Reasons for Reporting

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

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

The moment Ma Hongjun had run off, the string that had been pulled taut in her heart for months finally snapped.

Xiao Wu walked in front, her scorpion braid swinging back and forth as she hummed an unknown tune.

"Let's go, time for class."

Ning Rongrong quickened her pace to catch up, her short boots clicking rhythmically against the stone path.

Zhu Zhuqing followed behind with her arms crossed, her steps half a beat slower than the others, but her eyes were smiling the entire time.

Third floor of the boys' dormitory.

Tang San sat cross-legged on his bed, deep in meditation. The pungent, spicy scent of medicinal plaster permeated the room, mixing with the hot breeze blowing in from the window to create a bitter, choking smell.

Dai Mubai leaned against his headboard; the plaster over his left eye had been removed, revealing a dark purple bruise. His right leg rested on the quilt, the knee still swollen.

Oscar lay on the table, fiddling with his false front tooth. The temporary resin tooth had come loose, and after he nudged it with his tongue, it clicked and fell onto the tabletop, bouncing once.

"Damn, it fell out again." Oscar picked up the false tooth and pressed it back into the gap in his gums with his finger. The prosthetic was far from secure; it had already fallen out three times after only two meals.

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

Just then, a burst of rapid footsteps echoed from the hallway. It wasn't the sound of a normal walk, but a run—a frantic pattering, the soles of shoes slamming against the floor with a distinct resonance.

The footsteps grew closer, heading straight for their room.

Bang!

The door was shoved open from the outside.

Ma Hongjun burst in, looking utterly disheveled.

His gray jacket was hanging open, his hood was lopsided, and three or four shocking red scratches marred his face. The longest one on his right cheek had already dried, a trail of dark red blood stretching from his cheekbone down to his chin.

His eyes were red, and his face was a mess of snot and tears mixed with the bloodstains, making him look both filthy and pathetic.

The three of them looked toward the door in unison.

The book in Tang San's hand nearly dropped to the floor.

Oscar's false tooth clicked and fell out again the moment he pressed it in, but he didn't even bother to pick it up.

Dai Mubai sat upright on his bed, staring at Ma Hongjun with his uninjured right eye.

"Ma Hongjun, what's wrong with you? You look like your father just died."

Ma Hongjun reached back and slammed the door shut, leaning his back against the panel as his chest heaved violently.

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

After catching his breath and steadying his emotions, he swallowed hard.

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

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

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

The room fell silent, so quiet that the chirping of cicadas outside the window could be heard.

No one believed him.

"Ma Hongjun, do you have any idea what you're saying? Bai Chenxiang? A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?!" Tang San stood up from his bed immediately.

The other two were equally skeptical.

Tang San let out a cold snort. He would rather believe that Xiao Wu had jumped eight levels in half a day than believe that a level 61 Soul Emperor was sporting a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

What was the concept of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?

It was a ring condensed after the death of a soul beast over ten thousand years old. A Soul Master capable of absorbing such a ring would need to be at least level 95—a top-tier Titled Douluo.

Bai Chenxiang at level 61 with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?

That was like a toddler who had just learned to walk carrying a god-slaying weapon. It would be a miracle if she wasn't consumed by the weapon's power, let alone showing it off.

But why was Ma Hongjun so terrified?

Tang San walked over to Ma Hongjun and stared at his face for a few seconds.

The three or four scratches were clearly visible, the deepest one still oozing blood. There was a bruise on the back of his left hand that had already begun to turn purple.

"Where did the wounds on your face come from?"

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

"When she activated that Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, it blew me away. The sand and stones were flying everywhere; all the pebbles on the ground were lifted up and slammed into my face."

Tang San's brow furrowed even tighter: "Flying sand and stones? Hmm, you aren't lying?"

"It's the absolute truth, how could I be lying! Once that aura was released, the surrounding trees were shaking and the stones were rolling on the ground; I was almost blown away. I had to hug a large tree just to stand steady, and the pebbles were pelting my face like hail."

Ma Hongjun grew more agitated as he spoke, his hands gesturing wildly in the air.

"I'm telling you, that red Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was so huge it nearly covered the entire garden! The light almost blinded me! If you don't believe me, just look at my crotch..."

Ma Hongjun looked down at his pants, and his expression shifted.

The crotch of his pants was indeed soaked through.

"..."

Dai Mubai turned his head away in disgust. "How embarrassing. Go change your clothes."

"Right, brother." Ma Hongjun lowered his head and scurried into the changing room.

Only three people remained in the room, and no one spoke first.

Tang San sat back down on the bed, re-threading all the clues in his mind.

Xiao Wu: Level 62 to 70.

Ning Rongrong: Turned Oscar's Mushroom Sausage into stone, suspected to be some kind of special spirit bone skill.

Zhu Zhuqing: Speed at least doubled, crushing the Level 68 Dai Mubai.

Bai Chenxiang: Displayed a hundred-thousand-year soul ring.

All four of them were from the same dormitory.

Tang San pieced these fragments together in his mind over and over again.

"Mubai." Tang San spoke, his voice dropping. "These past few days have been too bizarre. Should I return to the Clear Sky Sect and bring over a few experts from the sect?"

Dai Mubai thought for a moment, his gaze shifting toward the window. Outside, he could see the academy's main teaching building. On the top floor, the large office with dark red curtains hanging over the window was the Dean's office.

"Calling for experts is something anyone can do, but that's the final resort. I think we should let the academy handle this matter first. We'll say that Zhu Zhuqing and her three roommates are colluding with outside forces to bully their fellow students."

"Colluding with outside forces to bully students. But have you thought about what happens if the Dean doesn't intervene?" Tang San asked.

Dai Mubai's right eye flickered.

"It's impossible for her not to intervene. Although Dean Bibi Dong favors female students, she must maintain the order of the academy. She might turn a blind eye to small scuffles between students, but if it involves unknown outside forces, the nature of the situation changes."

Tang San pondered for a moment.

That made sense; the Spirit Academy had always been sensitive to the infiltration of outside forces.

With sects scattered across the continent and imperial nobles everywhere, people tried to plant spies in the academy every year. In the years Bibi Dong had been Dean, she had purged many outside organizations that secretly tried to recruit students.

Tang San: "Fine, that makes sense. But we must be careful with our wording when we report this. We can't say we're reporting them because we couldn't beat them; that would be too shameful."

Dai Mubai nodded: "Of course we can't say that. We'll say we're doing it for the safety of the academy, worried that outside forces are brainwashing and controlling the female students. We are acting out of good intentions by reporting the situation to the academy."

After hearing this, Ma Hongjun nodded repeatedly: "Right, right, right. They must have colluded with outside forces, which is why they've become so strange."

Dai Mubai spoke: "Exactly. And if the result from the Dean's side isn't ideal... we'll also invite a Douluo to come and help."