"Your martial soul is an egg? Could you be a food-type Soul Master?" Wang Sheng looked at Lin Mo and the egg in his arms with a complicated expression. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly spoke.
"No."
Lin Mo shook his head and rolled his eyes at Wang Sheng. "This egg isn't edible. According to the gentleman from Spirit Hall who conducted my martial soul awakening ceremony, my martial soul should be a trash martial soul...
"Because he didn't know what it was good for either, and I really don't have much fighting ability myself..."
"Oh."
Wang Sheng sighed with a hint of regret, then said, "Then you don't have any objections to Tang San taking over as Dorm Seven's boss, do you?"
"No." Lin Mo shook his head again.
Ultimately, the main reason Dorm Seven chose a boss to lead the flock was to deal with other students at the academy bullying the work-study students.
But now the work-study students already had two capable fighters in Tang San and the soon-to-arrive Xiao Wu. There was no need for him to act at all.
Especially with Xiao Wu, that "hooligan rabbit," around. Once she showed her strength, it would be good enough if she didn't bully the other students.
Besides, with Charmander still unhatched and no intention of revealing his second martial soul, keeping a low profile was best.
Meanwhile, Tang San clearly disliked being called "boss."
After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "Don't keep calling me boss from now on. Just call me dorm leader."
"Sure, dorm leader."
While they talked and showered Tang San with compliments, Lin Mo had already laid out the bedding he had brought and neatly arranged it.
Then he took some of the fruit the villagers had prepared for him out of his backpack and set it on the dorm's communal table.
"I brought this fruit from my village. It's all homegrown and tastes pretty good. Everyone, have some! We're all going to be roommates from now on!" Lin Mo said, looking at everyone.
Everyone currently in the dorm would be his roommate for a long time to come. Naturally, Lin Mo didn't mind building good relationships with them, which would also make living together more pleasant.
The work-study students looked at one another. In the end, Wang Sheng was the first to step forward. He picked up an apple, took a bite, and said:
"You're a pretty good guy. I'll have your back at the academy from now on! I guarantee no one will dare bully you."
Wang Sheng thumped his chest and said proudly, "My martial soul is a War Tiger, and my Soul Power is already at rank nine. I'm sure to become a powerful Soul Master in the future!"
"Then I'll be counting on you to have my back." Lin Mo smiled.
Once Wang Sheng started eating, the others all followed suit.
These work-study students were neither loved by their fathers nor cherished by their mothers at the academy, so to speak. The condition of their dorm alone offered a glimpse of that.
It was even more apparent when it came to food. In the cafeteria, they could usually only choose the cheapest set meal.
Even ordinary fruit like this was a rare addition to their meals.
Only Tang San stood off to the side, looking somewhat awkward and at a loss.
The situation was still somewhat beyond him. Even after living two lives, this was his first time encountering anything like it, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.
Seeing this, Lin Mo swiftly grabbed two pieces of fruit and pressed them into Tang San's hands without giving him a chance to refuse. "This fruit tastes pretty good. Give it a try," he said softly.
He didn't want to be saddled with "you have already courted death" over a little fruit.
Tang San stared blankly at the fruit in his hands, his expression somewhat complicated. Finally, he slowly uttered, "Thank you!"
Just as everyone was feasting, a little girl with a scorpion braid soon appeared at Dorm Seven's entrance.
The sight left everyone staring. Several of them froze, their hands trembling, nearly dropping their fruit on the floor.
The situation inside Dorm Seven was clearly somewhat unexpected for Xiao Wu as well. After a moment's daze, she strode into the dorm and asked, "Is this Dorm Seven?"
"Yes."
Taking it upon himself to act as Dorm Seven's leader, Tang San quickly swallowed his last mouthful of fruit, abruptly rose, and nodded as he said:
"I'm Dorm Seven's leader. Are you a new work-study student?"
There was some puzzlement in Tang San's voice.
"That's right." Xiao Wu nodded without any shyness.
Wang Sheng, standing nearby, also noticed Tang San's confusion and explained, "The dorms at our junior academy aren't separated by gender. Boys and girls live together."
"How strange. There wasn't a single new work-study student last year, and this year we've got three all at once."
"Boss, go on. Show her who's in charge."
Wang Sheng stood to the side, urging Tang San into action. He already regretted not getting to see Lin Mo and Tang San fight earlier.
He couldn't miss out again now.
"Well... there's no need for that, is there?" Tang San said awkwardly. He didn't mind taking over as Dorm Seven's leader, but bullying a girl was still something he couldn't quite bring himself to do.
Xiao Wu blinked at the entrance. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she looked up at Dorm Seven's sign and confirmed that she hadn't come to the wrong dorm.
She looked at everyone with a sweet smile and said, "Hello, my name is Xiao Wu. Wu as in dance."
Under the urging of Wang Sheng and the other work-study students, Tang San finally had no choice but to steel himself, step forward, and walk toward Xiao Wu.
"Hello, I'm Tang San. My martial soul is Blue Silver Grass. I'm a rank-ten Soul Scholar and Dorm Seven's leader. Here's the thing: Dorm Seven has a rule that every new work-study student must demonstrate their martial soul's strength. Whoever is stronger becomes the new dorm leader!"
"Are you sure?" Xiao Wu gave Tang San a strange look.
"I'm sure!" Tang San nodded.
"All right, then let's do it."
Xiao Wu spoke with a hint of excitement, then set her school uniform aside, a fierce fighting spirit showing in her eyes.
"Xiao Wu, martial soul: rabbit, rank-ten Soul Scholar..."
Before she had finished speaking, Xiao Wu had already kicked out, her toes heading straight for Tang San's head.
Tang San froze for a moment, but quickly reacted. With his vision enhanced by Purple Demon Eye, he turned sideways out of the way and caught the ankle of Xiao Wu's kicking leg.
He stamped his right foot down hard, then drove toward Xiao Wu with a textbook Iron Mountain Lean.
But Tang San soon discovered, to his surprise, that the move he had been certain would land had actually missed. Somehow, Xiao Wu had slipped free of his hand.
At the same time, the leg whose kick had missed swept sideways and hooked over his shoulder. She planted both hands on Tang San's incoming shoulder and used it for leverage, bringing her other leg up as well.
Both legs wound around Tang San's neck just like that.
Using the momentum of Tang San's forward thrust, she leaned her upper body backward and braced both hands against the floor. Her supple legs were like springs, clamping around Tang San's neck as she tried to throw him backward.
An exchange like this clearly fell outside Tang San's previous combat experience. The intimate contact between boy and girl left him stunned for half a beat.
By the time he tried to brace himself and break free, it was already too late. He could only let Xiao Wu fling his body away.