Volume One: Awakening of the Dragon Soul Chapter 66: Did a Xiao Ming Fall from the Sky?

The airship floated in the sky.

Mo Xing and the others stepped onto the deck through the teleportation gate, only to find Xia Ningxin had already been waiting there for some time.

“Why did you bring a pet?” Mo Xing asked, noticing the little Moonshadow cat cradled in Xia Ningxin’s arms. He was utterly confused. Did they really need to bring a kitten to Dragonfang Island? For a moment, he felt like they were heading off on a vacation.

“Is that not allowed?” Xia Ningxin replied coldly, continuing to stroke the cat’s fur.

“What’s with your tone?” Shi Yan suddenly interjected.

“My normal tone,” replied Xia Ningxin, without even glancing up.

“You…” Shi Yan’s face flushed with anger.

“Me?” Xia Ningxin retorted.

Mo Xing frowned, sensing that something was off between the two. He quickly moved to smooth things over.

“Uh… look, if there’s anything to discuss, let’s just talk it through. No need for a cold war.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all teammates here,” Wu Danche chimed in, having also noticed the tension.

“I don’t consider her a teammate,” Shi Yan pouted, clearly unhappy.

“Oh,” Xia Ningxin replied simply, still caressing the cat.

Mo Xing looked at Shi Yan and Xia Ningxin, silently wiping imaginary sweat from his brow. There must have been some conflict or misunderstanding between these two; otherwise, things wouldn’t be this awkward.

“The school assigned our group three rooms,” Zhang Zhihao, who had been quiet until now, produced three keys from his storage ring. “Let’s divide them up.”

“Two-two-one?” Wu Danche suggested.

“Fine,” Xia Ningxin spoke first, “I’ll take a room alone.”

“That leaves two rooms… three guys, one girl. How do we split it?” Mo Xing scratched his head. This was awkward.

“Shi Yan should have a room to herself as well. The three of us guys can squeeze into the last one,” Zhang Zhihao decided promptly, handing the keys to the two girls.

“If there’s nothing else, let’s all head back to our rooms and rest for now,” he added.

“Alright,” Shi Yan nodded and turned to leave.

“Mm,” Xia Ningxin replied curtly and walked off in another direction.

“Boss… are the three of us really going to cram into one room?” Mo Xing scratched his head.

“Yes,” Zhang Zhihao smiled calmly.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Wu Danche clapped Mo Xing on the shoulder. “Girls have their quarrels. As guys, it’s up to us to make a little sacrifice.”

Zhang Zhihao smiled again. “Besides, would you really feel comfortable sharing a room with a girl?”

“Of course not!” Mo Xing hurried to clarify. “But seriously, this airship is massive, yet there are so few rooms for resting…”

Zhang Zhihao chuckled. “If you’d like, the deck is always an option for you.”

“No, no, no! I’d much rather sleep on the floor in the bedroom than be out on the deck, exposed and on display,” Mo Xing shook his head, picturing himself lying on the deck like a salted fish.

A while later.

“Come on, are you really making me sleep on the floor?” Mo Xing complained after arriving at the room. Zhang Zhihao and Wu Danche had already claimed the bed, each taking half and laying back comfortably, leaving Mo Xing stranded at the door.

“A gentleman’s word is his bond,” Wu Danche said as he took off his jacket and tucked a pillow behind his head, soon snoring.

“Seriously… fell asleep that fast?” Mo Xing was astonished. “Could he be any more dramatic?”

“No one’s perfect; everyone has their flaws,” Zhang Zhihao said with a gentle smile. “Even if he is the top student in our grade.”

“Boss, you’re talking weird today. A bit dark, even… You weren’t like this before…” Mo Xing scratched his head.

“Oh? What was I like before?” Zhang Zhihao smiled.

“You used to be nice to me, so could you maybe make a little room for me on the bed?” Mo Xing pleaded.

“Is that so…” Zhang Zhihao sat up. “Now that you mention it, I do remember…”

“Thank you, boss!” Mo Xing cheered and made a dash for the bed, only to be stopped by Zhang Zhihao, who said,

“The ten days of training I planned for you aren’t over yet. Today, you continue.”

“Huh?” Mo Xing was dumbfounded. What a sudden twist.

“Leaving for Dragonfang Island early messed up our training schedule,” Zhang Zhihao grinned. “You still have one day left—complete the remaining tasks.”

“Finish five days’ worth of training in one day?” Mo Xing thought back to the previous grueling sessions and couldn’t help but shiver. Five days’ worth in one go—what a nightmare!

“With your current progress, I’m afraid your chances of surviving the mission on Dragonfang Island are slim,” Zhang Zhihao shook his head. “Consider it: training or the warm bed?”

“I… I’d better go train,” Mo Xing said with a wry smile.

“Now that’s the spirit,” Zhang Zhihao grinned.

That easygoing smile—Mo Xing now saw it as the smile of a devil.

He really was a devil!

“One, two, three, four!”

“Two, two, three, four!”

