Dormitory 205

The corridor echoed with the clatter of freshmen dragging their luggage and the sounds of chatting and roughhousing. Tang Wulin gripped the slip of paper with his dorm number on it and stopped outside Dormitory 205.

He looked up to check the number plate. The three digits "205" on the metal sign matched the writing on his slip, so he raised a hand and pushed open the half-closed dorm door.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Tang Wulin. I'm new here."

Standing in the doorway with a canvas bag on his back, he greeted them with a smile and casually swept his gaze across the room.

The dormitory was empty. Only his voice echoed softly through the small space.

The room was not particularly old. Its walls were painted an ordinary cream color, though there were a few faint scuff marks around the corners.

A plastic-steel window was set into the wall by the window side. Its frame was silvery gray, and the glass was not especially thick. He could vaguely see the plane tree leaves swaying outside, and whenever the wind blew, the glass trembled slightly along with them.

Four metal bunk beds lined the walls on both sides, while two dark brown wooden tables were squeezed into the middle. They filled the already cramped room so thoroughly that anyone passing through had to draw in their shoulders slightly.

The floor was cement and covered with a thin layer of dust, along with several faint shoeprints. The dorm had probably been left uncleaned for too long during the break.

Three of the beds already had daily necessities on them: neatly folded blankets and toiletry bags propped against the walls. It was obvious that his roommates had already checked in, though he had no idea where they had gone. Only the upper bunk nearest the door was empty. Its bed board was spotless, with barely any dust on it.

"No one's here."

Tang Wulin muttered quietly, not thinking much of it. He set his canvas bag on the edge of the upper bunk, climbed up nimbly, and quickly spread out his bedding. That was enough to claim his spot.

When he climbed back down, he looked at the dust on the floor and the scraps of paper scattered near the table legs, then frowned.

A bamboo broom leaned in the corner, its bristles somewhat splayed. A wooden-handled mop stood slanted beside it.

At the corner of the table sat a communal enamel washbasin with some chipped paint. A half-dry coarse cloth rag lay inside. They were all standard dorm cleaning supplies.

Tang Wulin walked over, picked up the broom, and began sweeping along the wall.

The bamboo broom swept over the cement floor, raising fine dust that the sunlight streaming in through the window made perfectly visible, like drifting golden sand.

Jin Qiu's translucent figure floated outside the window, sitting there with one leg crossed over the other as he ate grilled skewers.

When he swept beneath the table, Tang Wulin suddenly stopped. Leaning on the broom, he wore a conflicted expression.

"Big Brother Jin, I keep feeling that... the Golden Sacred Dragon Spear seems a little like an Evil Martial Soul."

He spoke quietly, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

He still remembered clearly how, on the train last time, the spear had pierced through the Evil Soul Master's chest and crazily devoured his life force and soul power.

That tyrannical sensation of plundering everything was far too similar to the characteristics of Evil Martial Souls that he had seen in the news.

He raised his right hand, and a faint golden glow gathered in his palm. The phantom of a spear tip flickered at his fingertips, its restrained devouring sensation faintly appearing and disappearing.

"There are no evil martial souls, only evil Soul Masters."

Jin Qiu leaned against the window frame and casually replied. His tone was calm, yet carried a few traces of certainty.

"But the news says that most people who awaken Evil Martial Souls eventually become Evil Soul Masters."

Tang Wulin pursed his lips and leaned the broom against the table. The concern on his face did not fade.

He had grown up in Aolai City and had heard adults talk about Evil Soul Masters plenty of times. He had also seen many official news reports.

Many of them had not been bad people when they first awakened, but little by little, they had gone astray.

He was a little afraid—afraid that, holding a spear capable of absorbing someone's life force, he might one day lose control as well.

"Didn't I tell you that when you think about something, you need to dig down to the root instead of just looking at the surface?"

The corner of Jin Qiu's mouth twitched, but he did not explain directly. He merely asked a question in return.

"What, have you forgotten everything I taught you these past few years?"

Tang Wulin froze for a moment, scratched his head, and lowered it to ponder for a long while. In the end, he still could not quite figure it out.

