Wang Sheng proudly puffed out his chest as he wrapped up his introduction. "So yeah, that's how things work around here. And among us work-study students, I have the best martial soul,a tiger! The King of Beasts! My soul power is already at level nine. Just one more level and I can get my first soul ring and officially beco a soul master!"
He glanced around, expecting admiration,or at least polite applause. Instead, Xiao Wu looked at Tang San with curiosity.
"Tang San, what level is your soul power?" she asked. "Just now, you felt pretty strong."
Tang San, being his usual honest self, didn't hesitate. "I was born with full soul power, so I guess that makes relatively strong."
Silence.
A pin could have dropped, and it would have sounded like a drum in the dormitory.
Wang Sheng's jaw practically hit the floor. "Y...You're innately full of soul power?!"
The other students' reactions varied between stunned gasps and exaggerated double takes. One poor guy even choked on his own spit.
Xiao Wu, however, just blinked. Then, with a completely nonchalant expression, she muttered, "Oh… too."
The dorm fell into an even deeper silence.
Wang Sheng's eye twitched. "You too…?"
Xiao Wu nodded, looking as if she had just ntioned the weather.
At this mont, Wang Sheng's younger brother suddenly noticed sothing unusual,an extra person in Qishe.
His eyes landed on a boy sitting calmly beside him, an indifferent expression on his face, as if everything happening around him was just mild entertainnt.
"Who are you?" the younger brother blurted out, frowning. "What are you doing in our dormitory?"
The room, which had just been buzzing with the shock of Tang San and Xiao Wu's full soul power revelation, suddenly went dead silent again.
Every head turned toward the newcor.
And in that mont… a realization struck.
Arthev was very good looking.
Unlike Tang San's blue hair, Arthev had pure black hair, smooth as silk and naturally falling in a slightly ssy yet effortlessly cool way. His facial features were sharp and refined, almost unreal for a six-year-old. But what made him stand out the most were his deep, black pupils,so dark they seed to pull people in, like staring into the night sky.
And then, the final blow,his height. He was taller than everyone else in the dorm, standing out like an older brother among children.
Wang Sheng, usually the most confident one in Qishe, felt his sense of self-worth shrinking by the second.
Even Xiao Wu and Tang San had never made him feel this level of inferiority.
Wang Sheng swallowed hard, then stamred, "Are you… are you a work-study student this year?"
Arthev finally looked up. His gaze was calm, collected, and completely unbothered, as if he had already calculated every possible outco of this conversation before it even began.
"I am," he replied, his voice smooth and even, betraying none of the amusent he felt at their reactions.
Xiao Wu's curiosity only grew as she observed Arthev. There was sothing different about him,an aura that felt similar to Tang San's, yet… distinct in its own way.
"Hello," Arthev finally spoke, his voice calm and steady. "My na is Arthev. I co from the sa village as Tang San."
"Sa village? Tang San?"
Everyone in Qishe exchanged glances, feeling as if there was an invisible thread connecting the two.
Xiao Wu tilted her head, her big eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Arthev, what's your relationship with Mistress?"
Arthev blinked, completely unbothered. "Mistress?"
Tang San coughed awkwardly. "She ans ."
Arthev let out a soft hum. "Ah. Then nothing special. Tang San and I are just from the sa village."
"Ohhh, I see." Xiao Wu nodded, seemingly satisfied.
Wang Sheng and the others, however, weren't convinced. Just from the sa village? Then why did it feel like this Arthev guy had the sa mysterious and unfathomable energy as Tang San?
Xiao Wu suddenly had another thought and grinned. "Arthev, are you also born with full soul power like Tang San and ?"
A quiet mont passed before Arthev gave her a small, knowing smile. "Xiao Wu, you're very smart."
Xiao Wu puffed out her chest proudly. "Of course! I am Sister Xiao Wu, after all!"
But before she could bask in her own praise for too long, Arthev added, his voice steady:
"But you're wrong."
The atmosphere in Qishe instantly froze. Everyone turned their attention to Arthev, waiting for him to elaborate.
Xiao Wu's smile faltered. "Eh?"
Tang San, ever the logical one, shook his head and explained patiently, "Xiao Wu, Arthev's martial spirit is a tree. His innate soul power is not full. It's level 5."
Arthev, completely unfazed by the tension, simply corrected him, "My spirit power is 7 now, not 5."
The room went silent.
Tang San stared at him in disbelief. "Seven? But... wasn't it five before?" His voice trailed off, his shock evident. "How fast does it increase?"
Everyone else in the room shared the sa expression of surprise. Arthev's quiet confidence seed almost too much for them to grasp.
Before anyone could fully process this, the door swung open, and a teacher in his thirties entered, holding a quilt in his arms.
"Are there new work-study students? Co forward."
Arthev, Xiao Wu, and Tang San all stood up simultaneously, ready to face whatever the teacher had in store for them.
Mo Hen glanced over at them, his expression neutral. He held out the quilt and directed his attention to Tang San.
"Which one of you is Tang San?"
Tang San, still a bit dazed from Arthev's revelation, stepped forward. "Teacher, I'm Tang San."
Mo Hen nodded and handed him the quilt. "This is the one your master prepared for you."
Tang San quickly accepted the quilt, feeling a mixture of gratitude and surprise. He hadn't expected such kindness from his master.
Turning his attention to all three of them, Mo Hen cleared his throat. "The three of you are first-year work-study students. From now on, you will be responsible for cleaning the south garden. You'll receive ten copper soul coins a day. Make sure to clean every day, especially the debris. If there's any slack in your work, the academy reserves the right to expel you. Do you all understand?"
