What did it mean to say, "If you've never known Li the Immortal, then calling yourself a youth is a waste"?
Xie Xie was having none of it.
If he didn't know Li Luo, did that mean he wasn't a youth?
He was a handsome young man who had just turned nine, in the prime of his youth. How could he not be a youth?
It was ridiculous.
Even more ridiculous was the claim that a Soul Master at rank fourteen could defeat a nine-ring Evil Titled Douluo. Anyone with eyes could tell it was fake.
But the Federation was fanning the flames.
And the Spirit Pagoda was blind.
They had actually let Li Luo onto the ranking.
He was at the very bottom, sure, but he was still on it.
Xie Xie, heir to the Xie Family and its future leader, hadn't made the list.
Yet Li Luo, a country bumpkin from the sticks, had.
Xie Xie sighed. "The heavens must be jealous of someone like me, born with a silver spoon in his mouth."
"If I weren't trying to avoid suspicion, how could I possibly fail to make some silly Young Genius Ranking?"
His eyes brimmed with indignation as he watched Li Luo surrounded by a crowd of young women. He was furious. Why couldn't he be the one they were surrounding?
Xie Xie's bodyguard, dressed in black, said obsequiously, "Young master, you look pretty unhappy about Li the Immortal. Want me to go over and beat him up?"
Xie Xie was speechless. His father's bodyguard seemed a little short on brains. There were so many people here, and he wanted to go beat up Li Luo?
"Do you want to die, or do you want me to die?"
Xie Xie had once experienced what it was like to be mobbed by a crowd of girls.
There were at least a hundred young women surrounding Li Luo. Maybe even a thousand.
"Let's go," Xie Xie said.
He had already found out that Li Luo would be attending Eastsea Academy too. There was no rush; they had plenty of time.
Just then, the crowd surged.
Someone carrying a mountain of luggage, both big and small, crashed into Xie Xie and sent him sprawling.
Tang Wulin panicked, apologizing nonstop. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't see you."
"If you're sorry, then what do you need eyes for?" the bodyguard in black said coldly.
Tang Wulin apologized again. "I'm carrying too much stuff, and it blocked my view. I'm really sorry."
Xie Xie climbed to his feet and glared at the bodyguard in black. "Are you an idiot? Don't you know you're supposed to help your young master up first?"
"Oh, young master, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The bodyguard hurriedly apologized.
"I've been reading too many overpowered-hero stories lately. I got carried away for a moment..."
"Hmph. I'm docking your pay this month!" Xie Xie snorted.
Then he left without even sparing Tang Wulin a glance.
Perhaps in Xie Xie's eyes, a country bumpkin like Tang Wulin, weighed down by bags of luggage, wasn't even worth looking at.
Only Li Luo could draw his attention.
Tang Wulin stood there, stunned, then muttered, "People from the city sure act like they're something special."
But he soon put the little incident behind him.
He had something more important to do.
His Brother Luo was being escorted away by a crowd of young women, growing farther and farther away.
Tang Wulin shouted, "Wait for me, Brother Luo!"
At the Eastsea Academy bus stop, Li Luo came to a halt. "Thank you, ladies, for seeing me off. I really appreciate all your effort."
"Especially you, Captain Mu Xi. You even set aside the forging you love most and spent so much time and energy organizing this meet-and-greet."
"Thank you!"
"Thank you, everyone."
Li Luo bowed, and the young women were deeply moved.
Mu Xi's beautiful eyes sparkled. She was wondering if she could get some of her family's Chen Yin.
Then she could beg her father to make Li Luo a storage ring.
Or a storage belt.
Li Luo boarded the Eastsea Academy bus and waved to everyone.
The crowd of young women watched him leave.
At the last moment, Tang Wulin squeezed onto the bus with all his bags.
"Whew, it's boiling!" Tang Wulin dropped into a seat.
"Here." Li Luo handed Tang Wulin the fan he was holding.
Liu Yuxin had given it to him earlier, worried that he might get too hot.
Seeing how hard Tang Wulin had worked to carry all those bags for him along the way, Li Luo simply decided to give him the fan.
Tang Wulin took it excitedly.
He fanned himself a few times.
"So refreshing!" Tang Wulin sighed in delight. He caught a fragrance on the breeze.
Was this Brother Luo's scent?
Actually, it was Liu Yuxin's perfume...
The two of them took the bus to Eastsea Academy.
After completing their enrollment, Li Luo and Tang Wulin were assigned to different dormitories.
Perhaps the force of fate's momentum was simply too great.
Tang Wulin was still assigned to Dormitory 205.
Tang Wulin wondered to himself, "Why couldn't I be assigned to the same dorm as Brother Luo?"
"Alas, the goddess of fortune doesn't favor me!"
He picked up his luggage and went to Dormitory 205.
Tang Wulin still got picked on by Zhou Changxi.
After Tang Wulin went out to fetch some water,
Zhou Changxi looked at the fan on Tang Wulin's luggage and sneered. "The new kid's a sissy. Tch, what kind of normal person uses a fan?"
He swept the fan off the luggage and onto the floor.
Tang Wulin happened to walk in.
When he saw the fan on the floor, his eyes reddened. Furiously, he said, "Pick it up!"
Zhou Changxi, of course, refused.
So the two of them started fighting in the dorm.
As they fought, the cold-faced young man Xie Xie walked in and planted his foot right on the fan.
A footprint marred the snow-white fan.
"Ah!" Tang Wulin's face twisted.
"You're going to pay for my fan!"
Xie Xie said coldly, "It's just a fan. Is it really that big a deal?"
His face was full of disdain.
"What would you know? You don't understand anything! Brother Luo gave it to me!" Tang Wulin was worked up.
"Brother Luo? Li Luo?" Xie Xie asked tentatively.
Tang Wulin's eyes were as red as an insulted bull's. He didn't answer Xie Xie, only repeating over and over, "You're going to pay for my fan!"
"Pay?!" Xie Xie sneered. He'd originally planned to pay for it, but then he heard that Tang Wulin seemed to be Li Luo's friend.
His heart leaped with joy. "Good, good, good. Li Luo, the heavens have bestowed this opportunity upon me."
"Now I'll expose what kind of trash you really are, you so-called genius youth on the Young Genius Ranking!"
Xie Xie coolly tossed out his arrogant taunt. "No one has ever made me pay for anything!"
Tang Wulin, of course, wasn't about to back down.
In the end, the two of them moved to the open space in the dorm. They'd let their fists do the talking!
Xie Xie stood with his hands behind his back. "Country bumpkin, don't blame me for picking on you. You can have your Brother Luo fight alongside you."
"Isn't he Master Wei's support?"
"He can support you, too."
"And I, Xie Xie, will take on anyone!"
Tang Wulin's voice was cold. "You're not worthy of making Brother Luo lift a finger!"
"Get him out here!" Xie Xie snorted.
Tang Wulin met him head-on. "You're not worthy!"
The two of them launched into a shouting match...
Li Luo set down his luggage and pushed open the window. He saw the two of them in the open space outside the dorm.
Calmly, Li Luo headed downstairs.
He came to stand in front of them.
Xie Xie was overjoyed. "Li Luo, you're finally here!"
"I'm here!"
Li Luo said coolly, "Since you keep insisting that I join the fight..."
"Then I'll be merciful."
"And give you what you want."
Before you continue