“Hahahaha…
only takes geniuses!”
Hearing the faint laughter from behind, Wang Teng quickly pressed his lips together and raised a hand to scratch his head.
Tang San, walking ahead, also paused his steps almost imperceptibly for a moment, then continued forward as if he hadn’t heard anything, his expression unchanged.
The two walked in silence, side by side, heading east of the main teaching building.
Their next stop was the dormitory building, which wasn’t hard to find.
In this eastern section of the academy, there were only two prominent buildings in total.
One was a two-story structure with two large white characters painted on its outer wall: “Cafeteria.”
Not far from the cafeteria stood a four-story building—that was the student dormitory.
Seeing their destination ahead, Wang Teng and Tang San quickened their pace in unison.
Before long, they arrived at the dormitory entrance.
Many students were already coming and going inside.
Following the directions, they found the dormitory supervisor’s room.
The door was wide open, with several new students already inside, so they walked in directly.
Inside, a teacher in charge was explaining the dormitory arrangements to the new students.
Wang Teng and Tang San stood quietly by the door, listening along.
From the teacher’s explanation, Wang Teng quickly understood the dormitory setup at Notting Academy.
It turned out that the student dormitories had only seven rooms in total, and each was a large shared room accommodating multiple students.
In other words, all students of each grade lived together in one room.
Specifically, the first and second floors housed Rooms One through Six, corresponding to the accommodations for regular (non-work-study) students of the academy’s six grades.
As for work-study students like Wang Teng and Tang San, they were all concentrated in “Room Seven.”
Since Room Seven needed to accommodate work-study students from all six grades, it was not only the most crowded and diverse of the seven rooms but also the largest.
Room Seven was located alone on the third floor of the dormitory building.
After introducing the basic situation, the supervisor added, “There are duty teachers on every floor.”
“If you encounter any trouble in the dormitory, you can go to the teacher on your floor for help at any time.”
“Alright, that’s all for the introduction.
You can all go to your rooms now.”
The new students filed out one by one.
Wang Teng and Tang San also climbed the stairs slowly toward the third floor.
At this moment, on the third floor, the door to Room Seven stood wide open.
Leaning against the doorframe was a tall, well-built teenager.
He appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen, with a firm, resolute face and distinct features.
Though his clothes were not extravagant, they were neat and clean.
Yet his face still carried a trace of youthful immaturity, which contrasted somewhat with his large frame.
At this moment, the tall teenager kept glancing toward the stairwell on the third floor, as if waiting for something.
“Boss, has your little brother come yet or not?”
An impatient voice came from behind him.
“How should I know?
He should be here today, logically.”
The tall teenager turned his head and replied helplessly to those inside.
“Boss, your little brother didn’t fail to awaken soul power, did he?”
Another voice chimed in teasingly from within Room Seven.
“Nonsense!
Don’t jinx it!” The tall teenager retorted defiantly.
“My little brother is smart—he’ll definitely awaken soul power!”
With that, he turned back to peer toward the stairwell.
This time, his eyes lit up, a smile broke across his face, and he strode out of the dormitory in a few quick steps, walking briskly toward Wang Teng.
Wang Teng was just climbing the stairs with two large bundles on his back when a shadow fell over him.
He quickly looked up and, upon recognizing the person, exclaimed, “Big Brother?”
The tall teenager was indeed Wang Teng’s older brother, the very same Wang Sheng who, in the original story, had clashed with Tang San over the position of Room Seven’s leader.
“Little brother!
Quick, give me those.”
Before Wang Teng could react, Wang Sheng reached out and took both heavy bundles from his back without a word of protest.
He carried one in each hand, turned, and walked into Room Seven, chattering happily as he went, “You finally made it!
I knew it—I said you’d definitely awaken innate soul power!”
“Oh, by the way, little brother, what level is your innate soul power?”
Wang Sheng asked, glancing back over his shoulder as he walked ahead.
“Innate soul power, level five!”
Wang Teng said with a smile.
“Haha, good, good!”
Wang Sheng laughed heartily as he entered Room Seven.
Wang Teng followed his brother into the dormitory, his gaze sweeping across the room quickly.
The room was indeed very spacious—at a rough estimate, it must have been over three hundred square meters.
Neatly arranged beds filled the space; upon closer count, there were at least forty or fifty of them.
At the moment, seven or eight children, ranging from eight to twelve years old, were huddled together chattering noisily.
“Two lifetimes, and this is the first time I’ve lived in this kind of communal dorm!”
