The morning mist had not yet dispersed, but outside the bronze gate of Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, people were already coming and going.
It was another back-to-school day. With the month-long holiday over, the Academy once again resumed its usual liveliness.
"Class Leader!"
"Class Leader!"
After entering the dormitory building, such shouts rose one after another, different voices interweaving in the corridor.
Kong Xuan subconsciously nodded, as if in response.
In one semester, Kong Xuan had already conquered all his classmates with his strength and personal charisma.
Their shouts of "Class Leader" were not mixed with any pretense, but rather came from genuine respect.
Walking to the door marked 1006, the dormitory door was ajar, and the sound of rummaging came from inside.
Pushing open the door, Xu Wei was bent over, seemingly looking for something.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Xu Wei looked towards the doorway, a look of excitement on his face: "Brother Xuan, you're finally back!"
Xu Wei spread his arms and rushed towards Kong Xuan.
He was still wearing the Academy uniform, a few strands of hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, and he was about to crash into Kong Xuan's embrace.
Kong Xuan almost reflexively extended his arm, his palm firmly pressing against the other's chest, his fingertips feeling Xu Wei's agitated breathing.
He was not used to hugging other men.
Seeing that Kong Xuan had no intention of "getting close," Xu Wei stopped trying and immediately lowered his arms.
Seeing the "danger" averted, Kong Xuan looked at him and said, "How was your holiday?"
Xu Wei stepped aside to let Kong Xuan in, then walked to the bed and sat down, saying, "Brother Xuan, let me tell you, it was right not to leave the Academy. Teacher has been staying at the Academy too."
Kong Xuan knew that the teacher he referred to was their Class Teacher, Ren Jun.
As a teacher from Shrek who was poached by Sun Moon, Ren Jun was a stranger here. If he didn't stay at the Academy, he really couldn't think of anywhere else to go.
Xu Wei continued, "After the holiday, I found that several people in our class were at the Academy, so I teamed up with them to find Teacher."
"Teacher didn't disappoint me. He immediately agreed to our request and promised to guide our cultivation during the holiday."
"So this whole time, I've essentially been taking extra classes."
Xu Wei showed a confident smile, his eyes seemingly filled with anticipation for the future.
"Now I feel terrifyingly strong. When I meet Old Xu, I'm definitely going to crush him this time!"
Listening to Xu Wei's grand words, Kong Xuan did not comment much, only thinking that he would have a good show to watch later.
==
The cafeteria was not very crowded at noon. Four people sat around a metal square table in the corner.
Although they hadn't agreed on a time to return to school, all four members of their group had arrived in the morning, so they decided to have lunch together.
The steam from the Blazing Flame Spirit Rhinoceros Beef Soup rose in a golden mist, and the rich aroma of Hundred-Year Earth Dragon Tendon filled their mouths—
Of course, it was important to balance meat and vegetables. The refreshing taste of Spirit Plant Herbal Medley was enough to cut through the richness.
It was fortunate that the Soul Master Class cafeteria was separate. If they were with the Soul Engineer Department, those Soul Engineers would probably be dying of envy.
The dishes in the Soul Master Class cafeteria were not cheap; they were all highly nourishing.
Even if the students didn't cultivate diligently, just eating these things every day would probably allow them to increase their spirit power by one rank in a semester.
"Brother Xu, did your older brother bother you during the holiday?"
Xu Wei put down his chopsticks and took a sip of soup.
Xu Tianyi still had his cold, deadpan expression. After thinking for a moment, he said, "He wanted to spar with me, but I refused."
"Bang!"
Xu Wei slammed the table and said to Xu Tianyi, "That's right! He's older than you and stronger than you. What's there to spar about? I think he just wants to use the sparring as an excuse to get at you."
Xu Tianyi shook his head: "At home, he wouldn't dare to be too reckless."
"Even if he didn't dare to hit too hard, beating you up is still an option, right?"
Facing Xu Wei's words, Xu Tianyi said nothing more, tacitly agreeing.
It was only because he had changed under Kong Xuan's influence; otherwise, with his previous personality, he would not have refused his brother's "challenge," as such things had happened many times before.
Xu Wei drank all the soup in his bowl and let out a satisfied burp: "If you ask me, sparring should be between people of similar strength, like us."
As he spoke, he stared at Xu Tianyi, his eyes gleaming with eagerness.
"How about it, Brother Xu? The holiday training is over, shall we test the results?"
Xu Tianyi said expressionlessly, "It seems you're very confident?"
"Of course!" Xu Wei said with a hint of challenge in his eyes, "Just tell me if you dare or not?"
"What's there to not dare!"
When it came to fighting, Xu Tianyi had never backed down!
And he also really wanted to see how much Xu Wei's strength had improved during the holiday.
Kong Ling had also finished eating by now and interjected, "Count me in! Count me in!"
Kong Xuan looked at them and smiled, "Since you all want to test your strength, let's just go straight to the Soul Dueling Arena."
After lunch, the four of them hurried to the Soul Dueling Arena.
The number of people was just right, and they easily obtained the right to use a small Soul Dueling Arena.
In the Soul Dueling Arena, Xu Wei was rubbing his fists, looking at Xu Tianyi.
In his eyes, his opponent was only one person.
Xu Wei was certain he couldn't beat Kong Xuan, the Class Leader. As for Kong Ling, although her spirit power was higher, he had some confidence, as she didn't counter him as much as Xu Tianyi, and her close-combat ability and defense weren't as strong.
However, Xu Wei felt a bit awkward about fighting a girl, and he was also afraid of getting his older brother involved if he hit his younger sister.
Xu Tianyi stretched his muscles. He naturally understood Xu Wei's troublesome nature, but he had also thought of many ways to counter him, and this was a good opportunity to test them.
Kong Xuan stood aside, looking like he was watching a show.
And just as the two were about to agree to start fighting, Kong Ling suddenly spoke.
"You two wait a moment!"
Xu Tianyi and Xu Wei both looked at Kong Ling at the same time, their eyes filled with inquiry.
Kong Ling held her small head high, looking at the two of them with a mysterious expression.
Just as the two couldn't help but want to ask, Kong Ling finally spoke: "I am now a Second Ring Spirit Grandmaster!"
Kong Ling originally thought that after she said this, Xu Tianyi and Xu Wei would at least show a shocked expression.
But unexpectedly, neither of their expressions changed, as if they had known about this all along.
Kong Ling was very dissatisfied with their reaction and immediately said, "Hey! What's wrong with you two? Aren't you surprised at all?"
Xu Wei spread his hands and said, "What's there to be surprised about? Sister Ling, your spirit power had already reached rank 20 during the holiday. It's perfectly normal to acquire a spirit ring during the holiday."
Xu Tianyi nodded, agreeing with Xu Wei's point of view.
Children Kong Ling's age inevitably have some competitiveness and vanity.
Her idea was very simple: as the second person in the team to become a Spirit Grandmaster, she just wanted to see her companions' surprised expressions to be satisfied.
But she didn't expect that such a "small request" couldn't even be fulfilled!
"Hmph!"
Kong Ling snorted, "Now that I am a Spirit Grandmaster, my strength has improved the most."
"Next, let's have a fight. Both of you, come at me!"