Arthev, Xiao Wu, and Tang San nodded in unison. They understood the rules clearly,no slacking allowed.
Mo Hen's gaze shifted to Arthev, who stood a little apart from the others. His calm deanor stood out, a stark contrast to the excited energy of Xiao Wu and Tang San. Mo Hen frowned slightly, then spoke, his tone sharp, "You're the one Director Su ntioned, right? The one with the innate soul power of 5?"
Arthev didn't even blink, his voice as steady as ever. "No, it's 7, not 5."
Mo Hen's expression tightened for a mont before he quickly masked it with a forced smile. "I see... Well, you certainly seem different."
Arthev, ever calm and smart, simply nodded. "I guess you could say I'm just... a fast learner."
Mo Hen, still trying to process the strange encounter, clapped his hands together and said, "Co with later. I happen to have a new set of bedding, so I'll give it to you."
"Thank you, Teacher Mo Hen." Arthev bowed slightly, his tone polite but carrying a sense of maturity beyond his years.
Mo Hen waved dismissively, "It's nothing. Besides, who can say no to soone who's on good terms with the dean?" He turned and gestured for Arthev to follow him. "Co with ."
Arthev nodded, his calm deanor unwavering as he followed Mo Hen out of the room.
As soon as the two of them were out the door, Xiao Wu, who had been quietly observing, looked at Tang San with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Bedding seems to be a problem," she murmured.
The work-study students, quick to pick up on the underlying aning, imdiately began murmuring among themselves. One of them, a thin boy with ssy hair, imdiately stood up with a grin. "Boss, why don't you use my mattress first? I'll just sleep with half a quilt and half a cover. It's no problem!"
Another chid in, "No, no! Boss, use my quilt! I can barely use it with just a mattress!"
Xiao Wu's face scrunched up in displeasure as she looked at the wrinkled quilts. "I already told you, don't call boss. Call Sister Xiao Wu," she said, her voice firm but tinged with an unspoken affection for their eagerness.
"I know, Sister Xiao Wu!" Everyone imdiately chorused, eager to please.
Xiao Wu then shifted her gaze toward Tang San, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Tang San," she said, her voice softening, "how about we discuss sothing?"
Tang San, still a bit caught off guard, raised an eyebrow. Although his previous life as an otaku didn't exactly make him an expert in social cues, his age gave him so level of insight. He quickly guessed what Xiao Wu was implying.
"What are we discussing?" Tang San asked, feigning confusion.
"Hee hee." Xiao Wu's sweet smile stretched wider as she leaned in just slightly, her eyes glinting with mischief. "I see your bedding is quite big. It won't be a problem for two people to cover it. So, how about we put the beds together? That way, we can both use it, right?"
The room went silent for a split second, the work-study students exchanging glances with one another, so suppressing giggles, others pretending to look elsewhere.
"Ah?" Tang San pretended to be surprised and mumbled, "Isn't it… uh, improper? n and won shouldn't be too close, right?"
Xiao Wu snorted and rolled her eyes. "I don't care. What are you afraid of? Are you worried I'll eat you?"
Tang San stiffened. He had the mind of an adult, yet sohow, he was always at a loss for words when facing this rogue rabbit.
"Hurry up and push the bed over. You're pretty strong, aren't you?" Xiao Wu urged impatiently, hands on her hips.
"Oh… okay." Tang San agreed subconsciously, like a well-trained soldier, and dutifully pushed his bed next to hers.
Satisfied, Xiao Wu put her small bag in the gap between the two beds. "This is the boundary. Put your baggage here too. If you cross the line at night… don't bla for being rude."
Tang San nodded, pretending to take it seriously, though deep down, he had no idea how this even happened.
Just then, Arthev strolled in, carrying his new quilt with one hand. Without looking at them, he headed straight to his bed, his deanor as calm and composed as ever.
"You two move fast," he remarked in his usual smooth tone.
Tang San's face turned a shade redder. "Arthev, what are you talking about? Xiao Wu and I have nothing going on!"
Xiao Wu smirked. "Really now? If nothing's going on, why are you explaining so much?"
Tang San blinked, montarily speechless.
Is this girl… always like this?
anwhile, Arthev finished laying out his bedding with precise movents, not rushing, not stalling. Then, he turned his head slightly, his deep black eyes locking onto Xiao Wu with mild amusent. "Xiao Wu, are you sure you want to sleep next to Tang San?"
Xiao Wu raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What's the problem?"
Arthev shook his head, his voice carrying a hint of humor. "No problem at all. I'm just concerned about Mistress Tang San's safety."
Xiao Wu frowned. "Huh? What do you an?"
Arthev's lips curled ever so slightly. "After all, your martial spirit is a rabbit. His martial spirit is Blue Silver Grass. You wouldn't… accidentally start chewing in your sleep, would you?"
For a second, there was silence. Then,
"Pfft....." The work-study students barely held in their laughter.
Tang San looked utterly betrayed, and Xiao Wu's face turned red,not from embarrassnt, but from the urge to smack Arthev.
"You.....!" She pointed at him, speechless.
Arthev simply adjusted his quilt, lying down without another word, his calm expression making it clear,he had already won this round.
She huffed, crossing her arms. "Hmph! I don't want to eat Blue Silver Grass,it probably tastes terrible!"
Tang San blinked, montarily at a loss. After a brief pause, he gave a helpless smile, deciding it was best to say nothing.
Ding.
To be continued...
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