Everyone recognized Yao Chuan.
Tang Wulin was no exception. His eyes were full of surprise.
"You're that... Yao Chuan, the author of Soul Breaking the Firmament?"
He hadn't expected the renowned genius novelist from across the continent to step forward and speak up for him. A warm feeling welled up inside him.
He was touched, but Tang Wulin immediately grew anxious.
He didn't think Yao Chuan could handle this kind of conflict between Soul Masters.
In his mind, novelists were all frail scholars.
So he hurriedly urged him, "Yao Chuan, thanks. But this has nothing to do with you. Get back!"
But Tang Wulin didn't know how formidable Yao Chuan was. Zhou Changxi knew all too well—and was terrified.
Three years had passed, but that horrifying scene from the Spirit Pagoda's awakening ceremony three years ago had long since become his nightmare.
Those cold Black Dragon eyes had become his nightmare, too, as if they were still staring into his soul.
The moment Zhou Changxi confirmed that the person standing in the doorway really was Yao Chuan, he was scared out of his wits.
It was more terrifying than seeing a ghost.
The usually swaggering Zhou Changxi let out a shrill scream. As if fleeing the source of a plague, he didn't even stop to think.
He spun around and scrambled toward the nearest window on all fours. He would rather jump from the second floor, break half the bones in his body, and pass out on the spot than risk looking at Yao Chuan again!
"Damn..."
"This... surely it's not that bad?"
Yao Chuan stared at Zhou Changxi's free-fall performance and was a little dumbfounded.
He'd never imagined that his appearance would have such an "explosive" effect.
He was an eleventh-level strength-type Battle Soul Master, after all.
And his Martial Soul was the Great Strength Divine Ape.
Had Yao Chuan really scared him witless?
Yao Chuan looked down at Zhou Changxi, who had crashed to the ground and passed out. He was at a loss for words.
Before he could figure out just how deep Zhou Changxi's psychological scars ran,
hurried footsteps sounded behind him.
A young man with a cold expression and a distant look appeared in the doorway.
It was Xie Xie.
He'd originally come over to see what the commotion next door was about.
Instead, he spotted Yao Chuan standing in the dorm room at a glance.
The expression on his perennially icy face melted like snow.
Excitement swept away all his coldness.
"Big bro!"
He shouted and spread his arms, lunging toward Yao Chuan.
He was so affectionate, he looked like a puppy who'd finally found the family he'd been separated from for years.
But though he was excited,
that form of address—Big bro—sounded completely different to Tang Wulin, who didn't know the truth.
Tang Wulin's first thought was that the rough-and-tumble "Big bro" had nothing to do with the refined novelist Yao Chuan.
In his simple understanding,
novelists were cultured people, with no strength to even truss a chicken.
Taking Xie Xie's cry of "Big bro" together with Zhou Changxi's domineering insistence that Tang Wulin call him that earlier,
Tang Wulin naturally assumed that Xie Xie, who'd just charged in, was one of Zhou Changxi's lackeys!
Then he saw Xie Xie "menacingly" lunging at Yao Chuan.
Alarm bells rang in Tang Wulin's head.
"You bastard! You're trying to ambush the person who came to help?!"
He roared, forgetting all about the grievance of having his bedding stepped on.
His sense of chivalry surged.
He sprang forward and swung a punch at Xie Xie's back as he lunged toward Yao Chuan!
The air whistled around his fist, which carried tremendous force.
Xie Xie had been full of joy, only wanting to give Yao Chuan a hug (though his big bro probably wouldn't let him).
He hadn't taken the other new student in the dorm, who looked utterly rustic, seriously at all.
A fist wind came at his back. He nimbly sidestepped on instinct, his movement smooth, easily avoiding Tang Wulin's punch.
"Tch. What a nuisance." Xie Xie furrowed his brow, feeling annoyed.
Tang Wulin saw that his attempt to stop him had failed, and that the other boy still looked disdainful.
He got angry, too.
"First Soul Skill, Entanglement!"
He gave a low shout, and a white Ten-Year Soul Ring rose beneath him.
