Sleeping on the Streets

Wang Dong was still somewhat dazed, not yet recovered from the shock of the ceiling collapsing and turning his dorm room into a complete mess.

He had been washing himself in the dorm when the ceiling suddenly caved in, startling him badly. His body, which he had only just cleaned, was immediately dirtied again by the thick dust raining down.

But neither the fright nor getting dirty was the main issue!

What Wang Dong cared about now was whether Jiang Yue had seen his body just now!

The collapse of the ceiling had smashed the entire Room 208 into Room 108. Since Room 208 was upstairs, its metal lockers and beds had merely gotten dirty, with a few bits of rubble on them. Though they had suffered varying degrees of damage, they could still be found.

The beds and metal lockers in Room 108 had not been so fortunate. They were probably buried underneath and reduced to junk by now. Even if they were dug out in an emergency rescue, they would definitely be unusable.

So amid the chaos, Wang Dong had not even had time to grab the clothes he had left on the bed. He could only watch helplessly as his bed, and even the entire dorm room, were crushed beneath the collapsed ceiling. He had no choice but to rely on his Radiant Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul to cover his body.

Aside from concealing his body and keeping himself from getting injured, the butterfly wings of the Radiant Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul ultimately could not completely cover him, so quite a bit of dust had still fallen onto him.

And when the dust had been so thick that no one could see their surroundings, Jiang Yue had immediately pinpointed his location and tossed him a set of clothes. At first, he had been too relieved that someone was helping him to think much of it, but now Wang Dong could not help suspecting that Jiang Yue had seen something.

Otherwise, how could he have known so precisely that Wang Dong needed clothes? And even tossed them straight into his hands?

If Jiang Yue really could see clearly through the dust, had Wang Dong already been completely seen?

At that moment, this silly goose was caught in a storm of thoughts. His cheeks had turned slightly red, whether from anger or embarrassment, as he watched Jiang Yue's expression with suspicious eyes.

Yet no matter how Wang Dong looked, he could not spot the slightest flaw, causing him to begin doubting himself.

Could I really be overthinking it?

Unlike Wang Dong, Jiang Yue was entirely focused on how to shift all responsibility for this incident onto Dai Huabin. In any case, Dai Huabin was currently unconscious and would need some time before he woke up.

Dai Huabin had been the one to make the first move, and the commotion had become rather huge. As long as Jiang Yue pinned all the blame on him before he woke up and made it sound reasonable, there would be no problem at all. Even if Dai Huabin woke up and tried to argue, others would only think he was trying to evade responsibility.

As for how exactly to place all the blame on Dai Huabin, that would depend on what he said later.

"By the way, where's your roommate? Were you the only one in the dorm? Hah, at least no one was hurt. That's a blessing in disguise."

"This lord lives alone! You ruined this lord's things! Pay up!"

What? Jiang Yue was somewhat confused. He had personally seen Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong fight. Shouldn't they have been roommates?

Jiang Yue's gaze subconsciously shifted toward the wooden bed. Well, all that remained over there was rubble, so he could not tell anything.

Right, Huo Yuhao had not seemed to come out of Room 108 just now.

Was this the butterfly effect? Had things changed a little too much? What exactly had happened after Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao fought?

Just as Wang Dong and Jiang Yue faced each other, each harboring their own thoughts, the door to Room 108 was opened from outside. A crowd of students had already gathered in the hallway to watch the spectacle.

Everyone stared unblinkingly at the scene inside the dorm, wanting to see what exactly had happened.

When Huo Yuhao, standing among the crowd, saw Jiang Yue's face, he became excited at once. He had seen this person in the Star Dou Forest. Not only did Jiang Yue, like Wang Dong, possess a thousand-year second soul ring, he was also a Soul Elder-level expert who could casually kill a thousand-year soul beast. Back then, Huo Yuhao had needed the White Tiger Dagger just to kill a Wind Baboon, and he had still suffered considerable injuries.

The moment Huo Yuhao recalled the scene of three flying swords saving him from the Mandala Snake's jaws, his eyes filled with gratitude.

In the Star Dou Forest, he had not even had the chance to thank Jiang Yue for saving his life. Yet before leaving, Jiang Yue had even pointed him toward a soul beast suitable for his first soul ring, allowing him to obtain a spiritual-attribute soul ring that suited him.

After entering Shrek Academy, he had been bullied by his roommate Wang Dong. He had been driven out of the dorm that had originally belonged solely to him before he could even retrieve the bundle he had casually left there. The others in his class also looked down on him, a specially admitted student who was only Rank 12.

