Wang Sheng walked up to Su Yan, his voice deliberately imposing.
"Welcome to Dorm Seven. We have a rule here—the strongest is the boss, and everyone listens to them. Will you acknowledge me, or will you fight me for the position?"
Su Yan sighed, took a breath, then suddenly shouted,
"ALL HAIL BIG BOSS SHENG! LONG LIVE BIG BOSS SHENG!!"
The dorm froze.
Then, swept up by the performance, the other children began shouting as well.
"ALL HAIL! ALL HAIL!!"
Wang Sheng immediately blushed at the over-the-top cheering. His face red with embarrassment, he coughed before continuing.
"Since you've acknowledged me as boss, I'll protect you from now on. Now tell me—what's your name?"
Su Yan straightened his back and announced proudly,
"This one is Su Yan. Please take good care of me, Boss Sheng!!"
He was having a bit too much fun with this.
Eventually, everyone calmed down and settled in. Wang Sheng led Su Yan and the other new work-study students around the academy, showing them the facilities and explaining what work needed to be done.
As the sky grew dark, Wang Sheng brought them to the cafeteria.
Su Yan looked down at the bowl of thin gruel and the steamed buns he had bought for a few copper soul coins. He glanced at the others, who were eating heartily.
Gulping, he closed his eyes and shoved a spoonful of gruel into his mouth.
"Ugh…"
It was just as terrible as it looked.
Pushing the bowl aside, Su Yan focused on filling his stomach with the steamed buns instead.
Wang Sheng noticed the untouched gruel and spoke up.
"You have to eat your fill. I know it doesn't taste good, but it'll give you energy to work and cultivate."
With visible reluctance, Su Yan finished the rest.
I'm definitely going to need to find a way to earn more money, he thought. There's no way I'm eating this for the next few years.
Wang Sheng laughed.
"It's not that bad. If you want to earn money, you'll have to work for it. There are always odd jobs that need doing around here."
After eating, everyone returned to the dorms to rest. A few students cultivated, but most—exhausted from the long day—simply fell asleep.
Su Yan, however, remained awake.
He summoned his Martial Soul.
Looking at it, and remembering the food from earlier, his thoughts drifted to the delicacies of his previous life. Closing his eyes, he slowly channeled Spirit Power into his Martial Soul.
The circuit-like lines began to glow.
An outline formed, growing clearer and more solid.
A sandwich appeared in his hands.
He brought it to his lips and took a bite.
The bacon was crisp. The lettuce crunchy. The tomatoes fresh and sweet.
A BLT.
A very delicious one.
Quickly finishing the sandwich, Su Yan's thoughts raced.
If I can do this… what else could I manifest?
This had potential.
The next morning, Su Yan lay in bed completely exhausted.
He had nearly drained all of his Spirit Power the night before, experimenting—trying to manifest different things. Spirit tools. Weapons. Clothes. Jewelry. Money.
Most attempts failed.
Only one had succeeded.
Su Yan held up a silver soul coin, watching as it glinted in the morning sunlight.
My money troubles may be over.
Over the next few days, Su Yan continued to expend his Spirit Power every night, attempting to manifest coins. Most successful attempts resulted in copper soul coins, with only one more silver soul coin appearing.
It was a shame, but his low Spirit Power limited how many attempts he could make each night.
Still, this led him to another discovery.
By draining his Spirit Power to near exhaustion and then cultivating, his progress was noticeably faster. He was already close to reaching Rank 6.
Work. Eat. Cultivate. Repeat.
That became his daily routine.
Until one morning, when the door to Dorm Seven creaked open.
A thin boy stood in the doorway.
Tang San was here.