What to Tell Wang Dong

The next day, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong still went to class as usual. When the morning lessons ended, Tang Wulin spotted an unexpected figure at the classroom door.

"Wang Dong, why are you here?"

Yes, the one standing at the door and peering inside was none other than his former good roommate, Wang Dong.

Upon seeing Tang Wulin, Wang Dong visibly sighed in relief before quickly flying into a rage.

"Tang Wulin, where the hell did you go? Why didn't you come back to the dorm? I thought you'd been assassinated again!"

"Uh..."

Tang Wulin was immediately rendered speechless.

When he had made up his mind to leave the academy two days ago, he had not explained the situation to Wang Dong for fear of alerting the enemy.

Wang Dong was different from him and Huo Yutong. He was the Young Master of a Wealthy Family, with attachments of his own. He definitely could not just leave whenever he wanted like they could.

Then yesterday, Tang Wulin had been so preoccupied with what Wang Yan had said about the Blood Essence Soul Ring that he had forgotten to go and let Wang Dong know, even though he had originally planned to.

Only now, upon seeing Wang Dong, did he remember that this guy was still completely in the dark.

Just as Tang Wulin stared at the fuming Wang Dong, unsure how to answer, Huo Yutong came to his rescue.

"Wang Dong, did you need something from Wulin?"

Wang Dong was much more restrained when facing Huo Yutong.

"Yeah. This guy didn't come back to the dorm all day yesterday. I was worried sick, so I came to your class to see what was going on."

"Oh, that." Huo Yutong said without changing expression, "Do you remember the Golden Soul Ring that appeared on Wulin when we were assassinated? Someone saw it back then. An academy elder took an interest in his talent, so he had Wulin stay with him. They've been studying the uses of the Golden Soul Ring these past two days."

"I-I see."

Wang Dong had nothing more to say.

Tang Wulin stood off to the side, dumbfounded.

What Huo Yutong had said was actually quite clever. She had skillfully concealed their initial plan to skip school while explaining Tang Wulin's current situation, instantly extinguishing Wang Dong's anger.

There were nine truths and one concealment in her words, and she had said it so naturally that there was no hint of anything unusual in her expression. If Tang Wulin had not known the truth, he too would have been easily fooled by her.

The Huo Yutong he had seen these past few days had always been timid and vulnerable. He had never imagined she had this side to her as well.

What Tang Wulin did not know was that this was actually Huo Yutong's normal state.

The reason she acted so vulnerable around him was only because he knew the softest part of her heart. To her, he was someone special.

When facing someone like Wang Dong, whom she was not particularly familiar with, she naturally put on the mask she used to protect herself. It was the result of her many years of hardship, making her far more composed than most people her age.

After thinking it over, Wang Dong still could not let it go.

He snorted unhappily.

"Hmph. Wulin, if you've got the guts, fight me. I want to see what sort of thing has you so obsessed that you couldn't even spare a moment to explain things to me."

"You sure? I'm pretty strong now."

Tang Wulin looked at him in surprise.

Wang Dong revealed a proud smile.

"Of course. You may not know because you've barely seen me fight, but I'm very strong."

"That much I do know."

During the Assassination Incident two nights ago, Tang Wulin had seen Wang Dong's Soul Ring configuration.

One yellow and one purple Soul Ring was clearly not something Ordinary People could possess. This guy was definitely much stronger than he looked.

But Tang Wulin was not afraid of him.

"Fine, then. Let's go to the Soul Dueling Zone. You're paying, right?"

He was already curious about how strong he had become and wanted to spar with a Soul Master of the same rank. Wang Dong was practically delivering a pillow when he was sleepy.

"No problem."

Wang Dong was not short on money, so he agreed without hesitation.

The two immediately set off for the Soul Dueling Zone. Huo Yutong, meanwhile, planned to use the noon break to study Soul Tools in the Soul Engineering Department, so she did not join in their fun.

Unexpectedly, the moment Huo Yutong was out of sight, Wang Dong moved close to Tang Wulin with a teasing look on his face.

"Hey, Wulin. How far have things progressed between you and that Little Girl?"

Tang Wulin choked, then gave him a helpless look.

"Can you stop being so dirty-minded? We're completely innocent. There's nothing special between us."

"Hehe, give it a rest." Wang Dong grinned wickedly. "You don't understand women. From what I observed, the way she looked at you just now was clearly different from how she looked at others. She definitely likes you a lot right now. If you confessed to her, she'd definitely say yes. You're only one step away from victory."

Tang Wulin retorted irritably.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand women, but you do?"

"!" Wang Dong jumped, then guiltily looked away. "Ahem, you have no idea how many women this Young Master has been with. Of course I understand women best."

"Oh?"

Tang Wulin shot him a suspicious look.

It felt like this guy was hiding something.

The two joked around as they arrived at the Soul Dueling Zone. After Wang Dong paid the required twenty Gold Soul Coins, they entered the interior of the Soul Dueling Zone.

Tang Wulin could not help complaining to Wang Dong.

"Isn't the academy way too greedy? It costs twenty Gold Soul Coins for a single match. How can ordinary Soul Masters afford that?"

After all, even without factoring in costs, Huo Yutong could only make nine silver Soul Coins from selling Grilled Fish for an entire day. After deducting the cost of the fish, her actual profit would be even lower.

Once her daily living expenses were deducted as well, she would probably need to sell Grilled Fish for several months just to fight one match in the Soul Dueling Zone.

Wang Dong shrugged.

"Most people who can enter our academy are either rich or important. Poor people like you and Yutong are the minority. Besides, once we reach the higher years, winning records in the Soul Dueling Zone become essential for advancement. When they force you to compete here then, the fees are what really add up. I heard that advancing from Fourth Year to Fifth Year alone requires records of at least ten victories against students in the same year. The higher years require even more. The academy won't reimburse you, either. Us coming here once in a while for a spar is nothing."

Tang Wulin was shocked.

"By your logic, wouldn't it take at least One Hundred Gold Soul Coins to advance?"

Wang Dong had paid for Tang Wulin's sparring match. In other words, under normal circumstances, each person had to pay ten Gold Soul Coins per match. Ten matches meant One Hundred Gold Soul Coins.

By those rules, how could impoverished commoner students possibly afford it? Twenty Gold Soul Coins were enough to cover a normal family of four's expenses for a year. One Hundred Gold Soul Coins was equivalent to five years of expenses for a family of four.

Commoner students could very well be expelled simply because they could not afford the Soul Dueling Zone's entry fee.

Wang Dong nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. So you should save up more money in advance. If it really comes to it, you can borrow from me."

"..."

Tang Wulin could not help falling silent.

It seemed the academy's problems were far more serious than he had thought.

The two stepped onto the arena. Only a handful of people occupied the Spectator Stand.

Tang Wulin curled a finger at Wang Dong.

"Come on. Let's finish this quickly."

"Heh, pretty confident, aren't you?"

Wang Dong smiled unhappily. He stomped hard on the ground, and a pair of dazzling wings emerged from his back as he shot into the sky.

Author's Note

Designated punching bag for the freshmen arc: Wang Dong.

Hehehe, did you think you escaped disaster just because you didn't get beaten up when school started?

Also, I couldn't hold it together when I looked up the Soul Dueling Zone's fee structure.

All I can say is, Tang Buddha clearly never figured out the monetary system himself, so don't blame me for complaining about it.