Several sturdy Blue Silver Grass vines shot out like snakes, whipping toward Xie Xie to ensnare him.
Xie Xie's gaze sharpened.
Blue Silver Grass?
A Trash Martial Soul?
But these vines seemed strangely tough and fast.
He flipped his wrist, and the Light Dragon Dagger appeared in his hand. Its golden blade flashed as he tried to cut through the incoming vines.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Light Dragon Dagger struck the vines, ringing like metal against metal as sparks flew!
The blade cut only halfway through before the incredibly tough Blue Silver Grass caught it!
"What?!" Xie Xie was genuinely shocked.
The instant he tried to wrench out the dagger,
Tang Wulin seized his fleeting opportunity.
He pushed off hard with his feet and charged forward again like a cannonball.
While Xie Xie's strength was spent and he hadn't yet gathered new strength,
Tang Wulin landed a solid punch on the side of Xie Xie's face!
Thud!
A dull impact rang out.
Xie Xie stumbled backward several steps, his cheek swelling red in an instant.
He grimaced in pain.
Over the past three years, though, Yao Chuan had "guided" him every so often.
He'd been beaten black and blue every time, but his ability to take a hit had been hammered into shape.
He was nothing like the pampered young master from the original story. He shook his head, trying to clear the dizziness.
His eyes turned as sharp as knives, fixed coldly on Tang Wulin.
A dangerous aura spread from him.
"Kid... you're asking for death!"
Xie Xie growled. The Light Dragon Dagger shone with brilliant golden light. Clearly, he was furious and ready to get serious!
The little conflict that had just settled was about to flare up again.
And now both sides had used their Martial Souls and Soul Skills. The damage they could cause would be on an entirely different level.
"That's enough!"
A calm voice rang out. It wasn't loud, but it carried with uncanny force.
Just as Xie Xie prepared to lunge again and Tang Wulin braced himself for the clash,
Yao Chuan slipped between them like a ghost.
He didn't even use his Martial Soul. He simply reached out with both hands, seemingly at ease.
One hand pressed on Xie Xie's shoulder, the other resting on Tang Wulin's arm.
He gently pushed down.
Thump! Thump!
Two dull sounds rang out.
A moment earlier, Xie Xie and Tang Wulin had been on the verge of fighting, their auras flaring.
The next moment, they were like two chicks pinned down by an invisible hand.
Powerless to resist, they were pressed down by Yao Chuan's seemingly effortless movement.
Their knees buckled.
Both toppled face-first onto the floor with a solid thud!
"Stop fighting."
Yao Chuan's voice remained as even as ever.
"It was just a misunderstanding. Was there really any need to fight like this?"
"This is Xie Xie. He's my lackey, not that Zhou Changxi guy's."
He let go and brushed off nonexistent dust.
Tang Wulin struggled to lift his head.
Dust smudged his face, but his expression was filled with unprecedented shock and confusion.
He looked at Xie Xie, pinned down beside him, then at Yao Chuan, standing between them with an air of calm ease.
His eyes were as wide as bells, and his mouth hung open wide enough to fit a fist.
"W-what's going on?"
"D-did he just call you Big bro?"
Tang Wulin pointed at Xie Xie, then looked at Yao Chuan.
"And... that strength... where did that strength come from?"
"Aren't you a novelist?"
Tang Wulin felt as if everything he'd believed for over a decade had been turned upside down.
A genius young writer who'd penned the wildly popular masterpiece Soul Breaking the Firmament.
How could he have such terrifying strength?
He hadn't even used Soul Power! With just one hand, he'd pinned Tang Wulin and that cold-faced guy who looked so strong to the ground at the same time?
Tang Wulin's head buzzed, his thoughts in chaos.
But before he could make sense of his shock,
a low, stern voice rang out from the dormitory doorway, clearly laced with anger.
It was a middle-aged man's voice.
It wasn't loud,
but it carried the unmistakable authority of a head teacher.
It instantly drowned out every other sound in the room.
"What's going on in this dorm?"
"Why are you making such a racket?"
"Are you trying to start a rebellion?!"
Before you continue