Yet reality was utterly cruel!
Before Tang San could even offer to share his bedding with Xiao Wu, she was already looking pitifully at Lu Chen as she said:
"Boss Lu Chen, you have to help me! How about we squeeze in together tonight?"
Hearing that, Tang San's heart shattered completely!
His eyes instantly widened, his gaze fixed squarely on Lu Chen. If Lu Chen actually dared to agree, he would fight him to the death right then.
Tang San would never allow it!
He would never let the goddess in his heart suffer any defilement!
Lu Chen noticed Tang San's gaze. If it had only been Tang San, he might really have agreed to Xiao Wu's request just to rile him up.
But Tang San was not the only one here. That old dog Tang Hao was watching from the shadows.
Ever since Xiao Wu, this hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit, had appeared at Nuoding Academy, Tang Hao had probably already earmarked her as Tang San's spirit ring and spirit bone.
If he had too much contact with Xiao Wu, he might very well provoke that old dog into acting early to eliminate him as a potential threat.
To preserve his own life and give himself a chance at revenge in the future, he could only keep a respectful distance from Xiao Wu for now.
Against that god of slaughter Tang Hao, he could not save Xiao Wu. At least for now, he could not save her.
He could only lie low!
And await the future!
Lu Chen looked at Xiao Wu, a trace of pity surfacing in his eyes, only to vanish without a trace an instant later. He smiled and said:
"Xiao Wu, you're different from us. We're still just spirit scholars without spirit rings, but you're a one-ring spirit master with a spirit ring."
"I heard long ago that once you become a spirit master, you can collect a subsidy issued by the Two Great Empires just by registering at Spirit Hall in Notting City."
"A one-ring spirit master can collect one gold soul coin every month. One gold soul coin is a considerable sum, enough for you to buy a good set of bedding."
Xiao Wu's eyes grew brighter and brighter as she listened. She had only just left the Star Dou Forest and still had no concrete understanding of currency in the human world.
But since Lu Chen said that one gold soul coin was a considerable sum, enough to buy her a good set of bedding, it had to be true.
Xiao Wu said, bouncing with delight:
"Boss Lu Chen, thanks for reminding me! I'll go register at Spirit Hall right now. Haha... I'm going to have money!"
With that, Xiao Wu dashed outside in a whirlwind.
Wang Sheng and the others were filled with envy. They wanted to become spirit masters too, and they also wanted to collect Spirit Hall's subsidy.
But with their martial souls and talent, there was no telling how long it would take them to cultivate to rank-ten soul power, hunt down a spirit beast, and absorb its spirit ring to become spirit masters.
After watching Xiao Wu leave, Lu Chen said to Wang Sheng and the others beside him:
"Wang Sheng, let's go have a look around too. Show me around the academy and tell me about the headmaster and all the teachers. We can stop by the cafeteria for lunch while we're at it."
Hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Sheng agreed with a face full of admiration, thumping his chest as he promised:
"No problem, Boss Lu Chen. I'll tell you everything I know."
Once they had settled on that, Wang Sheng and the others crowded around Lu Chen, some ahead and some behind, and headed outside together.
As they walked, Wang Sheng stayed closest to Lu Chen and complimented him with an envious expression:
"Boss Lu Chen, you said you have the talent of innate full soul power. Doesn't that mean you can become a one-ring spirit master just like Sister Xiao Wu as soon as you absorb a spirit ring?"
Lu Chen nodded and answered calmly:
"That's true, but I didn't inherit a good martial soul. All I have is the trash martial soul Blue Silver Grass. Even the Battle Soul Master from Spirit Hall wasn't optimistic about me back then."
"If I'm going to absorb a spirit ring, I'll definitely have to choose carefully. After all, I might only ever absorb one spirit ring in my entire career as a spirit master."
Lu Chen's words were half true and half false. Every spirit ring he wanted to absorb did indeed have to be chosen carefully, but that was to evolve his martial soul.
But with his talent for growing stronger simply by breathing, his soul power would naturally rise as the days passed. There was no question of him only being able to absorb one spirit ring.
Still, Wang Sheng and the others nodded repeatedly at Lu Chen's words. In the end, Wang Sheng voiced what they were all thinking:
"Children from ordinary families like us simply can't inherit good martial souls. If we have even one or two ranks of soul power during our martial soul awakening, that's already an enormous stroke of luck."
"Even if we give it everything we have in the future, we can only reach the level of spirit master or soul grandmaster and absorb one or two spirit rings. Every spirit ring really does need to be chosen carefully, but most of the time, we don't get a choice."
Wang Sheng and the others surrounded Lu Chen as they left Room Seven, talking as they went.
The spacious Room Seven was now empty, with only Tang San remaining. He silently put his bedding on his bed.
Then hostility flashed in his eyes, and he spat out a name through gritted teeth:
"Lu Chen!"
Thinking of Xiao Wu's coldness toward him and her warmth toward Lu Chen, Tang San felt as though knives were twisting in his heart, waves of tearing pain coming from within it.
He had always been a calm person, but ever since he met Xiao Wu, it was as though he had lost his soul and become someone unlike himself.
He had stepped forward to defend Xiao Wu time and again, even if it meant making a clown of himself.
He had even grovelled at her feet just to win a smile from her.
Why was he like this?
Tang San himself did not know. He only felt that not having Xiao Wu would absolutely be a tremendous loss for him!
Meanwhile, elsewhere!
With Wang Sheng and the others leading the way, Lu Chen soon toured the entire academy. Wang Sheng gave him a detailed introduction to every building on campus.
At the same time, Wang Sheng and the other work-study students all chimed in, giving Lu Chen detailed introductions to the academy's headmaster, Dean of Students, and every teacher.
Of course, that included Yu Xiaogang. Wang Sheng and the others also gossiped about him, saying that although he bore the title of Grandmaster, he neither supervised a class nor taught any lessons at the academy, making him seem like a freeloader.
Lu Chen was not Tang San, and he nodded in full agreement.
There was something wrong with Yu Xiaogang. Although the Ten Core Competitiveness Theories of Martial Souls he had proposed were all unverified ideas.
He had read many ancient texts and knew a great deal of valuable information. If he were willing, he could absolutely share it, allowing more spirit masters from the bottom rungs of society to benefit from it.
But Yu Xiaogang simply would not do that. The headmaster of Nuoding Academy might only have taken him in out of regard for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Otherwise, Yu Xiaogang, who neither supervised a class nor taught any lessons and did nothing but freeload, would probably have been driven out of Nuoding Academy long ago.
With Wang Sheng and the others' detailed introductions, Lu Chen gained a comprehensive understanding of Nuoding Academy in a very short time.