The two of them walked toward the dormitory building, and at last they couldn't hold it in anymore.
Xiao Wu plopped down on the steps, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Her Scorpion Braid swung behind her as she stretched out both legs, the heels of her crystal high heels tapping twice against the edge of the step.
"Hahaha! Oscar ate a rock today! His front tooth even flew out!"
Ning Rongrong couldn't hold it in either. She crouched beside Xiao Wu, her shoulders shaking with laughter. One hand covered her mouth while the other steadied Xiao Wu's arm.
"You should've seen his face. When he bit down on that rock, the look on his face... hahaha!"
"He even thought he'd run into a ghost! 'There's a ghost, there's a ghost!'" Xiao Wu imitated Oscar's voice and movements, crawling around on the ground as she backed away. She did it so convincingly that it was like watching the real thing.
Ning Rongrong laughed until tears came to her eyes, then wiped the corners with the back of her hand. "Let's see if he dares make those snide remarks to me again."
"He won't, he won't. He's missing a front tooth now. I bet he'll whistle when he talks."
The two of them laughed on the steps for a long while before returning to their dormitory.
Xiao Wu glanced around the empty dormitory. "Hey, how come Zhu Zhuqing and Bai Chenxiang aren't back yet?"
Ning Rongrong said, "Those two are cultivation fanatics. They're probably still training in the academy library at this hour. There are dedicated cultivation rooms there, and they spend ages in them, only coming back when the lights go out."
Xiao Wu pursed her lips.
"Good grief, they really are diligent. Now that we've found a shortcut, why keep working so hard at cultivation?"
Xiao Wu held up two fingers and waved them in front of Ning Rongrong.
"One day of our work is worth a whole year of theirs."
Ning Rongrong thought it over. It really was true. She'd cultivated for more than half a year just to climb from level 57 to level 59, but today, after catching a single ragdoll cat, she'd jumped straight to level 61—and even gotten an 8,000-year Soul Bone for free.
That was at least a year's worth of progress.
"Exactly, exactly." Ning Rongrong nodded repeatedly, then lowered her voice. "Oh, right. When they get back, should we tell them this secret?"
Xiao Wu tilted her head and thought about it.
The Confidentiality Agreement said they couldn't tell any men. Zhu Zhuqing and Bai Chenxiang were both girls, so it wouldn't violate the rules.
"Let's tell them," Xiao Wu said. "We're roommates, after all, and we live together. Besides, F4 bully them all the time too. Dai Mubai pesters Zhu Zhuqing every day, and Ma Hongjun has harassed Bai Chenxiang several times. If they can get stronger too, they won't have to put up with that humiliation anymore."
Ning Rongrong agreed. "Mm, I was thinking the same thing. We'll wait until they get back, then."
Xiao Wu flopped onto her bed and stretched out with a long, lazy yawn.
"Ah, today was so satisfying."
Ning Rongrong set her notebook on the desk and sat on the edge of her bed, bending down to unfasten her ankle boots.
The moment she slipped them off, her ankles were finally free. Ning Rongrong wiggled her toes a few times and sighed in relief.
"That shopkeeper, Qin Chuan... does he just watch over that shop every day without knowing anything?"
"Who knows?" Xiao Wu stuffed her pillow behind her head. "Anyway, the Crystal Ball said that the nicer we are to him, the better our luck at winning dolls. Tomorrow, I'm planning to bring him something to eat."
Ning Rongrong glanced at Xiao Wu. "You're really putting in the effort."
"Of course. This affects my Soul Power Level! Being nice to him is being nice to myself. I understand the math."
Ning Rongrong said nothing. She lowered her head and took the White Kitten Pendant from the little pouch at her waist.
The plush fabric felt soft and warm, as if it had just been left in the sun.
Ning Rongrong slowly stroked the kitten's ears, recalling the things she'd heard through the Crystal Ball.
Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, Thousand-Year Soul Bones, Innate Full Soul Power, a hundredfold Soul Power absorption buff.
Any one of those things could spark a battle anywhere on the Douluo Continent. Yet in that little shop, barely twenty square meters in size, they were stuffed inside plush dolls, and for just one Gold Soul Coin, you had a chance to win one.
It was insane.
Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and tucked the kitten back into her pouch.
Whatever happened, this secret had to be kept.
At the same time, on the other side of the academy.
Oscar stumbled back to the boys' dormitory building, one hand clamped over his mouth. Blood seeped between his fingers, and everyone he passed assumed he'd gotten beaten up in a fight.
They weren't exactly wrong.
The door to the innermost room on the third floor of the boys' dormitory wasn't fully shut.
Oscar kicked it open and rushed inside.
Tang San sat cross-legged on the bed by the window, adjusting his injuries. He opened his eyes at the commotion.
"Oscar, what happened to you?"
Oscar bent over with both hands braced on his knees, panting heavily. A streak of blood still marked the corner of his mouth, and there was a gap where his left front tooth should have been. His words whistled as he spoke.
"I... I ran into a ghost today."
"What? What happened?" Tang San flipped down from his bed and walked over to Oscar. When he saw the missing tooth, his brows drew together.
Oscar swallowed, tasting blood. His voice trembled.
"Just now... I ran into Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong downstairs, then I challenged Ning Rongrong to a fight. Guess what happened?"
Tang San was silent for two seconds as the scene automatically formed in his mind.
"She suddenly got stronger and beat you up?"
"No, no, no." Oscar shook his head hard. "If that was all, I could've accepted it."
Tang San's brows furrowed even more. "What happened, then?"
Oscar held out his right hand, palm up. It was empty, but his fingers were still trembling.
"The Speedy Flight Mushroom Sausage I made with my third Soul Skill turned into a rock for some reason!"
Tang San's expression froze.
"What? It turned into a rock?"
"Yeah, absolutely!" Oscar pointed at the gap in his mouth. "The rock knocked my tooth out! Look, I'm missing a front tooth!"
Tang San stared at Oscar's missing tooth for several seconds. His expression shifted from shock to confusion, then from confusion to grave concern.
Xiao Wu's eight-level leap in Soul Power was already outrageous enough.
Now something created by Oscar's Soul Skill could somehow turn into a rock out of nowhere?
"Make another one. Let me see."
Oscar nodded, straightened up, and circulated his Soul Power.
"Third Soul Skill, Speedy Flight Mushroom Sausage!"
A gray-brown Mushroom Sausage appeared in Oscar's palm.
Tang San leaned in for a close look and reached out to squeeze it. It was soft and springy, with the distinctive smell of mushrooms, and a faint sheen of Soul Power on its surface.
Normal. Completely normal.
Oscar himself couldn't believe it. After hesitating for a moment, he put the Mushroom Sausage in his mouth and took a bite.
Nothing happened. He chewed a couple of times and swallowed. His back began to itch, and a pair of transparent wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. They flapped twice, blowing the papers off the table.
It worked. There was nothing wrong with it.
"Oscar, are you possessed or something? This Flying Mushroom Sausage is perfectly fine."
"No! Brother San, please believe me!" Oscar's voice turned frantic. "I really did lose a tooth, and I really did bite into a rock!"
Tang San fell silent and leaned against the bedframe. His right hand unconsciously pressed the spot on his waist where Xiao Wu had kicked him. It still ached faintly.
Each of them lost in thought, the room fell quiet for a short while.
Footsteps and laughter sounded in the corridor, coming closer.
The dormitory door swung open, and two people walked in one after the other.
Ma Hongjun was in front. He was short, with a round face and small but bright eyes. Wearing a red academy jacket, he walked with a careless swagger.
"Brothers, night has fallen. Time to go unwind!"