At the dormitory entrance of Star Luo Royal Academy.
"Viscount Liu, these are the academy dormitories. Room 201 is on the second floor. Considering your status, we've specially arranged a single room for you."
Liu Lin nodded. "Thank you for taking the trouble, Dean Zhou."
He didn't really mind either way. Star Luo Royal Academy wasn't far from the Star Luo Imperial Palace, and he was definitely going back to stay there. The dormitory could just be a place to rest and keep his clothes.
After all, his residence in the imperial palace was far better than this dormitory.
"Viscount Liu, I've just received word that someone else has come to register. I need to go and handle his enrollment."
Just as Dean Zhou was about to show Liu Lin around, a message came through his voice-transmission Soul Tool. After reading it, he spoke with some embarrassment.
Seeing Dean Zhou's apologetic expression, Liu Lin nodded.
"It's all right, Dean Zhou. I can go up on my own. You go take care of your business."
"All right. Here's your key." Hearing Liu Lin's words, Dean Zhou took a key from the Storage Soul Tool at his waist and handed it to him, then hurried away.
Liu Lin took the key from Dean Zhou and headed for his dormitory.
He soon found his room. After unlocking the door, he gave the place a quick look around.
The furnishings were simple but tidy, with two beds and a desk by the window.
Outside the window was a small grove on the academy's rear mountain. The view was open, and the room was filled with light.
Liu Lin made his bed first, then put the few clothes he had brought into the wardrobe.
Once he'd finished tidying up, he sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into the Sea of Consciousness.
"What did you want with me?" After entering the Sea of Consciousness, Liu Lin asked the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who was lying on a little bed.
When he'd seen Wang Dong earlier, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in his Sea of Consciousness had seemed to have something to tell him.
But at the time, he'd wanted to test his theory, so he'd decided to come find her after he was done.
The golden-haired woman on the bed rolled over and ignored Liu Lin.
Seeing her like this, Liu Lin knew she was upset because he hadn't paid attention to her earlier.
Liu Lin sighed, then climbed onto the bed and turned the Three-Eyed Golden Lion around, stroking her smooth golden hair.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have ignored you back then. Can you forgive me, sweetheart?"
Feeling the touch on her head, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion narrowed her eyes in contentment and even couldn't help letting out a soft hum.
"Since you're so quick to admit you were wrong, I'll reluctantly forgive you."
"Mm... you're the best, honey."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion hadn't chosen a name yet, and Liu Lin didn't know what to call her, so all he could do was call her "honey."
"Do you have a new name in mind yet, honey? I don't even know what to call you."
"Hmm? I haven't thought of one yet either. But I should have one ready by the next time we meet."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion answered Liu Lin's question while enjoying his strokes.
"Honey, what did you want with me?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion opened her eyes and looked at Liu Lin seriously.
"That pink-and-blue-haired boy you just saw. Do you remember him?"
Liu Lin nodded, signaling for her to continue.
"When I saw him just now, my Eye of Destiny stirred.
"He also reminded me a lot of a girl in the memories my future self left me, and she seems to be connected to the Divine Realm."
At the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's words, Liu Lin's hand stopped stroking her.
Of course it had stirred. It would have been strange if it hadn't. According to the original story, there should have been a fragment of Tang Wutong's divine consciousness inside her.
But after he and the future Wang Qiu'er had interfered, the plot had shifted, and none of that had happened.
"Ahem, honey, I don't really know about that either. Let's not talk about it for now. I'll watch him for a few days first, then decide what to do."
"Mm, let's do as you say. And how did you reach level 48? What have you been doing while I was asleep?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded, agreeing with Liu Lin's suggestion. But when she sensed his cultivation, she looked at him in puzzlement.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion had gone into seclusion for a while to prepare for the coming crisis and her transformation. She didn't know that Liu Lin and Zhang Lexuan had gone to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Hearing her question, Liu Lin's gaze wavered. He thought of the future Zhang Lexuan, and his face turned a little red.
But he hurriedly shook his head, trying to put those thoughts out of mind.
"I just got lucky and stumbled upon an opportunity. That's how I advanced so quickly."
Liu Lin then gave the Three-Eyed Golden Lion a simplified account of his trip to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well with Zhang Lexuan.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded, but still asked in confusion, "Why did that Zhang Lexuan take you to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and give you an Immortal Herb?"
