Lord Xiao waved his hand and said, "It's not a big deal. You and my son are two peas in a pod. Since you have this talent, of course I'll help you if I can."
Li Qing smiled and said, "Perhaps it's not difficult for Uncle Xiao, but for me, it's as hard as climbing to the heavens. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to Old Xiao."
How could a dignified city lord have the free time to bring his son to register? The other party was clearly here to assess whether he was worth helping, but Li Qing didn't feel anything about it.
It's the same principle as 'I have money, why should I give it to you?'
A recommendation letter is indeed not difficult for them, but why should they write one for you? Leaving aside any reward, you should at least remember this favor.
If you don't know how to be grateful, no one would be willing to help you.
Calling him 'Uncle Xiao' one moment and 'Old Xiao' the next was to shorten the distance between them. The subsequent words further indicated that no matter what the other party thought, he would always remember this favor.
"Alright, then you head home first. I'll take this brat to register."
Lord Xiao nodded with satisfaction, thinking that his son had finally made a reliable friend. It was clear from the way Li Qing spoke and acted that he was someone who could achieve great things.
Li Qing nodded, "Then please go ahead, Uncle Xiao."
After the two left, Li Qing went home. He didn't deliberately wait for Tang San.
He wanted to keep a fallback option, but it didn't mean he was going to grovel before Tang San. Moreover, now that his enrollment qualification was secured, having this fallback wasn't really important.
After all, if he had a choice, who would be willing to lick someone else's stinky feet?
If he couldn't get the immortal herbs even after entering Heaven Dou Royal Academy, then he didn't need to think about anything else. He could just be a little genius, enjoy the customs of this different world, and be done with it.
...
The next day, the opening ceremony.
There weren't many students at Nuoding Academy, only about three hundred in total. Each grade had only a few dozen students, and this year's first-year new students were even fewer, only a little over twenty.
Because they were standing next to each other, Li Qing spotted Xiao Wu with her scorpion braid at a glance.
How should he put it?
She was quite cute, but Li Qing, as an adult in his previous life and not a pervert, how could he possibly have any interest in a little kid who couldn't even be called a loli?
He didn't know what Tang San was thinking.
However, after scanning around, he didn't see Tang San. It was then that Li Qing remembered that Tang San hadn't attended the opening ceremony; he had gone hunting for a spirit ring with Yu Xiaogang.
Opening ceremonies, no matter in which world, were notoriously long. Nuoding Academy was no different.
After the principal finished speaking, the vice-principal spoke, and after the vice-principal, the dean of students spoke. They said they would only cover three points, but as they spoke, they seemed to wander off topic.
Especially that last point, it was so long that Li Qing really wanted to go up and give him an electric punch.
He waited and waited, and finally, the ceremony came to an end.
As everyone returned to their respective classes, Li Qing noticed Xiao Wu and Wang Sheng pointing at Xiao Chenyu and the others and discussing something.
Seeing this, Li Qing couldn't help but shake his head.
Anyone who had been a school bully knew that bullies never picked on you because you were poor or honest. They only bullied those who clearly had no strength but acted arrogantly.
Wang Sheng was this kind of person.
You're a work-study student, why not just focus on your studies? Why insist on gathering a bunch of work-study students to form a small group and create class conflict?
If they don't teach you a lesson, who will they teach a lesson to?
Leaving aside Li Qing's private understanding of Xiao Chenyu and the others, just from their willingness to admit defeat in the original work, it wasn't hard to see that they weren't bad people.
With their status and background, wouldn't dealing with a group of work-study students be as easy as playing a game?
Genius?
Only a genius who has grown up is called a genius. One who hasn't grown up is no different from a good-for-nothing.
However, they didn't use their power to oppress others, which showed they weren't bad.
Of course, if they really wanted to use their power to oppress others, it would definitely turn into a completely different kind of wish-fulfillment story.
...
That day, Xiao Chenyu and a few others came to find Li Qing.
"Wang Sheng and those poor guys want to meet us in the small woods behind the mountain tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to come play? It's a good chance for me to see your strength."
Li Qing thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's play."
To be honest, he was quite curious about Tang San's strength, mainly wanting to see how mysterious his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step really was. This was a good opportunity to see it.
Xiao Chenyu said, "Alright then, we'll come find you tomorrow."
Work-study students had to clean in the afternoon, but these people didn't need to. Boarding students could return to their dorms, day students could go straight home, or they could go to the library.
Li Qing chose to leave school, eat, and go home.
Nuoding Academy was just a junior spirit master academy. There weren't many books about spirit masters in the library, and Li Qing had already finished reading them. There was no need to waste time there anymore.
...
The next day, not long after the last class ended, Xiao Chenyu led a group of over twenty people grandly to the entrance of Li Qing's classroom.
Li Qing said speechlessly, "There are only a few work-study students who are any good. What's the point of bringing so many people? Are you trying to scare them to death with your numbers?"
Someone laughed and said, "We can just go watch the fun."
"Let's go, let's go."
Li Qing shook his head and said no more. Everyone headed towards the back mountain together.
When they arrived at the small woods behind the mountain, Xiao Wu and Wang Sheng were already waiting there. Compared to their side, Xiao Wu and the others, who only had ten people, seemed a bit outnumbered.
Xiao Chenyu stepped forward.
"Little girl, it's not too late to regret it now. Of course, I don't mind having an extra pet rabbit. If I remember correctly, your spirit is a rabbit, right?"
Xiao Wu's face was full of disdain.
"Boss Xiao, you're not scared, are you? If you are, you can be my little brother from now on."
"Haha!"
Xiao Chenyu laughed heartily, "Me scared? I say, Wang Sheng, are you work-study students out of your minds? You actually found such a little girl to challenge me..."
Perhaps because of his overly mature psychological age, Li Qing found Xiao Chenyu's pre-battle trash talk incredibly awkward to listen to.
If interrupting him wouldn't affect his reputation, Li Qing really wanted to stop him, tell him to stop dawdling, and just agree on the rules and start fighting.
Fortunately, the trash talk segment wasn't long.
Xiao Chenyu said, "I won't bully you. You have ten people, and we'll also send out ten people. The winner continues, the loser withdraws, until everyone on one side is defeated."
Xiao Wu readily agreed, "Okay, it's settled. Come on, who's your first person? Step out."
Wang Sheng clearly wanted to stop her, because their overall level was far inferior to Xiao Chenyu and the others, but Xiao Wu spoke too quickly, so he could only give up.
Xiao Chenyu looked at Li Qing and asked, "How about it? Do you want to go up and play?"
"No hurry, let's watch first."
Not to mention that Li Qing's current physique was already comparable to a Great Spirit Master, just his apparent level would be a bit unfair to go up now. It was better to wait until Tang San arrived.
Xiao Chenyu gave Liu Long a look, and the latter walked to the front of the formation.
"Sister Xiao Wu, let me go first."
Wang Sheng gritted his teeth and asked to fight. He had fought Liu Long more than once or twice, but had never won, and was beaten badly every time. However, now that things had come to this, he couldn't not go up.