"Ugh—"
As his head throbbed with pain, Xie Xie suddenly opened his eyes.
An unfamiliar environment, a noisy crowd, and a massive flood of memories crashing into his mind...
The next second, his whole body went stiff.
Douluo Dalu III, Legend of the Dragon King, Eastsea Academy, and... his current identity—
Xie Xie! The future Space-Time Douluo!
"I... transmigrated?"
Xie Xie lowered his head to look at his hands, then touched his cheek. He was young, fresh-faced, full of vigor—the very picture of a teenager.
Xie Xie's eyes widened further and further, and his heart pounded wildly.
Other people transmigrated into hellish starts or life-and-death crises. But him? He'd landed straight in the body of a future big shot in the Sea God Pavilion, with strength, status, and a destined wife? What a winner's life!
"Isn't this just a free win?"
Xie Xie nearly laughed out loud.
System? System Dad? Are you there?
Xie Xie tentatively called out for a system in his mind a few times. When he confirmed there was no System Dad, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
But it didn't matter!
Xie Xie quickly rallied.
He'd just follow the original plot, cling to Tang Wulin's coattails, avoid showing off, avoid making waves, and avoid courting death. If he safely held out until the end, he'd be set for the peak of his life!
The Abyss Plane, the conflict between humans and beasts—wouldn't Tang Wulin be there to take the brunt of it all?
He just had to eat, loaf around, and gain experience by following the protagonist, while occasionally doting on his wife. Perfect! He'd already mapped out the next hundred years of his life!
This was in the bag.
Safer than safe.
After sorting through his memories, he realized it was probably just after he'd entered Eastsea Academy.
As an orphan, Xie Xie quickly accepted the fact that he'd transmigrated. Thinking of the wonderful life ahead, he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
As expected, when your parents were sacrificed to the heavens, your power knew no bounds!
Humming a little tune, Xie Xie made his way through the noisy hallway and soon found his dormitory on the second floor.
He spotted the dormitory door standing open at once. The sound of an argument drifted faintly from inside.
Just as he reached the doorway, a dark shape suddenly hurtled toward him.
His muscle memory reacted a step faster than his brain. His body instinctively shifted to the side, and the dark shape slammed hard into the wall.
Xie Xie furrowed his brow slightly and stepped into the dormitory, hoping to get a better look at what was going on.
But what appeared before him was a black-haired boy standing amid the wreckage, wreathed in dark qi with red light glowing in his eyes.
Xie Xie recognized him at a glance.
The most morally upright male lead in the Douluo series, the legendary king of enduring hardship, and the future Dragon Emperor Douluo—Tang Wulin!
Hearing the noise, Tang Wulin slowly raised his head. When he caught sight of the object beneath Xie Xie's foot, the red glow in his eyes, which had dimmed, instantly flared brighter, and the dark qi swirling around him grew denser.
Seeing that Tang Wulin was clearly not in his right mind, Xie Xie looked down at his feet.
He was standing right on a quilt embroidered with little flowers. And, as luck would have it, his left foot was pressing right on top of one.
Ugh, why does this thing look so familiar? I remember in the original...
Wasn't this where Xie Xie got beaten up by Tang Wulin in the original? Because he stepped on the little flower Na'er had embroidered for Tang Wulin herself?!
Xie Xie felt a giant red "DANGER" rise above his head, flashing nonstop.
Xie Xie: ...Do you think I'll make it out of this alive, dear viewers?
The next second, a fist rapidly grew larger before his eyes, accompanied by a fierce whoosh. It gave him no chance to dodge.
The instant the fist touched his cheek, the scene before Xie Xie's eyes suddenly changed.
The fist that had been trailing a rush of wind vanished, replaced by a blinding expanse of white light.
A flight of pure-white stairs floated upward before him, glowing softly. At the top stood a white door carved with a cross, complete with a background track on endless repeat:
Dun-dun-dun-dun~
Dun-dun-dun-dun~
The next instant, Xie Xie went flying.
The hallway wall had a swastika-shaped hole punched into it, with Xie Xie perfectly embedded in the middle.
In the corner of the dormitory, a purple-haired boy hugged his knees and shivered. Snot and tears were smeared all over his face.
The city's too scary. I want to go back to the countryside. Mom, help!
Ten minutes later.
