Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan walked into the dormitory building.
Their assigned room was at the far end of the first floor, and they reached it quickly.
"Why am I sharing a room with you, Brother Ziyang?" Jiang Nannan tilted her head in confusion.
"What's wrong? You don't want to?" Zhu Ziyang turned to her with a faint smile.
"N-no!" Jiang Nannan instantly denied it, her ears turning red like jade. She muttered softly, "I just thought it was kind of strange!"
"It's fine. You won't think it's strange after a while." Zhu Ziyang shrugged, then opened the door and stepped inside.
He had to admit—Anyang Academy's dorms were incredibly nice. Though he had never seen the dorms of other academies, he could confidently say this was beyond his expectations.
Inside, the setup was simple and clean. Two single beds, each two meters long and one meter wide, were placed against opposite walls. At the head of each bed was a wardrobe. Between the beds were two joined desks, eighty centimeters long and sixty wide, with chairs neatly tucked underneath. The space between the desks and beds was about a meter.
Further in was a private washroom and bath. Shockingly, the bathroom not only had a shower—it had a two-meter-long bathtub. And beyond that, there was a balcony.
Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but be impressed.
No wonder this place got half of Anyang City's annual budget. The amenities were first-rate.
"Brother Ziyang, where are we going to sleep?" Jiang Nannan was equally awed and asked blankly.
"Where? Obviously one bed for each of us. But if you're scared, we can push the beds together and sleep side by side." Zhu Ziyang teased.
"Uh! Then... let's sleep separately!" Jiang Nannan's face turned crimson. She stammered and quickly busied herself with unpacking and making the beds.
Starting today, they would be boarding at the academy. Students were only allowed to return home once a month, and had just one long break during the New Year. All other meals and accommodations were handled by the school. Fortunately, the food here was decent—Zhu Ziyang had eaten it before with Liang Ying—so he wasn't worried about that.
Jiang Nannan proved herself a capable girl. In no time, she had made both beds and neatly unpacked everything.
"Nannan, you're amazing!" Zhu Ziyang sincerely praised her.
"Hmph! Of course I am!" the girl replied proudly with a smug little pout.
They rested in the room for a while.
"Nannan, let's go get something to eat," Zhu Ziyang suggested, standing up and calling out to her as she meditated.
Jiang Nannan was diligent—she would use every spare moment to cultivate. Seeing her like this only strengthened Zhu Ziyang's resolve to improve the meditation technique. Soon… very soon. He had been reading books about traditional soul master meditation and had already formed the early outlines of a method based on the Great Light Mantra. Conservatively, he estimated he would have a new version within a year.
"Okay!" Jiang Nannan awoke from meditation and stood up.
The two headed to the dining hall, which was no less impressive than the dorm building.
It was mealtime, and the cafeteria was full. Aside from a few teachers, the rest were all students. The academy didn't have many—about 300 across all six years. First-years had one class with 50 students, while even sixth-year students only had two classes totaling 40. This showed just how rare innate soul power truly was.
Zhu Ziyang easily picked up two trays of food and found a quiet corner for the two of them to sit and eat.
They chatted happily while eating.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a group of kids came swaggering over. At the front was a chubby boy dressed in fine clothes, trailed by three or four little lackeys. Clearly, he had spotted Jiang Nannan's cuteness and was here to make a show of himself.
"You must be new, huh? I don't remember seeing you a few days ago." The chubby kid stared at Jiang Nannan while sniffling loudly, putting on a smug, bratty air.
Jiang Nannan ignored him and continued eating. Zhu Ziyang, on the other hand, nearly burst out laughing.
Seeing himself snubbed, the chubby boy looked embarrassed. His round face darkened with displeasure.
"Do you know who this is? He's our class's top-ranked student—Zhang Jiang!" one of the lackeys quickly piped up, stepping aside proudly to reveal the chubby boy.
"Go away. Don't disturb our meal." Jiang Nannan finally spoke, but her words hit like a hammer. "So filthy! You've got snot dripping into your mouth. Totally ruins my appetite. Brother Ziyang, let's go!"
With that, she stood up coldly. Zhu Ziyang naturally followed.
The two of them turned to leave.
But Zhang Jiang, thoroughly humiliated, wasn't about to let them go that easily. His face flushed red and he blocked their path.
"You know I'm a genius, right? I'm already a rank 6 soul warrior! How dare you talk to me like that!" he shouted.
That made both Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan pause.
Jiang Nannan remained expressionless as she calmly replied, "Oh? So the so-called number one is just a level 6 soul warrior? Then what does that make me, a level 9 soul warrior?"
Zhang Jiang and his lackeys were stunned. Before they could react, the two pushed past them and walked away.
"Nannan, I didn't know you had such a sharp tongue!" Zhu Ziyang teased with a laugh as they left the cafeteria.
"I did not! I was just telling the truth!" Jiang Nannan retorted playfully.
Zhu Ziyang grinned. From the day she awakened her martial soul, just about a month had passed. Yet her soul power had already risen from rank 8 to rank 9—much faster than he had expected. At this rate, she'd reach level 10 and become a true soul master within another month.
He couldn't be happier. The stronger Jiang Nannan grew, the more pleased he was.
—
The next day.
Classes officially began. Zhu Ziyang attended just one… and never went back.
What did they teach at the primary soul master academy?
Reading, arithmetic—basic subjects that couldn't get more basic.
But it made sense. After all, most of the students were only six to ten years old. If they didn't even know how to read or count, what else could they be taught?
And being a soul master didn't exempt you from needing knowledge. In fact, soul masters required a solid foundation in language and math. Otherwise, when faced with the advanced theories and obscure terminology of higher-level soul master techniques, they'd be completely lost.
That was true—for most kids.
But for a genius like Zhu Ziyang? These classes were pointless. He found no value in them, so he simply stopped attending.
In a week of twenty classes, he showed up fewer than five times. As a result, he quickly gained a reputation in class as cold, aloof, and unapproachable.
So much for Zhu Changhe's advice on staying humble and low-key…
If Zhu Changhe found out, he'd probably faint from anger.
(End of Chapter)
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