Dragon Director Wants to See You

(Sorry, everyone. I have my middle school entrance exams coming up, so updates have been a little slow lately.)

Tang Wulin carried Xie Xie on his back and steadily climbed to the second floor, one step at a time.

Xie Xie lay limply against his back, his head tilted into the hollow of Tang Wulin's shoulder, his eyes tightly shut. His long lashes cast a faint shadow beneath his eyes.

A small patch of his left cheek was swollen, conspicuously red, as though smeared with pale pink rouge. There were even tiny bits of grass stuck to the corner of his mouth.

His even breaths brushed against Tang Wulin's neck, warm and carrying the crisp scent unique to a young boy. Clearly, he was still unconscious.

Tang Wulin walked steadily, neither too fast nor too slow. Xie Xie looked slender, but he was not light. An ordinary nine-year-old would struggle even to support someone while walking, much less carry them up the stairs.

But Tang Wulin had the Golden Dragon King's bloodline strength as his foundation. Carrying someone such a short distance only made him breathe a little harder and brought a thin sheen of sweat to his brow. He did not look the least bit disheveled.

One hand firmly supported Xie Xie beneath the knees while the other was free to gently push open the half-closed door to Dorm 205.

A bedside lamp was lit inside, its warm glow falling across the desk by the window, illuminating an open textbook on basic Soul Master theory and half a page of notes.

The upper bunk's curtain rustled as it was pulled open a narrow crack. Yun Xiao poked his head out, his messy purple hair sticking up everywhere, his black-framed glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose. He still held half of an unfinished comic book in his arms.

When he saw Tang Wulin come in, his eyes first lit up. Then his gaze fell upon the unconscious Xie Xie on Tang Wulin's back, and his pupils contracted slightly. He instinctively covered his mouth, forcibly swallowing the cry that had reached his lips and letting out only a faint gasp.

"Tang Wulin, you're back."

He greeted him softly, his voice as thin and timid as ever.

His gaze quickly swept over Xie Xie's swollen cheek before he hurriedly looked away. Lowering his eyes, he picked at the iron railing of the bed frame, afraid that looking any longer would bring trouble upon himself.

"Director Long came looking for you just now with two other people. They knocked for quite a while.

"I told him you weren't here. He specifically told me to have you go to his office the moment you returned. Don't delay."

Tang Wulin did not answer. He first carried Xie Xie over to his bunk, bent his knees slightly, and carefully placed him on the upper mattress.

His movements were gentle. Supporting Xie Xie's neck, he slowly laid him flat, then pulled over the neatly folded thin blanket beside the bed and covered his stomach with it so he would not catch a chill at night. Only then did he straighten up, wipe the thin sweat from his brow, and reveal a clear look of confusion.

"Director Long? What does he want with me?"

He was somewhat puzzled.

The registration procedures had been completed at noon. He had been assigned to a class and a dormitory, and even his punishment for being late had already been settled with Class Five. What could they possibly want from him now?

They couldn't be changing their minds and transferring me to Class Four, could they?

Yun Xiao shook his head, absentmindedly winding his fingers around the mosquito-net cord hanging from the bed. He lowered his voice even further, as if sharing a secret.

"I don't know exactly what it was about. But... the two people Director Long brought with him were both wearing dark blue City Defense Corps uniforms. They had silver shield-shaped badges on their shoulders, with Eastsea City's emblem engraved on them. They looked really serious."

He paused, trying hard to recall the details, then added,

"They also asked when you registered and which class you were assigned to. They were very thorough. But Director Long was quite nice about it. He didn't frown even once, so it didn't seem like they were here to criticize you."

Tang Wulin gave an "Oh" and nodded to show that he understood.

He did not ask anything further. Picking up the canvas bag hanging over the back of a chair, he dusted it off, turned, pulled open the dormitory door, and headed steadily toward the middle division's office building.

The dormitory door clicked shut. Only then did Yun Xiao dare climb down from the upper bunk. Barefoot, he stepped onto the cold cement floor and tiptoed quietly over to Xie Xie's bed, craning his neck to look at him.