In Huo Yuhao's eyes, Jiang Yue was one of the few peers besides Bei Bei and Tang Ya who had shown him kindness. As for non-peers who had shown appreciation for him, there was only Fan Yu from the Soul Tool Department.

At this stage, Huo Yuhao was very extreme. He would not forget those who treated him badly, but he would also firmly remember those who showed him kindness.

Because of his childhood experiences, coupled with his spiritual-attribute Spirit Eye Martial Soul, Huo Yuhao could sense who truly meant well toward him.

Just as a trace of joy arose within him, Huo Yuhao noticed Dai Huabin lying amid the ruins. His mind shook violently, his pupils involuntarily contracting as irrepressible hatred filled them. His face turned somewhat pale, and his body began trembling uncontrollably.

Dai Huabin! That was his greatest enemy!

Though he did not understand what had happened, upon seeing Dai Huabin in such a state, Huo Yuhao no longer cared about watching the show!

Seeing the murderer of his mother, once so arrogant and overbearing, in such a pathetic state made Huo Yuhao feel that nothing else mattered. It did not matter even if the person who had beaten Dai Huabin into this state was not him.

Jiang Yue sensed that undisguised delight. Looking through the crowd, he saw Huo Yuhao. Seeing how excited he was, Jiang Yue understood exactly how thrilled this fellow was to witness Dai Huabin in such a miserable state.

But quite a few students had already gathered in the corridor outside, and Shrek Academy's teachers would likely arrive soon.

"Hm? Junior brother, why are you outside? Isn't this your dorm? What happened here?"

While Huo Yuhao was still reveling in Dai Huabin's misfortune, Bei Bei came to his side. He then pushed through the crowd and entered Room 108. Seeing the situation before him, Bei Bei turned his gaze toward Huo Yuhao.

They had originally agreed that, starting today, Huo Yuhao would earn his living expenses at Shrek Academy with his own hands by setting up a stall to sell grilled fish. Tang Ya had even arranged for some herring from the cafeteria lady. But Huo Yuhao had not shown up after so long, so Bei Bei had come to urge him along.

Then, drawn by the sudden, enormous commotion, he had decided to see what was happening. Instead, he found a freshman dorm in this state. Looking at the student collapsed amid the ruins, Bei Bei could conclude that two people from the upstairs dorm had fought, resulting in the scene before him.

"It's nothing, Eldest Senior Brother. I don't live in this dorm anymore. The academy has already arranged a new dorm for me. I just came over to see what the commotion was about."

"Hm? What happened? Would the academy agree to let you change dorms for no reason?"

"It's nothing, just some personal issues. The academy has temporarily arranged for me to squeeze in with another student. They said they'd make new arrangements after the freshman assessment if I can stay. My new roommate is very nice and friendly."

Huo Yuhao did not say much more, merely casting a somewhat gloomy look toward Wang Dong.

Wang Dong was responsible for driving him out of the dorm. After Wang Dong had finished cleaning the room, Huo Yuhao had happened to enter. Wang Dong then arrogantly laid down several conditions, and the two of them broke into conflict.

In the end, Huo Yuhao lost. Wang Dong had done exactly as he said and successfully beaten Huo Yuhao out of the dorm for refusing to follow his rules.

Wang Dong had even beaten him badly enough that he spent his last few silver soul coins treating his injuries. Afterward, Huo Yuhao stubbornly refused to return to the dorm. He had no intention of bowing his head to an obnoxious young noble like Wang Dong.

Who would want to live with someone who had injured them and still acted so arrogantly?

A loud crash had just come from the dormitory, and a crowd had gathered around Room 108. He had followed the crowd over to see what was going on, only to witness the scene before him.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao felt rather fortunate. If he had not moved out of this dormitory, would he have been buried underneath the rubble right now?

"Forget it. Since you don't want to say more, Junior Brother, I won't press you. If there's anything you can't handle, remember to come find me. As long as it isn't too serious, I'll do my best to help you solve it."

"By the way, are you really all right? Why do you look so pale?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Today's classes were just a little tiring. I'll be fine after some rest. You don't need to worry about me, Senior Brother."

Huo Yuhao could not possibly tell Bei Bei that he was excited by the miserable state of his enemy, so he told a well-intentioned lie.

"All right. Zhou Yi really is a lunatic of a teacher. Your cultivation isn't high enough, so you might not be able to keep up with Shrek Academy's intensity. Take care of your body. Start selling grilled fish tomorrow instead—get some proper rest today. I'll go tell Xiaoya first. Come find me at the cafeteria later."