Eastsea Academy, Intermediate Division, disciplinary office.
The purple-haired boy, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and a tall, burly boy stood in a row.
Sitting opposite the four was a middle-aged man with a sharp, simian face.
"So this whole disaster started because of a quilt?" Long Hengxu, the disciplinary office director, interrupted as soon as he'd heard half of Yun Xiao's account. His face was so dark it looked ready to drip water.
Yun Xiao still looked shaken. Xie Xie covered his face, on the verge of tears. The tall, burly Zhou Changxi still had a swollen face and an unmistakable look of defiance.
Tang Wulin stood there holding the quilt. He lowered his head to look at the little flower embroidered on it, his beautiful, dark eyes full of stubborn resolve. He looked just like the wronged, fragile heroine in a domineering CEO drama.
"Fighting on your first day of school? Quite a feat! You're all far too brazen!"
Long Hengxu crossed his arms and said coldly:
"Zhou Changxi, with your Martial Soul type, you should've been able to get into Class Three. Your level was just a bit low. But it seems your character's just as lacking. You deserved that beating. You can stay in Class Five forever."
Zhou Changxi wanted to argue, but when he saw Long Hengxu's dark expression, he didn't dare make a sound.
"And you, Xie Xie."
Long Hengxu shifted his gaze to Xie Xie. "You think being the young master of the Xie Family gives you the right to beat people up whenever you want? This is Eastsea Academy, not the Xie Family!"
"...?"
Xie Xie froze for a moment, then laughed in disbelief at those words. He simply raised his brows and looked up, utterly unapologetic. "That's right, I beat him up. So what?!"
Long Hengxu was momentarily choked by Xie Xie's attitude. The anger in his chest burst into flames.
He slammed his palm on the desk with a loud bang. The teacups on it jumped three times, and he sprang to his feet, pointing at Xie Xie as his voice brimmed with unrelenting fury:
"So what? You dare talk back to me? Don't you know how you beat him up?!"
"Of course I do! I used my face to beat his fist up—badly!"
Xie Xie's emphatic words rang through the office.
For an instant, the air fell silent.
Long Hengxu was dumbfounded.
Hearing that, Tang Wulin lowered his head even further.
Yun Xiao and Zhou Changxi both silently took half a step back.
Seeing their expressions, Long Hengxu knew Xie Xie was telling the truth. He really had used his, uh... face to beat Tang Wulin's fist up—badly.
Only then did Long Hengxu notice the swollen half of Xie Xie's face. He silently sat back down in his office chair, curled the hand he'd been pointing with into a fist, and held it to his mouth as he coughed twice. His tone softened somewhat, with an awkward stutter creeping in:
"Ahem. Well, you can't put it that way. A fight is a fight..."
Xie Xie, the unjustly accused: Heh.
If he had a bag of salt right then, he would've slapped it across Long Hengxu's face without hesitation. Damn it!
"Anyway, you were fighting too. Go to Class Five."
Long Hengxu quickly dealt with Xie Xie, then turned to Yun Xiao without missing a beat. "As for you, you're going to Class Five too. Why didn't you stop them when you saw them fighting?"
"...?"
Yun Xiao silently made the same expression of disbelief as Xie Xie.
Him? Stop Tang Wulin?
Seriously?
Was he supposed to run in and get himself killed?
Before Yun Xiao could explain, Long Hengxu continued, "You're Tang Wulin, right?"
"Although you had a reason for fighting, you still have to pay for the property you damaged. I'll have the finance office work out the repair costs for the window, the wall, and the beds later. You'll pay them."
"Huh?" Tang Wulin froze when he heard he'd be fined.
But Long Hengxu said no more. After giving all four of them another warning, he sent them out.
Back in the dormitory, the room and the hallway wall were still a complete mess.
The moment Xie Xie saw the swastika-shaped hole, an air of deep resentment radiated from his whole body.
"I'm sorry."
Xie Xie had barely stepped into the dormitory when Tang Wulin's apologetic voice sounded behind him.
"Huh?" Xie Xie turned around in confusion, just in time to see Tang Wulin gently set the quilt in his arms on the bed to his right.
Then he turned around, his little face taut and his gaze unusually earnest as he looked at Xie Xie. "I was too impulsive just now. I shouldn't have attacked a classmate. I was in the wrong, so I'm sorry."
Before you continue