If Gu Chen had enjoyed a beautiful dream that night,
then,
for Tang San and his teacher, who had been sentenced to prison, it had been an outright nightmare.
After their arrest, their cases were put through an expedited process. Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had injured thirteen students by blasting them with a fart, four of them seriously, and faced a year behind bars. As for Tang San, given his young age, the possibility that Yu Xiaogang had led him astray, and the fact that it was his first offense, he only had to spend seven days in jail.
Even so,
once you entered prison, you sank as deep as the sea; from then on, your dignity became a stranger passing on the road.
Because cells were in short supply in Nuoding City, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San were thrown into the same one. Three other men were already there, all burly and brawny, the sort who were clearly not to be trifled with.
Inside the cell,
the five men split into two groups, each occupying a corner.
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San huddled silently in their corner, even trembling instinctively. It wasn't the cold; the looks from their three cellmates across from them were putting them under immense pressure.
Just then,
"Heaven has truly been kind to me!"
The burliest of the three had a conspicuous scar on his face. He was known in the jianghu as "Brother Scar." Countless men had fallen into his hands and suffered brutal beatings and torture, but half a month ago, he had been caught by a Nuoding City patrol during an operation.
"Boss, let us handle this!"
The two underlings sitting beside Scar stood up and volunteered.
"Very good, Wolong, Fengchu. You truly are my most loyal subordinates!"
Scar spoke with great satisfaction.
Their words, however, made Yu Xiaogang's expression change drastically.
"What are you going to do?!"
Panic filled Yu Xiaogang's face.
"What are we going to do? You'd better behave yourself, kid, or you'll both have plenty to suffer!"
Wolong twisted his mouth and threatened Yu Xiaogang.
Those words alone terrified Yu Xiaogang. He would rather go back and take another vicious beating from Director Su than stay here!
"Wolong, all you do is spout a bunch of nonsense."
Fengchu was evidently less easygoing. Without another word, he entered the Martial Soul Possession state and charged at Yu Xiaogang, his handcuffs and shackles clanking together, much like Yu Xiaogang's mood at that moment.
"Stay away from me!!!"
Yu Xiaogang shouted, his eyes filled with seven parts despair, two parts regret, and one part anger.
But his struggles were useless. Fengchu captured him in no time.
"Stop! Don't you dare hurt my teacher!"
Tang San, whose face had been beaten as swollen as a pig's head, was furious at the sight and wanted to rush forward to stop them. But Wolong appeared behind him, seized his head, and pressed it against the floor. The tremendous force left him unable to move.
"If you dare hurt my teacher even a little, I, Tang San, will not rest until one of us is dead!!!"
Tang San watched the scene in despair, his eyes bloodshot and his breath coming like a panting ox. Every one of these damned bastards had a way to die!!!
But then,
Smack!!!
The first response he received was a resounding slap from Wolong.
"Kid, you wouldn't want to..."
A threat sounded beside his ear.
Tang San's gaze instantly cleared.
Actually, I don't know him that well!
Please don't lay a hand on me!
I'm still a child!!!
The night passed in the blink of an eye.
For Gu Chen, it had been the most comfortable night's sleep since he had awakened the memories of his previous life. Unlike the rock-hard bed at home, which was no comfort at all, the hotel bed was truly comfortable to sleep in.
It's decided. I'll live in hotels from now on.
It's not that expensive anyway.
With the savings he currently had, he could stay for hundreds of years without a problem. It was a trivial matter.
After getting up,
he went to Xiao Wu's door and knocked for quite a while before she opened it.
"Oh, it's you, Gu Chen! Why are you up so early? I'm so sleepy. Let me sleep a little longer!"
Xiao Wu yawned, her eyes bleary with sleep. Once she saw it was him, she was ready to turn around and go back to bed.
"Xiao Wu, today is the official start of the school year at Nuoding Academy. Are you... not planning to go to school?"
Gu Chen reached out, grabbed her scorpion braid, and pulled her close, then shouted in her ear.
"School? Oh, school! All right, all right, I know! Wait a moment, I'll change my clothes!"
With that, Xiao Wu closed the door.
And so Gu Chen waited about half an hour before she came out of her room.
"Let's go!"
Xiao Wu looked completely refreshed, while Gu Chen no longer wanted to speak. Women really were all the same. Their "wait a moment" and "I'll be ready soon" meant something completely different from what men understood.
With his trump card for preserving his life soon to be in hand, he no longer resisted interacting with Xiao Wu. He even wanted to get closer to her so he could make use of Da Ming and Er Ming, who stood behind her.
If he could really obtain the help of two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, why would he have to worry about failing to accomplish great things?
After arriving at the academy,
he made a special trip with some fruit to visit his Dorm Seven classmates, who were still lying in the infirmary. Seeing them laid out in a row, he sucked in a cold breath inwardly. Yu Xiaogang's Soul Skill was truly terrifying!
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he put down the fruit he had brought.
This simple visit moved his Dorm Seven classmates deeply. When they thought of their injuries, they hated Tang San so much their teeth itched. It was all Tang San's fault.
As for Yu Xiaogang?
Sorry, they really didn't want to be blasted by farts again.
Once had already shaken heaven and earth. If they were blasted twice, they really would have no face left to go on living in this world.
After the visit,
he and Xiao Wu went to the academic affairs office and found Director Su. They had come for one purpose only: to change their status from work-study students to regular students. The price was that they had to pay.
Anyone who could enroll without being a work-study student was wealthy. A year's tuition alone amounted to dozens of Gold Soul Coins.
And Gu Chen was not short of money now.
He paid Xiao Wu's share as well. Naturally, it was surprising to see him fork out so much money at once, but Director Su didn't keep probing into it. He merely gave Gu Chen a surprised look before turning his gaze away.
Once the paperwork was complete,
Gu Chen attended his first class.
Studying was certainly necessary. His Blue Silver Grass, for instance, had no examples he could use as a reference. He needed a clear understanding of Soul Beasts before deciding which Soul Beast's Soul Ring to absorb, rather than doing as Tang San had and absorbing whatever Soul Ring Yu Xiaogang told him to. Tang San had ruined a Martial Soul with the potential to become the Blue Silver Emperor. If the Blue Silver King hadn't helped him awaken it in the Blue Silver Forest, his Blue Silver Emperor would have been completely ruined.
But in truth, even after awakening, it wasn't much different from being ruined.
So he needed to study his Soul Beast knowledge diligently, then choose the Soul Beast Soul Ring best suited to him and absorb it.
Unfortunately,
the first class taught no Soul Beast knowledge. It taught cultivation instead.
A freshly printed Meditation Method lay on the desk in front of him.
And in his field of vision,
an upgrade panel floated quietly above the Meditation Method.
[Item: Basic Meditation...