Watching Tang San look at him, Ye Chen smiled faintly in greeting.
However, that smile made Tang San's heart sink. A feeling of dejection swept over him in an instant.
After three sparring matches and three crushing defeats, Ye Chen had become an indelible shadow in Tang San's heart. Even now, he still remembered that helpless feeling of being utterly suppressed.
But the dejection lasted only a moment before resolve took its place. Tang San relaxed, his wariness fading as he returned to his usual calm.
He didn't think his will was that fragile. Wherever he fell, he would rise again.
Since he had lost to Ye Chen three times, wouldn't winning three times in the future even the score?
That was why, when he had just enrolled, he had made a point of taking a master named Yu Xiaogang as his teacher.
His teacher had recognized at a glance that Tang San possessed Twin Martial Souls, which showed how deeply he understood Martial Souls.
With his teacher Coaching him in cultivating the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, Tang San could avoid many wrong turns and fully bring out the Blue Silver Grass's strengths.
Once he had attached his First Soul Ring to the Blue Silver Grass, he would have to challenge Ye Chen to another sparring match.
This time, he would wipe away his past humiliation!
As the thought settled, a look of conviction flashed through Tang San's eyes. Just then, a clear voice rang out from behind him. "Excuse me, is this Dorm Seven?"
Tang San turned and saw that the speaker was a girl.
She looked about six years old. Her big eyes sparkled with a lively glint, and her features were cute and mischievous. A long black scorpion braid fell from her head, which was adorned with a rabbit-ear hairpin. Her pink outfit was neat and tidy.
Not only Tang San, but Wang Sheng and the other dormmates were stunned. Dorm Seven had actually gotten such a cute girl?
"Excuse me, can I come in?" the girl asked Tang San.
"Sure." Tang San hurried into the dorm and stepped aside to make way for her.
The girl walked in with her hands behind her back, curiously surveying Wang Sheng and the others before noticing that Ye Chen was looking at her strangely.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.
Ye Chen shook his head. "It's nothing. Seeing you just made me think of something tasty."
"What tasty thing?" the girl pressed.
Ye Chen didn't answer. He lowered his head and continued reading the Soul Beast Manual.
"This is strange. We didn't have a single work-study student for years, but three showed up this year." Wang Sheng looked at Tang San and the girl as they walked over. "Hey, you two new kids, what are your names? What are your Martial Souls, and how much Innate Soul Power do you have?"
Standing in front of Wang Sheng, Tang San replied calmly, "Hello. My name is Tang San. My Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, and I have Innate Full Soul Power."
The girl didn't answer Wang Sheng's question directly. Instead, she smiled mysteriously. "I have Innate Full Soul Power too, but my Martial Soul isn't Blue Silver Grass. In fact, Blue Silver Grass is food for my Martial Soul."
"Huh?" Wang Sheng's eyes went wide with disbelief. "Y-you both have Innate Full Soul Power?"
"Is that so strange?" The girl blinked her big eyes, a sweet smile spreading across her face as she spoke bluntly. "My name is Xiao Wu—'Wu' as in dancing. My Martial Soul is a rabbit. A very cute little white rabbit."
Wang Sheng grinned mischievously. "So that means your Martial Soul is food for all of us?"
"Rabbits are so cute, how could you eat them!" Xiao Wu immediately put her hands on her hips and glared at Wang Sheng indignantly. "What's your name?"
"My name is Wang Sheng. I'm a sixth-year student, and my Martial Soul is Battle Tiger." As he spoke, Wang Sheng looked toward the other dormmates and introduced them one by one, along with their Martial Souls.
When his gaze reached Ye Chen's bed, Wang Sheng's tone grew more respectful. "And that's Ye Chen. He's a work-study student this year too, and, like you two, he has Innate Full Soul Power."
"On top of that, Ye Chen is the leader and boss of Dorm Seven. We all call him Boss Ye. That Torchic sitting on his bed is his Martial Soul."
Only then did Xiao Wu realize, to her surprise, that the cute yet fierce-looking golden chick sitting on the bed wasn't a toy, but a Martial Soul.
