The Rules of Dorm Seven

Su Yu took Tang Wu by the hand and followed the old, tree-lined path deeper into the academy.

After passing several lavishly built classroom buildings and dormitories for nobles, the surroundings visibly began to fall into disrepair.

The smooth flagstones gave way to a muddy path full of ruts and bumps. Weeds grew tall along the roadside, and even the faint scent of flowers in the air vanished, replaced by the musty smell of a place that had gone years without sunlight.

Before long, a long, dilapidated single-story building appeared before them.

A large patch of plaster had fallen from the wall, exposing the gray-black bricks beneath.

A wooden sign hung above the doorframe, with the words "Dorm Seven" painted crookedly across it in cheap paint.

This was the worst place in the entire Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy, reserved for work-study students admitted through their villages' quotas.

"Brother Yu, this place is so shabby."

Tang Wu stopped and muttered under her breath.

She didn't really understand material comforts, but the contrast between this place and the beautiful buildings they'd passed was simply too great.

"It's fine. All we need is somewhere to sleep."

Su Yu's expression remained calm.

He was a pragmatist. In a world crawling with people who had cheats, a shabby environment was less likely to attract the attention of those high-level system hosts.

The safest choice was to quietly grow stronger in the beginner village.

Su Yu stepped forward and reached for the rickety-looking wooden door.

"Creeeak—"

The door groaned with a grating sound as he slowly pushed it open.

The moment it opened, a pungent mix of sweat and stinking feet hit them in the face.

The stench was so strong it could make your eyes water. It nearly brought up the food Su Yu had eaten the night before.

Tang Wu was even more affected. She stumbled backward, quickly clamping both hands over her nose, her brows knitted and her big eyes full of revulsion.

Holding his breath, Su Yu looked inside the dormitory.

It was a large room of about a hundred square meters.

There were no individual beds, only two long rows of communal platforms, with some shabby bedding strewn haphazardly across them.

A dozen or so boys, ranging in age from six to ten, were inside.

Some were roughhousing on the platforms, others were running around barefoot on the floor, and a few had gathered to brag to one another.

At the sound of the door opening, the dormitory fell instantly silent.

A dozen children turned in unison, all eyes fixed on Su Yu and Tang Wu standing in the doorway.

These work-study students were often bullied by the academy's noble students, so they stuck together tightly and regarded newcomers with suspicion and hostility.

"Well, look at that. New kids?"

A gruff voice broke the silence.

A burly boy jumped straight down from the platform by the window.

He looked to be about ten. He had a thickset, boyish face and solid muscles, and stood a full head taller than the other boys his age, like a little bull.

He was the senior student in Dorm Seven, Wang Sheng.

Bare-chested, Wang Sheng rolled his neck, his bones cracking.

He clenched his fists and strode toward Su Yu with a swagger that said he didn't care who he offended.

Several lackeys immediately gathered around and trailed behind Wang Sheng, acting as though they had his strength to back them up.

"Boss, this kid looks soft and tender. Bet he can't take a hit," one lackey said with a smirk.

"And that little girl behind him is pretty cute, but she looks like a coward." Another lackey pointed at Tang Wu, who was hiding behind Su Yu, and laughed loudly.

Wang Sheng stopped two meters in front of Su Yu and looked down at him.

Seeing Su Yu in patched, coarse clothes, with no powerful Soul Power fluctuations about him, Wang Sheng immediately felt sure of himself.

As the boss of Dorm Seven, laying down the law for new work-study students was a tradition passed down through the years.

Only by beating newcomers into submission could he make them obey and take on all the dormitory's filthy, exhausting chores.

"Hey, new kid. What's your name? What village are you from?"

Wang Sheng folded his arms across his chest, chin raised high, his tone full of swagger.

Su Yu stood still without even raising his eyelids.

Looking at the muscle-bound little brat before him, he couldn't help finding it funny.

He had killed cheat-wielders with systems, and even dared to scheme against Old Jack, who could turn a living person to ash. Now a local brat without even a Soul Ring was picking a fight with him.

