Establishing Authority

Zhu Shen pushed open the window and looked down.

In the open space in front of the dormitory building, seven or eight well-dressed students formed a circle, shoving a thin, small boy in the center.

The boy wore a washed-out work-study student uniform. His face was covered in bruises, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet his gaze remained stubborn as he glared at the fat boy leading the group.

The fat boy was twelve or thirteen years old, stout and broad-shouldered, dressed in exquisite silk. He stepped on the small boy's backpack with one foot, arms crossed over his chest, looking smug.

"Wang Sheng, a mere work-study student like you dares to challenge me, Boss Xiao? Tired of living?" The fat boy ground his foot hard into the backpack, and the sound of things breaking came from within. "Notting Academy is a place for proper students like us. Poor wretches like you should be out scrubbing the latrines, understand?"

The surrounding students chimed in with jeers.

"Exactly! Do work-study students even deserve to strut around the academy?"

"Boss Xiao's father is a councilman in Nuoding City. Crushing you would be as easy as stepping on an ant!"

The small boy, Wang Sheng, wiped the blood from his mouth and spat out a glob of red. "Xiao Chenyu, don't be so arrogant! The academy has rules: work-study students and formal students are equal! If you keep bullying people, I'll go tell the Dean!"

"Tell the Dean?" Xiao Chenyu laughed out loud. "Go ahead! Let's see if the Dean believes a poor ghost like you or me. My father donates so much money to the academy every year; do you think the Dean would offend me for your sake?"

He bent down and patted Wang Sheng's face. "If you're smart, you'll kowtow three times, call me Boss Xiao, and wash my socks every day from now on, and I'll let you go. Otherwise..."

Wang Sheng gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists.

Zhu Shen leaned on the windowsill for a while before turning back to Tang San. "Little San, when you were in Nuoding City before, did you know this Xiao Chenyu?"

Tang San shook his head. "This disciple lived in Nuoding City for six years and never once stepped out of the house."

"True, your father kept you hidden like a treasure." Zhu Shen nodded and looked back downstairs. "Let's go, let's go down and see."

The two went downstairs and walked into the open space.

The group of students was busy shoving Wang Sheng around, but when they saw someone approaching, they all stopped. Xiao Chenyu turned to look at Zhu Shen, his gaze lingering on Zhu Shen's face before dropping to his gray robes, a look of disdain appearing on his face.

"Who are you? Looking to meddle?"

Zhu Shen ignored him, walked up to Wang Sheng, and crouched down. "Are you alright?"

Wang Sheng looked at Zhu Shen blankly and shook his head.

Zhu Shen pulled a handkerchief from his robes and handed it to him. "Wipe the blood off your face."

Wang Sheng took the handkerchief, looking somewhat at a loss.

"Are you a work-study student?" Zhu Shen asked.

"Y-yes." Wang Sheng nodded. "My name is Wang Sheng, I'm eight years old, and my martial soul is the War Tiger. I'm level fifteen."

"Level fifteen at eight years old, good talent." Zhu Shen patted his shoulder. "Stand up and talk."

Wang Sheng pushed himself up from the ground; his legs were a bit shaky, but he still tried to straighten his back.

Xiao Chenyu was left standing to the side, his expression growing increasingly ugly. "I'm talking to you, are you deaf?"

Only then did Zhu Shen turn around and look him up and down. "You are Xiao Chenyu?"

"You know my name and still dare to be arrogant?" Xiao Chenyu puffed out his chest. "Who are you? A new teacher? Let me tell you, no one in Nuoding City dares to interfere with my business!"

"Oh?" Zhu Shen smiled. "Then did your father never teach you to be polite when you're out?"

Xiao Chenyu froze, then flew into a rage. "What kind of thing are you! Do you think you're qualified to lecture me?"

As he spoke, he released his martial soul. A white tiger phantom emerged behind him, and two yellow spirit rings rotated around his body.

"See that?" Xiao Chenyu shook his spirit rings smugly. "My father is a Nuoding City councilman, a five-ring Spirit King! If you dare touch a hair on my head, my father won't spare you!"

Zhu Shen looked at this ignorant child and sighed.

With a thought, he released his Dragon God martial soul.

