Things Seemed Far from Simple

"Yeah, we're all still children. The academy dorms aren't separated by gender. I heard they only start separating them at the Intermediate Soul Master Academy." Wang Sheng nodded, then voiced his confusion.

"It's really strange. There weren't any work-study students last year, yet three showed up this year."

"Boss, go on! Give her a show of strength!"

Someone said in a hushed voice.

"Uh, there's no need for that, right?" Tang San looked awkward.

Afterward, witnessed by Yang Yunhai and the other dormmates, things still unfolded just like in the original story. The two fought, and the result did not change. Tang San still caught sight of Xiao Wu's bloomers, became embarrassed, reacted a beat too slowly, and fell under Xiao Wu's soft techniques.

After that, Xiao Wu chose the bed beside Tang San's, plopped down on it, and had Wang Sheng introduce the academy's situation.

After listening to Wang Sheng, she turned to Tang San.

"Tang San, what level is your Soul Power? Just now, I felt that you seemed very strong."

"I have Innate Full Soul Power, so I'm a little stronger." Tang San answered frankly.

Xiao Wu immediately blinked, her lips moving slightly as though she were muttering something.

"???" Yang Yunhai did not understand lip-reading, but from Xiao Wu's gaze and microexpressions, he felt that things seemed far from simple. After all, he had been a shop-owning businessman in his previous life. He knew a little about reading people.

As he pondered, someone called out from outside the door.

"Which one of you is Tang San?"

Without thinking further, Yang Yunhai immediately turned to look. It was Mentor Mo Hen, delivering a quilt to Tang San on Yu Xiaogang's behalf.

After handing the quilt to Tang San and briefly explaining the work-study students' daily duties and tomorrow's opening ceremony, the mentor left directly.

Then, the classic scene replayed. After some back-and-forth, Xiao Wu finally spoke the words that shattered Yang Yunhai's worldview. "What's so bad about it? I'm a girl, and I don't care. What are you afraid of? What, are you scared I'll force myself on you?"

"Damn! There's a reason Xiao Wu was called the Rascal Rabbit in her past life!" Hearing it firsthand, Yang Yunhai was genuinely shaken.

"Uh..." Tang San was also stunned, standing there with his mouth slightly open.

Having lived two lives, he had never seen such a fierce girl. She completely contradicted the education and understanding he had received.

"Well, Sister Xiao Wu. Bedding isn't expensive. How about we pool some money and buy you a new set outside the academy?" Perhaps because of Yang Yunhai's earlier arrival, Wang Sheng could not help but make the suggestion when he saw Tang San frozen in place.

"I can't be bothered to go out." Xiao Wu sprang off the bed, planted her hands on her hips, stared at Tang San, and urged him impatiently.

"Uh, what are you 'uh'-ing for? Hurry up and pull your bed over. Aren't you pretty strong?"

Whether Xiao Wu had frightened him or not, Tang San subconsciously pushed his bed over beside Xiao Wu's.

He was over thirty when both lives were added together. This shouldn't be happening. As an upright gentleman, shouldn't he be righteously refusing?... Yang Yunhai was speechless.

Then he fell into thought.

And there was no need to go out! Couldn't they just have Wang Sheng buy a set and bring it back? Had Xiao Wu simply not thought of it because she was careless, or was it deliberate? After hearing that Tang San had Innate Full Soul Power, it felt like Xiao Wu was intentionally getting close to Tang San, Yang Yunhai could not help thinking.

He clearly remembered that in the original story, Xiao Wu did not start sleeping separately from Tang San until much later. Logically, when Xiao Wu obtained her First Soul Ring and returned from Spirit Hall after collecting her Spirit Master subsidy, she could have bought new bedding herself. Yet Xiao Wu had not done so.

That felt very unreasonable!

The original story clearly mentioned that Soul Beasts who took human form and cultivated anew needed to interact with humans and sense the aura around them in order to progress further.

So, was Xiao Wu doing this, pushing to sleep in the same bed as Tang San, so she could sense human aura from closer up?

As for why she had specifically chosen Tang San, perhaps she valued his Innate Full Soul Power and the impressive combat strength he had displayed.

Or perhaps there were other reasons.

For example, she could use Tang San, who also possessed Innate Full Soul Power, as a shield to reduce her own presence and avoid drawing attention. No, no, no, that wasn't right!

During Xiao Wu's time at Notting Academy—and even throughout the entire work—she had been anything but low-key.

The acknowledged elder sister of Notting Academy and Tang San's personal detonator—those were not jokes.

As he pondered, Xiao Wu had already placed her bundle between the two beds as a boundary.

