The Nuoding Academy Canteen stood on the east side of the academy complex, a spacious two-story building. The first floor served as the domain for regular students and staff, filled with rows of simple, sturdy wooden tables. Raucous student chatter filled the air, accompanied by the aroma of home-cooked meals wafting from behind the service counter.
The second floor, meanwhile, offered a tranquil, luxurious atmosphere, with a high-quality menu priced only for noble families or those with excess gold soul coins.
We, of course, remained relegated to the first floor. Wang Sheng, the former leader of the working students, led us to a service window serving the most economical daily menu. He ordered several portions of warm white rice topped with stir-fried mustard greens and fried tofu.
I smiled at the simple meal. Although not luxurious, food like this brought back memories. Had my parents heard news of my death?
"Hey, Tang San, what are you thinking about?"
Xiao Wu's cheerful voice shattered my reverie. She leaned toward me, her large, round eyes staring full of curiosity.
"Why do you look so sad? If you don't like this food, you can give it to me!" she said, grinning. She didn't wait for a response; her small hand snatched the tofu from my plate and devoured it in an instant.
The corner of my lips twitched. I stared at her plate, already clean without a scrap left.
"This rabbit is a glutton!" I muttered, shaking my head. "If you want it, eat it." I pushed my bowl toward her.
"Humph! Who are you calling a gluttonous rabbit!" Xiao Wu retorted, looking offended, yet her hands nimbly pulled the bowl closer. Her face beamed. "If you hadn't called me Boss, I would have beaten you up again!"
She clenched her small fist, her cheeks puffing out like a steamed bun.
Before I could retort, a loud voice sounded from behind us.
"Look at what these beggars are eating."
A cynical voice echoed, followed by the laughter of several people.
A neatly dressed young man with a shiny academy emblem stood nearby. His gaze swept over our table with unconcealed disgust. Liu Long. If my memory served me right, he was the son of the City Lord of Nuoding. His clean, crisp uniform contrasted sharply with our simple, patched work clothes.
"Wilted vegetables and bland tofu? Even the dogs at my house wouldn't deign to touch such garbage," he continued, crossing his arms over his chest. A sneer adorned his face. "Only trash eats trash."
Laughter erupted from the children around us. The other working students lowered their heads, shoulders trembling, not daring to lift their faces before the son of the city ruler.
Xiao Wu prepared to jump from her seat, but my hand held her back. I stood slowly and walked toward Liu Long. I kept my steps calm, but each footfall felt heavy amidst the spreading silence. The gaze of the entire canteen followed me. Xiao Wu and Wang Sheng hurried behind me.
Liu Long looked at me with his chin raised. "What do you want?" he asked, mocking.
I didn't answer. My lips only curled into a faint smile.
Slap!
My palm landed hard on his cheek. The sound of the slap echoed through the room, sharp and painful. Liu Long's head jerked to the side, his body stumbling backward.
Dead silence fell over the canteen.
"You! How dare you slap me!" Liu Long screamed, clutching his cheek, now turning a deep red. His eyes widened, a mixture of shock and fury.
"I've wanted to slap someone for a long time. You were just unlucky," I said flatly. I took out a handkerchief—my Shroud transformed—and wiped my hand slowly, as if I had just touched something disgusting.
Liu Long's face turned purple with rage. Veins bulged in his neck. "You!!"
Perhaps never in his entire life had he suffered such public humiliation. He shoved his followers aside and lunged at me. His right hand shone with blue light. A long wooden Staff manifested in his grip.
"Die!" he screamed. The staff whizzed through the air, aimed straight at my head.
Killing just because of a slap?
Whether he was overly pampered or this world was simply cruel, the strong could kill without consequence.
I clicked my tongue.
I didn't dodge. I stepped forward, cutting the distance. My left hand moved as fast as lightning, gripping his neck before the staff could fully descend.
My grip tightened.
I twisted my waist, using his own momentum, and slammed him to the floor.
Thud!
