Dormitory Boss

Tall plane trees lined both sides of the campus path, their thick, dense leaves filtering the afternoon sunlight into scattered flecks of gold across the blue-brick ground. He found the dormitory building, a grayish-white three-story structure with patches of peeling paint exposing darker mortar beneath. The second-floor corridor was quiet, with sound-activated lights flickering on every few steps. He stopped outside room 205, turned the key, and with a click, the door opened.

Someone was already inside.

Four metal-framed beds stood on either side of the room, with a long table in the middle. The tabletop was scratched, and a used pencil lead was wedged beneath one corner. A boy in round glasses sat on the bed by the window, reading with his head lowered. Hearing the door, he glanced up at Tang Wulin, adjusted his glasses, then looked back down.

Tang Wulin found his own bed, the upper bunk farther inside. He set his bag on it and pulled out the little floral quilt Na'er had embroidered for him, shaking it open and smoothing it flat. Several crooked little flowers had been stitched onto the pale quilt, the stitches unevenly spaced. One flower even had two extra petals. He pressed a palm against the quilt and traced the outline of one flower with his fingertips.

"That quilt of yours is pretty flashy."

Tang Wulin turned around. A sturdy boy stood in the doorway, more than half a head taller than him, his arms as thick as tree trunks. He wore a faded sleeveless shirt, and the sweat stains on his chest had yet to dry. With his arms folded, he swept his gaze across Tang Wulin's floral quilt, a malicious smile curling at his lips.

"Kid, do you know the rules for newcomers? The dorm cleaning is your job."

Tang Wulin stood beside the bed and looked at him without replying.

"What are you looking at?" The boy strode over and reached for the quilt. "My name is Zhou Changxi. From now on, I'm your boss."

The instant his hand touched the edge of the quilt, Tang Wulin stepped sideways and blocked him. Though he was much shorter, the leg he planted might as well have been nailed to the floor. He did not retreat even half a step. Zhou Changxi's hand froze in midair, and the smile slowly vanished from his face. He stared at the boy a head shorter than himself—Tang Wulin's expression had barely changed, and his eyes were far too calm for someone his age.

"What, you want to fight?" Zhou Changxi clenched his fists until they cracked, then glanced at Yun Xiao in the corner. "Come on, then. Whoever wins is the boss."

"Sure," Tang Wulin said. "You said it yourself."

Zhou Changxi wasted no more words. He swung his fist, his large body lunging forward as the punch tore through the air toward Tang Wulin's face. Tang Wulin did not move, but just as the fist was about to land, an invisible pressure exploded from his small body. Heavy as a mountain flood pouring down, it instantly enveloped the entire room.

Bang.

Zhou Changxi's fist stopped two inches from Tang Wulin's nose. His knees hit the floor first, followed by the rest of him. He collapsed face-down, forehead pressed to the floorboards, trembling all over and drenched in sweat. His mind felt stuffed with tangled hemp, his vision blurred and doubled. He opened his mouth to say something, but could not force out a single word. Then his vision went black, and he lay still.

The book in Yun Xiao's hands fell to the floor with a slap. His mouth hung open for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence. "Ah... y-you... what kind of move was that?"

"Mental control." Tang Wulin crouched down and turned Zhou Changxi over so he lay on his back. "He's tired. Let him sleep for a while."

He looked up at Yun Xiao, his expression calm. "Do you want to sleep for a while too?"

"N-no, no, no, no!" Yun Xiao shook his head fiercely, shrinking back onto his bed. He picked up his book and held it in front of his face. "I don't. Not at all."

Tang Wulin stood and sat back down on the edge of his bed.

The door closed. The dormitory fell quiet, leaving only the rustling of leaves outside the window. The two exchanged a few scattered words in the corner. Yun Xiao flipped through his book, occasionally glancing up at Tang Wulin before quickly lowering his head again. Tang Wulin unwrapped the candy Na'er had given him and put it into his mouth. Just as its sweetness spread over his tongue, the door was suddenly pushed open.

