The line was orderly, and Xiao Wu's eyes were fixed tightly on the few who had spoken arrogantly earlier.
While waiting for the group to prepare to pay, Xiao Wu's hand, as white as scallion stalks, subconsciously clenched the edge of her clothes.
The cashier was a middle-aged lady who looked to weigh over two hundred jin (about 100 kg). She was very experienced and could quote prices just by glancing at the students' meals.
"One silver Soul Coin!"
The young student looked back at Wang Sheng and the others and laughed loudly: "Only one silver Soul Coin? That's way too cheap. I guess some poor ghosts will never be able to afford it!"
The cashier shouted impatiently: "Hurry up with the money, why are you shouting? Don't you see there are many people still lining up behind you?"
Her roar was like a fierce lioness from the Hedong region, immediately scaring the student into turning back and reaching into his money pouch.
"Huh? How can this be? I clearly remember having eighteen silver Soul Coins?" Tang Wei doubted himself, took off his money pouch, and turned it upside down.
But the result was, not a single silver Soul Coin inside.
The cashier's face grew even more fierce: "Do you even have money? Or are you trying to freeload? The academy hasn't tolerated this for years!"
Tang Wei had no choice but to say to a thin classmate behind him: "Lu Wu, lend me one silver Soul Coin first. I'll pay you back tomorrow."
"Okay." Lu Wu replied, reaching into his pocket, but found nothing.
"Strange!" Lu Wu said, incredulously checking his other pockets but still found no coins.
"It's no good, Wei-ge, I don't have any money either." Lu Wu said awkwardly.
Another student nearby panicked as well: "Wei-ge, my money is gone too."
"How can this be?" Tang Wei looked toward Wang Sheng and his group: "Did you guys steal our money? How else could you poor students afford to eat upstairs?"
The cashier immediately slapped Tang Wei a loud one: "Are you blind? They came later and stood three meters away from you. How could they steal from you? Do you even have money?"
Tang Wei spun around from the slap, stars flashing in his eyes.
Two noble students nearby saw the painful result and glumly looked at the cashier.
They were out of money too...
The cashier put down her tray coldly: "You three, go to the kitchen and wash dishes. When you're done, then you can eat."
With empty pockets, the few had no choice but to obediently head toward the kitchen.
This cashier was the director's sister-in-law with strong connections — no one dared to offend her.
Thinking about washing dishes for over three hundred people, they all silently groaned: what a pain...
The working students watching were thoroughly pleased, their pent-up frustrations completely swept away.
Especially Xiao Wu, who was very happy to see the cashier slap the student until half his face was swollen.
After paying, Xiao Yan, Xiao Wu, and Wang Sheng sat in a corner while the other working students sat at a nearby table.
Xiao Wu quietly asked: "How did you do that? I didn't even see clearly."
"Secret."Xiao Yan smiled.
The strongest skill of the Tang Sect wasn't hidden weapons, but lightness skills.
He had practiced the Ghost Shadow Footwork for four or five years, moving so fast no one in the entire cafeteria could detect him.
Although Wang Sheng suspected Xiao Yan might be behind it, hearing the truth still shocked him.
It was truly unbelievable — he hadn't seen any movement from Xiao Yan, which only made him respect their leader more.
Xiao Yan looked up at Wang Sheng and asked: "Wang Sheng, do you know how soul master subsidies are obtained?"
"Soul master subsidies?"Wang Sheng thought for a moment, "You need to go to the Soul Hall for that. If you become a soul master, you get a monthly subsidy of one gold Soul Coin. If you become a great soul master, then you get ten gold Soul Coins monthly."
By the end, Wang Sheng's eyes were filled with longing and admiration.
It was easy to understand — one gold Soul Coin was enough to support a common family for a whole year.
Xiao Yan nodded, made a mental note, and started eating.
These soul master subsidies were indeed good; he planned to visit the Soul Hall soon.
After Da Shi (the big "master" — nickname for Yu Xiaogang) got up, Xiao Yan ate the last bits of braised pork and left the cafeteria.
On the way, he discreetly slipped some coins under those students' trays.
His action was only to teach those students a lesson, so they wouldn't be too arrogant in the future — it was not to steal money opportunistically.
Now, he was even more curious what tricks this twenty-nine-level great soul master could pull.
Outside the cafeteria, Xiao Yan quickly found Da Shi.
Beside Da Shi stood a middle-aged man of similar age.
The man wore a long robe and looked more handsome than Da Shi, with a slightly protruding chin and a gentle smile.
Using his Purple Extreme Demon Eye, Xiao Yan scanned him and was surprised to find the man's strength was not weak.
Though not as strong as Xiao Yan, he was much stronger than Da Shi.
"Is this the disciple you want to recruit?" the middle-aged man asked.
Yu Xiaogang nodded.
The man patted his shoulder: "Alright, I wish you success. I'll leave first."
After speaking, he glanced at Xiao Yan then walked in another direction.
"Let's go, Xiao Yan."Yu Xiaogang said looking at Xiao Yan approaching.
Da Shi's place was a small room in the corner of the top floor of the dormitory building, about thirty square meters.
Inside, things were simple, with two walls covered by bookshelves, which caught Xiao Yan's attention.
Books weren't cheap, even in modern times.
For Da Shi to collect so many, he must be wealthy.
"You actually invited working students to eat upstairs; that must have cost quite a bit."Yu Xiaogang looked at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan said calmly: "Not bad, I have some savings."
Yu Xiaogang suddenly changed the subject and asked: "You're six years old with full innate soul power and twin martial souls. Let me see your other martial soul; it's just the two of us here."
Xiao Yan was clear-headed: "Da Shi, I think you're mistaken. I'm not some twin martial soul; I only have a useless Blue Silver Grass."
Yu Xiaogang sighed regretfully inside. When a person is well-fed, their psychological defenses should be low. He had talked about something else first and then brought up the twin martial soul issue, but Xiao Yan still didn't lower his guard.
"Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and classes start the day after. But for you, it's just a waste of time. The urgent matter now is to help your martial soul continue to advance.
After meeting you, I've thought it over carefully. Tomorrow morning, you'll leave the academy with me. I'll take you to find a suitable soul ring to advance you to the soul master level. You won't refuse, will you?"
Keep training? Xiao Yan smiled inside — he could always keep training, and breaking through a bottleneck might be a lifetime event.
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(End of Chapter)