Bei Bei felt that his eyes had truly been opened. He had spent so many years at Shrek Academy, yet he had never heard of a dormitory fight getting so vicious that it collapsed an entire floor.

Not long after Bei Bei left, a tall, stern middle-aged man entered the dormitory building. When he saw the scene before him, his expression darkened, and he could not help rubbing his forehead.

Du Weilun, the Dean of Instruction for the Martial Soul Department of Shrek Academy's outer courtyard, held a position second only to Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier within the outer courtyard's Martial Soul Department.

"Explain yourselves. What exactly happened here?"

Upon hearing Du Weilun's question, Wang Dong's gaze immediately shifted back and forth between Jiang Yue and Dai Huabin. He had no idea what had happened upstairs.

Jiang Yue did not try to evade responsibility. He directly told Du Weilun everything that had happened in the dormitory, emphasizing that Dai Huabin had repeatedly provoked him and that he had been left with no choice but to retaliate. The difference in strength between them had simply been too great, resulting in the scene before them.

Upon hearing Dai Huabin's name, Du Weilun subconsciously frowned. Naturally, he knew Dai Huabin's background, and he knew even better that the boy possessed the cultivation of a Soul Elder.

Frankly speaking, with the White Tiger Martial Soul and Soul Elder-level cultivation, anyone with a functioning brain would stand above the rest among the freshmen.

Yet the student before him had defeated Dai Huabin, and judging from the situation, it had been a crushing victory. Du Weilun could not help falling silent.

He clearly remembered that there had only been four specially recruited students this year. Three of them were Soul Elders, while only Huo Yuhao had fallen below Shrek Academy's admission standards.

But aside from Dai Huabin, Du Weilun knew exactly who the other two specially recruited students were and what they looked like.

Then Du Weilun suddenly remembered that there was another Soul Elder this year who had enrolled through the regular admissions process. Due to the restrictions of regular admissions, all they knew was that he was an eleven-year-old Soul Elder; they did not know his specific martial soul or soul power rank.

To defeat Dai Huabin, one had to be at least a battle-type Soul Elder. This student was not specially recruited either. Looking at it this way, his identity was obvious.

Du Weilun's expression immediately improved considerably. As a teacher, it was only natural that he liked good students, especially such a polite-looking one.

Not to mention that this student's displayed combat strength unquestionably made him the strongest freshman, a guaranteed core disciple.

Du Weilun felt that the student before him was an exceptionally promising talent! At the same Soul Elder realm, he had defeated Dai Huabin, who possessed the White Tiger Martial Soul, so effortlessly. That meant Jiang Yue's soul power rank or martial soul quality far surpassed Dai Huabin's.

No matter which was the case, Du Weilun understood that the Martial Soul Department had received a rare genius this year—one without much of a background.

At the very least, his background could not possibly surpass Shrek Academy's, nor did it even qualify to speak with Shrek Academy as an equal. Otherwise, he would have been another specially recruited student.

"So you're Jiang Yue?"

"That's me. Director Du knows me?"

"Yes, you could say that. You did well. You repeatedly warned him in the face of provocation, and only acted to stop him after Student Dai Huabin refused to heed your advice. That was very good. However, the damage caused was indeed rather extensive."

"Still, considering that this is your first offense and that you were the one being provoked, it counts as self-defense. The academy will not punish you in any way this time, but there must not be a next time. Once Student Dai Huabin wakes up, the academy will seek compensation from him for the damages. It has nothing to do with you."

"Given the conflict between you and Dai Huabin, you are no longer suited to live in the same dormitory. To prevent further clashes and even greater losses, go to the Academic Affairs Office later and collect the key to another dormitory."

"All right. Thank you, Director Du."

Jiang Yue was broadly satisfied with Du Weilun's decision. Now he would not have to live with Dai Huabin anymore, and his days ahead would be much more peaceful.

Moreover, given the current number of freshmen, there was a very high chance that Jiang Yue's newly assigned dormitory would contain only him. From now on, he would truly be living in a luxurious single room. The only downside was that he might need to clean it before moving in.

Upon hearing that Jiang Yue could be assigned a new dormitory, Wang Dong was also extremely envious and looked at Du Weilun expectantly.

After all, he had been completely caught up in this unexpected incident, and he was the one who had suffered the greatest losses.

The bedding spread over his bed alone, made from the fur of precious soul beasts, was enough to count as a devastating loss.

Du Weilun lowered his head and considered how to deal with Wang Dong.

