Conflict

The next morning, Wang Xingyu woke up hungry. He opened his eyes and stared at Dorm Seven's dingy rafters, taking two seconds to remember where he was.

To his left, Tang San was already awake, sitting on the edge of his bed and putting on his shoes with quiet movements. On the bed to his right, Xiao Wu was curled up under her blanket, with only a length of her scorpion braid showing outside the pillow.

Wang Xingyu sat up. The blanket he and Tang San had shared last night had been pulled into two strips overnight, one draped over his stomach and the other wrapped around Tang San's legs. Neither of them had been fully covered.

"Awake?" Tang San turned his head.

"Yeah." Wang Xingyu untangled the blanket from his legs. "I'm hungry."

Xiao Wu poked her head out from under her blanket, her hair a bird's nest. "I'm hungry too."

Wang Sheng and the other work-study students woke up one after another. The sounds of people getting dressed and looking for their shoes filled Dorm Seven. Wang Xingyu jumped out of bed and clapped his hands. "No rush. Breakfast is on me today. Everyone in Dorm Seven, we're going to the cafeteria for meat buns."

The dorm fell silent for a moment. Wang Sheng, who was tying his waistband, froze with his hands in midair. "Everyone?"

"Everyone." Wang Xingyu pulled a few Copper Soul Coins from his pocket and weighed them in his palm. "Saved up from the soap. It's enough."

The work-study students looked at one another, then all began moving faster. Xiao Wu had already tied up her scorpion braid, and her eyes were shining. "I want three!"

The group left Dorm Seven and headed for the cafeteria. It was behind the main building, a long gray-brick building. When they pushed open the door, lines had already formed inside.

The self-funded students had one line and the work-study students had another, each keeping to their own side. The self-funded students' line was shorter, and the server at their window worked quickly. The work-study students' line stretched on and barely moved.

Wang Xingyu led the people from Dorm Seven to the back of the work-study students' line. Xiao Wu stood in front of him, craning on tiptoe to see the window. "So slow."

At long last, they were nearly there, with only two or three people ahead of them. Wang Xingyu had already worked it out in his head: one meat bun per person, a few bowls of porridge, and more if that wasn't enough. While he was thinking, several figures cut in from the side and went straight to the front of the line.

Liu Long. A fifth-year student, followed by three or four senior students. He swaggered up to the window as though he hadn't even seen the long line behind him. The server glanced at them without a word and reached out to take their bowls.

Xiao Wu frowned. "Hey, get in line."

Liu Long turned and looked down at her. She was a six-year-old girl with a scorpion braid, only as tall as his chest. "New here?"

"Get in line," Xiao Wu repeated.

Liu Long smiled and turned back, holding out his bowl again. Xiao Wu squeezed past his arm and stood in front of him. "I said, get in line."

The area around the window fell silent for a moment. The smile vanished from Liu Long's face. "Do you know who I am?"

"No." Xiao Wu tossed her scorpion braid behind her. "And I don't want to know. Get in line, at the back."

Liu Long reached out to shove Xiao Wu's shoulder. She sidestepped, and his hand missed her. Liu Long froze for a moment, then reached for her arm. Xiao Wu ducked under his arm and hooked his foot. Liu Long pitched forward, his bowl flying from his hand and breaking in two on the floor.

The cafeteria fell silent. All eyes turned toward them. Liu Long climbed to his feet, his face turning pale and then red. "Just you wait." He and the senior students slunk away.

Xiao Wu turned back and walked up to the window. "Three meat buns." The server glanced at her, took her bowl, and picked three buns into it.

Wang Xingyu came over carrying the buns. The people from Dorm Seven gathered around a table in the corner. Xiao Wu sat down, picked up a bun, and took a huge bite, her cheeks bulging. Wang Sheng sat beside her with his head lowered, the bun in front of him barely touched.

"What's wrong?" Wang Xingyu asked.

Wang Sheng was silent for a while. He picked up his bun and took a bite, chewing slowly. "That guy just now was Liu Long, a fifth-year. One of Xiao Chenyu's lackeys."

"Xiao Chenyu?"

"The son of Nuoding City's lord. A sixth-year, a level eleven Battle Soul Master with a Soul Ring. He throws his weight around all over the academy." Wang Sheng swallowed his bun. "People cutting in front of work-study students is common at the academy. And it's not just that. Self-funded students steal our food, and senior students pick fights. Reporting it to the teachers doesn't help. They just tell us work-study students to be more careful."

The table fell silent for a moment. Several work-study students ate their buns with their heads down, and no one spoke.

"So when I was the boss, I took everything I could on my own shoulders." Wang Sheng rolled up his sleeves, revealing seven or eight old scars of varying depths on his arms. "Even if I couldn't win, I had to fight. Because if I didn't stand up for them, no one else would.

"That's how Dorm Seven's rule for choosing a boss came about. We choose the best fighter, someone who can shoulder things for everyone when trouble comes."

Xiao Wu stuffed the last bite of her bun into her mouth and licked the grease off her fingers. "You don't have to shoulder it anymore." She looked at Wang Sheng. "I'm the boss now. I'll shoulder it."

Wang Sheng looked at her, a six-year-old girl with bun crumbs still at the corner of her mouth, saying those words in the same tone she might have used to say, "The weather's nice today." He smiled. "All right, Sister Xiao Wu."

After finishing their buns, the group left the cafeteria. The sun had risen, casting a dazzling light over the training ground.

Walking at the back, Wang Xingyu looked at Xiao Wu's retreating figure, then at Tang San. The soft technique Xiao Wu had used just now had been clean and efficient.

But Liu Long had Xiao Chenyu behind him, and Xiao Chenyu was a level eleven Battle Soul Master with a Soul Ring. Xiao Wu didn't have a Soul Ring yet. If they really fought, she might not have the advantage.

Still, Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit in human form. Once she reached the required level, her Soul Ring would condense on its own, so there was no need to worry about her. Tang San was the one he really needed to worry about. His Innate Full Soul Power was equivalent to level ten Soul Power; all he lacked was a Soul Ring.

The morning class was on basic Martial Soul theory. An old Soul Master with graying hair sat at the front, lecturing on Soul Power circulation pathways and meditation methods.

Halfway through, Wang Xingyu realized that what the teacher was describing was basically a completely different approach from the Blue Silver Grass rooting cultivation method he had worked out himself. He stopped paying close attention and lowered his head, thinking about his own affairs.

Tang San sat beside him, listening intently and occasionally jotting a few notes on a piece of paper.

Xiao Wu sat on Tang San's other side. At first, her eyes were still open, but before long, her head began to nod.

After class, the three headed for the cafeteria. Wang Xingyu suddenly spoke.

"Little San, it's time to get you a Soul Ring. Besides, once you become a level ten Soul Master, you can get a subsidy of one gold coin from Spirit Hall every month."

Tang San turned to look at him. "Yeah, I know."

Beside them, Xiao Wu exclaimed in surprise, "What? You get money too?"

"Yeah. Didn't you know?"

"Hehe, I didn't notice."

How does this old rabbit not know anything? Never mind her for now. Let's carry on analyzing Little San's Soul Ring.

"The first Soul Ring is very important. Your Blue Silver Grass is strong. You can go straight into the control system or the power attack system. What do you think?"

Tang San was silent for a while. "It would be good if I could do both. If not, I'll focus on control first. Blue Silver Grass is naturally suited to entangling things, and the control system can make the most of its characteristics. Besides, like you said, you can support from the back while I control things at the front. We can work together."

Wang Xingyu gave a wickedly charming smile.

"How do you know you can't do both?"