Silent Step Backstab, Iaijutsu Slash

The pitch-black blade traced an arc, silently coming to rest against Wang Dong's neck.

At the icy touch against her neck, Wang Dong went rigid, even her breathing stopping.

Then, a moment later, the blade was sheathed.

Lin Chen was instantly back on his bed.

The Dart Blade vanished, and he lay back in his original position as though nothing had happened.

"Sorry, Mr. Tough Guy. You just died once."

Lin Chen's voice was light, yet it carried a chilling killing intent.

Wang Dong felt every hair on her body stand on end, lingering fear washing over her.

Cold sweat seeped from her forehead, and a large patch of the back of her clothes was already soaked.

She stared at Lin Chen in shock.

"Y-you, what did you just do?"

"That speed and killing intent aren't anything a new student could unleash."

"There's no such thing as a new student like that!"

Even Wang Dong's voice was trembling.

"You're just scared."

Lin Chen rolled over onto his side to look at Wang Dong.

"Now tell me, who's stronger?"

"Who gets the final say in this dorm?"

"W-when did I ever say we'd listen to whoever was stronger?"

Wang Dong promptly backed down, though she still craned her neck and talked tough.

Lin Chen was clearly stronger than her. He had flashed behind her in an instant-Silent Step Backstab. It was terrifying.

But what about her three ground rules?

Was she going to have to submit to Lin Chen's tyrannical rule from now on?

"All right, enough of this nonsense."

Lin Chen sat up and waved a hand.

"Three ground rules, right? I'll give you three ground rules, too."

"From now on, we'll take turns cleaning the dorm, one day each."

"And we'll respect each other's privacy. We'll stagger our showers and things like that."

"Never mind whether you like it or not. I don't like it either."

"That's actually a pretty good suggestion."

Wang Dong muttered under her breath.

"Aren't you just a little shy? What's the big deal? Just say it openly. It's not like I wouldn't agree."

"You had to make it all drawn swords and cocked crossbows. We'll be living together for three years. Making things awkward won't do either of us any good."

Lin Chen stood, walked over to Wang Dong, and held out his hand.

"My name's Lin Chen. Nice to meet you, Wang Dong."

"Here's to getting along over the next three years."

The moment Lin Chen said that, Wang Dong froze.

She was moved beyond words.

This was the first time she had met a boy as handsome as Lin Chen who was also so gentle and considerate. Most importantly, he was strong-frighteningly strong.

Looking at his outstretched hand, Wang Dong hesitated, then took it.

"Nice to meet you, Lin Chen."

"Here's to getting along over the next few years."

Wang Dong's voice grew much quieter, and a barely perceptible blush rose to her cheeks.

"Sure thing. Just call me Brother Chen, and I'll have your back."

Lin Chen patted her shoulder, his grin practically begging for a punch.

"I don't need you to have my back!"

Wang Dong immediately bristled and swatted his hand away.

"With my strength and talent, nobody at Shrek Academy can bully me!"

"That's true enough."

Lin Chen looked her up and down.

"You're a two-ring Soul Grandmaster?"

"Yeah. What about you?"

Wang Dong lifted her chin proudly.

"This humble nobody is a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor."

"What?"

Wang Dong's eyes went wide as saucers.

"A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor? Are you kidding me?"

"No way, Lin Chen. How is that possible?"

"How could you possibly be a four-ring Soul Ancestor? How old are you?"

"Twelve!"

"I'm twelve, too!"

"Why?

Why are you so much stronger than me?"

"That can't be right. My first dad and second dad said I was a peerless genius!"

Wang Dong bombarded him with questions, completely shaken.

"Being a genius is merely the threshold for meeting me."

Lin Chen spoke casually.

"All right, I'll be honest. I just got lucky."

"Before I came to the academy, I was only a Soul Elder, somewhere in the thirties."

"But on my way to the Star Dou Great Forest, I happened to encounter a hundred-thousand-year soul beast."

"It was dying, and it didn't want all its cultivation to go to waste, so it sacrificed itself to me."

"Just like that, my soul power shot through the roof, soaring straight to rank forty-four."

"You're kidding!"

Wang Dong's mouth fell open.

"You actually stumbled into a soul beast sacrifice? And a hundred-thousand-year soul beast sacrifice at that? Your luck is unbelievable!"

"No wonder you're so strong."

"But your soul skills are ridiculous, too. That move just now was so cool!"

Wang Dong's eyes lit up, and she moved closer.

"Can you teach me?"

"You instantly flash behind someone, draw your blade, then reset and return to where you started."

"That move is such a showstopper. What's it called?"

"Silent Step Backstab, Iaijutsu Slash."

Lin Chen raised his eyebrows smugly.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you."

"I want to learn that!"

Wang Dong immediately changed her tune.

"Brother Chen, teach me!"

"Sorry, this really depends on your soul skills. Either you have the skill or you don't. I can't teach it."

Lin Chen spread his hands, looking innocent.

"Damn it, Lin Chen! You're messing with me?"

Wang Dong's expression changed instantly.

"Oh, come on. A second ago, I was Brother Chen. Now I'm Lin Chen again."

Lin Chen shook his head and sighed.

"Ah, people."

"You're shameless. I'm done talking to you!"

Realizing she really had no way to deal with Lin Chen, Wang Dong said nothing more and puffed out her cheeks as she unpacked her things.

Then she sat on her bed and began cultivating.

She had never liked cultivating.

But seeing Lin Chen, who was her age, a full twenty ranks ahead of her-how could she possibly take that calmly?

She considered herself a genius, yet now an even greater genius stood before her.

That put an end to her playful mood. She needed to cultivate right away.

Watching her, Lin Chen was a little surprised.

Since when did Wang Dong become so diligent and hardworking?

Was this really the Wang Dong he remembered?

Still, this was pretty good, too.

Just after Shrek Academy concluded its Sea God Pavilion Meeting, things began to move.

The people at the Star Rail Escort Agency and the King's Escort Agency received word at the same time.

Kafka was an excellent intelligence gatherer, every bit Silver Wolf's equal.

At the King's Escort Agency, Jing Ke served as the intelligence gatherer.

Both immediately passed the news back to their respective escort agencies.

One side was acting for Zhou Yi, the other for Huo Yuhao.

Both were deeply curious about what had been discussed at this Sea God Pavilion Meeting.

Unfortunately, they had no way of knowing its contents.

After all, they could not yet freely enter and leave a place protected by divine power.

It was less that they could not enter and more that they were being cautious.

Regardless of the reason, however, the Sea God Pavilion's meeting had disrupted their plans.

They were even more cautious now.

Meanwhile, Lin Chen, utterly unaware of any of this, was already engrossed in the System Shop.

Tang Ya's one hundred high-tier escort points had arrived.

After Huo Yuhao obtained his soul ring, another hundred escort points had arrived.

Two hundred random escort points.

Added to the eight hundred points he had saved earlier, that brought his total to one thousand.

At last, he could redeem a bloodline.