It was like a max-level player strolling through a beginner village, only for a level-one slime to jump out and demand protection money.

When Su Yu didn't answer, Wang Sheng assumed he was so intimidated that he'd gone stupid. His smug grin grew even wider.

"Listen up. I'm Wang Sheng, the boss of Dorm Seven! We've got a rule here: if you want to stay, you have to get past me first."

Wang Sheng clenched his fists and waved them in front of Su Yu, threatening him in a gruff voice. "You've got two choices. First, fight me. If you can beat me, you'll be the boss of Dorm Seven from now on. Second, if you're too scared to fight, then admit defeat and take on every chore in the dorm—washing clothes, taking out the trash, scrubbing the toilet, and washing stinky socks!"

As soon as Wang Sheng finished speaking, the dozen or so work-study students behind him immediately joined in the shouting.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"New kid, hurry up and admit defeat. Our Boss Wang was born with divine strength. He can kill a pig with one punch!"

"Exactly! If you don't want a beating, go wash that basin of stinking socks in the corner!"

Faced with the jeering crowd and Wang Sheng's taunts, Tang Wu's little face turned pale with fright.

She clutched the hem of Su Yu's shirt and shrank behind him, not daring to look at Wang Sheng.

"Brother Yu... they're so scary..."

Tang Wu muttered softly, her voice betraying her fear.

Su Yu reached back and patted Tang Wu's hand, signaling her not to be afraid.

He sighed, a trace of helplessness flashing through his eyes.

He'd wanted to keep a low profile, quietly blending into the background until he was strong enough to go out and have some fun.

But it seemed that when the tree wished for stillness, the wind would not subside.

If he didn't deal with this troublemaker Wang Sheng, people would come pestering him every day. How could he cultivate in peace?

Get into a fight?

Su Yu thought it was beneath him.

Rolling around on the floor with a ten-year-old simply didn't suit his status as a system hunter.

If he was going to make an example of someone, he might as well make it spectacular.

Su Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, and his Innate Full Soul Power began to stir within him.

He was about to summon his Second Martial Soul—Conceptual Eraser.

He didn't need to modify any complicated system rules. All he needed was a touch of Soul Power to erase the "knot" in Wang Sheng's belt.

Then the boy's pants would drop in front of everyone. He'd be humiliated, and Su Yu would win without even fighting.

Gray mist slowly gathered in Su Yu's palm. The power of the rules was about to take effect.

At that critical moment—

Light, rhythmic footsteps suddenly sounded in the corridor outside Dorm Seven.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The footsteps were so light that they didn't sound like those of the rough boys.

Then a clear, lilting girl's voice, as lovely as an oriole's song, came from outside the door.

"Excuse me, is this Dorm Seven?"

The unexpected voice was like a cool spring, instantly dousing the dormitory's tense, confrontational atmosphere.

Wang Sheng's fist froze in midair, and the dozen or so work-study students who had been shouting all fell silent.

Without exception, everyone turned toward the doorway, looking in the direction the voice had come from.

Su Yu also stopped what he was doing, and the gray mist gathering in his palm vanished in an instant.

Curious, he turned to look at the shabby wooden door.

A slender figure blocked the light at the entrance.

A girl stood there, poised and lovely.

She wore pink clothes. The fabric wasn't particularly luxurious, but it was spotless, and the outfit fit her well.

She had long legs and wore a pair of delicate pink leather shoes.

Most striking was her hairstyle. Her glossy black hair had been braided into a long scorpion braid that reached her calves.

A fluffy rabbit-ear headband sat atop her head, making her look especially playful and cute.

The girl strode in with long, confident steps, entering the dormitory full of sweat and foot stench.

Unlike Tang Wu, she didn't pinch her nose in disgust, nor did she show the slightest hint of timidity.

Her big, watery eyes held a sharpness and maturity utterly at odds with her age.

Like a queen surveying her domain, her gaze swept quickly and precisely over everyone in the dormitory. An air of powerful confidence radiated from her.