"My speed's good enough, but unfortunately, there's not much power behind it," Lan Si said calmly, looking completely at ease.
"Hmph, quit the chatter." Feeling a sharp sting in her toes, Xiao Wu flared with anger. She slid along Lan Si's right leg, then swung sideways through the air, about to hook her leg over his shoulder and use the Soft Technique she was best at to toss him off the bed.
But Lan Si, who knew Xiao Wu's tricks, wasn't about to let her have her way.
He leaned backward to dodge Xiao Wu's surprise attack. At the same time, he braced his right palm against the bed and kicked out with his left leg, aiming straight for Xiao Wu's chin.
Every student present, including Tang San, watched Lan Si and Xiao Wu fight with rapt attention, their eyes gleaming with excitement. As Tang San watched Lan Si's movements, he put aside some of his contempt, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes. As the saying went, an amateur watched for the spectacle, while an expert saw the skill beneath it.
He could tell that Xiao Wu was no weakling, and he knew she had no way to dodge this time.
Still, he didn't choose to step in. He and Xiao Wu had only just met; they weren't close like they were in the original story.
Exposing the Tang Sect Secret Arts over a petty squabble between children wasn't worth it.
Lan Si used the same move Xiao Wu had used against him earlier, but with even greater speed. Xiao Wu had almost no room to dodge.
"Ah!" The fierce gust from his leg whipped up Xiao Wu's bangs and stung her cheeks. Knowing she couldn't get away, she simply closed her eyes and waited for the blow.
But after a long moment, the attack she expected never came.
She saw Lan Si's foot stop dead less than five centimeters from her chin.
"Why did you—" Xiao Wu instinctively started to ask why Lan Si had pulled back.
But before she could finish, Lan Si's foot planted itself on her smooth, fair cheek.
The force wasn't great, nowhere near enough to hurt her, but it threw off her balance. She stumbled back seven or eight steps and fell onto the nearby bed. She flipped head over heels across it, then—thump!—rolled off the other side.
"Ah, ow, ow!" Xiao Wu cried out in pain and scrambled to her feet again. A black shoe print now marred her rosy little face.
Seeing how disheveled Xiao Wu looked, the work-study students burst into laughter, snorting like pigs.
Even Tang San's mouth twitched. Lan Si had managed to beat Xiao Wu, who had Innate Full Soul Power. Today, he had truly earned Tang San's respect.
But that was all.
The gap created by talent couldn't be made up.
And with the Tang Sect Secret Arts he carried, the gap between them would only grow wider.
"You're so young, yet already this arrogant and overbearing. Take this as a lesson. Next time, keep your eyes open and don't attack people without knowing right from wrong." Lan Si hadn't hit her too hard. He would need to stay at Nuoding Academy for the next few years, and couldn't afford to make too much of a stir.
With that, he left Dorm Seven. He was only a hair's breadth away from breaking through to Level 10 Soul Power, and there was no way he could focus on breaking through here.
"Laugh, go on, laugh! I'll beat up anyone who laughs at me!" Watching Lan Si's disappearing back, Xiao Wu was so furious she could hardly contain herself. She rubbed her aching backside and glared at them.
Although everyone still wanted to laugh, after seeing how fierce Xiao Wu was, they could only hold it in.
"Xiao Wu, take a look," Tang San said, pointing to a mirror on the wall behind her.
Xiao Wu turned and froze. When she saw the shoe print on her face, she let out a scream. "Ah! That damned Lan Si—I'll never forgive him!"
As she spoke, Xiao Wu hurried out of the dormitory to find water and wash her face.
Only after the commotion had died down did Tang San learn from Wang Sheng that Lan Si hadn't bullied them with his status. The work-study students were simply so used to being bullied by regular students that they had been afraid of angering Lan Si, so they had kept quiet on their own.
Tang San didn't pay it much mind. With memories of two lifetimes, he treated it as nothing more than children playing around.
But the regular students bullying the work-study students did ignite his anger. In the end, just as in the original story, Tang San defeated Wang Sheng, then lost to Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu became the boss of Dorm Seven.
Meanwhile, Lan Si had already reached the small woods behind the Nuoding Academy dormitory building.
He found a quiet spot, sat cross-legged atop a boulder, and began meditating.
By dusk, Lan Si had broken through. He had successfully reached Level 10.
"I've finally broken through to Level 10."
He let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes. Seeing that the sky was about to grow dark, he heard his stomach rumble.
Lan Si gave a wry smile. Now that he thought about it, he had been so eager to break through his Soul Power that he hadn't even had lunch!
He took his academy uniform from his Soul Tool and changed into it, then got up and headed for the cafeteria.
"Aren't those Wang Sheng's bunch of paupers? They can't even afford to go up to the second floor."
The moment Lan Si entered the cafeteria, he saw the famous scene from the original story where Xiao Chenyu mocked the work-study students.
As the big sister of the work-study students, Xiao Wu took on the responsibility of being Dorm Seven's boss. Seeing someone provoke them, she snapped, "Hmph! So what if you have money? That doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!"
"Sorry, but having money really does mean you can do whatever you want."
With victorious smiles, Xiao Chenyu and his group headed up to the second floor.
Xiao Wu was so angry she stamped her feet and started after them, but then she spotted Lan Si—the boy who had beaten her that morning—heading upstairs. She stopped. "Hey, you, the one called Lan Si."
"Do you need something?" Lan Si looked back and asked coolly.
Xiao Wu said, "I'll beat you next time for sure. Let's fight again after you get your First Soul Ring, so you can't say I'm picking on you."
"I never considered an enemy I've defeated to be my opponent. I'll give you time to catch up, until the day you can no longer see me even if you look up."
With a slight curl of his lips, Lan Si left her with a line from the previous life's Huang Heavenly Emperor—arrogant and domineering—then walked up to the second floor without looking back.
"Hmph! Just you wait. I'll beat you next time for sure." After being humiliated twice in a row, Xiao Wu's face flushed red.
"Sister Xiao Wu, we'll back you up!" The work-study students didn't take Lan Si's words seriously.
They thought Lan Si was strong, but he was still just a Soul Scholar like them. Saying something like that was simply too arrogant.
Tang San, however, furrowed his brow. He had heard an air of invincibility in Lan Si's voice.
After going up to the second floor and getting his food, Lan Si spotted someone he knew: Director Su from the Academic Affairs Office.
"Good evening, Director." Lan Si carried his tray over and sat across from him.
"Oh, it's Lan Si. I've already applied for a room for you." As he spoke, Director Su took a key from his coat and handed it to Lan Si.
Lan Si took the key and thanked him. "Thank you, Director Su."
Director Su chuckled and waved a hand. "It was nothing."
"Director, there's something else I'd like to ask you."
Director Su picked up a bowl of meat soup and blew on it. "What is it?"
Lan Si smiled. "I've broken through to Level 10."
"Oh, Level 10... What?!" Director Su spat out the meat soup he had just sipped. Luckily, Lan Si reacted quickly and snatched up his tray to dodge. Otherwise, he would have been covered in soup.
Nearby, Yu Xiaogang had just greeted Tang San downstairs and was about to get food. Hearing their conversation, he stopped and chose to listen in.
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