The Present Tang Sect Is So Pathetic Even Dogs Would Shake Their Heads

He was a youth who looked only a little older than him.

He had neat, short dark-blue hair, regular features, gentle brows and eyes, and a faint smile at the corners of his lips. He gave off the refreshing feeling of a spring breeze.

When he saw Li Changqing push open the door, the youth looked up and gave him a friendly smile. "Hello, you must be my roommate, right? My name is Bei Bei. My martial soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, and my soul power is rank twenty-seven. Please take care of me."

He spoke casually, with an innate warmth that made it difficult for anyone to dislike him.

Li Changqing glanced at him, and his heart stirred slightly.

Bei Bei?

The great-grandson of Dragon God Douluo Mu En.

He closed the door, walked over to his bed, and sat down. "Li Changqing. My martial soul is the Heavenly Profound and Earthly Yellow Exquisite Pagoda. My soul power is rank thirty-eight."

The moment he finished speaking, the room fell silent for an instant.

The smile on Bei Bei's face froze.

He blinked, wondering whether he had misheard, and instinctively asked, "You said... what rank?"

"Rank thirty-eight." Li Changqing repeated it, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the pleasant weather.

Bei Bei: "..."

He fell silent for three seconds, then quietly turned to look out the window and took a deep breath.

Rank thirty-eight?

Was this some kind of joke?!

This kid did not even look older than him.

How had he cultivated to that level?

As the great-grandson of Dragon God Douluo Mu En, neither his talent nor his resources could be questioned.

Yet even so, he only had rank twenty-seven soul power.

At that thought, he suddenly felt that his title of "genius" seemed a little undeserved.

But Bei Bei was still Bei Bei, and he adjusted his mindset quickly.

He turned back around, the gentle smile returning to his face, and said sincerely, "Rank thirty-eight... that's amazing. It seems my roommate is an extraordinary genius."

Li Changqing shook his head and casually brushed it off. "Just luck."

Bei Bei smiled and did not press the matter further.

He could tell that Li Changqing did not want to talk more about the subject, so he tactfully changed topics. "By the way, today was your first day at the academy, right? How did it feel? Is there anything you're not used to?"

"It was alright. Better than I imagined." As Li Changqing spoke, he tidied up his bed.

"That's good."

Bei Bei nodded, then offered proactively, "If there's anything you don't understand or need help with, just tell me. I've been at the academy for a few years, so I know the place fairly well."

"Alright. Thanks in advance, then."

The two chatted for a while longer, mostly about trivial matters such as the academy environment and course arrangements.

Bei Bei was easygoing and talkative.

Although Li Changqing was not much of a talker, he did not make things awkward either. The two got along rather well.

As night deepened, the clamor outside the window gradually died down.

Li Changqing lay on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling as he replayed the day's events in his mind.

Enrolling at the academy, meeting Mu En, discussing the state of the continent with Ye Guyi on Snack Street, running into Jiang Nannan, returning to the dormitory and meeting Bei Bei...

Everything had gone fairly smoothly.

The next morning, sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains and into the dormitory, casting the room in a faint golden glow.

After washing up, Li Changqing and Bei Bei left the dormitory building together and headed toward the teaching building.

The Shrek Academy campus was huge. It took over ten minutes to walk from the dormitory area to the teaching area.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few students heading to their classrooms as well.

Some hurried along, while others walked in small groups of three or five, quietly discussing something.

As they walked, Bei Bei turned to look at Li Changqing, curiosity and inquiry in his eyes. "By the way, Changqing, you said last night that your martial soul is the Heavenly Profound and Earthly Yellow Exquisite Pagoda. I thought about it afterward, and that name sounds pretty imposing. But does your martial soul have anything to do with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda? Are you from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

Li Changqing shook his head, his tone calm. "No. I have no relationship whatsoever with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

He paused, then added, "Not only do I have nothing to do with them, I have no connection to any other power on the continent either."

The moment Bei Bei heard that, his eyes lit up, and his pace unconsciously slowed by half a beat. "So... you're a commoner soul master?"

"You could say that." Li Changqing nodded. He did not hide anything, since he truly was not considered nobility at present.

At most, he was merely a commoner soul master with decent strength.

That made the light in Bei Bei's eyes grow even brighter.

He rubbed his hands together, an almost ingratiating smile appearing on his face. Leaning closer, he lowered his voice and asked, "Then... have you heard of the Tang Sect?"

Li Changqing glanced at him, having already guessed most of it.

This guy wanted to recruit him.

He remembered that in the original story, Bei Bei was indeed a member of the Tang Sect, and one of its earliest core members besides Tang Ya.

The Tang Sect of today had long since lost the glory it possessed ten thousand years ago. It had declined into a miserable state.

Even Tang Ya, the sect master, had been driven out and left all alone, while the Tang Sect's residence had been seized by others.

As Tang Ya's lover, Bei Bei had always been looking for ways to help her revitalize the Tang Sect.

But the problem was that the current Tang Sect had no people, no money, and no resources. It was so pathetic even dogs would shake their heads at it.

Bei Bei's talent was not bad, but relying on him alone to make the Tang Sect rise again was simply a fool's dream.

So, he could only recruit people everywhere, especially talented and promising commoner soul masters with no backing.

People like that were the easiest to fool and the easiest to impress with the Tang Sect's former glory.

Although Li Changqing understood everything perfectly well, his expression remained unchanged as he casually replied, "Of course I've heard of it. It was once the number one sect in the world, founded by Sea God Tang San. Ten thousand years ago, it was incredibly glorious."

Bei Bei immediately perked up at those words and hurriedly struck while the iron was hot. "Then are you interested in joining our Tang Sect? With your talent, if you join the Tang Sect, you'll definitely become one of its pillars in the future!"

Li Changqing shook his head without hesitation. "No."

Bei Bei froze, clearly not expecting Li Changqing to refuse so decisively. "Why? Didn't you just say that the Tang Sect was once the number one sect in the world, and that it was founded by Ancestor Tang San? Isn't that enough to attract you?"

Li Changqing rolled his eyes, his tone carrying a trace of speechlessness. "Of course not. You said it yourself—that was its former glory. What does the former number one sect in the world have to do with the present? You should know better than I do what state the Tang Sect is in now. If I had the energy and time to help the Tang Sect return to its peak, why wouldn't I establish a sect of my own? Why would I insist on becoming Tang San's disciple's disciple and have to repay debts from ten thousand years ago on his behalf?"

Bei Bei opened his mouth, wanting to argue, only to find that every word the other party had said made perfect sense. There was nothing he could refute.

He was silent for a moment before finally sighing helplessly and no longer insisting. "You're right... the Tang Sect really doesn't have much appeal now. Forget I said anything."

Though he said that, a trace of disappointment still flashed through his eyes.

Li Changqing noticed it but said nothing.

He was not someone who liked to meddle in other people's affairs. The rise and fall of the Tang Sect had nothing to do with him.

Especially since it was a force founded by that bastard Tang San.