Another Student

Zhu Zhuqing was completely speechless. Chen An's Soul Ring and the fact that he had revealed his level were both incredibly shocking to her.

Chen An was delighted by the look on the girl's face. Finally—finally, he'd gotten to show off in front of someone.

And the other person had wanted him to show off, no less. He couldn't have been happier.

"Master, please accept this disciple's bow."

After a while, Zhu Zhuqing finally came to her senses and hurriedly said this.

After Zhu Zhuqing said that, Chen An felt his level loosen a little. This method really worked! He just needed to take on more students and disciples.

"Of course, of course."

Chen An was already grinning from ear to ear.

"For now, just come back to the academy with me."

He drew back his Martial Soul and Soul Ring. Feeling another stir from the Library, he sensed it briefly. Some of the books had been unsealed. It looked like he'd be able to add more to the second floor of the Technique Pavilion when they got back.

"ヽ(￣▽￣)و Okay."

The two of them packed up their things and headed back. Along the way, Zhu Zhuqing insisted on carrying everything herself.

Chen An tapped her lightly on the head and said,

"Are you silly? We have storage rings."

"(⊙o⊙)...

As they walked back, Zhu Zhuqing briefly introduced herself, though she didn't mention her family.

Zhu Zhuqing, level 23.

That was a pretty good level. At her age, reaching it already counted as outstanding talent.

If he hadn't interfered, she would probably have escaped, then trained, and eventually waited for Shrek's admissions.

But that wasn't going to happen now. Heh heh.

"Master, is this the academy?"

After they returned to the academy, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes dimmed with disappointment, then lit up again.

At first, she'd thought that an academy belonging to someone as powerful as Chen An couldn't be too shabby. But reality had told her otherwise.

Then she noticed that there wasn't another person in this enormous academy. Realizing she might be the first student, and seeing the vast training grounds, her eyes immediately brightened.

Except...

Except for the boy waiting outside the gate. His presence seemed a little out of place, but otherwise, the academy wasn't too bad.

"Mm, this is the academy I founded. Don't worry—you're my personal disciple and my top student."

A person had to know their own limitations. Compared with the other academies on the continent, his academy did fall a little short. That would change once he became a Titled Douluo.

After saying that, Chen An led Zhu Zhuqing toward the boy.

He was also puzzled. There was usually not a soul in this place. The most frequent visitors were the officials from Heaven Dou City who had come to inspect the site when he first applied to build the academy.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing here?"

"Ah!"

The boy turned around. His clothes were very worn, but not old.

He seemed to have been startled. He actually collapsed stiffly onto the ground, and the flyer in his hand slipped away.

Chen An picked it up and stared at it, eyes wide.

Wasn't this one of the special admissions flyers he'd handed out earlier? He remembered making only ten of this version.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Zhu Zhuqing didn't understand what was happening.

"Nothing. He's another person fate has brought our way."

The boy saw that the two people before him were alive, and after hearing their conversation, immediately realized Chen An was the academy's dean.

He sprang to his feet and said respectfully,

"Hello, teacher. I'd like to enroll at Phantom Star Academy."

"Oh? Why do you want to enroll at Phantom Star?"

Chen An asked with a smile. It looked like he'd be adding another student. He glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, who was still a little bewildered. Sure enough, good things came in pairs.

"Uh, because the flyer said there were no level or Martial Soul requirements. The main thing is that tuition is free, and meals are included."

The boy was very honest—so honest that he'd been rather evasive about the first part, then blurted out his real motive at the end.

What he said was indeed written on the flyer. Chen An still remembered, since he'd made the bizarre thing himself.

"Good. You're brave enough to speak your mind.

"But have you talked it over with your parents?"

The boy looked about fifteen. At that age, he should normally have been assigned to an academy.

At the question, the boy looked like he was about to cry, as if Chen An had touched a sore spot.

Even Chen An wondered whether he'd said the wrong thing.

"My father's a gambler and doesn't care about me. My mother remarried, and I haven't seen her since..."

Chen An was a little thunderstruck. He'd thought the boy's parents were dead, but instead it was a gambling father and a broken home. What a shame.

"A few days ago, some older students robbed me. I couldn't pay tuition, so the academy expelled me."

Hearing that, Chen An could only think, Well, would you look at that—there's even more.

Chen An considered it. The kid before him had it rough, and he'd even gotten his hands on a flyer. That had to be fate, so he said,

"All right, then. Welcome to the academy."

After saying that, he sensed the Library. It had loosened again, and the stir was even greater than it had been for Zhu Zhuqing.

That made him wonder whether this boy was the one fate had truly chosen.

The boy froze for a moment, apparently surprised that he'd been accepted so easily. He hadn't had much hope and had already prepared to drop out and try to enter the palace.

Once he came to his senses, he asked for confirmation, then jumped up and down.

"Master..."

Zhu Zhuqing looked at the boy, then at Chen An. But before she could say anything, Chen An cut her off.

"Disciples of the same school shouldn't say unkind things to each other."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded to show she understood, then obediently stood behind Chen An without speaking again.

Once the boy had calmed down a little, Chen An asked the usual questions.

"What's your name? What are your Martial Soul and level?"

"Luo Xiaoshi, fifteen years old, level thirteen. I'm a Power Attack System Soul Master, and my Martial Soul is the Stone Monkey."

When Chen An heard that, his neck twitched.

It was really bad. His Martial Soul was ordinary, and the important thing was that he was already fifteen and only level thirteen.

Under normal circumstances, with that age and level, his future prospects were bleak.

Still unwilling to give up, Chen An asked,

"What about your Soul Ring?"

Luo Xiaoshi fell silent for a moment before saying,

"My First Soul Ring is eleven years old... Teacher, I..."

He trailed off. Chen An covered his forehead and said,

"Now that you've joined, there's no such thing as dropping out. I just want to know why your First Soul Ring is only eleven years old."

It made no sense. An eleven-year Soul Beast was barely stronger than livestock. If he'd come from an academy, surely no school would have let its student obtain such a low-year Soul Ring.

Of course, Chen An was being a bit like someone asking why the poor didn't simply eat meat, but that still didn't excuse the academy's irresponsibility.

"Teacher, you're so kind."

As he spoke, Luo Xiaoshi looked ready to cry. He held back his tears and continued,

"My previous academy insisted that we hunt Soul Beasts ourselves. The only one they assigned to me was that one, so I had no choice but to hunt it."

Chen An's mouth twitched again. What was that academy thinking, making a child hunt a Soul Beast by himself?

But Luo Xiaoshi wasn't done with his shocking revelations. He continued,

"The teacher leading the group said we couldn't join the others, because we had to develop our ability to hunt alone. He took us to the breeding grounds and then left us on our own."

Well, that academy was partly to blame for the boy's current situation. If he'd managed to reach level thirteen with an eleven-year Soul Ring, then his talent seemed to be decent after all.

"Since you've joined Phantom Star, just focus on training from now on."

Chen An composed himself and returned to normal before speaking.

Luo Xiaoshi nodded firmly, feeling much more at ease. He'd thought he was going to be expelled again.

"This is your senior sister, Zhu Zhuqing. It's getting late, so I'll take you both to the dormitory."

He'd initially meant to tell them to look out for each other, but hesitated. He had to admit, at that moment, he was playing favorites.