Time flashed by, and Xiao Mu and the others arrived at the cafeteria.
Lately, two big eaters had appeared in Eastsea Academy's cafeteria. One was Na'er, and the other was Tang Wulin.
Na'er ate thirty servings of Meal A a day. One serving of Meal B cost three hundred Federation credits, while one serving of Meal A cost a whopping one thousand. Thirty servings came to thirty thousand.
An ordinary student couldn't possibly afford that.
Of course, for Xiao Mu, it was pocket change. The money he earned from just one patent was already substantial.
And he had more than one patent.
Letting Na'er eat and drink to her heart's content was hardly a problem.
The cafeteria buzzed with voices. The clatter of trays, the sounds of chewing, and the chatter all blended together.
Na'er sat across from Xiao Mu, with several servings of Meal A laid out in front of her.
"Brother," she said, her mouth stuffed with beef and her words muffled. "It's delicious. I want more tomorrow."
"Sure. Eat as much as you like."
Xiao Mu had only three servings of Meal A in front of him. He ate slowly, his gaze resting on Na'er's face. The little girl's cheeks were puffed out, but her eyes shone like two polished glass beads.
Meanwhile, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie had finished training and arrived at the cafeteria too.
They still smelled of sweat, and dark patches showed where their uniforms had been soaked through.
Xie Xie walked in front, his brown hair whipping wildly in the wind.
Tang Wulin followed behind him, his steps light. He was exhausted too.
Still running as usual, Xiao Mu thought. They'd be better off just injecting a super soldier serum.
Too bad he couldn't make one himself.
But today, a third person was following them.
She had a black ponytail and wore a dark green academy uniform jacket edged in yellow, with a pale green bow at the collar. White knee-high stockings rose beneath her plaid skirt, their tops leaving a faint mark against her skin. Her skirt swayed gently as she walked, like a metronome.
Xiao Mu leaned back in his chair, his gaze shifting from the window to the three of them. Na'er was busy tackling her Meal A, but she looked up too. The moment she saw the black-haired girl, she froze.
That woman!
Tang Wulin walked up to the serving window and ordered steamed buns as usual. Xie Xie followed behind him, looking utterly exhausted.
The girl's gaze stayed fixed on Tang Wulin. She was Gu Yue, and at that moment she was pondering the aura of the Golden Dragon King within him.
Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi were sitting beside Xiao Mu and Na'er. They looked puzzled when they saw the new girl.
They hadn't seen her before. Registration was already over, so how could there still be a new student?
"Wasn't registration already over?"
"Maybe she's a transfer student?"
"Could be."
Listening to their conversation, Na'er glanced at Gu Yue again, displeasure in her eyes.
Xiao Mu looked at Na'er, knowing she didn't want to become high-grade fusion material for the Silver Dragon King.
"What's wrong? Don't you like her?" he asked.
"I don't like her," Na'er said.
Wei Xiaofeng suddenly spoke up. "You guys mean that girl? I've already asked around."
"Did you ask with your fists?" Xiao Mu asked.
Wei Xiaofeng said awkwardly, "They told me voluntarily."
He quickly changed the subject. "Her name is Gu Yue. She was late for registration. She's in Class Five, a twenty-first-rank Soul Grandmaster. Besides our class, she's the only student in this year's intake with two rings."
"Is that so?" Xiao Mu nodded, more or less understanding what had changed. But even with two rings, he could still beat Gu Yue.
There probably wasn't an element that could forcibly break through his defenses.
He wondered what the limit was on how much kinetic energy he could absorb.
Besides, Gu Yue probably wouldn't use darkness or space to attack at this point.
After eating, they all left together.
When school let out in the afternoon, the sun was sinking behind the buildings, dyeing the hallway orange-red. The five students from Xiao Mu's Class One were summoned to the teacher's office.
Ye Yingluo's gaze swept across all five faces, finally stopping on Xiao Mu.
"I called you here today because of the Class Promotion Tournament."
"The tournament begins with the weakest class challenging the class above it."
"Class Five challenges Class Four, and so on. If the challengers win, the classes swap their rankings. In other words, if we lose to Class Two, we'll no longer be Year One, Class One—the strongest class—but Year One, Class Two."
"The higher-ranked class decides how many students will defend its position. After winning, it can keep accepting challenges until it loses. The challenges proceed from first year all the way up to sixth year. If you keep challenging higher-year classes and win, you'll receive a reward for every first victory against a higher year."
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the five faces. She saw the confidence on Zhang Yangzi and the others' faces, the calmness on Xiao Mu's, and the excitement on Na'er's.
The other four being confident was understandable, but why did Xiao Mu look just a little disdainful?
"We're Class One, so we'll defend our position in the first match. After that, it'll be our turn to challenge."
"At least two students must compete. Who we send will depend on the challengers."
At that, Xiao Mu said calmly, "Na'er and I are enough. No matter who they send, the two of us can easily suppress them."
"You're pretty confident. Do you really think you're invincible?" Ye Yingluo said helplessly.
"Then they should be glad they're on the stage. Outside the arena, I'd have more ways to deal with them. The rules are protecting them."
Xiao Mu spoke calmly. Although he had developed less than one percent of his first Soul Skill, he could still lower the air pressure in an area to a certain level.
An ordinary person couldn't withstand that.
And if they could, he'd simply raise the air pressure in the opposite direction.
If that still didn't work, he'd have to rely on classical mechanics.
It never failed, and it could solve ninety-nine percent of problems. If something couldn't be solved, it was definitely because he wasn't strong enough.
The only pity was that the path of force was thoroughly countered by the path of blood.
His opponent could turn into a blood mist and escape.
So the path of force really was on the decline.
He carefully calculated the timing. Before the Class Promotion Tournament, there seemed to be one more typhoon, which would unlock the seal on the Golden Dragon King within Tang Wulin.
That would make Tang Wulin's strength surge.
The Golden Dragon King wanted to steamroll them, but his teammates were all pigs.
The path of force really was all about intelligence—or rather, the lack of it.
The five left the office, now more or less familiar with Eastsea Academy's start-of-term schedule.
In the days that followed, training was added to their daily lessons.
The setting sun sank in the west as Xiao Mu and Zhang Yangzi continued their sparring.
Naturally, it was a one-sided beatdown.
The one who suffered the most during this battle was the dean. Xiao Mu really did have something to tear apart.
He controlled the force down to the size of grains of sand and tore up the ground. Countless grains of sand and stones floated around him, ready for attack or defense.
Wang Jinxi was likewise crushed by Na'er, as though he'd come across his natural predator.
The Silver Dragon Spear hurt like hell when it struck him.
By the time training ended, Wei Xiaofeng was undoubtedly the worst off. The guy was weaker than the other two, and he needed to train his ability to take a beating too.
After everyone dispersed, Na'er spotted a familiar figure standing by the edge of the field. A hint of displeasure immediately showed in her eyes.