Seeing that Oscar had put everything away, Su Ming showed a satisfied smile. "Alright, quickly pack up all your belongings."
Oscar nodded heavily. Moments later, all the items in the dorm had been stored in his spirit tool, prompting him to finally ask, "Su Ming, what exactly are you planning?"
Su Ming smiled mysteriously. "You'll see soon enough. Don't you think the Shrek Academy dorms are small and a bit rundown?"
Oscar chuckled bitterly. "There's nothing we can do about that. The dean is so stingy, he won't even consider improving the dorms."
Suddenly, Oscar looked at Su Ming with a shocked expression as a bold thought crossed his mind. No way…
Before long, Su Ming and Oscar had stepped outside the dorm. Su Ming released his martial spirit, enveloping the entire dorm with his power, and with a simple gesture, made the building disappear.
Closing his eyes tightly, Su Ming visualized the ideal interior for the dorm. Then, placing his palms together, he shouted, "Wood-Style: Three-Room, One-Hall Technique!"
Boom!
Massive trees erupted from the ground, intertwining and forming a large structure. Moments later, a brand-new house, approximately ten times the size of the original dorm, appeared where the old building once stood. With ample space for two people, the area, already sparsely populated, now boasted an impressive wooden house.
Oscar's eyes widened in disbelief. So you could use martial spirits for something like this? If he went into the construction business, wouldn't he make a fortune?
Su Ming looked proudly at Oscar. "Well? Impressed? Doesn't this beat the old dorm by a mile?"
Oscar's eyes sparkled as he stared at Su Ming, and he pounced forward. "Bro, you're amazing! You're a real lifesaver!"
Su Ming waved him off in distaste. "Get off me! You're way too scruffy like this. Go shave that beard, will you?"
Oscar chuckled. "It's not like I go out much, so I don't really care about appearances. I'll shave later."
The commotion and Oscar's shout had piqued the curiosity of the others, so the three girls and Tang San soon stepped outside.
From a distance, they could see the dorm had transformed completely. The exterior looked far more appealing, and it covered a much larger area.
Xiao Wu ran up to Su Ming in excitement, hugging him as she looked on in shock. "Bro, what did you do? Where's the old dorm?"
Su Ming pointed to the new house in front of them. "This is our new dorm. Wanna go inside and take a look?"
Turning to Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Tang San beside Oscar, he asked, "Would you all like to go in and check it out, too?"
Everyone nodded eagerly.
Inside, they found a spacious living room and three bedrooms. Though empty and plain, it was already leagues better than the old dorm.
Xiao Wu exclaimed with excitement, "Bro, I had no idea you could do this!"
Su Ming playfully tapped her nose and smiled. "I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve. You'll see more of them soon enough."
Ning Rongrong admired the setup. "Using a place like this as a dorm is really nice. The dorms the academy assigned us are so cramped and shabby. I barely have room for my clothes, let alone any decorations."
Su Ming shrugged. "This house is alright, I guess. I'm sure it's nothing compared to your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's standards. Given your talent and strength, I'd imagine your position there is quite high. I'm guessing you're Ning Fengzhi's daughter, right?"
Ning Rongrong smiled slightly in response, which confirmed it without a word.
The three girls couldn't help but feel exasperated internally. He clearly already knew Ning Rongrong's identity but still wanted to put on a show.
Upon hearing Ning Rongrong was the daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's master, Tang San's mind began to spin with new ideas.
Xiao Wu tugged on Su Ming's arm and pouted playfully. "Bro, can you make one for us too?"
Su Ming couldn't say no to her and agreed on the spot. Then, he turned to Oscar and Tang San. "Oscar, pick a room and start putting your stuff in. Tang San, you too."
Then, Su Ming followed the three girls to their dorm. Predictably, he made the building vanish first, then used the Three-Room, One-Hall Technique again. This time, he made the living room smaller and the bedrooms larger, knowing the girls would have more things to store.
As for new beds and mattresses, Su Ming had already asked Xiao Wu to purchase those before they came to Shrek Academy. Xiao Wu had been puzzled at the time, but now she understood—Su Ming had been planning ahead.
He knew the dorm conditions here weren't great.
Su Ming recalled how back at Notting Academy, as work-study students, they had to share a crowded dorm. Building his own place back then wouldn't have been allowed, and he hadn't wanted to draw too much attention at a young age. But here at Shrek, located in a rural area with plenty of unused land, building was no problem.
After everything was done, Su Ming couldn't help but turn to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, asking, "So, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, can I ask what your innate spirit power levels are?"
The three girls exchanged a knowing glance. They figured Su Ming would ask, but not so soon.
Su Ming thought it was the perfect time to ask. They had already fought together, and it felt natural.
Knowing Ning Rongrong's graceful and poised demeanor, Su Ming figured it would be more awkward to ask tomorrow when Flender would have her and Oscar run laps, which was bound to set off her temper.
Ning Rongrong batted her eyes at Su Ming, laughing playfully. "Su Ming, we're classmates now and we've fought together, so just call me Rongrong. And for the record, I'm the first person in the clan's history with innate full spirit power!"
"What!"
Su Ming was taken aback. How was that possible?
Seeing his shocked expression, Ning Rongrong struggled to hold back her laughter, instead feigning an innocent look. "What's wrong? Is innate full spirit power that surprising?"
Su Ming quickly shook his head. "No, it's just… a bit shocking, that's all. It's rare to meet someone with innate full spirit power."
Xiao Wu jumped in immediately, countering, "Bro, did you forget? I have innate full spirit power, and so does Tang San. It's no big deal; we're all little monsters, after all!"
Su Ming could only nod in resignation. Xiao Wu's innate full spirit power made sense, given she was a 100,000-year spirit beast in human form, and Tang San's full spirit power was understandable thanks to his Mysterious Heaven Skill. But Ning Rongrong's innate full spirit power was… unexpected!
