"You're... Tang San?"
The moment Lu Yuan saw what the new work-study student looked like, he guessed his identity.
Looks like I really am a year older than Tang San.
Lu Yuan thought this, then immediately grew wary again.
Now that Tang San had arrived, his drunken father, Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao, who never played fair, might also be nearby. Lu Yuan couldn't expose any flaws.
"Hey, new guy. I'm Wang Sheng. What's your name?"
Naturally, the first to react to the new work-study student wasn't their leader, Lu Yuan, but his loyal subordinate, Wang Sheng.
"My name is Tang San. I'm a work-study student who joined the academy this year."
"Oh?" Wang Sheng looked Tang San up and down.
"Same rules as always. New work-study students have to fight our leader. If you win, you get to be our leader."
At Wang Sheng's words, Tang San, who hadn't known about this rule, visibly froze.
"Who's this leader you're talking about?"
As soon as Tang San asked, every work-study student in Dorm Seven turned to look at Lu Yuan, who sat at ease on his bed.
"Me. Lu Yuan," Lu Yuan introduced himself casually.
"So you're Lu Yuan."
Tang San's brows drew together slightly as he stared at Lu Yuan with a hint of hostility.
While enrolling at the Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy, just as in the original timeline, Tang San had bowed three times and kowtowed nine times to Yu Xiaogang after the latter discovered the secret of his twin martial souls, accepting him as his master for a day and his father for a lifetime.
This time, however, the smug Yu Xiaogang believed he had taken in a disciple far better than Lu Yuan. Carried away by his triumph, he not only gave Tang San a storage soul tool, but also told him a great deal about Lu Yuan.
In particular, Yu Xiaogang made much of the two times Lu Yuan had refused to become his disciple.
Both openly and through insinuation, he painted Lu Yuan as someone who betrayed his master and trampled the teachings of his school.
Having come from a traditional martial arts world, Tang San wasn't so open-minded, and naturally joined Yu Xiaogang in viewing Lu Yuan with hostility.
This Lu Yuan... My learned master offered to take him as a disciple twice because their martial souls were of the same type. Yet he actually looked down on Master's cultivation and refused him time and again.
If I get the chance, I must kill him.
"Hey, what are you thinking about, kid? What's with that vicious look?"
Wang Sheng's words snapped Tang San out of his thoughts.
"N-nothing."
Tang San hurriedly concealed his hatred, his expression returning to normal.
It's been too long since I worked as an assassin. I've even forgotten the little habit of concealing my killing intent. Luckily, they're all brats under twelve who don't understand a thing. But there are too many eyes and ears here. This isn't a good place to kill Lu Yuan.
As Tang San pondered, Lu Yuan quietly watched it all.
Looks like Tang San has already met Yu Xiaogang and become his disciple. No wonder he's so hostile toward me. I'll have to be careful when facing him from now on, especially his hidden weapons.
Seeing Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges around Tang San's waist, Lu Yuan had already figured everything out. He didn't want to die inexplicably to the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, either. After all, they were Tang San's most powerful means of attack in the early stages.
Lu Yuan wasn't afraid of the first few soul skills of Tang San's Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
What, was he supposed to fear Blue Silver Entanglement?
"Oh, right. We still don't know your martial soul or innate soul power, Tang San."
The simple, good-natured Wang Sheng noticed nothing and continued questioning Tang San.
"My martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, and my innate soul power is rank ten."
"Blue Silver Grass? Isn't that a trash martial soul? Wait, how much innate soul power did you say you had? Rank ten! You have innate full soul power?!"
Once they registered his words, Wang Sheng and the other work-study students stared at Tang San in utter shock.
Since when did a genius like you turn up among us work-study students? You weren't sent here as a spy, were you?
As Tang San nodded, everyone turned to look at Lu Yuan again.
We're done for, we're done for! Boss Lu is gifted and trains hard, but he's only reached rank nine so far, and he even told me not to tell anyone else. Could Boss Lu lose to Tang San?
Wang Sheng stood stiffly, staring blankly as Lu Yuan got off his bed and addressed Tang San directly.
"I'm Lu Yuan. My external martial soul is Meowmeow, and I had Level 0.5 Innate Soul Power. As for now, my soul power is rank ten. I'm a quasi-soul master, just like you."
"What?!"
This time, even Tang San was dumbfounded.
What's going on? Didn't Master say that for someone like Lu Yuan, with only half a rank of innate soul power, reaching rank ten before graduating in his sixth year would already take both luck and sweat?
How did Lu Yuan reach rank ten after just one year of cultivation? Or did Master remember the year he enrolled incorrectly?
The other work-study students were stunned, too. They had to sweep the academy grounds and work to cover their tuition while cultivating, and their innate soul power was usually lower than that of ordinary students.
For work-study students like them, reaching rank ten and becoming soul masters before graduation was already an enormous stroke of luck.
They had never imagined that Lu Yuan, a village boy with Level 0.5 Innate Soul Power, could reach rank ten so far ahead of them.
Of course, given the strength Lu Yuan had previously displayed on the training grounds, none of the work-study students doubted the leader who had protected them for more than half a year.
"Boss Lu, was that surge of soul power you released just now a sign that you'd broken through to rank ten?"
The work-study students nearby had naturally felt the burst of soul power caused by Lu Yuan's breakthrough into the soul master ranks.
"Mm."
Lu Yuan nodded, then walked over to stand a short distance in front of Tang San, clearly ready to fight him.
"Lu Yuan, let me see your strength." Careful I don't beat you back down to rank nine.
Of course, the taciturn Tang San kept that last remark to himself. After all, he could also see that the work-study students in Dorm Seven seemed to respect Lu Yuan quite a bit.
If he recklessly provoked Lu Yuan without a reason, he might draw everyone's anger and find himself surrounded and attacked. Though Tang San wanted to eliminate Lu Yuan, he wasn't that foolish.
"Come out, Meowmeow!"
Lu Yuan swept his hand upward, and Meowmeow appeared in a wash of green light. With Lu Yuan's soul power having broken through to rank ten, Meowmeow's strength, the soul power he radiated, and his imposing presence were already comparable to those of a hundred-year soul beast.
"Go, Meowmeow!"
"Meow!"
At Lu Yuan's command, Meowmeow hissed.
Then he ran toward Tang San, leaped up, and swiped at his face.
Tang San raised his hand and summoned his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, making a ring of Blue Silver Grass grow from the ground to protect him.
Meowmeow pounced onto the Blue Silver Grass Tang San had summoned. His sharp claws flashed, instantly shredding a patch of grass, but under Tang San's control, the Blue Silver Grass spread out and surrounded Meowmeow instead.
Meowmeow leaped backward and summoned broad, thick leaves from the ground to block the Blue Silver Grass vines assaulting him from the front.
Tang San's gaze shifted. Raising his hand, he summoned Blue Silver Grass to stab at Lu Yuan, who was leisurely watching from the side.
To catch the bandits, capture their king first!
But just as the Blue Silver Grass stabbed toward Lu Yuan, he vanished from where he stood, leaving only a moving afterimage and a cloud of dust.
Lu Yuan had disappeared from his spot.
When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Tang San.
Tang San stared, dumbstruck.
"That's... Instant Teleportation!"