Roommates

Eastsea Academy was enormous.

High walls stretched beyond the edge of his vision, enclosing the entire academy. Before the main entrance stood a towering gatehouse built from massive stones, solid and simple. It was hardly ostentatious, yet it possessed a commanding presence.

Liu Yuxin led Tang Wulin inside, giving him a brief introduction as they walked.

"Eastsea Academy is divided into the Intermediate Academy and the Senior Academy. Our Senior Division is to the west. Your Intermediate Division covers a larger area. Most of its teaching buildings, dormitories, and training grounds are to the east and at the back."

Tang Wulin listened attentively, nodding from time to time.

Ever since getting out of the vehicle, he had been trying hard to look composed. But once he actually entered the academy, he still could not help feeling a little dazed.

This place was so different from Aolai City.

The roads were wide, the trees plentiful, and the buildings tall. The main road was smooth and spacious, with numerous side paths branching off toward different areas. The farther he walked, the more he sensed how different this place was from an ordinary academy—it was so complete, so orderly, like a small city that existed solely to train Soul Masters.

"Ordinary vehicles aren't allowed to drive freely through the academy." Liu Yuxin pointed at the road beneath their feet. "Outside vehicles can only park in designated areas. Beyond those, you have to walk. It's safer that way, and it keeps the noise down."

Tang Wulin murmured an acknowledgment and looked up at the most prominent teaching building in the distance.

It stood a full twelve stories tall.

"That's the Intermediate Division Main Teaching Building." Liu Yuxin followed his gaze and smiled. "The higher the floor, the higher the grade. Since you're just starting, you'll probably be on the first or second floor. Your Intermediate Division has a six-year program, but not many students make it all the way from here to the Senior Division."

She spoke calmly, but Tang Wulin could already hear the weight behind her words.

The Intermediate Academy and an advanced academy might seem only one step apart, but in reality, the gulf between them was immense.

The Intermediate Academy provided compulsory education. Any Soul Master from Eastsea City or its surrounding satellite towns who had a recommendation letter from an elementary academy could come here for systematic instruction. The advanced academy was different. Only those who passed its entrance examinations could truly be considered elite.

"Go register at the academic affairs office first." Liu Yuxin raised a hand and pointed ahead. "Once you've finished the paperwork, the dormitories are behind the teaching building. If anything comes up later, you can also find me in the Senior Division. I'm in first-year class one."

"Thank you, senior," Tang Wulin said at once.

Looking at this young junior who had been so polite ever since they met, Liu Yuxin could not help smiling.

"Don't be so stiff. Eastsea Academy isn't as scary as you think. After enrollment, you'll be assigned to a class, then assessed. Good assessment results come with quite a few benefits, so make sure you get yourself into good shape over the next few days."

"I will." Tang Wulin nodded earnestly.

Only after watching Liu Yuxin disappear into the distance to the west did Tang Wulin turn and enter the academic affairs office.

With his temporary reception pass and recommendation letter from Red Mountain Academy, the paperwork went smoothly.

He received two free uniforms, a dormitory key, and a registration form. His course materials and study resources would be distributed together after the term officially began.

First-year Class Five.

From this moment on, he was officially a new student in Eastsea Academy's Intermediate Division.

After finishing the paperwork, Tang Wulin shouldered his bag, walked around the teaching building, and headed toward the dormitories.

The dormitory building was as tall as the Main Teaching Building, with twelve stories as well. Since registration was underway, it was rather chaotic inside, with voices everywhere. Some people were dragging suitcases, some were making beds for their children, and others stood in doorways giving one reminder after another. There were also students who had arrived early and were already looking around their new surroundings.

Tang Wulin spent quite a while checking the room numbers before finally finding his dorm room.

205.

The door was open.

He had barely reached the doorway when two pairs of eyes turned toward him.

The room was small and simply furnished. Two bunk beds, two long tables, four chairs, two cabinets, and a light overhead—that was everything.

Both lower bunks were already occupied.

On the lower bunk to the left sat a tall, burly boy, clearly half a head taller than Tang Wulin. He had broad shoulders, thick arms, short hair, and slightly protruding eyes. Despite his young age, his face already held a hint of menace.

On the lower bunk to the right sat another boy, thinner and wearing glasses. He held a book and looked much quieter.

"Hello," Tang Wulin spoke first. "My name is Tang Wulin. I'm new here."

The thin boy nodded first.

"Yun Xiao. Yun as in cloud, Xiao as in small."

"Nice to meet you." Tang Wulin smiled at him.

The tall, burly boy on the other side merely raised his eyelids and gave him a languid glance.

"So you're new." His tone suggested he took what followed entirely for granted. "Then clean the room first."

Having only just arrived, Tang Wulin was unfamiliar with the rules here. Assuming newcomers were simply supposed to do a little more, he nodded.

"Okay."

With that, he placed his luggage on the upper bunk to the left, then turned to fetch the washbasin and rag from the corner, intending to get some water first.

Seeing him actually leave, Yun Xiao looked up at the burly boy.

"Zhou Changxi, are you enjoying this?"

The burly boy chuckled and got up from his bed.

"Smart Guy, mind your own business." As he spoke, he walked toward Tang Wulin's bed. "If you don't put newcomers like him in their place first, how will you order them around later? Didn't you see? One word from me, and he obediently went to fetch water. With someone like that, you'd be wasting a perfectly good chance if you didn't bully him."

Yun Xiao frowned.

"Don't take it too far."

Zhou Changxi snorted, paying no attention to the warning.

He reached up, yanked Tang Wulin's cloth bag off the upper bunk, unzipped it, and tipped it straight downward.

Clothes, a quilt, toiletries, and the two uniforms he had just received all tumbled onto the floor at once.

Yun Xiao abruptly sat up straight.

"You're going too far."

But Zhou Changxi laughed even louder.

"Look at all the stuff he brought." He casually picked up an old garment and shook it. "He really did bring every scrap of junk along. Tsk, there's even a flower here on the edge, all crooked. Who embroidered this? This is just too—"

Footsteps sounded at the doorway.

Tang Wulin walked in carrying half a basin of water.

The moment he entered, he stopped dead.

Everything scattered across the floor belonged to him.

His quilt, clothes, everyday necessities, and the two newly issued uniforms had all fallen onto the floor and picked up a layer of dust. Zhou Changxi still held his bag, standing there with an utterly unconcerned expression.

Tang Wulin first set the washbasin on the table, then raised his head.

"What are you doing?"

His voice was not loud, but it had distinctly turned cold.

Zhou Changxi curled his lip.

"Nothing. Just seeing what a country boy like you brought along."

Tang Wulin stared at him.

"Pick it up."

Zhou Changxi raised his eyebrows.

"What did you say?"

"I said, pick it up." Tang Wulin repeated each word distinctly.

This time, the atmosphere in the room changed noticeably.

Yun Xiao sat to one side without speaking, but he had already put down his book.

The smile on Zhou Changxi's face faded, replaced by the irritation of being defied. He took a step forward, stopped before the scattered belongings, and glanced down. Then he abruptly lifted his foot and planted it directly on the quilt.

He even deliberately ground his foot against it.

His foot rested right on the crooked little flower in the corner of the quilt.

Na'er had embroidered it.

The stitches were uneven and the needlework far from beautiful, but Tang Wulin recognized it at a glance.

His whole body seemed to stiffen for a moment, and the trace of coldness in his eyes sank into utter darkness.

Zhou Changxi had not noticed. He merely raised his chin and looked at him, his voice brimming with provocation.

"What, got a problem?"

Tang Wulin looked at the little flower dirtied beneath that foot and spoke very quietly.

"My little sister embroidered that."