Hearing Wang Sheng's words, the others quickly snapped out of their daze and began to cheer involuntarily.
However, the mysterious loli paid no attention to them. Instead, she pressed harder on Xiao Wu, who was pinned beneath her, and asked:
"Do you yield?"
Xiao Wu pouted. Though she was arrogant, aggressive, and self-centered, she wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat.
"I yield, but don't get cocky! I'll work hard to grow stronger. One day, this dorm's leadership will still be mine!"
Seeing that Xiao Wu had conceded, the mysterious loli released her grip, brushed off imaginary dust from her hands, stood up, and declared:
"Good. I'm now the dorm leader."
At this moment, the loli seemed to remember Ye Wen's presence. She turned to him, who was standing by the door brushing off his slightly dirtied bedding, and asked:
"Sorry, I didn't see you earlier and got your bedding dirty. How about I compensate you with a new set?"
Ye Wen brushed off his bedding. Though the material wasn't great, it had one advantage—it was easy to clean. A little dust disappeared with a few taps, so Ye Wen declined.
"No need. It's just a bit of dust—it's already clean now."
The loli didn't dwell on it; she had only asked out of courtesy.
But the other students were impressed. As Ye Wen, the newcomer, hadn't yet figured out the situation, the dorm leader repeated the "boss rules" that Wang Sheng had mentioned earlier and then asked Ye Wen:
"How about it? Do you want to fight me for the leader position? If you win, the spot is yours."
Ye Wen shook his head. Though he had been training over the years, he knew he wasn't stronger than Tang San, who had cheats from his past life, or Xiao Wu, who had ten thousand years of cultivation as a soul beast. There was no point in humiliating himself by trying.
What Ye Wen needed now was more time to study and grow, not to engage in meaningless competition.
Walking into Dormitory Seven, Ye Wen chose a bed by the window and began setting up his bedding.
During this time, he glanced around at the others in the dormitory. Just as the gatekeeper had said, it was rare for peasants to produce golden phoenixes.
The vast Nuoding Academy had only a handful of work-study students in this small dormitory, highlighting the struggles of commoner soul masters.
Meanwhile, Ye Wen also noticed Tang San. As in the original story, Tang San hadn't competed for the leader position either.
However—
Ye Wen inwardly clicked his tongue.
Though he knew Xiao Wu was undeniably cute, the type that would make people wish for a daughter like her, Tang San—a man in his thirties across two lifetimes—shouldn't stare at her like that. Thankfully, Tang San currently looked like a chibi character, otherwise, he'd undoubtedly be labeled a creep.
Tang San also noticed Ye Wen during this time, but his pride prevented him from showing any favoritism toward wealthier individuals, so he ignored Ye Wen entirely. All the help Ye Wen's family had given Tang San's over the years had clearly gone unappreciated.
But Ye Wen had anticipated this and remained unfazed.
Meanwhile, the mysterious loli, who seemed to possess natural leadership qualities, began asking the others in the dormitory for their names after solidifying her position as leader.
Since Ye Wen was the last to arrive, the loli didn't ask him first but instead started with the others.
At the same time, Ye Wen was pondering the nature of this Douluo Continent. Could it be that this wasn't the original Douluo Continent from the source material but a parallel world or even a fanfiction spin-off?
If that were the case, the future variables would be immense. He'd need to tread carefully to avoid detection by other transmigrators or special protagonists—otherwise, things could get messy.
After all, the era of "fellow countrymen meeting with tears of joy" was long gone. Now, it was the age of betrayal—"a stab in the back from those closest to you."
After asking everyone else, the loli finally turned to Ye Wen.
"What's your name?"
Without hesitation, Ye Wen gave his name. Everyone else had done so; refusing would have made him seem out of place.
But Ye Wen failed to notice the flicker of delighted surprise in the loli's eyes when he introduced himself.
At this moment, the loli revealed her own name.
"Hello, Ye Wen. You're the only one in the dorm who doesn't know my name yet. I'm Huo Yu'er. Nice to meet you."
This stark difference in attitude went unnoticed by Ye Wen, who was busy organizing his belongings, but the other students more or less picked up on Huo Yu'er's preferential treatment.
Had the usually aloof Huo Yu'er suddenly become unusually warm?
Xiao Wu, who had finally recovered from her pain, glared at Huo Yu'er with an unwillingness in her eyes and asked:
"Huo Yu'er, what level is your soul power? Why are you so strong?"
Realizing her slip-up, Huo Yu'er subtly reverted to her earlier calm demeanor and replied indifferently:
"I'm already at level ten, so you lost fairly. And remember to call me Boss."
Instantly, the entire dorm erupted in gasps—even Ye Wen feigned surprise for a moment.
Still, having three soul masters in a single work-study dormitory, including Tang San, who had already reached the graduation standard, was absurd.
Xiao Wu's eyes narrowed thoughtfully before she asked curiously:
"What's your martial soul? Was that glowing thing around your eyes your martial soul earlier?"
Huo Yu'er nodded without hiding anything.
"Yes, my martial soul is my eyes. I call it Spiritual Eyes.
But instead of chatting with me here, shouldn't you hurry up and tidy your bed? It's getting dark soon—are you not planning to sleep?"
Nearby, Tang San listened to their conversation with a puzzled expression.
Having already become Yu Xiaogang's disciple, he had learned from Yu Xiaogang that martial souls only came in two types: beast-type and weapon-type. So how did an eye-type martial soul exist?
It seemed he needed to ask his teacher about this.
Just then, a teacher entered the dormitory and asked indifferently:
"Who's Tang San?"
Tang San quickly responded and took the bedding Yu Xiaogang had prepared for him.
Witnessing this, Ye Wen couldn't help but mentally rant: 'Tang Hao, are you really that heartless? Not giving money is one thing, but not even preparing bedding for Tang San?'
'Come to think of it, I didn't pay much attention to Tang San on the way here either. It seems being overlooked makes life tough.'
While Ye Wen was silently ranting, Xiao Wu awkwardly muttered:
"Um… I don't have anything to tidy up."
For the first time, Xiao Wu understood what it meant to feel embarrassed.
However, upon seeing Tang San's bedding, the law of the jungle kicked in. Xiao Wu, who had defeated Tang San, felt entitled to claim his belongings as her own.
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