At those words, Luo Chen stopped in his tracks.
"Tang... San?"
His pupils abruptly contracted, and a sheen of cold sweat instantly broke out across his back.
"Wait, what the hell did I just do?!" Luo Chen cursed inwardly. "I actually tore his future teacher, Yu Xiaogang, to shreds right in front of Tang San."
"Does this count as... courting death?"
Seeing Luo Chen suddenly freeze in place, Tang San reached out in confusion. "What's wrong? Come on, let's go register together."
Just as his hand reached over, Luo Chen shifted slightly to the side, dodging it.
Tang San's hand hung in midair as he looked at Luo Chen with shock, bewilderment, and hurt.
What did I do wrong?
Why is he avoiding me?
Is it because I argued with him just now?
Luo Chen couldn't care less about Tang San's internal one-man show. Right now, all he wanted was to get far away from God King Tang.
So Luo Chen hurriedly forced a smile. "Um... I just remembered something urgent. You go register first."
With that, he greased his soles and bolted.
Tang San stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at Luo Chen's retreating back. He had wanted to chase after him and get an answer, but suddenly remembered Grandpa Jack's words. He withdrew his gaze and turned toward the school gates.
In a corner of the academy, behind the base of a wall.
Luo Chen poked half his head out and watched Tang San walk away toward the school gates, then let out a long breath.
"That was close."
"I almost ended up courting death."
"Tang San's gone, so I'd better hurry and register too."
Luo Chen emerged from the corner and strode toward the registration desk, completing his enrollment without a hitch.
The teacher handling registration flipped through the roster and glanced up at him. "Luo Chen, your circumstances are rather special. Teacher Su specifically instructed us to arrange a private dorm room for you."
At that, Luo Chen blinked with a smile.
That deacon really came through on what he promised.
"Thank you, teacher!"
Before long, a middle-aged teacher came over. It was Teacher Su.
"You're Luo Chen, right? Come with me. I'll take you to your dorm."
Luo Chen followed Teacher Su through several corridors until they reached a small, three-story building.
"This is the teachers' dormitory. Your room is at the far end of the second floor. Here's the key." Teacher Su handed him a key. "Come find me if you have any problems."
"Thank you, Teacher Su!"
Teacher Su smiled and nodded. "You really are a considerate child. If I remember correctly, work-study students have to do chores, don't they?"
"Yes." Luo Chen nodded. "We work-study students attend for free, so it's only natural that we help the school with some work."
"Then how about this? From now on, just clean my office. You won't need to do any other chores."
"I still have something to take care of, so I'll be going."
After watching Teacher Su leave, Luo Chen took the key and opened his dorm room.
The room wasn't large, but it was fairly well equipped, with a bed, a desk, a wardrobe with a mirror, and a chair.
Luo Chen closed the door, washed his face, and stood before the mirror, muttering to himself, "I haven't taken a look at the Karmic Fire Scorpion Emperor yet. I wonder what it looks like."
At that thought, Luo Chen willed it, and two terrifying giant scorpions with diametrically opposed presences appeared behind him.
As Luo Chen sensed the Karmic Fire Scorpion Emperor, he couldn't help feeling greatly shocked.
The Karmic Fire Scorpion Emperor was actually formed from heavenly fire and earthly soil, two of the world's four great elements of creation. It was a spirit of nature on the Douluo Continent, born with the Karmic Fire Domain and the Earth-Burning Domain.
Legend had it that it slumbered at the core of the Douluo Continent, and every time it rolled over or snored, it would cause earthquakes or volcanic eruptions on the continent's surface.
Most importantly, the Karmic Fire Scorpion Emperor lay somewhere between a tool martial soul and a beast martial soul. Not only could it grant Luo Chen martial soul possession and tremendous strength, but it could also temporarily leave his body to attack enemies alongside him.
"Excellent!" Luo Chen threw a few punches at the air. "Once I visit the library and learn a bit about soul beasts, I'll take the Karmic Fire Scorpion Emperor out to find a suitable soul beast for the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor."
"Now it's time to cultivate Twin Emperor Soul Guidance and try to reach the beginner stage."
With that thought, Luo Chen sat cross-legged on the bed, sank his consciousness into his mind, and began cultivating Twin Emperor Soul Guidance.
As he began circulating Twin Emperor Soul Guidance, a cool power welled up from deep within his sea of consciousness, slowly flowing into every limb and bone.
Time ticked by, second after second.
Luo Chen could feel his perception expanding little by little.
After an unknown amount of time, a knock at the door interrupted his cultivation.
"Is Luo Chen here?"
Hearing this, Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes, his perception instantly drawing back in.
"Who could be looking for me at a time like this?" Puzzled, Luo Chen got up and opened the door.
Standing outside was the guard from that morning, holding a brand-new set of bedding in his arms.
"Brother Guard!" Luo Chen flashed his trademark smile. "You really brought it?"
"I gave my word. How could I go back on it?" The guard smiled and handed the bedding to Luo Chen. "Here, take it."
Luo Chen accepted the bedding and thanked him repeatedly.
The guard waved a hand and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. Pausing, he said, "Oh, right. Something hilarious happened at the academy gates just now. Did you hear about it?"
*???*
"What happened?"
"That boy who came to school with you." The guard lowered his voice, his face full of schadenfreude. "He ran into Yu Xiaogang, the freeloader at our academy."
"The moment Yu Xiaogang saw he had innate full soul power, he wanted to take him as a disciple. But in the end..."
"What happened? Don't keep me hanging!" Luo Chen urged.
Stifling his laughter, the guard continued, "That boy rejected Yu Xiaogang outright, and even said a few things that stabbed him right in the heart."
"You have no idea," the guard said, laughing aloud, "how green Yu Xiaogang's face turned. He stood there for ages without being able to say a word."
Hearing that, Luo Chen froze completely.
Tang San... actually rejected Yu Xiaogang?!
"What's wrong?" the guard asked in confusion when he saw Luo Chen staring blankly.
"N-nothing." Luo Chen came back to his senses and forced a smile. "That really is... pretty funny."
"Well, that's that. I'd better get back to my post." After chatting a little longer, the guard turned and left.
Luo Chen closed the door and leaned against it, remaining motionless for a long time.
He had never imagined that just a few words could shatter Tang San and Yu Xiaogang's master-disciple relationship.
If things continued like this, would the plot he knew... still exist?
At that thought, a wave of belated fear washed over Luo Chen. But when he thought of the Karmic Fire Scorpion Emperor and the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor, that fear suddenly vanished without a trace.
Early the next morning.
Luo Chen rose early and, after a quick wash, headed toward the academy library.
He was visiting the library to find books introducing soul beasts and prepare for his first soul ring.
After a night of thought, Luo Chen knew that no matter how the plot changed, nothing could hurt him as long as his fists were hard enough.
The library wasn't large, but its collection was fairly extensive.
Luo Chen found a shelf of books about soul beasts in a corner and began searching through them.
Just as he was engrossed in reading, a voice came from behind him:
"You're Luo Chen?"