Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan walked into the dormitory building.
Their dorm room was at the end of the first floor, so they quickly arrived.
"Why am I sharing a room with you, Brother Ziyang?" Jiang Nannan tilted her head curiously.
"What's wrong? You don't want to?" Zhu Ziyang turned his head with a faint smile.
"N-No!" Jiang Nannan quickly denied it, her little ears instantly turning red. She mumbled, "It just feels a little strange, that's all!"
"It's fine. You'll get used to it over time," Zhu Ziyang said as he opened the door and entered the dorm room.
He had to admit, the dorm environment at Anyang Academy was truly excellent. Although Zhu Ziyang hadn't seen the dorms of other academies, he still had a strong impression.
Inside were two single beds, each two meters long and one meter wide, placed symmetrically against the walls. At the head of each bed was a wardrobe. Between the beds were two desks, each 80 cm long and 60 cm wide, placed side by side. Wooden chairs were tucked under the desks, and there was about a meter of space between the desks and the beds. That was all the furniture—very simple. Further in was a washroom and a bathroom, which, surprisingly, had not just a shower but a two-meter-long bathtub! Beyond that was the balcony.
The environment was quite a pleasant surprise for Zhu Ziyang.
No wonder this academy received half of Anyang City's annual fiscal budget—the treatment here was exceptional!
"Brother Ziyang, how are we going to sleep?" Jiang Nannan was also stunned by the environment and asked innocently.
"How? Of course, we each get our own bed. But if you're scared, we can push the beds together," Zhu Ziyang said.
"Uh—l-let's stick with our own beds!" Jiang Nannan's face turned bright red, and she muttered softly.
Then the little girl quickly moved to start making the beds and unpacking.
From today on, they would be boarding at school. They were only allowed to go home once a month, and the only long break was during the New Year. Normally, they had to eat and live at the academy. Fortunately, the food was decent (Zhu Ziyang had eaten with Liang Ying before), so meals weren't a problem.
Jiang Nannan, being a capable girl, quickly made both beds and organized everything neatly.
"Nannan, you're amazing!" Zhu Ziyang sincerely praised.
"Hmph! Of course I am!" the girl replied proudly.
The two stayed in the dorm for a while.
"Nannan, let's go eat," Zhu Ziyang stood up and said to Jiang Nannan, who was meditating.
The girl worked very hard—she used every bit of free time to meditate and train. Seeing her so dedicated made Zhu Ziyang even more determined to improve the meditation technique. Soon, very soon! he thought silently. These days, he had been intentionally researching the studies of his predecessors on meditation methods and had already formed a preliminary plan to improve it based on the Great Luminous Art. Conservatively, he expected results within a year.
"Okay!" Jiang Nannan woke from her meditation and replied.
They went to the Anyang Academy cafeteria, a building as luxurious as the dorms.
It was mealtime, and the cafeteria was crowded. Aside from a few teachers, everyone was a student. The total number of students wasn't large—about 300 from first to sixth grade. There were 50 students in the first grade, and only 40 in the two sixth-grade classes. Clearly, people with soul power were still quite rare.
Zhu Ziyang skillfully got two meals and found a quiet corner to sit with Jiang Nannan.
They chatted and laughed as they ate.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a group of kids surrounded them. Leading them was a chubby, well-dressed boy flanked by three or four lackeys. Clearly, he was attracted by Jiang Nannan's cuteness and came over to show off.
"You must be new today? I didn't see you around before," the chubby boy stared at Jiang Nannan, sniffling, with a smug expression.
Jiang Nannan ignored him and kept eating. Zhu Ziyang chuckled.
The chubby boy, feeling embarrassed by the lack of response, frowned.
"Hey, do you know who this is? He's the number one in our grade—Zhang Jiang!" one of the lackeys chimed in proudly.
"Go away! Don't bother us while we're eating!" Jiang Nannan finally spoke—and hit hard. "So gross, your snot's running into your mouth! It's ruining my appetite. Brother Ziyang, let's go!"
With that, she stood up coldly. Zhu Ziyang naturally followed.
They were ready to leave.
But Zhang Jiang, humiliated, blocked their path. His chubby face flushed red. No one had ever spoken to him like that since school started.
Sniffling, he shouted, "Do you know I'm a level 6 soul master—a genius! How dare you talk to me like that!"
Hearing that, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan stopped. Her pretty face was expressionless as she said, "Oh, so the so-called strongest is just a level 6 soul master? Then what does that make me, a level 9 soul master?"
The group of kids was stunned. Before they could react, Jiang Nannan and Zhu Ziyang pushed past them and walked away.
"Nannan, I didn't know you had such a sharp tongue!" Zhu Ziyang teased after they left the cafeteria, laughing.
"No way! I was just telling the truth," Jiang Nannan replied with a mischievous smile.
Zhu Ziyang smiled. It had only been about a month since she awakened her martial soul, and Jiang Nannan's soul power had already risen from level 8 to level 9—much faster than he had expected. At this rate, she could reach level 10 within a month.
Zhu Ziyang was overjoyed. The stronger Jiang Nannan got, the happier he was.
The second day of school.
After official classes began, Zhu Ziyang only attended one class and then never went back.
What did the Elementary Soul Master Academy teach?
Reading, writing, arithmetic—the most basic knowledge.
It made sense. For kids aged six to ten, if you don't teach them to read or count, what else can they learn? Becoming a soul master didn't mean abandoning education. On the contrary, soul masters needed a strong academic foundation. Without it, advanced and obscure soul master knowledge would be incomprehensible.
However, that only applied to ordinary kids. For a genius like Zhu Ziyang, such classes were unnecessary. They were meaningless to him, so he stopped going altogether.
So, out of 20 weekly classes, he showed up to fewer than five. Over time, he developed a cold and distant image in class—completely contradicting his father Zhu Changhe's advice to stay humble and low-profile.
If Zhu Changhe found out, he'd probably be fuming!