Seeing this, Wang Sheng smiled. "Sister Xiao Wu, Tang San, it's time for lunch. Shall we go to the cafeteria together?"

Thus, after another round of back-and-forth, everyone set off for the cafeteria.

Afterward, events developed exactly as they had in the original story. Everyone was mocked by Xiao Chenyu in the cafeteria. Yu Xiaogang then appeared and asked Tang San to follow him upstairs for a meal, but Tang San refused. After Yu Xiaogang went upstairs alone, Wang Sheng brought up Yu Xiaogang's strength.

This undoubtedly angered Tang San, causing him to leave the table in fury.

Yang Yunhai quietly watched it all and ate in silence. Once he finished, he excused himself on the pretext of leaving the academy to buy daily necessities. After buying his things and returning to the dorm to put them away, he took advantage of everyone's afternoon nap to leave the dorm alone and explore the academy. Then he headed straight for the academy's Back Mountain.

On Douluo Continent, plants like Blue Silver Grass could be found almost everywhere, so the academy's Back Mountain naturally had them as well.

After searching for some time, he finally found a small, flat patch of land covered in Blue Silver Grass behind a cluster of shrubs. Without hesitation, he immediately tidied the area and sat down to cultivate.

If nothing unexpected happened, this natural Blue Silver Grass Simulated Environment would accompany him for a long time to come.

An hour later, he patted himself and stood up. Walking over to a hardwood tree, he forcefully snapped off a branch and stripped it into a simple wooden staff.

Holding the staff in one hand, he lowered his waist and assumed a horse stance.

After arriving in this world, especially after learning that this was Douluo Continent, where Martial Souls could awaken, his first thought had been to devise a physical training plan for himself. He hoped that improving his body would give him a greater chance of awakening Soul Power along with his Martial Soul.

And if he truly could awaken Soul Power, it would also lay a foundation for his future cultivation.

The body was the foundation of everything. That could not be wrong!

For this reason, he had racked his brains, trying to recall scenes he had seen in sports channels, film and television works, and online videos in his previous life, as well as training exercises he had personally experienced during school military training and physical education classes.

Unfortunately, he had never read any cultivation manuals, and he had long forgotten the Military Boxing, radio calisthenics, Tai Chi, and other things taught at school back then.

However, he still remembered familiar training movements such as horse stances, Frog Jumps, and sit-ups quite clearly. There were also basic sword movements like thrusting, lifting, and chopping, as well as basic spear and staff movements like driving and thrusting.

He still retained some impression of those fragmented scenes copied from film and television works.

It was precisely because he had those memories that he set two training goals for himself.

First, his horse stance had to be stable, and he had to strengthen his lower body. That was the foundation of foundations. Second, he had to improve his body's flexibility and make his movements more agile. He might not be able to learn a single one of Tang San's special techniques, but the movements Tang San could perform were ones his body should ideally be capable of as well.

For example, a simple split. If an opponent got close and kicked him, forcing him into a split on the spot, and he pulled a muscle or ligament so badly that he howled in pain and could not even get back up, wouldn't he just be waiting to get beaten up? But if he trained until it no longer hurt, he would at least have the strength left to respond. As a great man once said, having no sword and having a sword but choosing not to use it were two different things. What if it came in handy?

For that reason, he had begun practicing horse stances at the age of four.

And now, since his awakened Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass, there were some matters that required careful consideration.

If the plan in his mind went smoothly, perhaps he would be able to make a spear out of Blue Silver Grass in the future. With a spear and lightning, it felt like he would have considerable potential as long as he trained properly.

Even if he could not practice until skill became instinct and develop superb spear techniques, couldn't he at least master a few basic movements? Cheng Yaojin had dared to conquer the world with just three axe strikes. What did he have to fear!?

If that truly did not work, couldn't he just practice throwing spears and use them for long-range attacks in the future?

Since he was going to follow the Control System anyway, once he bound an enemy to a fixed target, could he still miss with a stab?

And if even spear throwing went poorly, sustained practice would still strengthen his arms and wrists. Having a pair of powerful arms would not be bad either.

When he used Blue Silver Grass for control in the future, even if he had to pull someone like a game of tug-of-war, it would still be much better than not training at all, right?

In short, it would be useful no matter what. He would not lose out on this!

So, he added another training goal for himself: he had to hold a spear steadily!

It was time to start practicing exercises that improved arm strength, such as push-ups, pull-ups, and holding a spear in one hand while maintaining a horse stance.

As for everything else, he would wait until after obtaining his First Soul Ring.

With that thought, he calmed his mind and focused on training.