The sky over East Sea City was a deep, unblemished blue. Sunlight filtered through thin clouds, spilling onto the metallic dome of the Soul Guidance Station below and reflecting with a piercing glare that forced passersby to squint.
Situ Xuan stepped off the train, his movements deliberate. His steps were steady and measured, each foot landing precisely on the gaps between the stone tiles of the platform.
He stood out in the crowd like a wolf among sheep. At just ten years old, he was already 1.7 meters tall, with broad shoulders that strained against his clothes. His face was cold and stern, an expression so intimidating that the surrounding pedestrians subconsciously moved aside to create a path for him.
"Situ Xuan!"
A familiar voice shouted from behind.
Situ Xuan's brow furrowed slightly, but his pace did not slow. He didn't dislike his overly cheerful classmate, Tang Wulin, but right now, his priority was efficiency. He wanted to find the shuttle to East Sea Academy as quickly as possible and had no interest in wasting time on meaningless pleasantries.
"Situ Xuan! Wait for me!"
Tang Wulin caught up, panting heavily. He grabbed the corner of Situ Xuan's shirt with his small hand to steady himself. His large eyes were full of excitement mixed with a hint of unease—the classic nervousness of a child traveling far from home for the first time.
"This is great! I didn't expect you to be checking in today too!" Tang Wulin beamed, wiping sweat from his forehead. "We can take the academy shuttle together!"
Situ Xuan stopped and turned his head. His gaze lingered on Tang Wulin's face for a second.
The black hair on the boy's forehead was soaked with sweat and plastered to his skin. His backpack was bulging to the point of bursting, looking like it contained his entire life. Through the strained zippers, Situ Xuan could see the packaging of several cheap loaves of bread.
"Mhm," Situ Xuan responded faintly. He turned his gaze back toward the station exit and resumed walking.
Tang Wulin seemed long accustomed to Situ Xuan's cold demeanor. He fell into step beside him, unbothered by the lack of conversation. In fact, his mouth didn't stop moving.
"I just saw a promotional video for East Sea City on the train! The seafood here is really famous! And that largest building is said to be the Federal East Sea Administration. My dad said there are Spirit Masters of the seventh ring and above stationed there!"
Situ Xuan didn't respond, but his ears twitched slightly.
A seven-ring Spirit Master...
In a second-tier city like East Sea City, Spirit Masters of the seventh or eighth ring—Spirit Saints and Spirit Douluos—would be the apex predators. They were the top combat forces of the region.
If there was a chance to cross paths with such a powerhouse...
Situ Xuan's lips curled into an imperceptible arc of anticipation.
They exited the station into a wave of noise. The clamor of voices and the hum of engines washed over them.
East Sea City's Soul Guidance Station was massive, dwarfing the one in Aolai City. The plaza in front of the station was a chaotic sea of vehicles. Private hovercars zipped by, while larger Soul Guidance Buses picked up passengers for public transport.
Situ Xuan's sharp gaze swept across the plaza. Almost immediately, he spotted a large bus painted deep blue parked in a temporary lot to the right. The words 'East Sea Academy' were emblazoned in large white characters on its side.
"Over there," he said in a low voice, adjusting his bag and stepping forward.
Tang Wulin followed his gaze and cheered. "Really! We're so lucky, the shuttle is right here!"
As they approached, they saw a sign with blue characters on a white background: East Sea Academy Reception.
Behind a folding table sat several young men and women in blue sportswear. They looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, likely senior students volunteering to welcome the newcomers.
Tang Wulin ran ahead, his energy seemingly boundless. A clear-faced girl stepped forward to greet him with a warm smile. "Little brother, are you here to enroll at East Sea Academy?"
Meanwhile, Situ Xuan walked up to another senior. The young man, who had been looking down at a list, noticed a shadow looming over him. He looked up and visibly flinched when he saw Situ Xuan's imposing figure.
"You're... a New Student?" the young man asked, his voice laced with uncertainty as he sized up the muscular youth.
Situ Xuan didn't speak. He simply pulled the Recommendation Letter from his pocket and placed it on the table.
The young man took the letter, glanced at the official seal, and his eyebrows shot up. "Recommended by Aolai City's Red Mountain Academy... Situ Xuan?" He looked up at Situ Xuan again, bewilderment written all over his face. "How old are you?"
"Ten," Situ Xuan stated flatly.
He's fucking ten?!
The young man's expression twisted. A ten-year-old kid looks like this? What are they feeding them in Aolai City?
He hesitated, seemingly wanting to ask for an ID to verify, but the cold look in Situ Xuan's eyes made him reconsider. He simply nodded and stamped the form. "Alright. Get on the bus. We leave in half an hour."
After the bus ride to the academy, they relied on the metal New Student badges given to them by the senior, Liu Yuxin, and their Recommendation Letters to complete the check-in process. They each received two sets of standard school uniforms and their room assignments.