Wang Teng surveyed Room Seven and couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
This is your bed.
The one next to it is mine.”
Wang Sheng placed both bundles on an empty bed beside his own and waved Wang Teng over.
Wang Teng hurried over.
With Wang Sheng’s help, he unpacked his bedding from the bundles and spread it out neatly.
“Oh, Big Brother, Dad prepared this new blanket for you.
Here!”
After making his bed, Wang Teng pulled a thick new blanket from the other bundle and handed it to Wang Sheng.
“Great!”
Wang Sheng took it happily and casually tossed it onto his own bed.
“And these medicinal herbs—Dad prepared them too.”
“Oh, how do you brew these?
Do you take them to the cafeteria and ask someone to help?”
Wang Teng handed over the bundle containing the herbs, asking curiously.
“Pfft, no need for all that trouble.”
Wang Sheng took the herb bundle, glanced at it, and shoved it under his bed.
“I’ve brewed them myself a few times before, right next to the dormitory.”
“I borrowed a pot from the cafeteria and just returned it after use.”
“In a few days, once you start cultivating, I’ll brew them for you.
Leave these little things to me—don’t worry about them.
Just focus on your cultivation.”
Wang Sheng patted his chest, assuring that he could handle everything.
“Oh, how’s everything at home?
Bringing all these herbs must have cost a pretty penny, right?”
Wang Sheng suddenly remembered something, his brow furrowing slightly with concern.
Though he was the eldest son, Wang Sheng was still only in his early teens.
During his last break, he had stayed in Notting City to work odd jobs to help support the family.
By now, Wang Sheng hadn’t been home in seven or eight months.
Seeing his little brother now, a wave of homesickness surged up within him.
“Big Brother, don’t worry.”
Wang Teng finished making his bed, sat down, and reassured him, “Only half of these herbs were bought.
The other half, Dad and I gathered ourselves from the mountains.”
“To preserve the medicinal properties, Dad even treated Uncle Liu from neighboring Willow Family Village to a meal—he knows his herbs.”
“Things are fine at home.
Ever since we got that anesthetic formula, we’ve been catching more game.”
“So even with buying some herbs, we’re getting by.”
Lowering his voice, Wang Teng nodded toward Tang San: “Big Brother, that’s Tang San, the work-study student from neighboring Holy Soul Village.”
“The anesthetic we use at home—he helped formulate it…”
“Mm, got it.”
Wang Sheng nodded in Tang San’s direction.
Tang San had traded anesthetic with Wang Teng but had also asked him to keep it secret.
So, aside from their father Wang Wu, Wang Teng had only told Wang Sheng about this.
But precisely because of this connection, there was no conflict between Wang Sheng and Tang San over the position of Room Seven’s leader, unlike in the original story.
For instance, Wang Sheng now walked over to Tang San’s bedside amiably and greeted him proactively, “Xiao San, I’m Wang Sheng, Wang Teng’s big brother.
Nice to meet you.”
At this moment, Tang San sat on the bed opposite Wang Teng’s.
His bed was bare, with only him sitting there alone.
“I’m Tang San.”
Tang San looked up and offered a faint smile.
“Oh, by the way, why didn’t you bring bedding?
The academy doesn’t provide bedding for work-study students.
Want me to take you out to buy a new set?”
Wang Sheng looked at Tang San’s empty bed frame and kindly suggested.
“Well…”
Tang San looked at his bare bed, then glanced at the various colored bedding on the other beds in the room, his brow furrowing involuntarily.
In the period since his martial soul awakening, he had been following his father Tang Hao in learning blacksmithing and hadn’t had time to carefully inquire about what the academy required.
As a result, he’d completely forgotten about bedding.
Fortunately, he had some money on him—not much, but enough to buy an ordinary blanket.
Just as Tang San was about to accept Wang Sheng’s offer, a voice came from the dormitory entrance: “Who’s Tang San?
Grandmaster sent me to deliver bedding.”
Everyone turned to look.
At the door stood a plain-looking male teacher with short, light green hair.
He held a set of neatly folded bedding in his arms and was peering into the dormitory.
“Teacher Mo Hen!
Tang San’s right here!”
Wang Sheng responded as he quickly walked to the door and took the bedding from Teacher Mo Hen.
He carried it back and set it down beside Tang San’s bed.
“Thank you, Teacher Mo Hen.”
“Glad it’s delivered.”