Golden light erupted, and a golden dragon phantom circled behind him, with four spirit rings—two purple and two black—encircling his body. The dragon's might pressed down like a physical weight, and a low, deep dragon roar seemed to echo through the air.

Xiao Chenyu's smile froze on his face instantly.

The white tiger martial soul behind him let out a shrill, mournful cry, and the entire phantom shrank into a ball, shivering on the ground. The two spirit rings on his body trembled violently, their light flickering unsteadily.

"This... what is this..." Xiao Chenyu's voice trembled, his legs gave way, and he knelt directly on the ground.

The students behind him fared even worse; several of them collapsed onto the ground, not even daring to lift their heads.

Zhu Shen looked down at Xiao Chenyu from above. "You said just now that your father is a five-ring Spirit King?"

Xiao Chenyu nodded mechanically, his face deathly pale.

"Then go back and tell your father that my name is Yu Xiaogang, and I live right here at Notting Academy." Zhu Shen retracted his martial soul. "If he wants to cause trouble for me, I'm ready anytime."

Xiao Chenyu scrambled to his feet and fled in a panic with his group of students. Even after running a dozen paces, he didn't forget to look back and shout threats: "You... you just wait! My father won't let you get away with this!"

Zhu Shen couldn't be bothered with him and turned to Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng was completely stunned.

"What are you staring at?" Zhu Shen waved a hand in front of him.

"Ah?" Wang Sheng came back to his senses. "S-senior, are you really Master Yu Xiaogang?"

"Don't I look like it?"

"It's not that you don't look like it, it's just..." Wang Sheng swallowed hard. "The Master Yu I heard about has Luo Sanpao as his martial soul, only twenty-nine levels of spirit power, and... and he doesn't look like you at all."

"My martial soul evolved, my soul power broke through, and as for my looks..." Zhu Shen touched his face, "perhaps that's just a side effect of the evolution."

Wang Sheng looked blank, clearly not understanding.

Tang San, standing behind them, twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Alright, stop thinking about all that nonsense." Zhu Shen patted Wang Sheng on the shoulder, "First, get your injuries treated, then take me to the work-study students' dormitory."

"You want to find the work-study dormitory?" Wang Sheng was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, my disciple is also a work-study student, so he will be living there from now on." Zhu Shen pointed at Tang San, "His name is Tang San, six years old, innate full soul power, martial soul Blue Silver Grass, and he just obtained his first soul ring."

Wang Sheng looked at Tang San, a flash of surprise in his eyes. Blue Silver Grass with innate full soul power? It was his first time hearing of such a thing. However, having just witnessed Zhu Shen's strength, he didn't dare to ask any more questions.

"Senior, please, this way." Wang Sheng picked up his crushed backpack and limped ahead.

The three of them passed through the academy's teaching area and arrived in front of a dilapidated dormitory building. This dormitory was clearly several grades worse than the faculty dorms; the walls were mottled, several panes of glass in the windows were shattered, and a musty smell permeated the hallway.

"This is it." Wang Sheng felt a bit embarrassed, "The conditions for work-study students are quite poor."

Zhu Shen frowned.

"Wang Sheng, how many work-study students are there?"

"Twelve in total, including me." Wang Sheng said, "Most of them are children from villages near Nuoding City. Their families are poor, but their talents are quite good. The academy says work-study students can have their tuition fees waived, but they have to pay it off through labor, usually by cleaning or organizing equipment and the like."

"And what about the regular students?"

"There are over fifty regular students, most of whom are children from wealthy families in Nuoding City." Wang Sheng's tone turned dejected as he said this, "They look down on us work-study students and often bully us. Xiao Chenyu is the ringleader. His father is a Nuoding City councilor, so the teachers just turn a blind eye."

Zhu Shen nodded.

When he read the original work in his past life, he knew about the conflict between the work-study students and the regular students at Notting Academy. Back then, he thought it was just a plot point in a novel, but now that he was experiencing it firsthand, he realized how severe this discrimination truly was.

"Senior..." Wang Sheng hesitated, "Are you really going to be a teacher at the academy?"

"Why?"

"If you become a teacher, Xiao Chenyu's father might cause trouble for you." Wang Sheng whispered, "His father is a powerful figure in Nuoding City; even the dean has to give him some face."

Zhu Shen smiled: "Do you think I would be afraid of him?"