So Annoying

"Click."

The dormitory door closed softly behind him, making a faint metallic sound.

Tang Wulin hitched his canvas bag higher onto his shoulder and quickened his pace, nearly sprinting at full speed toward the teaching building.

Today was the first day of official classes. He had not gotten up particularly late, but after setting out, he realized he had forgotten something and went back for it, wasting several minutes. With only ten minutes left before class, he could not help speeding up.

As he ran, the scene in the dean's office last night kept replaying in his mind.

Things had been far simpler than he had expected.

The city defense team verified the train's surveillance footage and the testimony of more than a dozen passengers. They confirmed that Huang Feng'er and he had been the key forces in repelling the Evil Soul Masters and saving everyone on the train, then immediately decided on their rewards and commendations.

He had killed two Soul Elder-level Evil Soul Masters in succession and was counted as one of the main combatants, earning an individual reward of three hundred thousand Federal Coins.

Huang Feng'er had killed one Soul Elder and purified the poisonous miasma over a wide area, protecting the passengers in the rear half of the train. Her individual reward was two hundred and fifty thousand Federal Coins.

In addition, the two of them received a joint commendation bonus of seven hundred thousand Federal Coins for their collective act of heroism.

Their identity ranks had also been raised by two levels, directly granting them second-class citizen status. They also received permanent top-tier gold cards for soul-guided trains across the Federation. From then on, they could ride soul-guided trains on any route for free, use exclusive VIP passages, and bring three times the luggage allowance of ordinary passengers.

Although second-class citizen status did not come with as many privileges as first-class citizenship, it was still treatment that many ordinary people could work their entire lives without obtaining. Medical appointments, children's school enrollment, and public service applications all came with considerable priority treatment.

Last night, he had specifically gone to the public soul-guided phone booth below the dormitory building and told Tang Ziran and Lang Yue about it.

At first, Lang Yue had been so frightened that her voice trembled. She repeatedly asked three times whether he had been injured or suffered any lasting effects, and only relaxed after confirming that he was completely unharmed.

When they heard about such a huge reward later, the old couple refused to accept it no matter what. They kept saying it was money the children had earned by risking their lives, that they could not take it, and told him to save it for tuition and spending money.

It was only after he and Huang Feng'er took turns persuading them, saying that they spent very little on food and lodging at school and had no use for keeping such a large sum of money, that they suggested pooling it to buy a house in the outskirts of Eastsea City. Then the whole family could move over in the future instead of always squeezing into that tiny home in Aolai City. If Na'er returned someday, she would have somewhere to stay too.

After nearly half an hour of persuasion, the old couple finally could not outstubborn the two children and reluctantly agreed to accept the money.

Naturally, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue would handle the house purchase entirely. The two of them were only a little over nine years old and did not even know what procedures were needed to buy a house or what contracts had to be signed. They could not help at all.

"Hey! Hey! Tang Wulin!"

A clear but irritated voice suddenly came from behind him. A moment later, a force tugged at his shoulder, making him pause.

Tang Wulin turned around in confusion.

Xie Xie had somehow caught up with him and was standing behind him, still gripping the strap of his canvas bag.

The boy's brownish short hair had been tousled by the wind, with several loose strands stuck to his forehead. His dark green eyes were wide open, making him look like a big orange cat with its fur standing on end.

There was also a faint pink mark on his cheek, a trace left by yesterday's punch. It was almost impossible to notice without looking closely.

His chest rose and fell slightly, clearly showing that he had jogged all the way to catch up. His face plainly read, "Unconvinced," and even his brows were tightly furrowed into a small knot.

"Xie Xie? What's wrong?"

Tang Wulin blinked, somewhat puzzled.

He remembered that when he woke up that morning, Xie Xie's bed had already been empty. By all rights, he should have reached the classroom long ago. Why had he deliberately waited for him midway, and chased after him so urgently?

"Fight me again."

Xie Xie released the bag strap and clenched his fists. His knuckles turned faintly white, and his tone was resolute, carrying the determination not to rest until he achieved his goal.

He had lost yesterday's fight far too miserably.

He had not even forced out the other party's second martial soul, had barely touched the edge of his clothes, and in the end had been knocked unconscious by a single punch. He had been carried back to the dormitory on someone's back, and who knew how much Yun Xiao and Zhou Changxi had laughed at him.

He could not swallow this indignation.

He refused to believe that he, a dignified eighteenth-level Soul Master, could not defeat a fifteenth-level Soul Master.

Yesterday, he must have been careless and failed to understand his opponent's methods, which was why he had fallen for those Blue Silver Grass traps. If they really clashed head-on, it was not certain who would win.

"I refuse."

Without even thinking, Tang Wulin shook his head and rejected him decisively.

Not to mention that every day of his schedule was packed. He had classes in the morning, needed to register at the Forging Masters Association in the afternoon, and had to cultivate soul power at night while searching for materials to break through the first Golden Dragon King seal. He simply could not squeeze out time to fight someone.

Even if he truly had the time, he did not particularly want to fight Xie Xie.

The gap in their strength was right there. No matter how many times they fought, the result would be the same. It would be a complete waste of time.

Would it not be better to use that time to hammer iron a few more times and practice some more?

"No! You have to fight me!"

Xie Xie rejected his refusal without a second thought, lifting his chin slightly. His eyes were full of a young man's sharp competitive spirit.

"Yesterday, I wasn't prepared, so it doesn't count. If you have the guts, let's have a proper fight. Don't use those underhanded tricks of pretending to be exhausted to lure me in."

He had always felt that Tang Wulin had deliberately pretended to have exhausted his soul power and lured him close, winning unfairly. If they fought openly and honestly, he might not lose.

"Uh..."

Tang Wulin looked at him, clearly determined not to give up unless he agreed, and felt a headache coming on.

He raised his head and glanced at the large clock hanging on the teaching building not far away. Its hour hand was about to reach the start of class. If he delayed any longer, he really would be late.

Being late on the first day of class might mean Director Long added another punishment. He might even be transferred down from Class Five—though Class Five was already the worst class, so there was nowhere lower to go. Still, it would be troublesome.

He did not answer again. Instead, he turned and headed toward the teaching building, intending to deal with it after reaching the classroom.

"Hey, hey! Don't leave! We're not done talking!"

Seeing him ignore him and leave, Xie Xie hurriedly followed at a quick pace, refusing to fall even half a step behind him.

Tang Wulin had originally thought he would give up after grumbling a few times. Class was about to start, after all, and no one wanted to be caught late by the homeroom teacher on the first day.

But he had not expected Xie Xie to be so persistent.

As they walked, Xie Xie kept nagging in his ear.

"Fight me again, fight me again!"

The boy's voice was clear and stubborn, like a mosquito buzzing in your ear in the middle of the night when you were trying to sleep, with no intention of stopping even for a moment.

The key was that Xie Xie was shouting very loudly. Nearly every passerby turned to look at them a few times.

Tang Wulin did not stop walking and even gradually accelerated. Given his current condition, he truly could not match the speed of an agility-attack Soul Master.

He could not shake him off, and he could not use force, so he could only ignore him.