"Looks pretty handsome, actually."
After losing to Lu Yuan, Xiao Wu began looking at him as a human prodigy.
I wonder if he could be the one to help me take revenge on Spirit Hall?
Xiao Wu had entered the human world intending to win over a human prodigy and have him take revenge on Spirit Hall, which had hunted down and killed her mother. Unfortunately, in the original timeline, she had all but forgotten that goal later on.
That brat Lu Yuan actually bullied such a cute girl.
Only now did Tang San, still dazed from Lu Yuan's punch, stagger to his feet with a hand braced against the wall.
His eyes were filled with disgust and jealousy toward Lu Yuan.
"Meow~" (Master, how did I do, meow~?)
After helping Lu Yuan defeat Tang San and Xiao Wu in succession, Meowmeow bounded toward him to claim credit.
"Good job."
"Meow~" (Then Master has to give Meowmeow more Coco Fruit to eat.)
Meowmeow jumped into Lu Yuan's arms and acted spoiled for all he was worth.
"Huh~"
Xiao Wu twitched her nose.
"That smells so good."
When she had first entered, Xiao Wu had caught a fragrant scent rich with vitality. Only after her spar with Lu Yuan ended did she begin searching for its source in earnest.
When Xiao Wu turned her gaze toward Lu Yuan and Meowmeow, she finally confirmed that the scent she found so irresistible was coming from the two of them.
"Wow, you two smell so good."
Xiao Wu swallowed and approached Lu Yuan and Meowmeow with her hands raised like claws.
"Meow!"
Meowmeow's mighty frame shuddered, his fur standing on end. He was one step away from hissing at Xiao Wu.
In a flash, he darted behind Lu Yuan, then poked his big, round face out to give Xiao Wu a resentful look.
"Xiao Wu, Meowmeow is my martial soul. You can't eat him."
"Tch~" Xiao Wu folded her arms, puffed out her cheeks, and blew a breath to the side.
"Who wants to eat that weird, greenish cat?"
"Meow!" (You wicked woman, who are you calling a weird cat? How rude, meow!)
Lu Yuan stroked Meowmeow's soft head to soothe him.
"Meowmeow, Xiao Wu means no harm."
Just as Xiao Wu was sulking, a splash of vivid green appeared beside her.
The sudden appearance of green and that enticing scent made Xiao Wu turn her head at once, her eyes widening.
Lu Yuan had used Meowmeow's power to grow several tender, succulent green leaves from his palm and held them out before her.
"Here, try these."
"Thank you, Lu Yuan!"
Xiao Wu excitedly took the leaves from Lu Yuan, put them in her mouth, and chewed blissfully with her eyes narrowed.
Wang Sheng and the other work-study students in Dorm Seven watched in confusion.
Xiao Wu was so much like a rabbit, loving fresh grass and even eating like one. Could it be the influence of her Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul?
"Everyone."
The moment Lu Yuan, their mainstay, spoke, everyone's attention turned to him.
"Xiao Wu is now one of the strongest among us work-study students, too. Remember to call her Sister Xiao Wu from now on."
"Yes, Boss Lu. Yes, Sister Xiao Wu."
At Lu Yuan's command, the work-study students, who knew perfectly well they couldn't beat either of them, immediately began calling Xiao Wu by her favorite nickname.
Xiao Wu looked at Lu Yuan, ripples of light shimmering in the pools of her eyes.
The sight left Tang San, standing off to the side, utterly miserable. He gritted his teeth.
Damn it, Lu Yuan. I'm at level ten soul power, just like you and Xiao Wu, so why do you only care about her? Am I really that unwanted, that unimportant?
The more Tang San thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more stifled he felt.
Hmph, so what if you have green leaves? My Blue Silver Grass is no worse than yours. If Xiao Wu hadn't barged in, you'd already have fallen to my hidden weapons.
While Tang San seethed in secret, Xiao Wu looked toward Lu Yuan's bed. It carried the same scent she liked on Lu Yuan.
"Lu Yuan, is that your bed?" Xiao Wu pointed at it.
"Yes." Lu Yuan nodded.
Then a scene unfolded that stunned everyone.
Xiao Wu ran over to the bed beside Lu Yuan's, the one no one dared sleep in, and pushed it against his, joining them into one large bed.
"Xiao Wu, what are you..."
Having read the original story, Lu Yuan immediately guessed what was going on in that little head of hers. Unfortunately, he still had to keep up appearances.
"Lu Yuan, I didn't bring any bedding. Your quilt looks pretty big. How about we share it?"
"Well..."
Lu Yuan hesitated, intending to say a few more words to dissuade Xiao Wu, only to see her pleading with him, her wide eyes brimming with tears.
"Please, Lu Yuan. Pretty please~"
"Heh, all right."
In the end, Lu Yuan agreed.
The others might not know, but how could Lu Yuan not know that Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year-old rabbit?
She probably already knew plenty about matters between men and women. After all, in the original timeline, she had been an outrageous little girl who could forget her true identity and say scandalous things at just six years old.
Still, Lu Yuan had lived two lives and knew quite a bit about such things himself. He wasn't afraid of whatever Xiao Wu might be up to.
Knock, knock, knock~
A knocking sound came from outside Dorm Seven's open door.
"Hello, which one of you is Tang San? Grandmaster sent me to bring you a quilt."
Perhaps it was the butterfly effect caused by Lu Yuan, but Yu Xiaogang had talked with Tang San much longer, even affecting when the person delivering the quilt arrived.
"That's me. I'm Tang San."
Under the work-study students' envious gazes, Tang San introduced himself as Yu Xiaogang's disciple and accepted the clean, white quilt.
After his unexpected loss to Lu Yuan, Tang San was pleased to finally have a chance to show off. But when he saw Xiao Wu excitedly rolling around on the large bed joined to Lu Yuan's, his face immediately fell again.
Damn it, just one step too late. If I'd gotten this fine quilt first, maybe I'd have been the one Xiao Wu cozied up to in the end.
Several days later, having fully stabilized his cultivation, Lu Yuan went to Director Su's office at Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy and found him working there.
"What? You want to go soul hunting?"
Director Su looked in surprise at the child before him, who had only recently turned seven and was also a work-study student.
Apart from Tang San and Xiao Wu, the two extraordinarily rare prodigies with innate full soul power who had enrolled a few days earlier, not a single student at Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy had cultivated to level ten soul power at seven years old-not even those from soul master families.
"Director Su, I'm certain my soul power has reached level ten."
Hearing Lu Yuan's confident answer, Director Su hurriedly stood, walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder to check his soul power level.
"It really is level ten."
Director Su's pupils trembled slightly. He could hardly believe Lu Yuan's innate soul power had been only level 0.5.
"Lu Yuan, how have you been cultivating? Why are you progressing so quickly?"
Lu Yuan scratched his head, putting on a confused expression.
"I don't know either. I've noticed that I cultivate faster than other people, too."
Could it be because of Lu Yuan's strange external martial soul? Is this why the Spirit Hall Branch wants to protect him?
Director Su filled in the blanks himself, attributing the three people from the Spirit Hall Branch standing up for Lu Yuan last time to this.
"Lu Yuan, the talent you're showing now is exceptional. So, how about I personally accompany you to hunt for your first soul ring?"
"Really? That's great! Thank you, Director Su!" Lu Yuan looked excited.
After all, Director Su was a genuine three-ring Soul Elder, far better than having a certain unreliable Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster lead his soul hunt.
At last, Lu Yuan was going to have his own first soul ring and soul skill!