Teacher Mo Hen nodded, his gaze sweeping across the dormitory as he asked, “By the way, there are three work-study students this year: one is Tang San, another is Wang Sheng’s little brother Wang Teng, and the third is called Xiao Wu.”
“Are all three here?”
“Teacher, I’m Wang Teng.”
Wang Teng quickly raised his hand.
“Teacher Mo Hen, among today’s new work-study students, only these two have arrived.”
“The other one, Xiao Wu, hasn’t shown up yet.”
Wang Sheng, as Room Seven’s leader, knew the situation best and volunteered the explanation.
Teacher Mo Hen nodded upon hearing this.
“I see.”
“You three new students will be responsible for cleaning the garden south of the playground from now on.”
“Ten copper soul coins per day.”
“The rule is you must clean it every day.
If it’s not clean enough, the academy will deduct your pay.”
“Also, if you deliberately slack off or fail multiple inspections, the academy has the right to revoke your work-study status and expel you.”
“Those are the general rules for work-study students.”
“If there’s anything else you’re unclear about, you can ask Wang Sheng or the other senior work-study students in Room Seven.”
“As for that Xiao Wu who hasn’t arrived yet…”
Teacher Mo Hen looked at Wang Teng and Tang San and continued, “When she gets here, you two are responsible for passing on what I’ve just said.
Understood?”
“Understood, Teacher Mo Hen!”
Wang Teng and Tang San exchanged glances and answered in unison.
“Tomorrow is the opening ceremony.
Classes officially start the day after.”
“The first-year classroom is on the first floor of the main teaching building.”
“You’ll officially start your work duties the day after tomorrow as well.”
“Alright, that’s all.”
With his instructions delivered, Teacher Mo Hen turned and left Room Seven.
After the teacher left, Tang San quickly set about making his new bedding.
“Alright, little brother, Xiao San, I’ll take you both to the cafeteria for lunch.”
Wang Sheng stood in the center of the dormitory and said to the two.
Then he waved a hand at the other children in the room and called out, “Everyone, let’s go eat!”
“Got it, Boss!”
More than a dozen children in Room Seven responded with laughter and chatter.
Wang Teng and Tang San followed the group toward the cafeteria.
The food at Notting Academy’s cafeteria was hardly anything to write home about.
No, perhaps that wasn’t quite accurate.
More precisely, the food available to work-study students was truly monotonous and bland.
At this moment, Wang Teng sat with more than a dozen other work-study students in a corner of the cafeteria hall, eating lunch.
The contents of everyone’s tray were more or less the same.
Two coarse wheat buns, a plate of stir-fried greens with barely a trace of oil, a bowl of clear, nearly flavorless free soup, and a small dish of pickled vegetables.
“This is even worse than eating at home…”
Wang Teng looked at the food before him and found it hard to muster any appetite.
“If you can’t eat it, I’ll go get you some meat.”
Wang Sheng saw his little brother’s expression and immediately offered.
“No need, Big Brother.
As long as it fills my stomach, it’s fine.”
Wang Teng didn’t want to spend his brother’s money.
After all, both brothers had limited funds—if he ate more, Wang Sheng would go hungry.
So Wang Teng quickly lowered his head and, using the still-warm soup, ate hungrily.
Though the flavors were dull, hot food at least filled the belly.
Wang Teng finished everything on his plate in short order.
By then, everyone else was nearly done eating as well.
Wang Sheng put down his bowl and chopsticks and said to Wang Teng and Tang San, “While we’re at it, let me introduce everyone to you.”
“Though we’re all different ages, since we all live in Room Seven and are all work-study students, it’s good to get to know each other.”
With that, Wang Sheng pointed to a sharp-eyed, clever-looking child beside him and said, “This is Ye Ling’an.
He’s a year below me, and he…”
After introducing one, Wang Sheng moved on to the next.
In no time, the seven or eight work-study students gathered around the table had all been introduced.
Wang Teng and Tang San nodded in greeting to each of them in turn.
“Alright, lunch is done.
Let’s head back to the dormitory.”
Wang Sheng stood up and continued, “You can rest in the afternoon, or you can cultivate in the dormitory.”
“If you want to go to the playground on the west side to train, that’s fine too, but…”
Wang Sheng turned specifically to Wang Teng and Tang San, his tone becoming more serious: “You two newcomers shouldn’t go to the playground alone.”
Wang Teng understood his brother’s meaning: in the academy, those regular students who paid tuition often deliberately sought out work-study students to pick on.