Cafeteria Dispute

The round-faced, chubby boy walked over with an easy familiarity and said, "Hello, I'm Shitou. My Martial Soul is a Wooden Stick."

An Chen looked over the slightly plump, round-faced boy before smiling. "Hello, I'm An Chen. My Martial Soul is... forget it, I'd better not say."

Shitou narrowed his small eyes and asked in confusion, "What is it? Why not?"

He paused, then suddenly looked enlightened. He quickly glanced at the tall boy nearby, chuckled, and lowered his voice. "Are you embarrassed because your Martial Soul is shameful? It's fine. Look at him—his name is Qian Yiming, and his Martial Soul is a Kitchen Knife. I didn't make fun of him, did I?"

When Qian Yiming beside them heard Shitou, his expression immediately darkened. His eyes blinked rapidly as he shouted, "You damned Shitou, making fun of my Martial Soul again!"

Shitou hurriedly stopped Qian Yiming, who was about to charge over, and quickly soothed him. "Hey, hey, hey, don't get worked up. Didn't we agree yesterday not to hold it against each other?"

"New guy, are you itching for a beating too?" Qian Yiming saw An Chen lowering his head and snickering nearby.

"Ah, my teeth are feeling a little hot. I'm just opening my mouth to cool them down." An Chen hurriedly raised both hands in front of himself to keep the other boy from rushing him.

"Oh? A shocking debut. Not bad." Shitou, who had just been calming Qian Yiming down, was now egging him on from the side.

"Hey, calm down first. We're roommates from now on," An Chen quickly said, trying to placate Qian Yiming.

"Hmph, it had better be that way." Qian Yiming calmed himself down. "It's mainly because that damn Shitou kept laughing after he found out about my Martial Soul yesterday."

Qian Yiming shot Shitou a glare, then asked An Chen, "What about you? What's your Martial Soul? Let's hear it."

"Uh... my Martial Soul is... an Iron Pot!" An Chen said hesitantly.

"What? An Iron Pot... pfft... hahahaha!" This time, Shitou was no longer the only one laughing. Even Qian Yiming burst out laughing. "It actually goes quite well with my Kitchen Knife."

"An Iron Pot... your Iron Pot Martial Soul has Innate Soul Power too?" Shitou asked between laughs.

"Two children..." An Chen ignored them and began making his bed.

Seeing this, the two held back their laughter and stepped forward to help him. As they made the bed, they continued introducing themselves.

"When I awakened, my Soul Power was level three. I was the only one in my village with Soul Power," Shitou said proudly.

"Hmph. You laughed so wildly yesterday that I thought you were something special. My Soul Power was level five when I awakened!" Qian Yiming said disdainfully.

"You awakened a Kitchen Knife Martial Soul. How could your Soul Power be that high?" Shitou said indignantly.

Shitou then asked An Chen, "What about your Iron Pot Martial Soul? It can't be higher than mine, right?"

"Not much. Just Innate Full Soul Power," An Chen said casually.

"?" Qian Yiming's face was filled with disbelief.

After hearing that, Shitou patted An Chen's shoulder earnestly. "Brother, it's fine to fool us, but don't fool yourself. Your Iron Pot Martial Soul has Innate Full Soul Power? Then I'm a Twin Martial Souls wielder."

"Yeah. The last time someone with Innate Full Soul Power appeared in Tieyan City was more than ten years ago," Qian Yiming unusually agreed.

Seeing that neither believed him, An Chen said indifferently, "Believe it or not."

After that, he said no more.

The others did not continue discussing the subject.

As night gradually fell, An Chen drifted into a deep sleep to the sound of Shitou's snoring.

Early the next morning, An Chen woke to the ringing bell. Shitou and Qian Yiming slowly got up as well.

"Are we going to class?" An Chen asked with a yawn.

"Yes, these next few days are basic Soul Master classes," Shitou said.

"Since some students still haven't registered, they're only teaching basic things these next few days." Qian Yiming, infected by the yawn, yawned as well.

The basic Soul Master class was held in a spacious classroom. More than a dozen children sat scattered about, all New Life students of this year's intake.

A bald-patched middle-aged Soul Master stood at the podium and spoke in a booming voice. "My name is Zhao Qinian. I'll be teaching you the basics of Soul Power..."

Shitou sat beside An Chen and nudged him with his elbow. "Old Zhao has a bad temper. Don't doze off in his class."

"Okay."

"Why do you talk so little?" Shitou elbowed him again. "You're like a stuffed gourd."

An Chen ignored him and listened attentively.

Zhao Qinian explained things clearly, but An Chen already knew most of it. It was the same as in Douluo before his transmigration.

Qian Yiming spoke even less than An Chen. Sitting at the front, he scribbled down notes, his handwriting crooked and messy. An Chen glanced at it and nearly failed to hold back a laugh.

