We need produce 78 paragraphs exactly body, count input paras. Need preserve ... each as paragraph likely. Translate punctuation. Title. Ensure paragraphs counted. We'll map each separated lines. There seem 78. Output.Chapter 28: The Reason for Filing a C

The four of them walked side by side toward the classroom building.

Bai Chenxiang walked on the far right, her two braids swaying gently. She was in a better mood than she had been at any point over the past few days.

The moment Ma Hongjun ran off, the taut string inside her, stretched tight for months, finally slackened.

Xiao Wu walked ahead, her Scorpion Braid swinging back and forth as she hummed an unfamiliar tune.

"Come on, let's get to class."

Ning Rongrong hurried to catch up, her short boots tapping against the stone path.

Zhu Zhuqing walked behind them with her hands in her pockets. Her steps lagged half a beat behind the others, but her eyes were smiling the whole time.

Third floor of the boys' dormitory.

Tang San sat cross-legged on his bed, meditating and cultivating. The sharp, pungent smell of medicinal plaster filled the room, mingling with the hot breeze blowing in through the window. It smelled bitter and acrid.

Dai Mubai was leaning against the head of his bed. The plaster over his left eye had already been removed, revealing a dark purple bruise. His right leg rested on the quilt, and his knee was still a little swollen.

Oscar lay sprawled over the table, fiddling with his false tooth. The temporary resin tooth had loosened a little. He nudged it twice with his tongue, and it popped out with a click, bouncing once on the tabletop.

"Damn, it fell out again." Oscar picked up the false tooth and pressed it back into the gap in his gums. It really wasn't secure; it had already fallen out three times after just two meals.

The three of them went about their own business, and the room was fairly quiet.

Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from the corridor. They weren't the sound of someone walking normally, but of someone running, clattering noisily as the soles of their shoes pounded the floor and echoed.

The footsteps drew closer, heading straight for their room.

Bang!

The door was slammed open from the outside.

Ma Hongjun burst in, looking like an absolute wreck.

His gray jacket hung half open, his hat was askew, and three or four bloodied scratches stood out starkly on his face. The longest one on his right cheek had already dried, a dark red streak running from his cheekbone all the way to his chin.

His eyes were red, and snot and tears were smeared across his face. Mixed with the bloody scratches, they made him look filthy and miserable.

All three of them looked up at the door at once.

The book nearly slipped out of Tang San's hands.

Oscar had just pressed his false tooth back in, but it popped out again with a click. He didn't even bother to pick it up.

Dai Mubai sat upright on his bed, fixing his one uninjured eye on Ma Hongjun.

"Ma Hongjun, what happened? You look like your father just died."

Ma Hongjun shut the door behind him and leaned his back against it, his chest heaving violently.

He opened his mouth twice, but no words came out.

After several deep breaths, he calmed himself a little and swallowed.

"Brothers... you know what I just saw?"

Tang San set down his book and leaned forward. "What?"

Ma Hongjun's voice trembled. "Bai Chenxiang... a... a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"

The room fell silent—so silent they could hear the cicadas outside the window.

Nobody believed him.

"Ma Hongjun, do you even know what you're saying? Bai Chenxiang? A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?!" Tang San sprang to his feet.

The other two didn't believe it either.

Tang San snorted. He'd sooner believe Xiao Wu had gained eight levels in half a day than believe that a level-sixty-one Soul Emperor had a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

What did a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring even mean?

It was a Soul Ring formed after the death of a Soul Beast that had lived for over a hundred thousand years. A Soul Master needed to be at least level ninety-five to absorb one—in other words, they had to be a peak Titled Douluo.

Bai Chenxiang, at level sixty-one, with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?

That was like handing a world-destroying weapon to a baby who had only just learned to walk. It would be enough if the baby wasn't devoured by the weapon's power. And it was supposed to show it off?

But why was Ma Hongjun so scared?

Tang San walked up to him and studied his face for several seconds.

Three or four bloodied scratches were clearly visible, and the deepest one was still seeping blood. There was a bruise on the back of his left hand, already turning purple.

"Where did you get those cuts on your face?"

Ma Hongjun wiped the snot and tears from his face with his sleeve. His voice was still shaking.

"When she activated her Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, the shockwave sent me flying. The wind and stones went wild—the little rocks on the ground all shot up and hit me in the face."

Tang San's brow furrowed even tighter. "The wind and stones went wild? So... you weren't lying?"

"I swear it's true! How could I make that up? The moment that aura came out, the trees around us started shaking and the rocks rolled across the ground. I was almost blown away. I had to cling to a big tree just to stay on my feet, and the stones pelted my face."

Ma Hongjun grew more animated as he spoke, gesturing wildly in the air.

"I'm telling you, that red Soul Ring was so huge it nearly covered the whole garden! The light almost blinded me! If you don't believe me, take a look at my pants..."

Ma Hongjun lowered his head to look at his trousers, and his expression changed.

The crotch area was indeed soaked through.

"..."

Dai Mubai turned away in disgust. "That's pathetic. Go change your clothes already."

"Okay, bro." Ma Hongjun lowered his head and slunk into the changing room.

Only the three of them remained in the room. None of them spoke first.

Tang San sat back down on his bed, piecing all the clues together in his mind.

Xiao Wu: from level sixty-two to level seventy.

Ning Rongrong: turned Oscar's Mushroom Sausage into stone, possibly with some kind of special Soul Bone Skill.

Zhu Zhuqing: at least doubled her speed, crushing Dai Mubai, who was level sixty-eight.

Bai Chenxiang: had revealed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

All four of them came from the same dormitory.

Tang San pieced those fragments together again and again in his mind.

"Mu Bai." Tang San spoke, his voice turning grave. "The past few days have been way too strange. Should I go back to the Clear Sky Sect and bring a few powerful sect members here?"

Dai Mubai thought it over, then looked toward the window. From there, they could see the academy's main classroom building. On the top floor was a large office, its windows hung with dark red curtains. That was the dean's office.

"We could bring in powerful people, but that should be the last resort. I think we should let the academy handle this first. We'll say Zhu Zhuqing and her three roommates have colluded with outside forces to bully their fellow students."

"Colluded with outside forces to bully their fellow students. But have you thought about what happens if the dean does nothing?" Tang San asked.

Dai Mubai's right eye flickered.

"She can't ignore it. Dean Bibi Dong may favor female students, but she still has to maintain order at the academy. She might turn a blind eye to minor scuffles between students, but if outside forces of unknown origin are involved, that's a different matter."

Tang San thought it over for a moment.

That made sense. The Spirit Academy had always been sensitive about outside forces infiltrating the school.

The continent was dotted with sects and crawling with powerful nobles. Every year, someone tried to plant spies in the academy. During her years as dean, Bibi Dong had purged quite a few outside organizations that had been secretly trying to recruit students.

Tang San said, "All right, that makes sense. But we need to be careful with our wording when we report it. We can't say we're complaining because we can't beat them. That would be too embarrassing."

Dai Mubai nodded. "Of course not. We'll say we're concerned for the academy's safety, and worried that outside forces are brainwashing and controlling the female students. We're just reporting the situation to the academy out of goodwill."

After hearing that, Ma Hongjun nodded repeatedly. "Exactly, exactly. They must have colluded with outside forces. That's why they've become so bizarre."

Dai Mubai said, "Right. If the dean doesn't give us a satisfactory outcome... we'll ask a Douluo to come help, too."