Xie Xie lay on his side with half his face buried in the pillow. The swollen side of his face happened to be exposed, bright red and looking both pitiful and somewhat ridiculous.

He slept deeply, his brows faintly furrowed as though he were dreaming of something unpleasant.

Yun Xiao's heart was full of doubts, pounding wildly in his chest.

That afternoon, while washing clothes in the washroom, he had heard students from the neighboring dorm gathering together to say that Xie Xie had arranged a fight with his new roommate.

At the time, he had broken out in a cold sweat, thinking Tang Wulin was bound to suffer.

After all, during Class Five's meeting that morning, Xie Xie had gone up to introduce himself. His martial soul was the Light Dragon Dagger, and his soul power was level eighteen.

The moment he finished speaking, the whole class erupted.

A nine-year-old level-eighteen Grand Soul Master—such talent was considered top-tier even among all the new middle division students, much less in their Class Five, the lowest-ranked class of the entire grade.

At the time, the students below had whispered among themselves, all assuming that Xie Xie was definitely the strongest person in Class Five.

But now?

Xie Xie had been carried back, his face swollen, lying unconscious on his bed without anyone knowing when he would wake up.

Tang Wulin, meanwhile, had barely needed to catch his breath. There was not the slightest injury on his face, and he looked perfectly fine as he went off to see the dean.

"Just how strong is Tang Wulin... Even level-eighteen Xie Xie couldn't beat him."

Yun Xiao muttered softly, then quickly covered his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and scampered back to his own bunk.

Curled up in the corner of his bed, hugging his blanket, he still felt lingering fear.

At first, he had thought that Tang Wulin, having been assigned to Class Five after arriving a day late, might be some unruly troublemaker with only average strength.

Now, though, this was nowhere near average. He was clearly a formidable person hiding his true abilities.

I must never offend him in the dormitory from now on.

Meanwhile, Tang Wulin was walking along the tree-lined path toward the middle division's teaching building.

The streetlights along the roadside had lit up one after another. Their warm white light filtered through layers of plane-tree leaves, casting mottled, swaying shadows across the asphalt.

The evening breeze carried the fragrance of grass and trees, bringing the coolness unique to a summer night and dispersing the lingering heat of the day. The cicadas gradually quieted, while crickets in the grass began chirping one after another, making the night especially lively.

Students traveled the paths in groups of two or three. Some carried thick textbooks to evening self-study, some held popsicles as they laughed and played, while others wore tracksuits and headed toward the field. Everywhere was filled with the vibrant energy of youth.

With both hands in his pockets, Tang Wulin walked at an unhurried pace, already having a rough idea what this was about.

It was most likely related to what had happened on the soul-guided train.

When he registered at noon, Director Long Hengxu had recognized him as the boy from the news who had saved all the train's passengers. He had clearly said then that the academy would verify the details and apply for an official commendation for him.

Now that even the City Defense Corps had come to find him in person, the matter had probably been fully verified. They were either here to take an official statement for the records or to award him for his righteous actions.

He did not really care whether he received any commendation.

In that situation, any capable Soul Master would have acted.

They could not possibly stand by and watch an entire train full of unarmed ordinary people die at the hands of Evil Soul Masters.

Still, since the City Defense Corps had come all the way to the academy, the matter seemed more formal than he had expected.

As he thought, the middle division's office building had already appeared before him.

Most of the rooms in the entire building were dark. Only the office at the far eastern end of the third floor still glowed with warm yellow light, shining through the glass window and standing out sharply against the deepening dusk.

That was Director Long Hengxu's office.

Tang Wulin stopped beneath the steps and straightened his slightly wrinkled shirt. Raising a hand, he brushed the bits of grass from his pant legs—left there from his fight in the park that afternoon.

He took a deep breath, climbed the steps, and stopped steadily before the office door.

He raised his right hand, his knuckles just about to touch the dark brown wooden door.