Friends

He was still too weak, and his understanding of martial souls was too shallow. Rashly exploring that second power might bring unforeseeable consequences.

He might as well focus on cultivating the Black Dragon King martial soul first. Once he was strong enough, he could unravel that mystery.

Lu Mingfei extinguished the soul-guidance lamp, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

It was late at night. Under the moonlight, the Spirit Hall garrison was as quiet as a sleeping behemoth.

The window in Lu Mingfei's room had not been shut tightly, and a sliver of silvery moonlight leaked through the gap, falling right onto the back of his hand.

Under the moonlight, the Black Dragon King tattoo flickered faintly. A thin silver sheen surfaced over its black scales before quickly returning to normal.

Lu Mingfei was already asleep. He did not see any of it.

Deep within his dream.

A white dragon opened its silver-white eyes and looked down at the figure curled up in the darkness, its gaze carrying an indescribably complicated emotion...

There was anticipation, scrutiny, and a faint pity that seemed born of fate.

"Roar..."

The White Dragon King's voice was like a bell tolling from beyond the nine heavens, echoing through the boundless void.

Then the dream shattered. Lu Mingfei turned over, mumbled something, and fell into an even deeper sleep.

Outside the window, the night breeze brushed through the treetops with a soft rustling sound, as though someone were whispering under their breath, or as though some ancient prophecy were slowly unfolding.

The next morning, Lu Mingfei was awakened by a rapid knock on the door.

Still groggy, he climbed out of bed, thinking Zhou Dashan had sent someone to hurry him to training. But when he opened the door—

A round-faced boy half a head shorter than him stood outside, grinning broadly and showing a mouthful of white teeth.

"You're Lu Mingfei, right? My name's Chen Xiaolu, and I live next door."

The round-faced boy squeezed into the room as though they were old friends, plopped down on the edge of Lu Mingfei's bed, and swung his short legs back and forth.

"I saw your test that day. Oh my god, that punch of yours cracked the stone platform! You were incredible!"

Lu Mingfei yawned. He was not fully awake yet, and merely replied vaguely, "Oh... thanks."

"What are you thanking me for? We're classmates from now on."

Chen Xiaolu pulled two steaming white-flour buns from his clothes. He stuffed one into Lu Mingfei's hand and started gnawing on the other one himself.

"They just came out of the cafeteria. I secretly took an extra one, so don't tell anyone. You use up so much energy, you need to build yourself up."

Holding the warm bun, Lu Mingfei froze for two seconds.

Back in Holy Soul Village, Old Jack had raised him alone, and their life had been tight. They could only afford white-flour buns once every few days.

Although he had entered Spirit Hall now and ate much better than before, having someone voluntarily bring him food still made something warm stir in his chest.

"Thank you," Lu Mingfei said again, this time far more sincerely.

Chen Xiaolu finished his bun in a few bites, wiped his mouth, then leaned close to Lu Mingfei and lowered his voice.

"Hey, you need to watch yourself. You stood out way too much during the test, and quite a few people in the camp don't like the look of you.

"Especially that guy Wang Teng. He's thirteen, has level twenty-three soul power, and already has two soul rings. He throws his weight around in our junior camp, and nobody dares mess with him.

"After he heard about your talent, he said he'd find a chance to give you some pointers."

"Give me pointers?" Lu Mingfei took a bite of the bun without changing expression. "How exactly?"

"How else? By beating you up."

Chen Xiaolu rolled his eyes. "That's just how he is. He can't stand seeing anyone better than him.

"Last time, there was a newcomer with level nineteen soul power. Wang Teng found an excuse to beat him up on the training field. The guy was laid up for days before he could get back on his feet.

"You'd better be careful. His soul power is higher than yours, and he has soul rings too. You really can't beat him."

Lu Mingfei took another bite of the bun and said nothing.

He was processing the information Chen Xiaolu had given him.

Wang Teng, thirteen years old, level twenty-three, two soul rings.

That was indeed an outstanding setup in the junior camp, but Lu Mingfei was not particularly afraid.

His mind raced through all sorts of possibilities, considering how he should respond if Wang Teng really cornered him.

Going head-to-head definitely would not be worth it. But just because he could not win did not mean he was the sort to offer up his other cheek after being slapped.

"Alright, I got it." Lu Mingfei stuffed the last bite of bun into his mouth. "Thanks, brother."

Seeing how calm he looked, Chen Xiaolu became even more worried. He opened his mouth to say something else, but the whistle calling them to training had already sounded.

The two hurriedly got ready and ran toward the training field together.

The first class that morning was soul power control.

Instructor Ye Fei had brought a new training device today... a soul power sensing disc.

It was a palm-sized round jade disc with intricate patterns carved across its surface. Once soul power was infused into it, the disc would emit different colors of light depending on the strength and purity of the soul power.

Ye Fei had everyone take turns injecting soul power into the sensing disc, continuously adjusting their output according to her instructions to make its glow shift between specific colors.

Lu Mingfei was the first to step up.

He placed his right hand over the sensing disc, and black soul power slowly flowed into it. The jade disc instantly lit up with a deep purple glow.

Ye Fei instructed, "Switch to blue."

With a thought, Lu Mingfei slightly reduced his soul power output. The disc's color transitioned from deep purple to pale blue and stabilized.

"Switch to red."

"Switch to gold."

Lu Mingfei could complete every change within a few breaths. Each color was also exceptionally pure, without the slightest trace of impurity.

Ye Fei nodded in satisfaction and signaled for Lu Mingfei to step down.

But at the very instant Lu Mingfei withdrew his hand, the patterns on the sensing disc suddenly flickered abnormally.

An extremely faint silver-white glimmer flashed deep within the patterns, vanishing so quickly it seemed like an illusion.

Ye Fei narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced at Lu Mingfei, but he had already returned to the group, his expression unchanged.

She shook her head, assuming there had been a minor malfunction with the sensing disc, and did not investigate further.

When it was the other students' turn, Lu Mingfei stood at the back of the line, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd.

He spotted the Wang Teng Chen Xiaolu had mentioned.

Wang Teng stood at the very front of the line. He was a full head taller than everyone around him, broad-shouldered and thick-backed, with an arrogant, domineering air on his square face.

Two star badges adorned his collar, the highest rank among all the students.

Wang Teng had also seen Lu Mingfei's performance just now. A trace of scrutiny and wariness flashed through his eyes, though an amused smile lingered on his lips.

Lu Mingfei did not meet his gaze for long and naturally looked away.

He did not want to stir up trouble right now. Training properly and improving his strength came before anything else.