At that moment, the burly boy fixed his gaze on Jiang Mingyuan.
When Jiang Mingyuan finished putting his things away and turned around, the boy pointed straight at the broom by the door and told him, "Your name's Jiang Mingyuan, right? Sweep the floor."
Tang Wulin was still fairly innocent. He glanced down at the floor and saw that quite a bit of dust had indeed gathered. This dorm room probably hadn't been occupied for over a month.
Since he was closer to the door, he simply picked up the broom and began sweeping.
Unexpectedly, the burly boy planted a foot directly on the broom, anger in his voice.
"Don't you understand human speech? I told him to sweep."
Tang Wulin stopped sweeping and straightened up, his gaze gradually turning hostile.
"You're picking a fight on purpose, aren't you?"
Seeing that the two were about to clash, Yun Xiao, who had little fighting ability, immediately hid in a corner of the room to avoid getting caught up in it.
"Wulin." Jiang Mingyuan's tone was gentle as he caught Tang Wulin by the arm. Tang Wulin turned to look at him and saw that he was still smiling.
He took the broom from Tang Wulin and said calmly, "This dorm room really does need a good cleaning."
Jiang Mingyuan reserved his gentleness and kindness for family and friends. He greeted strangers with a smile, too. But this rabid dog in front of him had lunged in to bite the moment they met.
Two chibi figures appeared on Jiang Mingyuan's shoulders, visible only to him.
Female: "The little brat must be tired of living."
Male: "Don't kill anyone."
Jiang Mingyuan didn't even need his martial soul to deal with the person before him.
"Wulin, look. There's a big piece of trash sitting on this bed."
The boy on the bed was named Zhou Changxi, and his martial soul was the Great Strength Divine Ape. Hearing those words, he flew into a rage. He sprang up, swinging his fist at Jiang Mingyuan.
Jiang Mingyuan raised his left hand and caught the punch with ease. Zhou Changxi tried to pull back, only to discover that his fist was held fast and wouldn't budge.
"You!" Zhou Changxi was utterly stunned. He hadn't expected a boy so much slimmer than him to catch his fist so easily.
He swung his other arm, aiming a punch at Jiang Mingyuan's face, but before it could land, Jiang Mingyuan's right hand reached him first.
Smack!
A vicious slap struck Zhou Changxi across the face and sent him flying.
Their dorm room door was open. Out in the hallway, Xie Xie, who had just put away his luggage and was planning to explore the campus, happened to be passing by.
There was no time to react. All Xie Xie saw was a huge black rat hurtling toward him.
Two screams rang out.
Jiang Mingyuan dusted off his hands.
"Okay. Problem solved."
Having witnessed the whole thing from the corner, Yun Xiao wore an astonished expression.
Zhou Changxi's martial soul had given him an extremely robust physique. From behind, he could easily pass for an adult. Jiang Mingyuan, on the other hand, wasn't even particularly big for his age.
"O-one slap! My heavens! What level is Jiang Mingyuan's soul power?"
"Who's throwing trash around?!"
A furious roar suddenly erupted in the hallway. Xie Xie kicked Zhou Changxi off him. The impact had smashed a crater webbed with cracks into the wall behind him, and his back was still burning with pain.
Xie Xie summoned his martial soul. With the Light Dragon Dagger in his hand and a pale yellow soul ring floating around him, he charged straight into Jiang Mingyuan and Tang Wulin's dorm room. All three boys inside turned to look at the unlucky fellow.
"It was you! How dare you ambush me! I'll teach you a lesson." Xie Xie pointed the tip of his Light Dragon Dagger at Jiang Mingyuan and lunged forward.
Jiang Mingyuan cast a cold glance at the little knife in Xie Xie's hand.
Light Dragon Dagger?
Then mine's the White Tiger Dagger. What a lousy name.
Golden-red flames swirled as magnificent wings unfurled inside the dorm room. Two yellow soul rings pulsed rhythmically around Jiang Mingyuan.
Aside from Tang Wulin, the other two boys in the room were both stunned. Xie Xie was angry because he'd been hit, not because he had a screw loose like Zhou Changxi.
He knew exactly how much strength he had.
There was a thud.
Xie Xie dropped straight to his knees, his forward momentum carrying him across the floor until he slid to a stop before Jiang Mingyuan. He held up the Light Dragon Dagger in both hands, as though presenting a treasure.
"Big brother, look at the glittering golden yellow on my Light Dragon Dagger. Pretty, isn't it?"
Tang Wulin and Yun Xiao were left speechless, imaginary black lines hanging over their heads. Dude, are you here to do a comedy routine?
A few crimson-gold feathers drifted down onto Xie Xie, infusing him with a gentle, warm vitality.
Xie Xie felt the ache in his waist and the pain in his back disappear. Even his mind seemed a little clearer.
Jiang Mingyuan reached out and helped him up.
"Sorry, classmate. I was careless just now and didn't check the hallway. You were hurt because of that, and I'm very sorry."
After being helped up, Xie Xie still hadn't quite caught up with what was happening. All he could think was that the boy in front of him was rather polite.
"Haha. I'm the one who should apologize. I was a little impulsive, too. I shouldn't have let my temper get the better of me. Uh, I'm Xie Xie. I live next door in room 203."
"I'm Jiang Mingyuan. Nice to meet you."
The two shook hands. Just then, Tang Wulin walked over, rested his right hand on Jiang Mingyuan's shoulder, and extended his left.
"I'm Tang Wulin."
Looking at the boy, who was clearly a good deal taller than both him and Jiang Mingyuan, Xie Xie also reached out and shook his hand.
The force squeezing his hand made Xie Xie wince inwardly, though he concealed it well on his face.
Xie Xie made up his mind. From now on, this date would be his unlucky day every year.
Yun Xiao, who was still hiding in the corner, looked rather awkward. He coughed and stepped out.
"I'm Yun Xiao."
Xie Xie nodded to him, and that counted as an introduction.
The commotion had been no small matter. A large crater had been smashed into the wall, and the students in the dorm rooms had felt everything shake.
"An earthquake?"
A few minutes later.
In the disciplinary office of Eastsea Academy's intermediate division, Long Hengxu regarded the four boys before him with a troubled expression. No, there were five boys. One was still lying on the floor.
Xie Xie had been able to spread the force of the impact across his entire back, whereas Zhou Changxi had taken that blow directly to the head.
Long Hengxu looked at Jiang Mingyuan, who stood at the front. Just half an hour earlier, the teacher in charge of registering new students had come to tell him that this boy had volunteered to join Class Five.
Although Long Hengxu felt this might bury a talented student, he still supported the boy's own wishes. He had seemed quite a character at first glance.
It was just that his personality seemed a little too forceful.
They were all classmates. How had they already ended up in a fight like this on their very first day?
"Tell me what happened. If you beat up a classmate for no reason, you'll receive a disciplinary mark."
Jiang Mingyuan stepped forward, stood directly opposite Long Hengxu, and began explaining the situation.
"Teacher, this is what happened."
Long Hengxu listened carefully to the entire account, then looked at Tang Wulin and Yun Xiao for confirmation.
Tang Wulin and Yun Xiao both nodded without hesitation.
So the big, burly boy lying on the floor was the bully.
Long Hengxu rubbed the space between his brows. "All right, I understand what happened. The academy will handle it. But fighting is still against school rules. Since you're new students, I won't give you a disciplinary mark, but you must pay to repair the dormitory wall. Xie Xie, Yun Xiao, Zhou Changxi, the three of you will transfer to Class Five as well."