The wooden floor vibrated. Liu Long coughed. Before he could process the pain, my foot landed on his chest, compressing his lungs until he gasped for breath. Casually, I snatched the staff from his hand and threw it at his followers who tried to advance.
Blue-gold light radiated around me. Blue Silver Grass, fused with the Shroud Flora, shot out. No longer the dim blue of a common weed, this grass emitted an elegant, metallic golden sheen.
The plant wrapped around Liu Long's body like a python, binding his hands and feet in an instant.
It all happened in seconds. By the time the spectators realized it, Liu Long lay helpless beneath my foot. His followers panicked and tried to gang up on me, but my Blue Silver Grass moved as if it possessed a consciousness of its own. The golden tendrils whipped and entangled them one by one, dropping them to the floor without significant resistance.
"Tang San, you're amazing!" Xiao Wu exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Has he already obtained a Spirit Ring?" Wang Sheng whispered, his tone full of disbelief. Blue Silver Grass was supposed to be a trash Martial Soul, but this speed and power made no sense for a Spirit Scholar.
"What is happening here?!"
A baritone voice full of authority boomed from the entrance.
A middle-aged man in a teacher's uniform stepped in. A powerful aura of Spirit Power radiated from him, suppressing the surrounding air. His sharp eyes swept the room, stopping on me, then on Liu Long who lay bound.
"Release them!" he ordered. His voice remained calm but contained suppressed anger. "And you, explain what happened here!"
His gaze made it clear he had already judged me guilty before hearing a single word. Social class bias was real.
"Alright, but he has to apologize to us first," I answered calmly.
The teacher's eyes widened. He hadn't expected a working student to dare bargain. "You dare defy me!" he snapped. He took a step forward. The pressure of Spirit Power exploded from his body, slamming into me like a tidal wave. Other students retreated in fear, their faces pale.
But I remained standing tall. This pressure was nothing.
"Who do you think you are to fight a teacher!" He raised his right hand, ready to give physical punishment.
"My name is Tang San."
The teacher's hand froze in the air.
"Tang San? The Grandmaster's disciple?" His tone changed drastically, from angry to hesitant.
Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang might be considered trash by many, but he was the Principal's friend and came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Even the City Lord would have to think twice before offending him.
"Um, yes. Can you explain what happened?" the teacher asked, his voice softening, an awkward smile plastered on his face.
"Of course. I am sure the wise Teacher will see who is right and wrong after hearing the chronology," I said politely, though my foot still pressed on Liu Long's chest.
The teacher tried to maintain his smile, though the corner of his eye twitched. "Alright, I'm listening."
"So, this morning I woke up while still in the middle of a beautiful dream..." I began my story in a slow, long-winded tone, as if telling a bedtime story to a toddler.
Silence. The teacher and the entire canteen stared at me in confusion.
"Stop, stop! Why are you explaining how you woke up this morning?" the teacher interrupted, his patience wearing thin. "I want to hear about the incident here! Not your daily diary!"
"What? Why didn't you say so earlier!" I slapped my forehead, pretending to just realize. "Alright. So yesterday, very early in the morning when the roosters hadn't even crowed, Grandpa Jack and I had just arrived at the city gates..."
The faces of the spectators turned strange. They began to realize I was toying with the situation. The teacher's face slowly turned pale, his blood boiling but he couldn't explode due to my status as the Grandmaster's disciple.
I continued to ramble, stalling for time, enjoying every second of the frustrated expression on his face. Just as my story reached the part about the academy gates, the system notification sound I had waited for finally chimed.
[Obtained 6 Credits]
A wide smile bloomed on my face.
The teacher's face twitched uncontrollably, as if he had just swallowed a fly.
"Enough," he cut in sharply, giving up. He massaged his temples. "That kid will apologize to you all. Just let them go." His tone sounded weary, like a man who had lost his zest for life.
This time I didn't refuse. I had achieved my goal.
I retracted the Blue Silver Grass. The golden tendrils shrank and vanished.