Notting City.
A carriage entered through the city gates and stopped in front of the Junior Soul Master Academy.
The Grandmaster held the feverish, unconscious Tang San and said to Yang Ming,
"I'll take Little San to the infirmary for further treatment first."
"Alright." Yang Ming nodded. "If I have time, I'll go visit my third brother."
They parted ways at the entrance.
It was morning, when the students were in class. The academy was quiet, with birds chirping on the branches and leaves rustling in the breeze.
Yang Ming walked through the silent campus without seeing many people. He returned to Dorm Seven, only to find, as expected, that there was no one inside. It felt empty and deserted.
After he had waited for quite a while, a piercing dismissal bell rang outside the dormitory.
Classes at Notting Junior Soul Master Academy were not very long. After school let out at noon, there was still half an hour of rest before food was served in the cafeteria.
Yang Ming lay on his bed, originally intending to wait and eat with his roommates. But no matter how long he waited, no one returned. Rubbing his empty stomach, he had no choice but to leave the dormitory alone.
To get from the dormitory to the cafeteria, he had to cross a large training field.
Along the way, Yang Ming saw crowds of people emerging from the teaching building. Faintly, he heard several upperclassmen talking among themselves about the work-study students. It sounded as though something had happened.
Thinking of how his roommates had yet to return, Yang Ming's gaze sharpened. After listening carefully, he caught their conversation.
"Those work-study students from the countryside are hilarious. Who knows what gave them the nerve to challenge Boss Xiao from the sixth grade? I'd say the infirmary is about to get a few new patients."
"Heh, exactly. Boss Xiao is one of the few sixth-year students in our academy to reach the Spirit Master realm. Those country bumpkins will probably all end up as Boss Xiao's lackeys, obediently working for him."
"Shh! Keep your voices down. Look over there—isn't that the Moonlit Swordsman everyone's been talking about among the girls lately? I heard he's the boss of those work-study students. If he hears what you just said, you'd better watch out."
Following the student's pointing finger, the other two students saw Yang Ming walking toward them.
What Yang Ming had done in the second-floor cafeteria, humiliating a senior student, had already spread among the upperclassmen. Rumor also had it that he was a super genius who had awakened Dual Martial Souls and possessed Innate Full Soul Power. He had even beaten up Su Yuntao from Spirit Hall.
Seeing Yang Ming approach, the students' expressions changed one after another, and they turned to leave.
But Yang Ming noticed their intention immediately. With Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track beneath his feet, the senior students only saw a blur before Yang Ming appeared in front of them as though he could shrink the earth itself, blocking their path.
While the senior students were shocked and frightened, Yang Ming gave them a slight smile, his teeth gleaming.
"Senior brothers, could you tell me where this Boss Xiao you mentioned, along with the work-study students, are now?"
To their surprise, Yang Ming's tone was gentle, without the aggressive air described in the rumors. They relaxed somewhat and answered directly,
"They're fighting in the woods by the academy's back hill."
"Thanks."
With those words, Yang Ming vanished from where he stood.
The senior students froze for a moment and looked around, only to discover that Yang Ming was already two hundred meters away, racing toward the back hill at tremendous speed.
"This Yang Ming is truly extraordinary!"
The senior students looked at one another, all revealing bitter smiles. Having studied for so long, they were actually inferior to a junior who had only just enrolled. Unable to save face, they left dejectedly.
The so-called academy back hill was not actually within Notting Junior Soul Master Academy, but a small hill beyond the academy's rear gate.
The woods were lush and green, filled with the chirping of insects and birds as a gentle breeze drifted through.
Yet beneath the woods' current tranquility, undercurrents surged, and the atmosphere was practically ready to explode.
All the work-study students stood behind Xiao Wu, glaring angrily at the people opposite them.
Facing off against Xiao Wu's group was a crowd of upperclassmen, more than twenty in total.
The leader wore the white uniform of Notting Junior Soul Master Academy. He was tall and straight, and though his face still held some youthful innocence, he already looked somewhat like an adult. He stood half a head taller than Xiao Wu and was rather handsome—the sort of boy who could make girls scream.
The young man folded his arms over his chest, a faint smile hanging at the corner of his lips. His face was full of contempt and disdain.
"Little girl, are you Sister Xiao Wu, the boss of those trash? I have to say, that little face of yours is quite distinctive. I'm very interested in you. I wouldn't mind keeping you as one of my pet rabbits. Heh heh heh."
As he spoke, a smile that all men understood spread across his face.
Xiao Wu naturally saw the greed deep in his eyes. It disgusted her, and anger made her chest rise and fall. Her pretty face flushed crimson as she snapped,
"Boss Xiao, if you've got the guts, stop talking nonsense and fight me one-on-one! If you lose, you'll obediently become my little brother!"
"Me, afraid?" Boss Xiao pointed at himself with one hand and sneered. "What a joke!"
"You shrimp and crabs aren't worth my notice. Didn't you bother asking who Boss Xiao is? In this little patch of Notting City, I can walk sideways and no one would dare stop me, much less inside the academy!"
The work-study students behind Xiao Wu looked furious, but none of them refuted him.
Because Boss Xiao truly had the right to say that.
Seeing how useless her underlings were, Xiao Wu stamped her foot in anger and shouted,
"Enough nonsense, let's begin. You tell me—how are we doing this?"
Looking at Xiao Wu's flushed little face, Boss Xiao smiled until his eyes narrowed to slits. His gaze roamed over her body, revealing a hint of lechery.
"I've always been fair and just. How about this? I won't bully you little brats. You only have ten people, right? Then we'll only send out ten as well. We'll take turns going up. The winner stays on, until everyone on one side has been defeated."
This proposal sounded fair, but it was actually unfair.
On the work-study students' side, only Xiao Wu and Wang Sheng could fight. The others were complete pushovers.
On Boss Xiao's side, however, every one of them was an upperclassman, and none of them were weak. In a battle of attrition, the advantage would only be theirs.
Wang Sheng saw through Boss Xiao's little scheme. His lips moved as he prepared to warn Sister Xiao Wu not to be careless.
But before Wang Sheng could speak, Xiao Wu accepted the challenge first.
"Fine, it's settled. Let's see how we beat all of you flat."
Boss Xiao gave a sly smile and raised his chin slightly.
"That may not be the case."
(First update)
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