Cafeteria Trouble, Establishing Authority with One Punch

After resting for a while, everyone in Dorm Seven had recovered quite a bit of their energy.

Wang Sheng pulled a chipped water jug from beneath his bed, tipped his head back and gulped down several mouthfuls, then wiped his mouth. "Boss, it's noon. Time to eat at the cafeteria. We work-study students have a dedicated serving window. The food can't compare to what those nobles get on the second floor, but at least it fills you up."

Yun Tian opened his eyes from meditation and nodded.

Xiao Wu's stomach happened to growl twice just then. Her little face reddened slightly, but she stubbornly said, "What are you looking at? Fighting takes a lot out of you. Can't I be hungry?"

Tang San could not help but laugh. He stood and tidied his bed before following Yun Tian out the door.

A group of seven or eight work-study students made their way grandly across the academy's stone-paved paths toward the cafeteria.

Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy's cafeteria was fairly large. The first floor was where ordinary students and work-study students ate, with long wooden tables and low stools. The food was simple and affordable.

The second floor, meanwhile, was specially prepared for noble students who paid extra meal fees. The dishes were far more refined, and dedicated attendants served tea and poured water.

The moment Yun Tian's group stepped through the cafeteria doors, the aroma of food rushed over them.

Leading everyone toward the work-study student serving window in the farthest corner of the first floor, Wang Sheng moved with practiced familiarity. Several people were already in line, all plainly dressed work-study students carrying coarse porcelain bowls to receive their meals.

"Boss, wait here. I'll get in line. Our work-study meals are free, but there isn't much, so you have to come early if you want to get full." Wang Sheng squeezed into the queue as he spoke.

Yun Tian stood to one side and looked around.

There were already quite a few people in the cafeteria. The first floor was seventy to eighty percent full, while the second floor was rather sparse, though there were still a few people there.

Two older students in neat uniforms stood by the stairway, identity badges hanging from their waists. They appeared to be responsible for maintaining order in the cafeteria.

Smelling the food made Xiao Wu's stomach growl even louder. Rubbing her belly, she muttered, "Is the food at this academy even good... Back in the Star Dou..."

She abruptly stopped halfway through and changed her words. "The game I ate back home smelled much better than this."

Tang San did not notice anything unusual and merely assumed Xiao Wu was talking about her village.

Wang Sheng soon returned carrying several coarse porcelain bowls. They contained brown rice porridge, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and two multigrain steamed buns.

He set everything on the table and scratched his head awkwardly. "Boss, this is about the level of food us work-study students get. Just make do with it."

Yun Tian picked up a steamed bun and took a bite. The texture was indeed rough, but it was nothing to him.

Just as the group began eating, a burst of footsteps came from the second-floor stairway.

Several finely dressed students came down from upstairs. Leading them was a tall, muscular youth who looked about twelve or thirteen, followed by several lackeys. Silver identity badges were pinned to their chests, making it obvious that they came from noble families.

The muscular youth swept his gaze across the first floor. When it landed on Yun Tian's table of work-study students, the corner of his mouth immediately curled in disdain.

"Tch, stinking up the cafeteria again."

He deliberately raised his voice so that the entire first floor could hear him. "I'm talking about you work-study students. Can't you have a little self-awareness? It's bad enough that you take up space on the first floor to eat that pig slop, but don't let the smell of poverty drift all the way up to the second floor. How are we supposed to eat?"

The lackeys behind him immediately burst into laughter.

"A bunch of paupers, and they still have the nerve to freeload in the cafeteria."

"If the academy hadn't taken pity on them, they wouldn't even be allowed through the door."

"Fine, eat if you want, but listen to them smacking their lips like starving ghosts reincarnated."

Mocking voices rose one after another. Many of the work-study students on the first floor lowered their heads, clutching their bowls tightly, furious but too afraid to speak.

They had long grown used to this. Noble children bullying work-study students was an old tradition at Nuoding Academy. So long as nothing got too out of hand, the teachers turned a blind eye.

Wang Sheng's face flushed red, his fists cracking as he clenched them, but he still lowered his voice and said to Yun Tian, "Boss, forget it. They're only acting like this because their families have some money... Just endure it, and it'll pass."

"Endure it?"

Yun Tian set down his steamed bun and stood.

He patted Wang Sheng on the shoulder, then turned and walked toward the noble students at the stairway.

His steps were neither hurried nor slow, his back straight, his expression calm. Yet the chill in his eyes made those noble students unconsciously stop laughing.

"Y-you, what do you want?"

The muscular youth's surname was Chen, and his name was Chen Lang. He was a notorious noble troublemaker at Nuoding Academy. His martial soul was a wolf, and he was a rank-nine Soul Master. Used to bullying work-study students, he had never encountered anyone who dared fight back.

Yun Tian stopped before him. Though he was nearly half a head shorter, the pressure he exuded somehow forced Chen Lang to take a step back.

"Who said those things just now?" Yun Tian asked. His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly through the entire cafeteria.

Chen Lang craned his neck. "I did! So what? You're just a work-study student who just enrolled. Don't tell me you want to—"

Bang!

Yun Tian raised his leg and kicked Chen Lang in the knee. Chen Lang felt his right leg go numb, and he involuntarily dropped to one knee.

Before he could react, Yun Tian's right hand swung backhandedly across his face. The force was heavy as a mountain, sending Chen Lang flying sideways into a table behind him. Bowls and plates shattered across the floor.

The cafeteria fell deathly silent.

The smiles had yet to fade from the noble lackeys' faces, but now they froze there.

"If your mouth is filthy, you deserve to be hit."

Yun Tian withdrew his hand without even looking at Chen Lang, who lay on the ground clutching his face and howling. His gaze shifted to the other noble students. "What about you? Who laughed just now?"

The lackeys' legs went weak as they retreated again and again.

Yun Tian took a step forward, his figure flashing between them like a ghost. After three punches and two kicks, all five or six noble students were on the ground, crying out in pain.

The entire process took only a few breaths.

Every work-study student on the first floor stared wide-eyed. Wang Sheng nearly spilled his brown rice porridge, Xiao Wu stood frozen with half a steamed bun in her mouth, while Tang San frowned slightly.

Yun Tian's speed and strength just now had been even greater than when he fought Tang San. He had clearly been truly angered.

Yun Tian stepped over the broken porcelain shards and returned to Chen Lang. He bent down into a squat, looking at the youth whose face was swollen high on one side.

"One gold soul coin."

"Wh... what?" Chen Lang mumbled indistinctly.

"One gold soul coin from each of you, paid to us work-study students."

Yun Tian's tone was calm. "That is compensation for mocking us. If you don't pay, then none of you will leave here today. When the cafeteria closes tonight, I'll throw you out one by one."