On the wide deck, a single black speck moved ceaselessly.

That black speck leaped, ran, jumped up and down, repeating sets of exercises with only subtle variations—never stopping.

It was Mo Xing!

“I train, therefore I am happy,” he muttered, finishing a set of stretches and wiping the sweat from his brow. From the Titan’s Ring, he pulled out a sheet listing training tasks and requirements.

This was what Zhang Zhihao had given him. He had already completed a third of it.

Of course, that was only the first sheet—there were five, six, seven, eight more to go.

A long and arduous road lay ahead; he must strive with all his might!

How miserable!

Even though Zhang Zhihao wasn’t supervising him, he’d been told to train conscientiously and take responsibility for his progress. He didn’t even dare slack off.

He kept wishing for some sudden event—wind, rain, thunder, anything—as long as it meant he could take a break. But nothing happened. Instead, a few senior students came over, glanced at him, remarked on his diligence, and left.

“Hey, you down there! Get out of the way—”

A sudden shout came from above. Mo Xing hurriedly dodged aside just as a man in a black tank top plummeted from the sky like a meteor.

“Grasp of Coldwater!”

Mo Xing instinctively cast his spell, and a massive watery hand formed to catch the falling man.

“Hey, that’s a neat claw!” the newcomer remarked as he landed gently with the help of the watery hand.

“Thanks, brother!” the man grinned.

“You look familiar…” Mo Xing frowned. The man had a close-cropped head of purple-black hair, a black tank top, blue-and-white striped swim shorts, and battered shoes caked with mud. Pale tattoos snaked around his neck and arms. He looked just like a street punk.

“What’s wrong?” the man laughed. “Maybe I just have one of those faces!”

“No, I’m sure I’ve seen you before…” Mo Xing searched his memory. Where had he seen this scruffy guy?

Saint Void Royal Academy? No.

Shopping district? Not that either.

Where, then?

“Oh! I remember!” Mo Xing’s eyes lit up. “Weren’t you the bouncer at the sewer casino? I even tipped you a few gold coins!”

“No, no! You’re mistaken, we’ve never met, really!” The man waved his hands frantically.

“No, I remember clearly! We’ve definitely met,” Mo Xing insisted. This was definitely the bouncer from the underground casino.

“There he is!” a voice called from nearby. Mo Xing turned to see Mentor Su Yunzhou approaching with several senior students, quickly forming a circle around them.

“Damn, come on, that’s not fair!” the man in the tank top looked around in panic.

“Who is this intruder?” asked Su Yunzhou, a purple aura appearing around him.

“I… I came in by accident! Really, it was just an accident!” the man explained.

“Lies! The airship has protective wards; no ordinary person could get in unless they forced their way with violence!” one senior snapped.

“Exactly! Who are you, and what’s your purpose?” another added.

“With the complexity of the air currents and the airship’s speed, anyone who forced their way in must be extraordinary,” another observed.

“Brothers and sisters, it’s a misunderstanding! I really just stumbled in by accident!” The man pointed at Mo Xing. “Ask him if you don’t believe me!”

“Uh?” Mo Xing was completely confused.

“He saw me fall! He can vouch for me!” The man went on, speaking faster and faster.

“We’ve met before!”

“We’re old friends!”

“Right, brother?”

“You’ve got to help clear my name!”

“I’m innocent!”

“You wouldn’t stand by and let them bully me, would you?”

“You wouldn’t, right?”

“So you must help explain for me!”

“Real friends stick together through thick and thin!”

“What is this, some kind of performance?” Mo Xing was stunned, barely having time to process whether he really knew the man. The guy’s mouth was a machine gun, like a total chatterbox!

“Don’t you agree—” The man’s voice abruptly cut off mid-sentence. His mouth kept moving, but no sound came out, as if asking what had happened to his voice.

It was Mentor Su Yunzhou’s “Domain of Silence”!

Even the mentor couldn’t stand him anymore, using a skill to silence this mysterious chatterbox.

Immediately afterward, purple spectral ropes appeared and bound the man tightly, leaving no room for struggle—after all, Su Yunzhou was a figure of the Violet Cauldron rank!

“Search him!” Su Yunzhou ordered.

“Yes!” Several senior students rushed over to pin the man down.

“Ugh, how long has it been since this guy bathed?” one complained, holding his nose.

“He doesn’t even have a storage ring! How broke can you get?” another griped.

Mo Xing watched, feeling a bit sorry for the man. Was he really just a vagrant who wandered onto the airship by mistake? Or an unemployed gambler after the casino shut down?

“Found it!” a student called, holding up a bag of gold coins and a student ID.

“Oh?” Su Yunzhou nodded. “What’s his name? Which school?”

“I don’t recognize this academy…”

“Phantom Violet Academy. Name: Xiao Ming.”

———Chit-chat by the author———
Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone!

The main event of Volume One, “The Forbidden Land of the Dragons,” has officially begun!

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What kind of person do you think Xiao Ming will turn out to be?