As he laughed, he remembered his Soul Ring. He had originally intended to add an earth-attribute Soul Ring and take the path of a defensive Soul Master, but the system's mission conditions after he had bound it that day offered no reward for adding an earth-attribute Soul Ring.

So he was considering which type of Soul Ring would be better to add.

Water attribute? Boil water directly in the pot? Wind attribute? Throw the Iron Pot out? That remained an option. Lightning attribute? It was relatively rare—throw it out and summon lightning? Light attribute? Too scarce, not worth considering. Mental attribute and dragon-shaped Soul Beasts? Even rarer, not worth considering. Then Shadow Attribute? Hide inside the pot? That remained an option.

After ruling them out, only wind-attribute and Shadow Attribute Soul Beasts met his requirements.

Just then, the dismissal bell rang, and Zhao Qinian left with his textbooks tucked under his arm.

Shitou stretched, then wrapped a chubby arm around An Chen's shoulders. "Come on, let's eat!"

The Cafeteria had two floors. The first floor was for lining up to collect meals, where ordinary students and Working Students ate. The second floor allowed students to order dishes and was generally used by the city's noble children.

Seeing An Chen standing by the stairs, Shitou said, "Come on. The second floor isn't a place for people like us. The food on the first floor is a little worse, but at least they give you plenty."

As he spoke, a group of lavishly dressed students approached.

"Move aside, move aside. Members of the Wu Family are coming!" a student quietly warned.

Shitou hurriedly pulled An Chen to the side.

The group passed by, but one of them deliberately avoided the middle and headed straight toward them.

"What are you doing?" Shitou rubbed his shoulder and shouted.

"What am I doing? I don't like the look of you! If you can't afford food, get out of the way. Don't block the path." The Wu Family student gave him a disdainful glance.

"You!" Shitou pointed at him, his index finger trembling slightly.

At this, all the students in the first-floor hall turned to look, murmuring among themselves.

"What, you! Get lost!" The Wu Family student sneered and kicked at Shitou's abdomen.

An Chen seized the moment and quickly pulled Shitou aside.

The Wu Family student's kick missed, and he nearly slipped and fell.

Some of the students on the first floor could not hold back their laughter and laughed aloud.

"You're asking to die!" The Wu Family student flew into a rage. His cheeks kept twitching as he glared at An Chen.

The other Wu Family students were already used to this and merely said, "Go easy. This is school." Then they all headed upstairs.

The Wu Family student with the twisted face nodded, his fists cracking loudly.

Just as the fist was about to smash down, with An Chen ready to summon the Iron Pot to defend himself—

A stern voice sounded from the Cafeteria entrance. "What are you all doing? This is the Cafeteria!" A middle-aged man then walked in.

"The dean of discipline is here," several students whispered.

The Wu Family student froze mid-motion and gritted his teeth at An Chen. "You got lucky today. Next time might not be the same."

Just as everyone thought the matter was over, the dean of discipline walked straight toward An Chen.

"Director, I didn't do anything," the Wu Family student said, spreading his hands.

The middle-aged man gave the Wu Family student a faint glance and said coldly, "Come to my office after class to register your violation."

Then he ignored him and walked to An Chen instead, speaking calmly. "Elder Chen wants to see you. I'll have the Cafeteria prepare two deluxe meals and send them over later. You don't need to eat here."

The moment those words fell, the entire first floor fell silent.

Anyone who could make the director ask the Cafeteria to send deluxe meals was no ordinary student.

The Wu Family student was stunned. Others might not know, but he knew very well that Elder Chen was a senior professor at Spirit Hall Academy.

Tieyan Junior Soul Master Academy's headmaster and Tieyan City's lord had joined forces to invite him here.

How had this plainly dressed Working Student become connected to Elder Chen?

An Chen glanced at him, nodded, and pulled Shitou along as he followed the director away.

An Chen first had Shitou return to the dormitory, then headed alone toward Elder Chen's residence from yesterday.

"You're here. What attribute Soul Ring are you planning to add?" Elder Chen asked when An Chen entered.

"Mm... I'm planning to absorb a wind-attribute or Shadow Attribute Soul Ring," An Chen answered honestly.

"Oh? Why?" Elder Chen was somewhat surprised, but he did not dismiss the idea and continued asking.

"I don't want to be a defensive Soul Master. I want to lean toward being an offensive Soul Master. With wind, I can increase the pot's speed when I throw it." An Chen paused. "With the Shadow Attribute, I can hide myself and attack the opponent by surprise."

Elder Chen frowned, tapping the table with his fingers.

"That makes some sense. Your Martial Soul is an Iron Pot, though, so I still favor adding a defensive Soul Ring." After speaking, Elder Chen continued, "But I respect your thoughts. How about this? Go back and think it over today. Come to the school gate tomorrow morning, and I'll wait for you there. Tomorrow, I'll help you hunt a Soul Beast. Give me your answer then."

An Chen agreed and nodded. After bidding farewell, he turned and left, returning to the dormitory.