Isn't this bullying a child?

"Brother, our family has money!"

At the entrance of the freshman registration area, Tang Sanmei held a white Soul Coin Card in her hands, lifting it up before Tang Yin like a treasure, having completely cast aside the instructions Tang Hao had given her earlier.

Tang Yin's pupils constricted. How could he not know what a Soul Coin Card was? Although this white card was the lowest tier, since it was a Soul Coin Card, it clearly wasn't just a matter of a few dozen or a hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Fine, fine, fine. Old man, so that's how you want to play it!

He clearly had so much money, yet refused to pay the tuition for one more person, forcing him to continue living as a destitute work-study student.

Hmph, you old geezer, you are courting death!

Tang Yin narrowed his eyes, already beginning to plot how to sow discord once he resurrected his cheap mother, Ah Yin, in the future. He might even make them live apart after attaining godhood—meeting once a year, or perhaps once every ten years. Who knows, maybe he could even leave behind a tragic and beautiful legend among the mortals.

"Brother, Sanmei has never traveled far and doesn't have much concept of money. You should keep it!" Tang Sanmei's eyes darted around as she added, "Brother, since we have money, why don't we rent a room near the academy?"

Tang Yin, whose eyes had just flashed with a dangerous light, took the Soul Coin Card and tucked it into his robes without a change in his expression or heart rate. However, upon hearing Tang Sanmei's follow-up, he gave her a sidelong, nonchalant glance: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"No, Brother~"

Tang Sanmei hugged Tang Yin's arm and thought for a moment before saying, "It's just that the work-study dormitory is a shared space. With so many people, it's inevitable to run into bad characters. I'm afraid you'll be taken advantage of, Brother!"

A pink rabbit suddenly flashed through Tang Yin's mind. He wondered what would happen to that hooligan Xiao Wu now that Tang San had become Tang Sanmei.

Hiss~ She won't turn into 'Brother Xiao Wu,' will she? After all, if Tang San can become Tang Sanmei, what if Mother Xiao Wu miscalculated the date? Wouldn't that be a disaster?

Thinking about some cheeky brat in the future getting handsy with Tang Sanmei while calling him "Brother-in-law" with a hoodlum's swagger made his whole body uncomfortable, and his fists began to harden.

"It seems necessary to go and confirm it first!"

"Confirm what, Brother? Are you even listening to me?" Tang Sanmei, who had been chattering away, was left bewildered by her brother's sudden, out-of-the-blue remark.

"We'll talk about renting a room later. With my Crane-Catching Dragon-Lifting having just reached the minor success stage, can your brother really be taken advantage of?" Tang Yin snapped back to reality and comforted his sister.

"I don't know who it was that got played in circles by a little beggar who broke into our house last month, even getting their roasted chicken stolen!"

"Can we not bring that up? Besides, I wasn't taken advantage of. Your brother is just kind-hearted; I couldn't bear to see that little beggar's pitiful state, so I intentionally let my guard down and let him succeed!"

Tang Yin felt speechless. Who would have thought that their dilapidated household would be targeted by a chicken thief, and one who specifically stole the two drumsticks he had bought from a neighbor to reward himself and Sanmei?

That wasn't even the worst part; what he found most unacceptable was that he had actually fallen for the little beggar's "luring the tiger away from the mountain" trick.

How could he endure that? He had immediately used his newly mastered Crane-Catching Dragon-Lifting to firmly restrain the intruder, only to discover it was just a little beggar around his own age.

Having received nine years of compulsory education in his past life, he couldn't bring himself to harbor any ill will toward such a pitiful little brat. He merely gave him a verbal lecture and ended up giving the beggar three Copper Soul Coins.

Tang Yin had been very confused at the time, as this plot point didn't exist in the original work, but he later figured that novels and reality were different—it couldn't cover everything—so he let the matter slide.

The siblings walked toward Dorm Seven, chatting and laughing. The dormitory door was left slightly ajar, and the noise from inside could be heard from quite a distance away.

Tang Yin pushed open the door. What met his eyes were rows of neatly arranged beds, but only eleven of them had bedding.

Because the siblings didn't exactly enter quietly, the moment they stepped inside, the noise in the dormitory came to an abrupt halt, and all eyes turned to look at them in unison.