Could this world really be a parallel world, just as the system had hinted?
No, no, no. This could just be a fluke with Ning Rongrong; it doesn't prove anything definitive. There was still Zhu Zhuqing to consider.
With a hopeful expression, Su Ming turned to Zhu Zhuqing, silently hoping she would be "normal."
Su Ming glanced over at Zhu Zhuqing, who spoke up with her calm voice, "You can just call me Zhu Qing. My innate soul power is level nine."
At this, Su Ming was left speechless, unsure of what to say. Things weren't quite turning out as he expected; maybe this was really a parallel world?
"System, say something!" Su Ming called out internally.
[Ding! Indeed, this world can be considered a parallel one. The characters here may differ slightly from what you know, though the overall storyline remains mostly unchanged.]
Hearing this, Su Ming nodded to himself. So that's how it was.
At this moment, the system silently added a thought to itself: Of course, with your presence, this world is already a parallel version. Only the world without you would be the real original.
On the side, Ning Rongrong, full of curiosity, asked, "Su Ming, does that mean your innate soul power is also full level? Otherwise, how could your power level be so high?"
Su Ming stiffened at her question, scratched his head, and replied, "Actually, my innate soul power is lower than all of yours—only level seven."
Ning Rongrong looked 'shocked,' exclaiming, "Huh? Then how did you cultivate so fast?"
Of course, Ning Rongrong knew the reason. Su Ming's original soul power was indeed only level seven, but the system raised it to level ten, and combined with the double or triple speed bonus from his cultivation technique, his cultivation speed naturally soared, equivalent to the cultivation speed of someone at innate level twenty.
As for why she asked anyway, Ning Rongrong simply wanted to see how Su Ming would respond. It was perhaps her mischievous side acting up, just a bit playful.
Su Ming shot her a mysterious smile. "Well, that's my little secret. Maybe you'll find out someday."
Ning Rongrong put on a 'disappointed' expression.
Afterward, Su Ming returned to his new dorm room, and everyone started organizing their spaces.
In reality, organizing just meant putting a soft, comfortable bed in the room. Once that was done, Su Ming resumed writing in his daily journal.
[Shock—complete shock! I didn't expect Rongrong and Zhuqing's innate soul powers to differ from what I knew.]
Seeing that Su Ming had immediately started journaling after returning, the two girls weren't surprised.
And sharp-eyed as they were, they noticed the small change in Su Ming's journal—he was now calling Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing by their first names, indicating that their relationship had become closer.
Since Su Ming had closed the live stream after the fight with Zhao Wuji, they didn't know what had happened afterward.
[I just asked both of them, and they said their innate soul powers were level ten and level nine, respectively. This is completely different from the level nine and level seven I knew. Could this really be the parallel world the system mentioned? The system did confirm it, but I still have some doubts—I guess you could say I don't quite believe it!]
System: If you don't believe me, why ask in the first place?
[I hadn't intended to ask about Rongrong and Zhuqing's soul powers so early, especially since we just met yesterday.]
[But after using my Wood Release to create a three-bedroom setup, Xiao Wu asked me to make the same for her and her roommates, so I took the chance to ask about it.]
[This timing seemed perfect; after all, if things go as expected, Rongrong's mischievous side will start to show tomorrow. Without life experience to temper her, she'll likely lose her temper and point fingers at Flender after he calls her out for slacking. It'd be hard to bring it up then.]
Meanwhile, in the girls' dormitory…
The three girls quickly set up their rooms and gathered in Xiao Wu's room, where she had a bed stored in her Soul Guidance Device. Fortunately, it was big enough for all three of them to hang out and chat.
While reading Su Ming's journal together, they noticed him calling out Ning Rongrong, making her blush furiously as she became the topic of his notes in front of the others—utter social embarrassment!
Xiao Wu teased, "Rongrong, are you really planning to sneak into the city tomorrow?"
Rongrong shook her head. "Of course not. While my personality has been influenced by my family background, I'm way more mature now than what Su Ming wrote. I wouldn't do anything that reckless!"
Xiao Wu seemed to realize something. "Rongrong, why did you ask about my brother's soul power earlier? Isn't that a question you already knew the answer to?"
Ning Rongrong blinked innocently. "I just wanted to see how Su Ming would respond, but he kept it a secret—such a shame."
Xiao Wu nodded in understanding. Although Rongrong wasn't as spoiled as Su Ming described, she still had that playful spirit.
"Alright, enough about me. I'm embarrassed enough! Let's talk about Zhuqing," Ning Rongrong said, lowering her voice. "Aren't you engaged to Dai Mubai? Can you really accept him?"
Zhu Zhuqing sighed. "I don't even know. You both saw him going to the Rose Hotel with twins right after I arrived."
Both Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong nodded in sympathy.
Zhu Zhuqing paused, then continued, "I once held onto a shred of hope that maybe he came to the Heaven Dou Empire to deceive others and gain the upper hand later. But his behavior was just too disappointing."
"I don't want to be engaged to Dai Mubai. To escape my fate, I just want to focus on cultivating and getting stronger. As for him… until I'm strong enough, I'll just have to keep him at a distance. Our Zhu family can't openly defy the Star Luo royal family."
Xiao Wu wanted to say that she could ask her brother for help, but realizing that Su Ming wasn't powerful enough to go against an entire empire, she held back. For now, distancing herself from Dai Mubai and focusing on cultivation seemed like the best option.
Ning Rongrong thought about suggesting her father help Zhuqing, but knowing that as the head of a sect, he wouldn't risk offending an empire without substantial benefit, she knew it wouldn't be feasible.
[T/N:
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