Ye Qiu and Tang San had just arrived at the entrance of Dorm Seven.
The dormitory door was wide open, and faint sounds of playful shouting could be heard from inside.
Ye Qiu's eyes flickered slightly, and without drawing attention, he fell half a step behind Tang San.
Following behind Tang San, he walked in.
As soon as they entered—
Ye Qiu's first impression of Dorm Seven was: spacious.
There were dozens of beds in sight, but most were bare. Only eleven had bedding neatly laid out.
At that moment—
About seven or eight children, aged between eight and twelve, were roughhousing noisily.
Knock knock!
Tang San glanced back at Ye Qiu, then raised his hand and knocked on a nearby door.
Hearing the knock—
The children stopped playing and turned their eyes toward the newcomers. After briefly sizing up Ye Qiu and Tang San, they began exchanging looks.
Eventually, they all looked toward one of the older boys.
That must be Wang Sheng, Ye Qiu thought silently. Holding his school uniform, he calmly stood behind Tang San.
Wang Sheng stepped out from among the children who had gathered around him. He looked at Tang San, then at Ye Qiu.
Though their clothes were relatively clean, they were full of patches. It wasn't hard to guess their identities.
Wang Sheng was a full two heads taller than Tang San and built more solidly. Standing before the two, he looked down slightly and said:
"New work-study students?"
"Hello, we're work-study students from Holy Soul Village," Tang San replied with a polite nod and a friendly smile.
"Hi!"
Meeting Wang Sheng's gaze, Ye Qiu greeted him.
Wang Sheng nodded, folding his arms across his chest with a proud demeanor.
"Let's get acquainted. I'm Wang Sheng. My martial soul is Battle Tiger—future Battle Soul Master. I'm the boss here. Kid, what's your name? And what's your martial soul?"
Tang San frowned slightly, displeased by his tone, and answered coolly:
"My name is Tang San. My martial soul is Blue Silver Grass."
"Blue Silver Grass? Since when can that useless martial soul be cultivated?"
Wang Sheng looked utterly shocked, and the rest of the children burst into laughter.
Before Ye Qiu could speak, Wang Sheng already looked impatient.
"Alright, Little Sanzi, from now on I'm your boss. As long as you obey me, I'll—"
"My name is Tang San. Not Little Sanzi."
Tang San's face turned cold. He interrupted Wang Sheng before he could finish, and at the same time, cast a sidelong glance at Ye Qiu behind him—who always called him "Little San."
Ye Qiu simply shrugged, his face full of innocent mischief.
"I'll call you Little Sanzi anyway. What? Not convinced? If you've got the guts... beat me! If you win, I'll call you boss!"
Wang Sheng raised his hand and pushed Tang San on the shoulder, forcing him to take two steps back.
Ye Qiu chuckled.
Tang San also laughed—but it was a laugh of anger.
He had originally planned to live among them as an ordinary person. But if this was the welcome he got, then he wouldn't stay polite.
"Ye Qiu, hold this for me."
"No problem."
Ye Qiu smiled and took Tang San's school uniform.
To live and study peacefully here, Tang San had decided to return Wang Sheng's "greeting" in kind.
With a wave of his hand, he provocatively motioned to Wang Sheng.
"Come on!"
"Alright!"
Wang Sheng charged forward—then hit the ground, face-first.
The bigger boy was thrown down by the smaller Tang San and landed flat like a pancake. Humiliated and frustrated, he growled:
"You brat! You're asking for it!"
A yellow glow burst from Wang Sheng's body as he let out a tiger-like roar, rushing at Tang San again.
Tang San's gaze turned icy. Though he was curious about martial soul powers, he was not afraid!
"Ahhh!"
"No! Don't—don't grab there! Ohhh~"
Amid Wang Sheng's startled cries—
Tang San used Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon to flip him over his shoulder and slam him to the ground!
The match ended with Wang Sheng kissing the floor once again.
Tang San held Wang Sheng's arm in a joint lock and said coolly:
"Can we talk properly now?"
"Ahh! Tang San, okay—okay!"
Wang Sheng had tried to talk tough, but the moment Tang San applied pressure, he screamed in pain.
When Wang Sheng finally addressed him correctly, Tang San let go.
"Tang San, is your martial soul really Blue Silver Grass?"
Wang Sheng stood up, rubbing his wrist. He was clearly still shaken by Tang San's skillful grappling.
"Of course."
Seeing is believing.
Tang San raised his right hand. A faint blue glow appeared in his palm, and a small, swaying blue grass grew there.
"Then how are you so strong?"
It wasn't just Wang Sheng—everyone else in the dorm was equally confused.
"Because he has innate full soul power."
Ye Qiu's voice came from behind as he walked toward a bed he'd already set his sights on.
"What?! Innate full soul power!"
Wang Sheng's face changed dramatically, and the rest of the children were in uproar.
They never imagined a work-study student could be a genius with innate full soul power!
"Ye Qiu..."
Tang San frowned at Ye Qiu. The Xuan Tian Record had taught him: never reveal your full strength in front of others.
Though innate full soul power was difficult to hide, he still disliked how Ye Qiu just casually spilled it.
"They'd find out sooner or later."
Ye Qiu waved it off as he placed his clothes on the bed and sat down.
Wang Sheng looked at Tang San, a complicated expression in his eyes—part envy, part regret.
"Tang San, I'm really sorry about earlier. It's a tradition here—every new kid has to go through it. We need a strong boss to stick together and defend against the bullying from other dorms."
Tang San couldn't help but smile.
"So... you were trying to provoke me, hoping to beat me and recruit me under you?"
Wang Sheng blushed and laughed awkwardly.
"Actually, you gave me the slap in the face. Now that you've beaten me, you're officially the boss of Dorm Seven!"
Tang San shook his head.
"I came here to study."
"Little San, just agree already."
Ye Qiu popped a lollipop into his mouth and spread his hands helplessly.
"Didn't you hear? Work-study students are often bullied. And we're work-study students too—no exceptions."
"Yeah, that's right!"
Seeing Tang San still hesitant, Wang Sheng quickly rolled up his sleeve to show him something.
His arms and torso were covered in bruises.
"See these? Got them just yesterday when I arrived. If I got it this bad, imagine what others go through."
The others nodded vigorously, looking at Tang San with hopeful eyes. In this place, only by following someone stronger could the weak survive.
Tang San frowned.
Wang Sheng wasn't weak—yet even he was bullied this badly. It seemed there really was no way to avoid this.
With that in mind, Tang San finally nodded:
"In that case, if I'm the boss, I won't let anyone from our dorm be bullied again."
"That's great! From now on, protecting Dorm Seven and the work-study students is your job!"
Wang Sheng beamed and patted Tang San's shoulder.
Just then, a clear and pleasant voice came from the dorm entrance:
"Excuse me, is this Dorm Seven?"
Everyone turned toward the door—and instantly froze with stunned expressions.