Tang Yin frowned slightly. He naturally knew what was about to happen; having lived two lifetimes, he really had no interest in these petty, tiresome affairs.

Ignoring their gazes, Tang Yin pulled Tang Sanmei to a spot some distance away from the others and chose two beds.

Seeing this, the other work-study students present cast their eyes toward the tallest and most burly among them. Although no words were spoken, the meaning in their expressions was crystal clear.

Boss, it's up to you. Show some spirit! Don't lose face!

Seeing this, the tall boy who was being stared at stood up, straightened his uniform, and slowly walked toward the siblings.

"Hello, my name is Wang Sheng. My martial soul is a War Tiger, and I'm a future Battle Soul Master. I'm also the boss here. Are you the new work-study students?"

"Yes, my name is Tang Yin, and this is my sister, Tang Sanmei." Tang Yin didn't even look up while tidying his bed. Beside him, Sanmei hesitated slightly, ultimately deciding to let her brother handle everything.

"What about your martial souls?" Wang Sheng looked dissatisfied. He had already declared his own martial soul, so in response, the other party should have truthfully declared theirs as well.

"Me? My martial soul is a Swallow. My sister's is Blue Silver Grass!" Tang Yin smoothed out the last corner of his bedding before looking up, his expression polite but with seven parts detachment and three parts coldness.

"Uh..." Wang Sheng was momentarily at a loss for words. He glanced at Tang Sanmei, then suddenly put on an expression—whether feigned or genuine, it was hard to tell—and laughed. "Blue Silver Grass? Can Blue Silver Grass even cultivate?"

Tang Yin sighed, his tone faint: "Whether it can be cultivated or not, isn't my sister standing right here the best proof?"

"That's true," Wang Sheng muttered dryly. He felt a bit awkward, but in the end, he steeled his heart, and his tone became arrogant.

"We have a rule in Dorm Seven: the strongest person is the boss. Therefore, every new work-study student must fight me, the current boss. If you lose, you call me boss; if you win, you replace me as the new boss!"

"Do you think one of us with a Blue Silver Grass and the other with a Swallow martial soul can beat you?"

"Probably not!" Wang Sheng replied without hesitation. Even without looking at their martial souls, how could two such small children possibly be his opponents?

"Exactly. You know we can't beat you, yet you still want us to fight you. Isn't that just bullying children?"

"How could I, Wang Sheng, bully children?"

"Right. In that case, you continue being the boss," Tang Yin spread his hands, looking as if it were only natural.

Wang Sheng felt that made sense, so he nodded in a daze and turned to go back, but then, as if remembering something, he turned around and asked uncertainly:

"Then... then from now on, you both have to listen to me and call me boss, okay!"

"Of course!" Tang Yin nodded with a smile, though he was thinking that the Hooligan Rabbit should be arriving soon, and this boss position would change hands immediately.

He had no interest in this stupid dormitory boss title. Even if he beat Wang Sheng, he would still have to fight the Hooligan Rabbit afterward.

For a boss position that offered no benefits, losing meant suffering, and winning meant being pestered by the Hooligan Rabbit—it really wasn't worth it.

"Is this Dorm Seven?"

Just as Wang Sheng returned to the group of work-study students and prepared to sit down, a crisp voice drifted in from outside the door.

Hearing this, everyone turned to look toward the entrance again. The few who had been wondering why there were so many work-study students this year suddenly had their eyes pop wide open.

Because Tang Sanmei had barely managed to eat her fill since she was small, and due to years of cultivation, her skin had a wheat-colored tone, making her look every bit like a wild country girl; these work-study students were naturally indifferent to her.

But standing outside the door now was a little girl dressed in pink, wearing a scorpion-tail braid that reached down to her hips, her face as white and rosy as a porcelain doll, with a pair of watery, wide eyes that revealed a purity untouched by the world.

They were all struggling work-study students; where would they have ever seen such a beautiful little girl in their daily lives? The few students exchanged glances, all of them feeling a bit eager to make a move.

Seeing this, Wang Sheng stepped forward more proactively than ever before, shielding the others behind him while putting on an expression he thought was friendly, but which appeared to outsiders like that of a greasy, lecherous uncle.

"That's right, little sister. This is Dorm Seven. Are you also a new work-study student?"