A Stylish Fall

Xiao Wu moved first.

She pushed off the ground, her pink-and-white skirt flaring as if torn apart by the wind. She closed in at once, sweeping her right leg toward Tang San's waist with a howl of wind.

Tang San did not take it head-on.

He twisted aside and retreated, lightly tapping the ground with his foot as he withdrew nearly a meter.

Xiao Wu's heel grazed past his clothes, stirring a chill.

Xiao Wu landed and gave Tang San no chance to catch his breath. With another tap of her toes, she lunged at him again.

Tang San frowned.

Fast.

Far too fast.

Xiao Wu's attack rhythm was on a completely different level from Wang Sheng's earlier.

Wang Sheng relied on brute force, leaving obvious openings. Every kick Xiao Wu threw, however, seemed to have its next move planned in advance.

She gave him neither time to see her movements clearly nor any chance to widen the distance.

Tang San was forced back again and again, until his back was nearly against the wall.

"Hey, do you only know how to dodge?" Xiao Wu asked with a smile in her voice.

Tang San said nothing.

He was indeed dodging.

He needed to see through Xiao Wu's rhythm, find an opening, and then strike back.

But the problem was that Xiao Wu's offense was like a whirlpool. Once caught in it, he could not break free at all.

He could have defeated Xiao Wu easily, but the price would have been her death.

Luo Yan leaned against the wall, watching with great interest as he somehow produced another handful of sunflower seeds.

"Tang San's going to lose," he suddenly said.

Wang Sheng, who was squatting beside him, froze. "It's only just started. What makes you—"

"My eyes."

Luo Yan cracked sunflower seeds. "Xiao Wu's left leg is a feint; her right leg is the real attack. When Tang San dodges the left leg, his center of gravity has already shifted. This is the second time."

Wang Sheng's eyes widened. "You're talking nonsense—wait, it's true!"

Tang San had just dodged one of Xiao Wu's high sweeps. Sure enough, his body tilted slightly to the right, and his footing faltered almost imperceptibly.

Xiao Wu seized that single misstep.

She suddenly slipped into Tang San's embrace, locking her hands around his shoulder and waist. Borrowing the force of his unstable balance, she drove through her waist and back, then twisted fiercely.

The Soft Bone Rabbit's Soft Skill bared its fangs in Dorm Seven for the first time.

"First Spirit Skill, Waigong."

Tang San only felt his entire view flip as the world spun around him.

With the force and angle of Xiao Wu's throw, he should have landed at a slant, back first.

Yet something strange happened. In midair, it felt as though some invisible force lightly "flicked" his body.

The flick was extremely gentle, yet it changed the trajectory of his fall.

Tang San crashed straight down onto the floor face-first.

"Bang!"

That fall was much heavier than expected.

Tang San lay sprawled on the ground in an exceptionally standard "spread-eagle" pose, his face intimately acquainted with the floor. The tip of his nose struck the ground, making his vision go white from the sting.

He could even taste a trace of dust in his mouth.

The room fell silent for a moment. Then someone failed to hold it in and snorted with laughter.

Immediately afterward, the entire Dorm Seven erupted into roaring laughter.

Xiao Wu was stunned too.

She looked at her hands, then at Tang San sprawled on the floor, uncertain whether she had somehow used a strange burst of force just now. "...I didn't throw you that hard, did I?"

Tang San pushed himself up from the ground. A thin layer of dust covered his face, and a small red patch had appeared on his forehead. He looked somewhat dazed.

He clearly should have been able to control his landing.

That instant had felt too strange. It was as though someone had lightly pushed him, yet also as if a sudden rotational force that did not belong to him had appeared inside his body.

"Are you okay?" Xiao Wu leaned closer, trying hard not to laugh, though her shoulders were shaking.

"I'm fine." Tang San wiped his face, looking extremely composed aside from the red mark on his forehead.

At that moment, Luo Yan began applauding.

"Wonderful, wonderful."

He walked over while clapping. "That was a fall with skill. A fall with style."

Tang San got to his feet and dusted off his clothes. Looking at the sunflower seeds in Luo Yan's hand, he finally could not hold it in anymore.

"Where did you even get those sunflower seeds?" he asked.

"I had them in my pocket. Want some?" Luo Yan blinked.

"I can tell you're very strong. You just don't have any Spirit Skills." Xiao Wu walked over, her gaze wandering.

Tang San looked at Xiao Wu, fell silent for a second, then smiled faintly.

"Perhaps."

He did not explain.

Seeing that he did not deny it, Xiao Wu became even more enthusiastic. She patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry! Big Sis Xiao Wu will teach you a few moves from now on. I guarantee that when you fight people in the future, you won't end up face-down in the dirt again!"

Tang San's mouth twitched. "...Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Xiao Wu's smile was especially sincere.

"Tang San? Who's Tang San?" A call came from the doorway.

Tang San turned toward the door at the sound.

A young teacher in his twenties stood there, carrying a large bundle of gray-blue bedding in his arms as he craned his neck to look into Dorm Seven.

Behind him stood a boy who looked like an apprentice, carrying a blanket as well.

"Tang San! Which one is Tang San?" the young teacher called again.

Tang San raised his hand. "I am."

The teacher immediately squeezed inside and stuffed the bedding into his arms. "Here. Grandmaster asked me to bring this. He said it's getting cold, and work-study students can't go without bedding. This was prepared for you."

Tang San looked down at the thick bedding in his arms, somewhat unable to react.

"Grandmaster?" Xiao Wu leaned over, her eyes shining.

"The one who registered you earlier."

The young teacher smiled and pointed at the other bedding carried by the apprentice behind him. "Grandmaster also specifically mentioned this one. He said it was for... someone named Luo Yan?"

Luo Yan, who had been leaning against the wall cracking sunflower seeds, paused.

"Me?" He pointed at himself, surprise rising in his voice.

"Yes."

The teacher nodded. "Grandmaster said you two arrived today without bringing bedding. He happened to have two old sets, so you can make do with them for now."

The apprentice carried the second set of bedding inside and placed it on the empty bedframe in front of Luo Yan.

Luo Yan stared at the bedding for two seconds, then suddenly turned to Tang San. "Hiss... I'm Chovy! No way, right?!"

"What?"

"Grandmaster has a crush on me?!"

Luo Yan said it with utmost seriousness. "Otherwise, why would he give you a blanket and give me one too? That means I'm just as important as you in his eyes."

Tang San nearly choked on his own breath.

"What kind of Tiger-Wolf nonsense is that? It's called looking after us," Tang San corrected.

"Isn't looking after someone the prerequisite for having a crush on them? Why would he look after us if he didn't have a crush on us?"

Luo Yan waved his hand. "Isn't it all because he wants you to sleep a little warmer? It's just that one is for sleeping in separate beds, while the other wants to sleep together."

"San, you need to be careful. What if Grandmaster's into raising someone from childhood?"

"Shut up." Even the red mark on Tang San's forehead, which had not faded yet, seemed to throb.

In one of the academy's teachers' dormitories, Yu Xiaogang faced three work-study student application forms, his pen suspended in midair for a long time without coming down.

He was wondering what exactly the "Elation Mask" listed under Martial Soul for that child named Luo Yan was.

The Spirit Power level listed was 14. That meant the boy's innate talent was quite high; otherwise, he could not possibly have absorbed a Soul Ring of around four hundred years. His first Spirit Skill should not be too poor, then.

Perhaps... he needed my guidance as well?