lower back
had been gentle.
"You're pretty good, I'll give you that."
Xiao Wu was the kind of person who could take a loss and move on.
She lifted her chin,
her lively expression returning.
"You won. From today on, you're the boss of Dorm Seven."
Only then did the boys around them recover from their shock.
Even the mighty Big Sis Xiao Wu, who seemed unbeatable in their eyes,
had been subdued in just two moves.
This newcomer was a monster.
Wang Sheng led the others in lowering their heads.
"Greetings, Boss."
More than a dozen boys called out in unison.
Su Chen looked at the timid boys
and pulled over a battered wooden chair to sit down.
"Since I'm the boss,"
"the rules of Dorm Seven are mine to make from now on."
Su Chen's gaze swept over the shabby dormitory.
The walls were covered in mildew stains.
The hard wooden beds gave off a foul odor.
The bedding was as thin as paper.
"First rule."
Su Chen reached out and tapped the wooden bed.
"From now on, no one is allowed to bully the Work-Study Students. And you don't need to be punching bags for those nobles to earn pocket money."
Wang Sheng gave a bitter laugh.
"Boss, if we don't work, we won't even have enough to eat. The academy only provides one free meal a day, and it's just thin, watery soup."
Xiao Wu nodded along.
She had been about to go see what there was to eat in the cafeteria.
Her stomach had been growling with hunger for ages.
"I'll take care of the food."
Su Chen's thoughts stirred.
A faint, subtle glimmer flashed across the Void Ring on his left index finger.
A heavy sack of linen appeared in his hand out of thin air.
He casually tossed it onto the wooden table beside him.
Clink.
The sack fell open.
Dozens of gleaming Gold Soul Coins rolled out,
their dazzling light reflecting off the coins and piercing through the dim dormitory.
Dorm Seven fell completely silent.
Everyone's eyes went wide.
Their Adam's apples bobbed as they swallowed.
These Work-Study Students came from poor families
and rarely even saw a Silver Soul Coin.
How could they ever have seen so many Gold Soul Coins piled together?
This was a fortune most ordinary people couldn't earn in several years.
"There are fifty Gold Soul Coins here."
Su Chen spoke casually,
as if he had tossed out a sack of rocks.
"Wang Sheng, take ten gold coins and buy the best quilts and mattresses you can find."
"Throw out all this ragged bedding."
"While you're at it, buy some powder to drive away insects and keep out damp."
"The rest is for Dorm Seven's food expenses."
"From now on, eat all three meals a day in the academy's second-floor cafeteria. Eat whatever you want. Don't hold back."
"When the money runs out, come ask me for more."
Gulp.
Wang Sheng swallowed hard.
He could hardly believe his ears.
"B-Boss, th-this is all for us?"
Wang Sheng stammered as he spoke.
"Take it."
Su Chen leaned back in his chair.
"If you're with me, I can't have you going hungry."
This display
shattered Dorm Seven's stereotypical view of nobles.
There was no lofty air,
no arbitrary beatings or scoldings,
only real protection and real benefits.
This was what a true boss was like.
"Thank you, Boss! Long live the Boss!"
Wang Sheng nearly jumped with excitement.
He hurriedly scooped up the Gold Soul Coins from the table,
called over a few boys,
and dashed out of the dormitory to buy bedding.
Xiao Wu stood nearby,
her big eyes shining as she looked at Su Chen.
She didn't really understand money,
but she understood that they could eat whatever delicious food they wanted.
"You're pretty generous, you know."
Xiao Wu clasped her hands behind her back
and walked over to Su Chen with light steps.
She lowered her head
and leaned close to Su Chen.
She could even smell the faint fragrance of Soul-Calming Incense on his clothes.
"My name is Xiao Wu. What's yours?"
Su Chen raised his eyes
and met Xiao Wu's clear, transparent gaze.
He didn't look away.
"Su Chen."
"Su Chen..."
Xiao Wu murmured his name.
Her rabbit ears twitched gently.
"All right. Since you helped improve everyone's meals, and you let me win just now..."
"I'll reluctantly accept you as my big brother."
Xiao Wu patted Su Chen on the shoulder.
She acted as if they'd known each other forever.
"If anyone bullies you from now on, just tell them Sister Xiao Wu sent you."
Su Chen watched her endearingly naive expression.
He chuckled.
"Sure. I'll be counting on you from now on, Sister Xiao Wu."
He didn't use the authority of a Holy Son to pressure her.
Instead, he spoke to her as an equal.
For a Soul Beast like Xiao Wu, who had grown up in the forest,
the schemes and deceit of the human world were beyond her.
She only knew one thing.
Whoever treated her well,
she treated well in return.
Su Chen's strength just now,
along with his generosity and gentleness,
had already planted a seed of security deep in her heart.
Just then,
a commotion of footsteps suddenly came from outside the dormitory.
Along with them came the dorm keeper's obsequious voice.
"Oh, Grandmaster. Take it easy."
"Dorm Seven is filthy and stinks. Someone of your standing shouldn't have to come here in person."
"That boy named Tang San has already been bandaged up in the infirmary. You don't need to come pick up his luggage."
Hearing the voices outside,
Su Chen's gaze turned cold.
The warmth on his face vanished in an instant.
Yu Xiaogang.
What a hard head.
His reputation was ruined,
and he was thrown into a stinking ditch,
yet he still managed to crawl back and worm his way into the academy.
Looks like unless I break his legs,
he'll never learn his lesson.
Before you continue