After signing her name on the enrollment form, Meng Shenji immediately put away Wang Dong'er's "contract of indenture" with great care.
"Qin Ming, take Wang Dong'er around the Academy first and help her get familiar with the place. I'm leaving her in your care for now. If I find out she's been mistreated by you, or bullied by some fool at the Academy, don't blame me for coming after you."
"Committee Member, you can rest assured." Qin Ming patted his chest and made the promise with utmost seriousness.
To put it plainly, with talent like Wang Dong'er's, she was bound to become a national treasure of the Royal Academy. If it weren't currently vacation and the two of them the only ones on duty, Meng Shenji would have immediately dispatched teachers, perhaps even arranging for a committee member to protect Wang Dong'er around the clock.
After watching Wang Dong'er leave with Qin Ming, Meng Shenji put aside all his work and walked out of his office. He seemed to have grown decades younger in an instant. Like a child, he practically skipped into his carriage and headed straight for the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
The Academy had recruited a genius Soul Master from among the commoners—such wonderful news was sure to delight Emperor Xue Ye and the Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, who was currently in charge of the Academy's affairs.
Qin Ming took Wang Dong'er on a general tour of the Royal Academy, then led her to the mountain behind it.
The scenery here was lovely, and the air crisp. Vast bamboo groves swayed in the wind, their leaves rustling. At the very center of the grove stood a sizable circular Soul Fighting platform, and behind it rose a detached three-story villa.
"This is the training ground and lounge the Academy provides specifically for members of the Imperial Fighting Team. Wang Dong'er, you'll be living here from now on."
"Teacher Qin Ming, don't you need to take some kind of test to join the Imperial Fighting Team? Just letting me join directly seems a little hasty," Wang Dong'er asked.
"Hahaha, of course not." Qin Ming laughed. "With your cultivation talent, what need is there for a test?"
He pointed at the villa. "The lounge has three floors. The first floor is a shared lounge, and my office is there too. The second floor is for the male team members, and the third is for the female members. The Imperial Fighting Team currently has seven members in all: five male students and two female students. At this hour, I expect they're all training their Soul Power at the Mimicry Training Ground. Go upstairs and pick a room to rest in. When they get back, I'll introduce you to everyone."
"Okay, sorry for the trouble, Teacher Qin Ming."
Wang Dong'er entered the lounge and went straight to the third floor, where the female students lived. There were five rooms on this floor, and shoe racks stood outside two of them.
All sorts of high heels were neatly arranged on the racks. A faint scent of fresh grass mixed with leather hung in the air—though she couldn't tell whether it belonged to Dugu Yan or Ye Lingling.
Ahem! Don't get the wrong idea. Wang Dong'er didn't have any peculiar habits. Soul Masters simply had a far keener sense of smell than ordinary people, and even from some distance away, the scent of the shoes drifted faintly to her nose.
Wang Dong'er picked an empty room at random and was about to push open the door when THUD—a muffled sound suddenly came from the room behind her, like some heavy object hitting the floor.
Hadn't Qin Ming said the Imperial Fighting Team members were all training at the Mimicry Training Ground? Was someone slacking off?
Wang Dong'er shook her head, not thinking much of it at first. But then pained groans came intermittently from the room, and dark-red blood slowly seeped out from beneath the door.
Wang Dong'er's eyes suddenly widened.
What was going on?
She had no time to think it through. If someone died in that room, wouldn't she become the prime suspect? Saving them came first.
Wang Dong'er yanked open the door. Before her eyes lay a glaring pool of blood. In its center, a purple-haired girl lay on her side.
The girl's face was as pale as paper, and blood seeped from her features. Her breaths were as faint as a candle in the wind. Curled into a ball, she trembled nonstop, her entire body drenched in cold sweat and blood.
The commotion of Wang Dong'er bursting in made the girl summon the last of her strength to weakly lift her eyelids. She saw only a blurry blue figure before letting out a muffled groan and spitting out a mouthful of blood as black as ink. Then she passed out completely.
Wang Dong'er froze in place.
The girl had spat that mouthful of blood with perfect aim. It had splattered right onto her pants.
Her eyelids twitched wildly, and her pupils shrank to tiny dots.
Girl, we've got no grudge against each other. Why are you setting me up like this?
Wang Dong'er had seen her share of big scenes, so naturally she wasn't truly frightened by the terrifying sight before her.
From the girl's appearance, she immediately recognized her: the Imperial Fighting Team's vice-captain, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's beloved granddaughter, Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan's symptoms were clearly the result of a backlash from the Jade Phosphor Snake Poison.
But the backlash was far too severe.
No wonder Dugu Bo would later be so moved by Tang San's Soul Bone detoxification method that he willingly offered up his own heart...
If my precious granddaughter were suffering from snake poison backlash like this, I'd probably be grateful to the person who saved her for the rest of my life, too.
After confirming Dugu Yan wasn't in immediate danger, Wang Dong'er let out a small sigh of relief. She skirted around Dugu Yan, fetched a mop from the bathroom, and began cleaning up the "crime scene"—ugh!
"Good thing your teammates aren't here. If they saw this, they'd be sure I'd done something unspeakable to you."
No sooner had Wang Dong'er spoken than footsteps suddenly sounded outside. By the time she realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
"Yan Yan!"
Ye Lingling had just returned from training. Her pupils suddenly dilated, and she let out a mournful cry.
Seeing Wang Dong'er standing amid a pool of blood, covered in bloodstains and holding a mop, Ye Lingling's eyes instantly reddened.
Overcome by grief, she completely forgot she was only a support-type Soul Master. She rushed forward recklessly and pounded Wang Dong'er again and again with her soft, powerless fists.
"Miss, please calm down first. You've got it wrong!"
Wang Dong'er dodged while trying to explain, but Ye Lingling seemed to have gone mad and wouldn't listen.
With no other choice, Wang Dong'er had to knock her unconscious.
Before Wang Dong'er could catch her breath, a rush of hurried, disorderly footsteps came from the stairwell.
"Lingling, Yan Yan, what's wrong? What happened?"
This time, five young men arrived. They were frantic and charged in with murderous fury.
When they saw the horrific scene before them, all five flew into a rage and shouted.
"You damn bastard, ah!"
Wang Dong'er didn't even have a chance to speak before the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's lightning forced her to retreat again and again.
She could only release her Martial Soul at once and enter the Martial Soul Possession state, using flight to evade Yu Tianheng's attacks.
"Don't rush into attacking! Hear me out first. You've got it wrong—I was just passing by..."
Before you continue