Without keeping Lu Chen waiting too long, Tang San, who had already taken Yu Xiaogang as his master, walked into Room Seven with a smile.
After surveying Room Seven, Tang San lost his smile. His expression kept shifting before he finally frowned and put up with it.
Then Tang San looked at Lu Chen, who had arrived at Room Seven ahead of him, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
He dearly wanted to tell Lu Chen at the top of his lungs what an extraordinary opportunity he had missed.
Yu Xiaogang!
He was simply the most learned elder Tang San had ever met. Just from the innate full soul power of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, he had deduced that Tang San had twin martial souls.
For that judgment alone, not a single teacher in the entire academy could compare to Yu Xiaogang.
Tang San felt incredibly fortunate to have taken such a learned and talented elder as his master. It was nothing short of a blessing earned through two lifetimes.
At that moment, Tang San thought to himself:
I need to keep a low profile. I can't let Lu Chen discover that Master's wisdom runs as deep as the abyssal sea. He also has a Blue Silver Grass martial soul and innate full soul power. According to what Master taught me, Blue Silver Grass has no capacity for mutation, so there's a very good chance he has twin martial souls too.
Now that Lu Chen has missed his chance with Master, if he learns of Master's wisdom, he'll shamelessly insist on becoming his disciple. With Master's broad-minded willingness to educate all under heaven, he might actually succeed. I absolutely cannot let that happen.
In Tang San's heart, perhaps out of envy and jealousy toward Lu Chen, he did not want to share Yu Xiaogang as a master with him at all.
Just then, Lu Chen suddenly strode toward Tang San, startling him into taking two steps back. He had thought Lu Chen could guess what was going through his mind.
Frowning, Tang San asked warily:
"Lu Chen, do you need something?"
Lu Chen stood a short distance in front of Tang San, looking eager to have a go. Loosening up his arms and legs, he said excitedly:
"Tang San, Room Seven has a rule. Every newcomer has to fight the boss. Whoever wins becomes the new boss."
"I just beat the previous boss, so now I'm the new boss. You're the newcomer, so come fight me."
As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, the veteran residents of Room Seven, led by Wang Sheng, crowded around him, cheering him on excitedly:
"Go, Boss Lu Chen!"
"Show this newcomer what you're made of!"
With memories of two lifetimes, Tang San naturally had no interest in this sort of fight. He refused outright:
"How boring! If you want to be the boss, go ahead. I'm not interested in being any boss."
In truth, deep down, he was a little afraid to fight Lu Chen. His Mysterious Heaven Skill still had not broken through the first level.
Within the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, the Mysterious Heaven Skill was the foundation of all foundations. Without sufficiently deep cultivation, Mysterious Jade Hand, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Purple Demon Eye, and the Hundred Interpretations of Hidden Weapons could not unleash their full power.
Facing someone with innate superhuman strength like Lu Chen, Tang San truly felt apprehensive. He could only resort to life-or-death measures.
He adjusted the Sleeve Arrow beneath his sleeve. This was his greatest trump card at present, and if a moment truly came when he had no choice but to use it, he would not mind letting it taste blood.
Hearing this, the excitement on Lu Chen's face froze. If Tang San refused, he really had no good grounds to beat him up.
Now that Tang San had come to Nuoding Academy, that shameless bastard Tang Hao was surely lurking in the shadows, watching.
If he forced a beating on Tang San and provoked Tang Hao into attacking regardless of the consequences, that old dog really was not someone he could contend with right now.
After turning it over in his mind, Lu Chen reined in his excitement. Since he could not use his fists, he would provoke Tang San with words:
"Heh, if you're scared, just say so. Why make excuses?"
"Wang Sheng, explain to him why the work-study students stick together. Since he won't accept Room Seven's rules, we won't include him when we band together from now on."
Since he could not beat Tang San up, Lu Chen would lead the other residents of Room Seven in isolating him, determined to make him suffer a little.
After giving his instructions, Lu Chen turned around and went back to making his bed.
Having received his orders, Wang Sheng walked up to Tang San with his chest out and his head held high, recounting one by one the ways work-study students were bullied at the academy.
Folding his arms across his chest, he said with gloating delight:
"Heh-heh, kid, Boss Lu Chen said that since you won't follow Room Seven's rules, don't expect us to stand up for you when you get bullied."
"Brothers, come with me. Let's go over to Boss Lu Chen. From now on, none of you talk or play around with this kid. Let him get a taste of what it's like to break the rules and get bullied."
The veteran students around them all roared in response:
"Yes!"
Then all the veteran students ran over to Lu Chen, leaving Tang San completely isolated.
Tang San's expression darkened and shifted. Wasn't this kind of isolation another form of bullying? He looked at the lively crowd around Lu Chen, then at the cold emptiness around himself.
The feeling left him with a sorrow he could not put into words.
But Tang San considered himself someone with memories of two lifetimes and had never wanted to fool around with these children anyway. After a cold snort, he thought to himself:
It's just children playing house. With my abilities, I can protect myself from bullying. As it happens, I can't be bothered to associate with these people either. Rather than spend time with them, I'd be better off spending more time learning real skills from Master.
Isolated, Tang San could only pick a bed in a corner of Room Seven. Only then did he suddenly realize that he did not even have a set of bedding.
So he could only sleep on the hard wooden boards.
At that thought, the good mood Tang San had gained from taking Yu Xiaogang as his master was utterly ruined.
His fists clenched tightly, clearly showing that he was doing his utmost to suppress his emotions. Only after a long while did his emotions finally begin to settle:
For now, I still need to endure. Once I've learned real skills from Master and integrated all the Tang Sect Secret Arts I stole in my previous life into the Spirit Master system, I'll surely be able to bring the Tang Sect's secret arts to greater glory in this other world.
When that time comes, everything I'm going through now will have been nothing more than a little wind and frost...
Just as Tang San kept mentally bracing himself.
A clear, youthful voice came from the doorway of Room Seven:
"Is this Room Seven? This will be my dorm from now on!"
The voice instantly drew the attention of everyone in Room Seven.
A little girl with a scorpion-braided ponytail, wearing a pink top and white trousers, stood prettily in the doorway of Room Seven. Her rosy cheeks were like red apples.
As Tang San looked at this exquisitely delicate little girl, he did not know why, but his heavy mood gradually began to lighten despite himself.
He stared at her without blinking. With his past and present lives combined, Tang San's mental age was nearly forty, yet at that moment, a flutter actually stirred in his heart.