"Ahem, maybe she knew I had Ultimate Ice, so she wanted me to help her break through the poisonous miasma."
"Mm, then you really did come out ahead."
It was a good thing that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion wasn't her future self, but only had a portion of her memories.
If the future Wang Qiu'er had heard what he said, she would definitely have known that Zhang Lexuan and he were very close.
"The Three-Eyed Golden Lion of the present really is better," Liu Lin thought.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion noticed Liu Lin's strange look and couldn't help feeling puzzled.
"Why are you looking at me so strangely? Is there something on my face?"
"No, honey, I have something to do, so let's stop here for now. We can talk again once I'm back at my residence." Liu Lin stopped stroking her and waved a hand.
"Mm, if you have something to do, go take care of it."
When the Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded, he withdrew from the Sea of Consciousness.
After Liu Lin left, confusion filled the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's scarlet eyes as she lay on the bed.
"What on earth does Liu Lin mean? Why was he looking at me so strangely?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion rolled back and forth on the bed, trying to figure out why Liu Lin had looked at her that way.
By the time she was done, her golden hair had become a complete mess from all the rolling.
"Forget it, I can't figure it out. I'll stop thinking about it and cultivate instead."
In the outside world, in Liu Lin's dormitory.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was nearly dusk. The orange-red sunset gilded the crowns of the trees on the rear mountain.
Liu Lin got up, straightened his uniform, and walked out of his room.
Today was only registration, and classes would officially begin tomorrow. Since he was already done, he decided to return to his own residence.
Just as he reached the dormitory entrance, a commotion came from the side.
A crowd had gathered around the small field beside the dormitory building. Most of them were first-year students, chattering about something.
Liu Lin hadn't intended to get involved, but as he passed the crowd, he spotted the two people in the middle.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.
"Seriously, they're already in the Star Luo Empire, and Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao are still fighting." Seeing this, Liu Lin couldn't help grumbling to himself.
Then he squeezed through the crowd, planning to see whether things would still unfold as they had in the original story.
Huo Yuhao stood in the crowd, his gray clothes torn at the shoulder and a bruise on his face.
But his deep-blue eyes were full of anger.
Standing opposite him was a pink-and-blue-haired boy, Wang Dong. Wang Dong crossed his arms and raised his chin slightly, disdain written all over his delicate little face.
"You think you can fight me for a bed? A piece of trash with only two levels of Soul Power, and you still dare come to Star Luo Royal Academy and make a fool of yourself."
Huo Yuhao ignored Wang Dong. He took a deep breath, then slowly said, "Since you put it that way, let's have a match and see if you can beat me."
"Come on, then. I'd like to see what makes you think you can talk back to me."
Wang Dong found Huo Yuhao's gaze inexplicably irritating. He raised a hand, about to release his Martial Soul, but Huo Yuhao suddenly interrupted him.
Huo Yuhao's fierce expression turned excited when he spotted someone in the crowd. He stopped paying attention to Wang Dong and ran straight over to Liu Lin.
"Big Brother Liu, long time no see! You're studying here too?"
Liu Lin had been watching from the crowd. Huo Yuhao's sudden shout startled him.
But he quickly composed himself and nodded.
"Long time no see, Yuhao. I didn't expect you'd come here to study too."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then began telling Liu Lin about everything that had happened during this time.
The other students saw that there was no more excitement to watch. After grumbling that it was boring, they all began to leave.
On the other side, Wang Dong saw that she had been ignored, and her face flushed red.
Not from embarrassment, of course, but because Liu Lin and Huo Yuhao had infuriated her.
"Huo Yuhao, you and the person beside you dare ignore me? You've got a death wish!"
At those words, Liu Lin's mouth twitched, and he grumbled inwardly.
"No wonder she's God King Tang's daughter. She even says the same things."
Liu Lin ignored her and looked at Huo Yuhao. "What happened?"
Huo Yuhao's eyes visibly lit up when he saw Liu Lin. He hurried over to him.
"Big Brother Liu, it's nothing serious. The instructor assigned our dorm rooms and put him and me together. He doesn't want to live with me and wants me to move out."
Wang Dong frowned even more when she saw how familiar Huo Yuhao and Liu Lin seemed.
