"Bang—!!!"
A deafening boom erupted, ten times louder than the dull thud of Xiao Wu hitting the ground!
The fist slammed squarely into Tang San's chest.
The confidence and steely resolve on Tang San's face froze in an instant, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.
He felt an irresistible force surge into his chest like a mountain torrent and a raging sea. In the face of that power, the inner strength of the Mysterious Heaven Skill shattered like paper!
"Ugh—!"
He flew backward like a ball kicked with all someone's might, his feet leaving the ground!
He crashed hard into the flimsy wooden door of Dorm Seven!
"Crash! Rumble—!"
The door and its frame splintered apart, sending wood chips flying.
Tang San kept going, tumbling several times along the corridor outside before finally coming to a stop, sprawled on the ground without moving.
Dead silence fell over Dorm Seven.
Wang Sheng and the others gaped, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads. They looked from Tang San lying in the corridor to Zhao Linchuan, who had calmly lowered his fist without even breathing hard, as if they were looking at a humanoid Soul Beast.
Even Xiao Wu covered her mouth, her wide eyes full of shock.
She had just fought Zhao Linchuan. Though she'd lost, she'd felt that he had mainly relied on clever technique and his ability to counter her Soft Technique.
But that punch... it had been an absolute crushing victory in strength and speed! If he'd used that move on me earlier... Xiao Wu shuddered and drew her neck into her shoulders.
Zhao Linchuan calmly looked at his right fist and muttered to himself:
The left fist hits hard; the right fist hits harder. These Martial Soul "stats" are really simple and crude.
Just like a middle schooler designing a game, filling in the stats with his eyes closed.
He walked to the doorway, glanced at Tang San, unconscious in the corridor, and said,
"Xiao San, you lost. Remember, all the chores this semester are yours."
"Huh?" Tang San didn't move. "Tsk... no, wait. I think I hit him a little too hard. This is bad."
He hurriedly turned to the work-study students still standing there in a daze.
"You lot, don't just stand around. Hurry and see how he's doing!"
Wang Sheng and the others snapped out of it and rushed over to Tang San.
One of the work-study students cautiously held a finger beneath Tang San's nose, then gently patted his face. He turned and called out,
"Boss! He... he 'fell' unconscious!"
"Right! He fell! He fell off the bed and knocked himself out!"
Another student quickly chimed in, and the others nodded repeatedly.
Zhao Linchuan licked his dry lips and thought, Looks like the right fist's "harder-hitting" reputation is well deserved. I'll have to watch my strength.
He waved a hand and instructed them, "You two, take him to the infirmary and find a teacher."
"Remember, he knocked himself out by accidentally hitting the doorframe. Got it?"
"Got it! Don't worry, Boss!" Two of the sturdier work-study students quickly propped up Tang San's limp body and jogged toward the teachers' offices.
Watching them leave, Zhao Linchuan rubbed his chin. Knocking out the protagonist with one punch... this could be a bit of a problem.
Yu Xiaogang will probably hate me even more now, and the academy's teachers might come asking questions.
He made a quick decision and said to the others remaining in the dormitory,
"I'm going out for a while. If a teacher comes looking for me, tell them something came up at home and I had to go take care of it. I'll be back later. You know what to say?"
Wang Sheng thumped his chest. "Don't worry, Boss! We'll stick to our story that he fell by himself! And that you had to go out!"
"Right! We've got it!" the others chimed in.
Zhao Linchuan nodded without another word, turned, and hurried out of Dorm Seven. His figure soon disappeared at the end of the academy path.
Zhao Linchuan walked around outside Notting Academy. He had planned to buy a private residence to use as a base, but the clerk at the real estate agency saw how young he was and how plainly he was dressed,
and assumed he was just some child causing trouble. The man couldn't even be bothered to look up, much less humor him with a response.
"Sure enough, being young and looking the part is a real handicap in places like this." Zhao Linchuan felt helpless. He had no choice but to find a clean, tidy inn and use Gold Soul Coins to book a deluxe room.
The door shut, cutting off the noise outside.
Zhao Linchuan stood quietly in the room for a moment and steadied his breathing. Then he silently thought, System, summon Yan Fei and Yue Shen.
The moment he issued the command, the air in the room seemed to freeze.
Then the space before him rippled like the surface of water struck by a pebble. Transparent rings spread outward, clearly visible to the eye.
At their center, the light warped slightly, and two graceful figures appeared without warning.
One wore a fitted gown in shades of red and gold, embroidered with dark golden cloud patterns. Her bearing was regal, her beauty vivid and dazzling.
The other wore an elegant blue-violet gown. Her lustrous purple hair and eyes were as cool as the moon reflected in a deep, wintry pool.
The sudden shift through space and time brought a flicker of confusion and alarm to both women's eyes. But years of harsh training and honing their instincts on the brink of death meant they had already adjusted their balance by the time their feet touched the floor.
With a graceful twist of their waists, their skirts blossomed around them, and they landed steadily, as elegantly as if they had practiced the movement a thousand times. Neither stumbled in the slightest.
The moment they landed, their beautiful eyes swept swiftly across the room before fixing together on its only other living occupant—a boy who looked no older than six or seven, yet had an unusually calm gaze.
Zhao Linchuan studied them as well.
A system panel quietly appeared in his field of vision:
[Name: Yan Fei] [Martial Souls: Three-Legged Golden Crow (unawakened), Great Sun Golden Wheel (unawakened)] [Soul Power Level: Level 79 (converting to the world's rules; currently capable of exerting early Soul Saint strength)] [Status: Loyalty 61 (basic lock in place; doubtful and watching)] [Name: Yue Shen] [Martial Souls: Lunar Jade Disk (unawakened), Brain (unawakened, spiritual-type Body Martial Soul)] [Soul Power Level: Level 74 (converting to the world's rules; currently capable of exerting early Soul Saint strength)] [Status: Loyalty 60 (basic lock in place; doubtful and watching)]
Yan Fei and Yue Shen quickly exchanged a glance.
In their original world, they would have gladly torn each other apart. But now, faced with this utterly unfamiliar and bizarre situation—and the strange child standing before them—an unspoken understanding led them to stand on the same side, for the time being.
Yue Shen stepped forward half a pace. Her cool voice carried a wary, questioning edge. "Who are you? Where is this place? Why have you brought us here?"
Her fingertips twitched, and a faint blue Soul Power coiled around them.
Yan Fei said nothing, but her beautiful eyes, bright as burning glass, remained fixed on Zhao Linchuan. A trace of warmth seemed to stir around her.
They did want to subdue the strange child at once and force him to explain himself. But some inexplicable sense of restraint lingered in their hearts,
as if a mark rooted in their souls were warning them not to harbor hostility toward the person before them, much less harm him.
Before you continue