Qin Meng arrived at his room, room number ten, with a thick book inside his spatial ring and a dejected expression on his face. He wondered how many years would it take to grind everything inside it, or whether he could do it at all. He found his roommates chatting excitedly about something, but as soon as he entered the room, they fell silent and started to look here and there.
"What?" asked Qin Meng, staring at them suspiciously.
"You are here, boss." Yan Yunjie was the first to react. "We were discussing about something just now."
Qin Meng eyed his roommates and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, let's hear about it," said Qin Meng and then fell on his bed that was lying in one corner of the room.
"Boss," said Yan Yunjie, "do you know about the factions among the new students?"
"What factions?" asked Qin Meng, still gaping lazily at the fatty.
"There are four factions," Yan Yunjie began. "Yu Cheng has formed Trusted Veterans, and he is called Faction Lord. The Faithful League's leader is League Master Tan Qi, and Profane Devils are led by Devil Lord He Chen."
As soon as Yan Yunjie started to name the factions, Qin Meng was completely dumbfounded. How shameless can these students be? Don't they have any shame? He eyed Yan Yunjie and asked, "Academy has no problem with this? I mean, look at those overly arrogant names."
"Why'd the academy prohibit them?" Yan Yunjie rolled his eyes. "On the other hand, the academy encourages students to form their factions. It would create a competitive atmosphere, and students would learn to work in groups. Fight together, retreat together, strike back together. There are all kinds of missions that need group cooperation. Not many could complete them alone. With factions, it will be easier to form groups."
Qin Meng's eyes flashed and nodded in approval. Then he frowned and asked, "Didn't you say there were four factions? What about the last one?"
"Oh, the last one, hehe." Yan Yunjie scratched his head embarrassedly.
"What?"
"The fourth faction is called Domineering Thugs, and..." Yan Yunjie stared at his two companions, who were looking at him like their leader and turned towards Qin Meng.
"And?" asked Qin Meng.
"…and you are the Boss of the Domineering Thugs, and the members of our faction call you Boss Qin Meng."
"..." Qin Meng.
He gawked at Yan Yunjie for a whole minute and then took a deep breath before asking, "Who was the first to come up with the idea of faction, and who was the one to name it?"
Wu Hui and Zeng Hong took not even a second to point their fingers at poor Yan Yunjie. "You traitors!" he shouted.
Before he could vent his anger on Wu Hui and Zeng Hong, a kick smashed his butt, and soon the screams filled the room. Wu Hui and Zeng Hong watched the live show and couldn't help but shiver, looking at the miserable fate of fatty.
Qin Meng stopped when his hands started to hurt. He wiped the sweat off his temples and cursed, "Damn, why is your skin so thick?"
He looked at the fatty who had climbed to his feet while grinning and was completely speechless. This guy was shameless. Qin Meng knew that all the screaming was just a drama. He didn't use any cultivation, and even if he had, it'd make no difference. Yan Yunjie's cultivation was higher than his. He had just entered the 2nd Motif Stage, but Yan Yunjie might be already at the 5th or even 6th stage.
He sighed and asked, "You know why I beat you up?"
"Because we formed a faction without telling you?" said Yan Yunjie with some uncertainty.
"No," Qin Meng shook his head. "Because of the faction's name, you dolt. Do I look like a thug to you?" Qin Meng was really furious about it. This guy has ruined his image even before he could make one.
"Come on, boss," said Yan Yunjie. "Isn't the name of our faction pretty cool?"
"Cool, my ass. Change it to something decent."
"But we can't change it," said Yan Yunjie, not daring to look into his eyes.
"Why?" The grounding sound of his teeth could be heard.
"W-we have already registered its name in the academy records, and it can't be changed."
Qin Meng stared at Yan Yunjie for a moment and then turned toward Wu Hui and Zeng Hong. "Help me beat him up."
Wu Hui and Zeng Hong exchanged glances and then grinned. "You…" Yan Yunjie left speechless, spotting them rubbing their hands eagerly. That shining light in their eyes was enough to send a creeping chill through his spine.
Soon, the agonized shrieks, mixed with curses, sobbing and begging, once more played. After fifteen minutes, Wu Hui and Zeng Hong left Yan Yunjie on the ground with satisfied expressions. Yan Yunjie stumbled to his feet and pointed towards his former companions (now turned traitors) who had transformed his face black and blue, and beaten his butt into a different shape. "You…" But nothing else came out of his mouth.
"Anyway," said Qin Meng and eyed the swollen face of his roommate. "I'm making you second-in-command. I won't have much time to care about the faction, as I need to prepare for the upcoming competition."
"Don't worry, boss," Yan Yunjie patted his chest excitedly; he groaned as the pain intensified, and glared at his two companions before saying to Qin Meng, "We just need to use the name of sister-in-law, and no one would dare to make trouble for us. It's too easy to intimidate new students. Not even Yu Cheng would dare to make trouble for us."
"What did you say?" Qin Meng's face suddenly turned cold. This drastic change shocked Yan Yunjie and two other of his companions. Qin Meng eyed them one by one and said, "Never ever use Leng Yueyan's name to solve the problems of the faction. Am I clear?"
"Yes." The trio gulped down a mouthful of saliva and felt a cold sweat gathering behind their backs.
"Good," nodded Qin Meng. "Remember that, always — if I hear someone trash-talking about Leng Yueyan because of you, it won't be good for you."
And then he sauntered out of the room.
It was silent for a moment, and then Yan Yunjie said, "Hey, guys, don't you think Boss's personality matches the name of our faction pretty well?"
Wu Hui and Zeng Hong blinked at him, and then all of them burst into a peal of laughter.