A blond boy stood in the doorway, tall and slender, his white jacket unzipped to reveal part of a white T-shirt beneath. He swept his eyes around the dormitory, pausing briefly at Zhou Changxi lying on the floor before raising an eyebrow.

"Is this my dormitory? What a dump." He walked in, tossed the backpack from his shoulder onto an empty bed, unzipped it, and began putting his things away. "Hello, my name is Xie Xie. If you don't want me to beat you out of here, don't try any funny business."

"Hello, my name is Tang Wulin."

Xie Xie patted his pillow twice and set it in place, then glanced at the person lying on the floor. "Why is there someone lying down over there?"

"Him?" Tang Wulin sat on the lower bunk, elbows resting on his knees. "He said whoever won would be the boss. Now I've won."

Xie Xie stopped folding his quilt. He tilted his head, a lock of blond hair sliding down over his forehead as he gave Tang Wulin another careful look.

"So you're strong, then?"

"You could say that," Tang Wulin said. "At least, stronger than you."

Xie Xie's brows drew together. He tossed the quilt onto the bed, turned, and took a step toward the upper bunk. "You can try."

Before he had even finished speaking, before he had fully steadied himself, that invisible pressure descended again—the exact same pressure Zhou Changxi had felt. Xie Xie's body stiffened violently, his knees bending against his will before he crashed to the floor. He tried to brace himself, but the pressure was as heavy as a mountain, firmly pinning him down. No matter how he struggled, he could not move an inch.

"You..." Xie Xie gritted his teeth and looked up at the upper bunk. His golden bangs were soaked with sweat and stuck to his forehead, his eyes filled with shock and unwillingness. But in the end, he could not hold on. His head dropped, and he collapsed motionless on the floor.

Tang Wulin withdrew his gaze, the corner of his mouth twitching as he silently murmured to himself.

Brother, sorry about this. I have to give you some pressure so you'll have the motivation to improve. Otherwise, where would you find the drive to climb higher? Then chasing Yuan En later won't be so hard.

Sigh.

Yun Xiao had curled up on the bed in the corner, holding his book over his face. Only his eyes were visible, darting about restlessly.

"Th-this... is he really human? Isn't he some humanoid soul beast? He won't eat the three of us, will he?"

Not long afterward, hurried footsteps came from the far end of the corridor. The door was pushed open from outside, and a middle-aged man in black-rimmed glasses stood in the doorway, sweat beading on his forehead. He looked down—two people lay unconscious on the floor, one broad and heavy, the other tall and slender. The corner of his mouth twitched, and his voice rose sharply. "Fighting in the dormitory? Causing trouble on your very first day?"

Tang Wulin stood up from the bed and respectfully called out, "Teacher."

"Don't call me Teacher!" Director Long glared at him. "Did you beat these two up?" Tang Wulin nodded. Director Long's gaze swept back and forth between Zhou Changxi and Xie Xie before returning to Tang Wulin's face. His expression changed several times.

"Good kid, why were you fighting?" He took a deep breath.

"Reporting to Teacher, he wanted to bully me. I had no choice but to..." Tang Wulin pointed at Zhou Changxi.

The corner of Director Long's mouth twitched. "Was he too?" Looking at Xie Xie sprawled on the ground, he remembered this boy—level eighteen.

"Uh... this one counts too, I suppose." Tang Wulin wore an utterly harmless expression.

"The four of you, report directly to Class Five tomorrow."

The door slammed shut. The footsteps gradually faded, and the corridor fell quiet again. Outside the window, the plane leaves continued rustling as light seeped in through the glass, dyeing the two figures on the floor dark gray.

I can see Teacher Wu and Master's wife tomorrow. Hehe. Tang Wulin muttered inwardly.

Meanwhile, in Aolai City.

"Boss, is this really the place? This is way too shabby." A man in black examined Tang Wulin's cozy little home. "Boss? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Suddenly!

A dark golden dragon claw pierced through his body.

"Evil soul masters? Shouldn't they be from the Spirit Pagoda?" Di Tian's disgusted voice rang out.

"Just some filth festering within."