He raised his head and looked at Jin Qiu, his eyes filled with eagerness to learn.

"Big Brother Jin, then why is it? Why do people with Evil Martial Souls usually end up becoming Evil Soul Masters?"

Jin Qiu did not give him an answer directly. Instead, he posed a question.

"Then let me ask you this. Suppose you had just awakened an Evil Martial Soul in everyone else's eyes. If you wanted to grow stronger step by step, what would you encounter along the way?"

Hearing that, Tang Wulin truly lowered his head and began thinking seriously.

His fingers unconsciously picked at the edge of the table. Stories he had heard and snippets from news reports flashed through his mind before he slowly spoke.

"People would look down on you. Everyone would avoid you. The Spirit Pagoda wouldn't sell you a suitable Soul Spirit. The city defense squad would keep an eye on you... You might even be arrested and interrogated as a potential Evil Soul Master without having done anything at all."

The more he spoke, the heavier his voice became. He was not making this up; these were things that had genuinely happened in Aolai City.

"Right."

Jin Qiu nodded and continued along that line of thought.

"Then at that point, if you still wanted to become stronger, if you still wanted to survive, you would only have one path left. Tell me, what path would that be?"

Tang Wulin suddenly raised his head, a flash of understanding appearing in his eyes.

"Then I could only become an Evil Soul Master."

He murmured it, as though he had finally understood the key. It was not Evil Martial Souls that turned people bad; it was everyone else forcing them onto the path of Evil Soul Masters.

Every righteous door had been shut in their faces. Only the path through darkness remained. Even if they did not want to take it, they had no choice.

"At least you're not completely stupid."

Jin Qiu calmly gave the final conclusion.

"That's why Evil Soul Masters have been killed generation after generation, yet they can never be wiped out.

The solution at the root has always been wrong.

People only think about killing them, never about why they exist. The more they kill, the harsher the backlash becomes."

Tang Wulin fell silent.

He stood in the cramped dormitory, still gripping the broom handle. Sunlight fell across his profile, leaving one half bright and the other dark.

After a long while, he finally raised his head. His eyes shone brilliantly, and his voice carried the burning determination unique to youth.

"Big Brother Jin, I want to change all of this.

I want a future where no one is looked at through colored glasses because of their martial soul, no matter what kind it is. No one should be ostracized because of the martial soul they were born with, and no one should be forced into taking an evil path."

"Change it?"

Jin Qiu raised an eyebrow at him. His tone remained flat, even carrying a hint of blunt mockery.

"Then get the hell out there and cultivate. If you want to realize your dreams, rely on your fists, not a few pretty words.

You haven't even broken the first seal yet. You have to go all out just to beat a Soul Elder. What use is all this big talk?"

As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed out the window.

"If I'm not mistaken, classes officially start tomorrow. You'll have plenty of suffering waiting for you.

Stop thinking about all this nonsense. Finish sweeping first, then sit down and cultivate."

Just as Jin Qiu finished speaking, footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Click."

As the doorknob turned softly with a faint scrape of metal, someone pushed the dorm door open from outside, leaving a narrow crack.

Afternoon sunlight slanted through the gap, casting a long strip of warm light across the freshly swept cement floor.

The person outside first poked half his head in. His light purple hair was a messy tangle, with several stray locks sticking up. A pair of black-rimmed round glasses rested on his nose, and behind the lenses were light purple eyes of the same shade. They held a cautious, probing look, like a timid little squirrel.

He pushed the door open and walked inside, holding a thick stack of brand-new textbooks in his arms. The edges of the pages still carried the fresh scent of ink.

The boy was thin and small, his narrow shoulders unable to fill his oversized school uniform jacket. The hem swayed loosely around him, making him look frail enough to be blown over by a slightly stronger gust of wind.

The moment he stepped over the threshold, he looked up and met Tang Wulin's eyes. Tang Wulin stood beside the table, still holding a half-dry rag.

His footsteps abruptly halted. He froze in place, and the books in his arms slid halfway down. Fortunately, he instinctively caught them before they fell to the floor.

After several seconds of silence, he raised a hand and pushed his glasses back up from the tip of his nose. His voice was soft and weak, tinged with uncertain hesitation.