Could a Beast Martial Soul leave its host's body and live like a Soul Beast?
At the thought, Xiao Wu looked away from Torchic and turned to Ye Chen, her face brightening. "So you're the dorm boss? Being the boss seems like a lot of fun. What do I have to do to become the dorm boss?"
Before Ye Chen could answer, Wang Sheng spoke first. "According to the dorm rules, every new work-study student has to fight the boss. Whoever wins becomes the new boss."
"Then that's easy!" Xiao Wu put her left hand on her hip and beckoned with her right index finger at Ye Chen, who was sitting on the bed reading. She called out confidently, "You, get off the bed! I'm going to fight you!"
Without even looking up, Ye Chen continued reading and brushed her off. "No. If you want to fight, climb onto my bed and fight me. I can't be bothered to get down."
"Fine, I'll climb up. Who's afraid of you!" As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Wu had already jumped onto Ye Chen's bed. Excitement crept into her voice. "There, I'm on your bed now. Let's get started!"
Ye Chen glanced up at Xiao Wu, his expression undisturbed. He leisurely set the Soul Beast Manual by the head of the bed, then stood up to face her. The air between them grew tense, like the calm before a storm.
Tang San, Wang Sheng, and the others below the bed could hardly react. Were these two really going to fight on the bed?
"Are you sure you want to fight? I don't know how to go easy on girls," Ye Chen warned.
"Enough talk. Take this kick!"
As she spoke, Xiao Wu whipped up her right foot, the tip cutting through the air with a fierce gust as she kicked toward Ye Chen's shoulder.
Ye Chen didn't dodge. He released his Body Martial Soul at once, silently circulating his Soul Power. As a powerful aura burst from within him, he drove a sideways palm strike straight into Xiao Wu's abdomen.
"Piplup—!" Torchic leaped into the air at the same moment, its little body twisting nimbly as it landed a precise Rolling Kick to Xiao Wu's shoulder.
One person and one chick, one palm strike and one kick—without exchanging a word, they worked together with flawless precision.
Xiao Wu's raised right foot hadn't even reached Ye Chen before she was sent flying ten meters away. She slammed into the wall with a bang, then fell to the floor.
The sight left Wang Sheng, Tang San, and the others watching below the bed frozen in place. They couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
Wang Sheng's mouth fell open, and he couldn't help muttering, "Damn... Boss Ye is way too ruthless! He really doesn't know how to go easy on girls, huh?"
However, neither Wang Sheng nor the other dormmates—and not even Tang San—knew that Ye Chen had only circulated thirty percent of his Soul Power. His sideways palm strike had been meant to send his opponent flying, not to hurt her.
Torchic's Rolling Kick had not been strengthened by Scratch or Focus Energy either, so Xiao Wu hadn't been badly hurt. After hitting the ground, she quickly got back up, completely unharmed.
"Good. Let's just call it here and stop. If you still want to fight, come back after you've obtained your First Soul Ring. I'll gladly take you on then."
With that, Ye Chen and Torchic sat back down on the bed. Their movements were almost identical, as if they had entered a state of Synchronize.
That unintentional display of understanding was clearly one of the benefits of the pair often training in the "Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
Seeing Ye Chen sit on the bed and return to reading the Soul Beast Manual without paying her any more attention, Xiao Wu stomped her foot, equal parts angry and frustrated.
After their brief exchange, she realized she still wasn't Ye Chen's match. What was more, he had a chicken Martial Soul that looked round and soft but fought with such ferocity.
For now, all she could do was wait until she had condensed her First Soul Ring before challenging him again.
"Fine. Ye Chen, just you wait. Once I have my First Soul Ring, I'll show you what I can do. The position of Dorm Seven's boss will be mine!"
After delivering her angry threat, Xiao Wu brushed the dust off her clothes and headed toward an empty bed.
Ye Chen merely glanced at Xiao Wu and paid no heed to her threat. For now, his top priority was to read more of the Soul Beast Manual, learn more about Soul Beasts, and prepare thoroughly for tomorrow's Soul Hunting Operation.
Before you continue