She took two steps forward and looked up at Liu Lin, her pink-and-blue eyes full of suspicion and displeasure. "Hey, who are you? Why are you butting in between me and Huo Yuhao?"
"Is it possible that I haven't said a word? How can you blame me for this?" Liu Lin rolled his eyes, feeling completely helpless.
Wang Dong was caught off guard by his words, and her little face flushed red. "So what? I say you're butting in!"
"Bullying?" Liu Lin raised an eyebrow. "You think you're being bullied now? What about when you were bullying him?"
Wang Dong gritted her teeth. Knowing she couldn't win an argument with him, she simply stopped talking. With a low shout, a pair of blue-violet, gold-trimmed butterfly wings suddenly spread from her back,
their golden patterns shimmering in the sunset. A bright yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet.
"Since you want to meddle, fight me." Wang Dong beat her butterfly wings, her pink-and-blue eyes burning with defiance.
Her little frame stood ramrod straight. Backed by the Light Goddess Butterfly, she did look rather imposing.
"If you win, I'll give him the dorm room. If you lose, you'll both get lost."
Liu Lin looked at the dazzling, iridescent wings on her back, then stared at Wang Dong as if she were an idiot. He suspected she'd left her brain at home.
To be honest, reaching twelve levels of Soul Power at six, with the top-grade Martial Soul Light Goddess Butterfly, made her a heaven's favorite no matter where she went.
But the gap between them was the gap between heaven and earth. A four-ring Soul Master against a one-ring Soul Master hardly counted as a match. He could have ignored her provocation, but then he remembered she was Tang San's daughter. Today, he was going to teach her a lesson.
Heh heh heh. Tang Xiao-San, I'll show you how I'm going to teach your daughter a lesson.
You actually dared send your daughter here. Did you really think I'd let her go back in one piece?
Liu Lin quickly made up his mind and looked calmly at Wang Dong. "Fine. But let's change the terms. If I win, you'll clean my dorm for a year.
"If I lose, you can name any condition you want. And to keep you from saying I'm taking advantage of someone younger, I'll use only as much Soul Power as you."
Wang Dong froze, then her lips curled into a proud smile. "You said it. If I win, you'll be my lackey."
Liu Lin said nothing more. He simply stood where he was, at ease, without even releasing his Martial Soul.
Wang Dong moved first. Her butterfly wings beat fiercely, and she shot toward Liu Lin like a streak of light.
Her right fist, wrapped in a faint golden glow, drove straight toward his chest. She was fast, and she chose a very tricky angle.
For someone only six years old, that kind of combat awareness was certainly impressive.
But a gap was still a gap. Liu Lin turned slightly aside, and Wang Dong's fist skimmed past his clothes, raising a breeze.
She reacted extremely quickly. As soon as her attack missed, she pulled back her fist and changed to an elbow strike, sweeping with her left wing to create distance. But Liu Lin's hand had already settled on her shoulder. He didn't use much force, yet his hand pressed down like a mountain, leaving her unable to move.
Wang Dong gritted her teeth and tried to break free. Her butterfly wings beat with all their might, and veins bulged on her forehead, but that hand remained firmly on her shoulder, unmoving.
Liu Lin looked down at her. "Do you still want to fight?"
Wang Dong's face flushed red, and for the first time, hurt showed in her pink-and-blue eyes.
Back in the Clear Sky Sect, every elder had treated her like a treasure. None of them had ever laid a hand on her, or even spoken sharply to her.
Today, she'd first been talked back to by a good-for-nothing whose Martial Soul hadn't even fully awakened, and then this older student had pinned her down in front of so many people, leaving her completely helpless. She had never suffered such indignity in her life.
She bit her lip hard, holding back her tears. The butterfly wings behind her slowly folded away, their light dimming. She knew she'd lost—and lost completely.
"I lost." Her voice was so quiet it was almost inaudible. "I'll honor the bet and clean your dorm."
Seeing the dejected look in Wang Dong's eyes, Liu Lin simply patted her head.
"Little Dong, you still need practice. And next time you pick a fight, use your brain."
Wang Dong's face filled with humiliation. She didn't know what had come over her; it was as if her brain had short-circuited, and she'd picked a fight with Liu Lin.
"A bet's a bet. Take me to your dorm. I'll clean it for you right now."