"Are... are you the new roommate?"

"Hello, I'm Tang Wulin. I'm new here."

Tang Wulin draped the rag over the edge of the washbasin, smiled, and nodded at him brightly.

"Something happened on the way and delayed me, so I only came to check in today."

At those words, the boy visibly relaxed. Even his tense shoulders sagged.

Holding the books, he walked to the lower bunk farther inside, gently stacked the textbooks at the head of the bed, and introduced himself as well.

"Hello, my name is Yun Xiao. Yun as in clouds, Xiao as in small. I only arrived yesterday too."

"Did you come back alone? Where are the others?"

Tang Wulin glanced at the other two made-up beds and asked casually.

He had noticed while cleaning that the three occupied beds had very different styles. Yun Xiao's was neatly made, with an open comic book beside the pillow. Another lower bunk was arranged carelessly, with a dumbbell leaning beside it. The upper bunk, meanwhile, was almost excessively clean, with barely any personal belongings.

"They're still eating in the cafeteria."

Yun Xiao sat on the edge of his bed, unconsciously picking at the corner of a textbook.

"I don't eat much, so I finished quickly and came back first to organize my books. The braised pork ribs in the cafeteria today smelled really good. If you haven't eaten yet, you can go try them later."

As he spoke, he looked up at Tang Wulin with curiosity in his eyes.

"By the way, which class were you assigned to? Out of the four people in our dorm, it seems like three of us are in Class Five."

"Based on my strength, I was supposed to be assigned to Class One. But something happened, and I ended up in Class Five."

Tang Wulin said it lightly as he swept the scraps of paper near the table into the dustpan.

"Class One?!"

Yun Xiao abruptly raised his head, his eyes widening behind his glasses. The glasses slid down to the bridge of his nose, and he hurriedly pushed them back up. His tone was full of disbelief.

"That's the top elite class in the whole year! So many people can't squeeze their way in even by pulling strings. What on earth did you do to get transferred directly from Class One to Class Five?"

In his understanding, only punishment at the level of a major demerit could cause such a huge drop.

"It wasn't anything serious. I was just a day late checking in."

Tang Wulin scratched the back of his head and smiled a little awkwardly.

"The school has its rules. It's only right to be punished for being late."

"Just because you were late?"

Yun Xiao's mouth fell slightly open, his face full of disbelief.

"That's way too strict... You were only late by one day, and they moved you straight from Class One to Class Five."

He clicked his tongue, increasingly feeling that this new roommate was rather unfortunate.

"By the way, which class are you in?"

Tang Wulin emptied the trash from the dustpan into the wastebasket and turned to look at him.

At that question, Yun Xiao's face fell. His shoulders drooped with a hint of grievance.

"I'm in Class Five too.

It was bad luck. The day I arrived at the dorm, I ran into the other two roommates fighting. I was too scared to step in and stop them. The dean who was inspecting the dorms happened to catch me there and said I was ignoring a conflict between classmates. I got punished along with them and was assigned to Class Five."

He paused, then added.

"It was the other two people in the dorm, Xie Xie and Zhou Changxi. They were the main culprits who started fighting, so they were both assigned to Class Five too."

Hearing that, Tang Wulin swept his gaze over the floor and the table legs.

He had noticed while cleaning that there were several faint scratches near the door, and the table legs were a little crooked, as though they had been struck by something heavy.

He had assumed they were marks left from moving luggage, but now it seemed they had been left by the fight.

"Why were the two of them fighting?"

Tang Wulin asked curiously.

"Ah, it was all over something minor."

Yun Xiao waved his hand, his tone carrying helplessness and fear.

"Zhou Changxi was the first one to arrive at the dorm. He said that made him the senior one, so he wanted to be dorm leader and ordered Xie Xie to sweep the floor and take out the trash.

Xie Xie refused and asked why he should listen to him. They only argued for a few sentences before they started fighting.

Zhou Changxi looked really strong, but he couldn't beat Xie Xie. They were still making a scene when Director Long caught them in the act."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice and leaned closer.

"I'll tell you secretly, Xie Xie looks thin, but he moves incredibly fast. Zhou Changxi barely even touched the corner of his clothes."