Dai Huabin had yet to regain consciousness, and judging by his injuries, he would have to remain in the infirmary for at least the next couple of days. There was plenty of time to think about it.

"Find somewhere to make do for tonight. Tomorrow, someone will clear out the things here. There's no need to worry about safety either; specialists will come reinforce the structure. Once everything has been dealt with, you can move back in."

"Huh? But Director Du, the dormitory is already like this. Can't I switch to another one?"

"What are you 'huh'-ing about? I just said that someone will repair it. Safety isn't an issue. If you really don't want to live in this dormitory, that's fine, but the academy has no other empty dormitories. The academy does not allow students from different grades to live together, and I assume you don't want to live with Dai Huabin either."

"Either wait until this place is cleaned up and live here, or talk to Jiang Yue. If he agrees, you can move directly into his new dormitory!"

"That's settled, then. If you have any objections to my arrangement, keep them to yourself. I haven't even settled the matter of you injuring your roommate and driving him out of the dormitory on the very first day! Don't haggle with me!"

Jiang Yue was startled by Du Weilun's words and looked at Wang Dong with a strange expression. He truly had not expected Wang Dong to have really beaten Huo Yuhao out of the dormitory for not following his rules, just as he had said.

That meant the plan of the God King Tang to capture the Child of Fortune had encountered a major flaw right from the start.

Wang Dong, meanwhile, was deeply disappointed. He had originally thought that he would be assigned a single dormitory as well, but he still had to live here.

Recalling how he had nearly been crushed by falling stones just moments ago, then looking at this dormitory that now had twice the space, Wang Dong felt extremely uncomfortable about living in a dormitory where an accident had occurred.

After Du Weilun left, Wang Dong turned his gaze toward Jiang Yue, who stood nearby. His large pink-blue eyes were watery and pitiful, but paired with his filthy hair and skin, as well as his ill-fitting clothes, he somehow looked comical in a different way.

Jiang Yue's ability to hold back his laughter was already the greatest respect he could show Wang Dong. As for letting Wang Dong move in with him? Impossible. Unless Jiang Yue had gone mad, he would never do something as foolish as inviting a wolf into his home.

Even as Wang Dong continued to play up his misery, Jiang Yue had no intention of softening. The fact that he had not immediately exploded in anger was already proof of his strong mental fortitude.

"Hehe, don't look at me like that. There's no way I'd agree. I don't want to sleep in the same room as you. You freak should just obediently sleep on the streets."

"Bastard! What do you mean by that?! How am I a freak?! You've got a new dorm now, and you're leaving this condemned building for me?! Didn't this dorm end up like this because of you?! Why do you get to live in a new dorm while I can only stay here?!"

Seeing Jiang Yue about to leave, Wang Dong immediately panicked.

He hadn't brought that many Gold Soul Coins with him this time. Shrek City was an expensive place, and Wang Dong couldn't possibly settle for poor accommodations. On top of that, he couldn't possibly eat badly at Shrek Academy's cafeteria either. If he kept living outside, the Gold Soul Coins on him would most likely be gone before the school year was halfway over.

Now the dorm had even become a "condemned building." Naturally, Wang Dong wanted to switch dorms, preferably to one where he could live alone. It would be fine even if he had a roommate—he just didn't want to stay in this "condemned building."

Originally, Wang Dong had thought that since Jiang Yue could even give him a set of clothes, changing dorms shouldn't be difficult. After all, there was an extra bed in Jiang Yue's new dorm. Yet he had never expected Jiang Yue to refuse without even blinking.

"Let me correct you. The real culprit behind your dorm ending up like this is Dai Huabin. It has nothing to do with me. As for why I get to live in a new dorm? Maybe because I'm the victim? That doesn't matter. It's already a fact anyway. And as for letting you move in? Why would I give up a perfectly good single room just to find myself a roommate?"

"Victim, my ass! What kind of victim is alive and kicking while the perpetrator is lying on the ground? And how does this have nothing to do with you? You—you should at least bear ten percent of the responsibility, right?"

"What you say doesn't count. Director Du has already determined the nature of this incident. If you've got the ability, go talk to Director Du and get him to change the conclusion he just announced, ruling that I bear some responsibility."

"As long as Director Du says the word, I guarantee I'll take the share of responsibility I should bear. If you can't do that, then you freak should obediently sleep in this dorm. If it really comes down to it, you can sleep on the streets."

"Bastard! You're the freak! Your whole family is made up of freaks!"

"Hehe, if you aren't a freak, then there probably isn't anyone in all of Shrek Academy who can truly be called one."