Wang Sheng's current Spirit Power was at level nine—just one step away from obtaining a Spirit Ring and becoming a true Spirit Master.
Although his tiger Martial Soul was considered fairly decent, and his physique was solid, when he looked at Chen Ming—whose build was not only comparable to his own but even slightly superior—and then thought about the words "heavy armor" in Heavy Armored Earth Dragon, he couldn't help but feel uncertain about his chances.
"A spar, huh? Since it's the rule, then of course I'll accept."
Chen Ming set down his belongings and stepped into an open space, cupping his fists politely toward Wang Sheng.
"Chen Ming, Level 8 Spirit Scholar, Martial Soul: Heavy Armored Earth Dragon. Please advise."
"I… Wang Sheng, Martial Soul: tiger, Level Spirit Scholar. Please advise." Wang Sheng mimicked Chen Ming's gesture, though his voice came out a little stiff, betraying his nerves.
After exchanging formalities, Wang Sheng immediately released his Martial Soul and charged forward, fists clenched as he drove them toward Chen Ming's chest.
Chen Ming responded in kind. His Martial Soul emerged, transforming him into his half-dragon, half-human armored form. Like a compact war machine, he surged forward to meet the attack head-on.
Wang Sheng's fists slammed into Chen Ming's chest—
—and felt like striking solid stone.
Pain shot through his hands, forcing him to bare his teeth, while Chen Ming barely registered the impact, as though he had been lightly tapped. In the next instant, Chen Ming lowered his shoulder and rammed forward, the blow landing squarely against Wang Sheng's chest.
Wang Sheng was sent flying over a meter back before crashing awkwardly onto the ground.
No technique, no finesse—just raw stats.
That alone was enough.
Wang Sheng struggled to his feet, still wincing, but his eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at Chen Ming.
"Amazing… is this what a dragon-type Martial Soul is like? You're so much stronger than me. And wait—you said you're Level Eight just now? But your innate Spirit Power was Level Seven… does that mean you've already advanced a whole level in just three months since awakening? That's way too fast!"
"Maybe it's just talent," Chen Ming replied calmly, offering no further explanation.
After all, it really was talent—his AI-like thinking and everything that came with it were part of his innate advantage. There was no need to justify it.
In this world, the gap in talent was simply that stark.
"Since you've won, then you're the boss of Room Seven. We—"
Just as Wang Sheng began to explain the rules, the dormitory door suddenly opened again.
The newcomer was none other than Tang San, who had just parted ways with Yu Xiaogang.
The moment he saw Chen Ming standing there in his transformed state, Tang San's first thought was that Chen Ming had offended someone and was being ganged up on. But taking a closer look, he noticed that Chen Ming stood calm and composed, while the larger student looked battered and disheveled.
A trace of disappointment flickered through his eyes.
Although Chen Ming and Tang San had little interaction—and no real conflict—Tang San couldn't shake a certain impression.
His own Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, was widely regarded as trash, while Chen Ming possessed a dragon-type Martial Soul. Because of that alone, Tang San instinctively felt that Chen Ming looked down on him.
Whether that was true or not didn't matter.
If Tang San felt it, then to him, it was real.
"I'm not interested in being any kind of boss," Chen Ming said, patting Wang Sheng on the shoulder before gesturing toward Tang San. "I came here to study. If someone tries to bully others, I'll step in—but as for being the leader, you can forget it."
"This is Tang San, a fellow villager of mine. He has full innate Spirit Power—his talent is even better than mine. I've sparred with him before, and I couldn't even touch him the entire time. If you're looking for a leader, he'd be a better choice."
The graduation requirement for a junior Spirit Master academy was Level Ten. After that, students could advance to an intermediate academy.
Chen Ming had no intention of lingering here the way Tang San did—staying until Level Twenty-Nine before moving on to a place like Shrek Academy. That, in his eyes, was a complete waste of talent. In fact, that period was the slowest phase of Tang San's cultivation in his entire life.
After all, most students graduated from intermediate academies at Level Twenty, and reaching Level Thirty was already enough to be considered a graduate of an advanced academy.
Once he obtained his first Spirit Ring, Chen Ming planned to immediately look for an intermediate—or even advanced—academy to continue his studies.
By his own calculations, even at the slowest pace, it would take at most a little over a year to reach his goal—under normal circumstances, half a year would likely be enough. Because of that, Chen Ming truly couldn't be bothered with matters like competing for dominance in a dormitory.
"Really?" Wang Sheng didn't doubt him for a second. Turning toward Tang San, he hurried over in a few quick steps, grabbing his hand excitedly.
"Then… can you be our boss?"
"Boss?" Tang San blinked in confusion. "My Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. That's not a problem?"
"Blue Silver Grass? Since when can trash Martial Souls even produce Spirit Masters?"
Wang Sheng spoke bluntly, without a filter.
The moment the words left his mouth, Tang San's expression darkened.
In the next instant, he stepped forward. Using Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, he deftly disrupted Wang Sheng's balance, grabbing and pushing in one fluid motion—sending Wang Sheng, still in his Martial Soul form, tumbling away like a thrown ball.
"Is that enough?" Tang San asked coolly, striding forward and grabbing Wang Sheng by the collar.
"Enough—more than enough!" Wang Sheng replied dizzily, his head still spinning from the impact. "From today on, you're the boss of Room Seven. Us work-study students… we're always bullied by the regular students, so our room—"
Before he could finish explaining, the door swung open again.
A young girl skipped into the room, lively and energetic. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Chen Ming in his transformed state and Tang San holding Wang Sheng by the collar.
"So this is Room Seven?"
She circled Chen Ming once, clearly intrigued, before hopping over to Tang San's side, chattering away without pause.
"This is Room Seven. I'm the boss here," Tang San replied instinctively, straightening his back as he spoke. Even though he didn't fully understand what being "boss" entailed, he still dropped Wang Sheng's collar and tried to appear composed. "Are you a new student?"
"Yeah, he just beat me—so he's the boss," Wang Sheng added, struggling to his feet, still a bit dazed.
"The winner becomes the boss?" The girl's eyes widened.
It was her first time in the human world, and she had originally been somewhat wary. But after stepping into Room Seven, she felt strangely at ease—almost as if she had returned home.
Wasn't this just the same old rule? The strongest one leads.
Only here… they called it something else.
"I challenge you!" She flicked her scorpion braid behind her and pointed straight at Tang San.
"Sure," Tang San agreed without thinking, not even realizing what he had just signed himself up for.
From the side, Chen Ming watched as a familiar scene unfolded.
Distracted—whether by carelessness or something else—Tang San quickly found himself caught off guard. The girl seized the opportunity, and in a swift exchange, he was flipped onto the ground.
A classic moment.
Standing over him, the girl crossed her arms with a proud grin.
"From now on, I'm the boss here. You all call me Sister Xiao Wu."