"Click."

The moment his words fell, the dormitory door was pushed open again.

This time, the movement was much louder. The door was shoved more than halfway open, and a tall, burly figure filled the doorway, blocking most of the light.

The newcomer was very tall, a full head taller than Tang Wulin. His shoulders were broad and solid, and the muscles in his arms stretched his school uniform sleeves tight. He looked like he was packed full of strength.

He carried two stainless steel meal bowls in his hands. They clanged together as he walked. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his face still held lingering gloom, making him look difficult to approach.

"Old Zhou, you're back."

The moment Yun Xiao saw him, he immediately stood from the edge of the bed and greeted him softly.

Zhou Changxi gave a muffled "Mm" and stepped into the dorm.

He was just about to set the meal bowls on the table when he caught sight of Tang Wulin standing beside it from the corner of his eye. His movement instantly stopped.

His brows furrowed even more deeply. He looked Tang Wulin up and down twice, stepped forward, and spoke in a rough voice that rumbled like muffled thunder.

"Who are you? How did you just walk into our dorm?"

"Hello, my name is Tang Wulin. I'm new here. I was a day late checking in, so I only came today."

Facing the fierce-looking burly boy, Tang Wulin showed no fear and continued to explain with a smile.

He stood straight. The purple-and-yellow shirt he wore was especially eye-catching in the afternoon sunlight. Though he was more than half a head shorter than Zhou Changxi, his presence was not the least bit weaker.

"A new one, huh..."

Zhou Changxi dragged out the words as he looked down at him.

His gaze swept over Tang Wulin's washed-faded canvas bag, then over the little bit of road dust on his pant legs. He then turned to survey the spotless floor—the broom in the corner was neatly propped up, the tabletop had been wiped until it gleamed, and even the dust between the table legs was gone. It was obvious that someone had just cleaned the room.

His thoughts took a turn.

After being beaten up by Xie Xie yesterday, he had been holding in a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it. He had been worrying over how to recover some face.

This new roommate looked thin and small, like someone from some rural county town. He was perfect for establishing his authority and venting some of the resentment in his heart.

He could not beat Xie Xie, that level-eighteen genius, but could he not handle some country bumpkin who had appeared from who knew where?

With that thought, he slammed the two stainless steel meal bowls onto the wooden table with a clang.

The leftover soup inside sloshed, splattering several drops of grease across the clean tabletop.

He crossed his arms, lifted his chin slightly, and spoke in a commanding tone.

"Since you cleaned the dorm today, wash the dirty clothes I changed out of while you're at it, and we'll call this matter settled.

From now on, follow my arrangements in the dorm. You'll get your share of benefits."

He nodded toward the space beneath the bed.

A dirty laundry basket was stuffed there, containing two or three changed-out tracksuits that still carried a faint scent of sweat.

"Why should I help you wash your clothes?"

Tang Wulin raised an eyebrow and asked calmly.

He was not the sort to fear trouble, much less someone who would become another person's servant for no reason the moment he entered the dorm.

"You still dare ask why?"

Zhou Changxi immediately flared up.

He took a large step forward, his burly frame radiating intense pressure as he nearly pressed himself right up against Tang Wulin.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking. The muscles in his arms tightened, stretching his school uniform sleeves into bulges.

Ferocity covered his face, and his hoarse voice carried a threat.

"What, you dare refuse my demand? Is your skin itching for a beating?"

He was already prepared. If this newcomer dared talk back again, he would smash a fist into him and give him a lesson first.

"Tang Wulin, listen to me."

Jin Qiu, floating by the window, spoke casually.

"Use Blue Silver Grass to tie him up first, then put the Golden Sacred Dragon Spear to his throat. Just remember not to actually stab him. Scare him a little, and that'll be enough."

He leaned against the window frame, spinning a golden leaf around his fingertips as he watched everything clearly.

This Zhou Changxi was the typical sort who bullied the weak and feared the strong. He was not bad by nature, merely spoiled enough to lose all sense of propriety. He needed to be taught a lesson.

A harsh beating would work better than a hundred lectures.