"My dorm is 208."
Situ Xuan looked at Tang Wulin, who was still sticking close to him like a lost puppy. He let out a sharp "tsk" and spoke bluntly.
Tang Wulin, who understood Situ Xuan fairly well, knew exactly what that sound meant. His old classmate was annoyed.
"Oh, oh! I-I'm in 205," Tang Wulin stammered, then quickly tried to salvage the interaction. "Want to go grab dinner together later? Since we're neighbors?"
He clearly pretended not to have heard the dismissal in Situ Xuan's tone.
Situ Xuan stood still. He didn't answer. He just stared at Tang Wulin with quiet, intense eyes.
"Uh... right. I'll go tidy my bed first, then I'll come find you later," Tang Wulin mumbled.
Being stared at by Situ Xuan was intense; it sent an inexplicable chill down his spine. His unfamiliarity with the new environment made him want to stick together, but he knew when to retreat. He dodged the silent rejection and quickly walked toward his own room down the hall.
Situ Xuan shook his head, let out another "tsk," and turned toward Dorm 208.
When Situ Xuan pushed open the door to Dorm 208, the laughter and chatter inside came to an abrupt, screeching halt.
Three metal bunk beds lined the walls. Three boys were sitting cross-legged on their respective bunks, in the middle of a lively conversation.
When they saw the tall figure standing in the doorway, they all stiffened in unison. This newcomer was at least twenty centimeters taller than any of them. No matter how they looked at him, he didn't look like a fellow New Student.
On the lower bunk by the window, a thin boy wearing glasses gripped the railing of his bed, his knuckles turning white. Beside him, a brown-haired boy froze with his mouth half-open, a half-eaten cookie falling from his hand onto his quilt. On the innermost top bunk, a curly-haired boy silently pulled his legs back, curling into a ball against the wall.
Situ Xuan's gaze swept over the three of them. The air in the room seemed to freeze.
"My name is Situ Xuan."
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the silence like a knife.
The three boys' Adam's apples bobbed simultaneously as they swallowed hard. None of them dared to speak.
Situ Xuan walked to the only empty lower bunk and set down his luggage bag. He ignored his stunned roommates and began to unpack. He efficiently spread out the blue sheets provided by the school, slapping the four corners until they were tight and sharp, resembling a military-style bunk. He folded his few changes of clothes and placed them neatly into the bedside cabinet.
Throughout the process, the only sounds in the dorm were the occasional creak of the metal bed frame and the distant clamor from the playground outside.
"From now on, you will take turns being responsible for the dorm's cleanliness according to the duty roster," Situ Xuan said, straightening up.
He wiped his finger across the surface of the bedside cabinet, checking for dust. "I do not wish to see any mess or dirt."
He turned and looked at his three roommates. Their heads immediately began bobbing up and down like chickens pecking at grain.
"If there are any problems, you can raise them now," Situ Xuan added.
The boy with glasses opened his mouth as if to protest, but after one look at Situ Xuan's arms, he shook his head vigorously. The brown-haired boy quietly gathered the fallen cookie crumbs into his palm, moving with the slow caution of someone disarming a bomb. The curly-haired boy on the top bunk pressed himself flat against the wall, trying to become invisible.
Situ Xuan nodded imperceptibly. He turned and walked toward the door.
As his hand gripped the handle, a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum came from behind.
"Um... the duty roster..."
"Arrange it yourselves," Situ Xuan said without looking back. "Just don't include me."
Click.
The door closed.
Three loud sighs of relief erupted in the dorm instantly.
"God, I thought an upperclassman had walked into the wrong room!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed in a hushed whisper.
"Is he really from our year?" The boy with glasses pushed up his frames, his voice still trembling. "He looks like he could kill a cow with one punch."
"I mean, we're probably in the same class as him, right?" the curly-haired boy groaned from the top bunk.
In the hallway, Situ Xuan headed toward the stairs. But just as he passed the neighboring room, chaos erupted.
Bang!
A figure came flying out of the door to Dorm 205, crashing onto the hallway floor. The figure scrambled up immediately and charged back into the room with a roar.
"You bastard!"
It was Tang Wulin. His voice was laced with genuine fury.
Moments later, another figure came flying out of the same door. This time, it wasn't Tang Wulin, but a handsome, somewhat cocky-looking boy with blonde hair.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Situ Xuan stopped and watched the scene unfold. A flash of pure joy sparked in his eyes.
He knew he had come to the right school!
Look at this—people are fighting right at the start of the term. Isn't this absolutely my dream school?!
He watched as a teacher arrived to break up the fight, leading the four occupants of Dorm 205 away for discipline. Situ Xuan couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Why hasn't anyone picked a fight with me?" he muttered to himself, feeling a little left out.
He looked around. Every passing New Student who saw him stared in shock and quickly averted their gaze, their expressions clearly saying, 'Who would be suicidal enough to pick a fight with someone like you?'