He was currently in a purely spiritual form. Only Tang Wulin could see him; no one else could even catch a shadow of him.

He could have condensed a spiritual body for ordinary people to see, but for such a trivial matter, there was no need.

Tang Wulin understood at once and did not hesitate in the slightest.

The instant Zhou Changxi raised his fist, he moved.

Without any warning, countless blue-green strands of Blue Silver Grass burst from gaps in the floor and around the edges of the table legs.

Faint purple patterns ran along the grass stems. Empowered by the Hardening soul skill, they were as tough as water-soaked sinew ropes.

They moved as fast as streaks of green lightning, winding up Zhou Changxi's ankles, coiling around his knees, waist, abdomen, and arms, binding even his wrists tightly.

"Hmm?!"

Zhou Changxi felt his ankles tighten, and his entire body was instantly pinned in place.

He instinctively struggled, the muscles in his arms tightening as he tried to break free from the inexplicable grass vines.

But though the Blue Silver Grass looked thin, its strength was astonishing. The more he struggled, the tighter the stems constricted, biting painfully into his arms and even slowing the circulation of his soul power.

He had just opened his mouth to summon his martial soul when a flash of golden light appeared before his eyes.

With a soft hum.

A long spear of brilliant gold appeared out of thin air in Tang Wulin's hand. Dragon scale patterns on the shaft gleamed with cold light, while the spearhead was sharp as a frosty star, carrying an inexplicable pressure of majesty.

Tang Wulin flicked his wrist, moving so quickly that only an afterimage remained.

The icy spear tip pressed precisely against Zhou Changxi's throat, resting directly over his pulsing carotid artery. The cold sensation raced through his body from his skin.

The entire process had been absurdly fast.

From the emergence of the Blue Silver Grass to the spear at his throat, no more than a second had passed.

Zhou Changxi had not even had time to summon his martial soul before he was completely subdued.

His entire body stiffened, frozen in the pose of a clenched fist, not daring to move.

The chill of the spear tip seemed to bore through his skin and into his bones. That domineering dragon might weighed heavily on his chest, and he did not even dare breathe too hard.

He could clearly feel that if the youth before him pushed forward even half an inch, the sharp spearhead would pierce his throat.

The shadow of death instantly descended. Cold sweat burst from his back and ran down his spine, quickly soaking the lining of his school uniform.

His burly body trembled faintly. The arrogance and savage ferocity from before vanished without a trace, and even his legs went weak.

If Blue Silver Grass had not bound him so tightly, he might have collapsed straight onto the floor.

Yun Xiao, standing nearby, had long since been scared witless.

He had originally been standing by the bed to watch the show, but when the situation suddenly took such a sharp turn, he recoiled in fright and slammed his back into the metal locker with a thud.

He hurriedly covered his mouth, afraid that he might cry out. Sliding down along the locker, he hid behind it and only dared peek out with half his face exposed.

His glasses had slipped to the tip of his nose, yet he did not dare raise a hand to push them back. His purple eyes were wide with terror.

He had thought the new roommate was about to be beaten up. He never imagined the reversal would come so quickly.

"S-s-sorry!"

Zhou Changxi's voice trembled, and he stammered, utterly devoid of his earlier viciousness.

He was truly afraid.

He could feel that the killing intent on the spear was not an act. This new roommate truly dared to strike. If he kept trying to act tough, he would be the only one to suffer.

"I was wrong! I shouldn't have told you to wash my clothes! I shouldn't have threatened you! Can you move the spear away? I'll never dare do it again!"

He apologized in a rush, speaking quickly and anxiously, afraid that if he delayed for even a second, the spear tip would truly stab into him.

Seeing how Zhou Changxi's face had gone pale with fear, Tang Wulin did not make things difficult for him any further.

With a flick of his wrist, the brilliant golden spear instantly turned into specks of light and vanished into the air.

At the same time, with a thought from Tang Wulin, the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Zhou Changxi loosened one after another, withdrew along the floor, and disappeared without a trace, as though it had never existed.

The entire dormitory instantly returned to normal. Only the swaying mess tin on the table and the cold sweat covering Zhou Changxi's head proved that everything just now had not been an illusion.