Su Ming watched as Oscar stored all his belongings and smiled with satisfaction. "Alright, pack up everything," he said.
Oscar quickly nodded and in no time had placed everything in the dorm into his soul tool. Then, unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked, "Su Ming, what exactly are you planning?"
Su Ming gave a mysterious smile. "You'll see in a moment. Don't you think Shrek Academy's dorms are too small and a bit run down?"
Oscar chuckled bitterly. "That's just how it is. The headmaster is too stingy to give us a better dorm."
But then, Oscar's eyes widened in shock as he came to a bold conclusion. No way!
Soon after, Su Ming and Oscar stepped outside the dorm. Su Ming activated his martial soul and, with a wave of his hand, caused the entire dormitory to disappear.
Then, closing his eyes and focusing, he clasped his hands together and called out, "Wood Release: Three Bedrooms and a Living Room Technique!"
With a loud rumble, thick trees sprouted from the ground, intertwining and growing rapidly. In no time, a brand-new house stood where the old dormitory had been, its size about ten times larger than before—spacious enough for two people to live comfortably.
Oscar stared in disbelief. Can martial souls be used like this? If I helped people build houses, I'd make a fortune!
Su Ming stood proudly. "How about that, pretty impressive, huh? Isn't this new house much better than the old dorm?"
Oscar blinked and then, overjoyed, rushed toward Su Ming. "Brother, you're amazing! You're truly like my own brother!"
Su Ming, however, pushed him away with a look of disgust. "Get off me! You're way too creepy right now. Go shave that scruffy beard of yours."
Oscar sheepishly grinned. "I've been staying inside a lot lately, so I didn't really care about how I looked. I'll shave later."
At that moment, Tang San and the three girls, having heard the commotion outside, came to investigate. From a distance, they saw that Su Ming's dorm had transformed. The new building looked far better and was much larger than before.
Xiao Wu excitedly ran to Su Ming and hugged him. "Brother, what did you do? Where's the old dorm?"
Su Ming pointed to the new house. "This is our new dorm. Want to take a look inside?"
He then glanced at Tang San, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Oscar. "You all want to check it out too?"
They all nodded eagerly.
Inside, they found a living room and three bedrooms. Although the house was still bare and simple, it was already far superior to the old dorm.
Xiao Wu, eyes shining with excitement, exclaimed, "Brother, I had no idea you could do this!"
Su Ming playfully tapped her nose and smiled. "I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve. You'll see more in time."
Ning Rongrong admired the new dorm and commented, "This is a much better place to stay. The original dorms were so small and shabby—I barely had room for my clothes, let alone decorations."
Su Ming responded, "It's just a simple house. It's nothing compared to what you probably have at Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Since your talent and power are so impressive, I'm guessing you're Ning Fengzhi's daughter, right?"
Ning Rongrong smiled subtly but didn't deny it, which said enough.
The girls, however, couldn't help but roll their eyes internally. You already know she's Ning Fengzhi's daughter, so why act surprised?
Tang San, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought, realizing that Ning Rongrong was indeed the daughter of the head of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Xiao Wu tugged at Su Ming's arm, rubbing against him and acting coy. "Brother, can you build one for us too?"
Unable to resist his sister's request, Su Ming agreed immediately. He then turned to Oscar and Tang San. "Oscar, pick a room and move your stuff in. Tang San, you do the same."
After helping Oscar and Tang San, Su Ming followed the three girls to their dorm. Just like before, he made the old dorm disappear and used the "Three Bedrooms and a Living Room" technique to build a new one. This time, he made the living room smaller and the bedrooms larger, knowing that girls would need more space for their belongings.
As for the beds and mattresses, Su Ming had already had Xiao Wu buy them before they arrived at Shrek Academy. She had been confused about the purchase at the time, but now it all made sense—Su Ming had been planning ahead, knowing the dorm conditions would be poor.
Back at Notting Academy, Su Ming hadn't built his own dorm since they were working students and the academy wouldn't allow it. Plus, he had been younger and didn't want to stand out too much. But here, at the edge of the city, there was plenty of open land, so building their own place wasn't an issue.
Once everything was set, Su Ming turned to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing and asked, "By the way, can I ask what your innate soul powers are?"
The three girls had been expecting this question. We knew he'd ask, but not this soon.
Su Ming figured now was the best time to ask. Since they had fought together, it didn't feel too early to inquire.
Ning Rongrong winked playfully at Su Ming and said, "Su Ming, we're all going to be in the same academy from now on, and we've fought together, so just call me Rongrong. And I'm the first person in my clan's history to have full innate soul power!"
"What!" Su Ming was shocked. How is that possible?
Ning Rongrong struggled to hold back her laughter, keeping a straight face. "What's the matter? Is full innate soul power that surprising?"
Su Ming quickly shook his head. "No, it's just that it's so rare. Most people don't have full innate soul power."
Xiao Wu immediately jumped in. "Brother, did you forget? I have full innate soul power too, and so does Tang San. It's not that unusual—we're all special, after all!"
Su Ming nodded helplessly. Of course, Xiao Wu is a 100,000-year-old spirit beast, so it makes sense. Tang San's full power is thanks to the Mysterious Heaven Technique. But Ning Rongrong having full power? That's strange.
Could this world really be a parallel world like the system said? Su Ming wondered.
He turned his gaze to Zhu Zhuqing, hoping she would be more "normal."
Zhu Zhuqing, sensing Su Ming's expectation, calmly said, "You can call me Zhuqing. My innate soul power is level nine."
Su Ming was left speechless. This world is definitely not the same as I remember. Could it really be a parallel world?
"System, say something!" Su Ming shouted in his mind.
[Ding! This world can indeed be considered a parallel world. Some characters may differ from what you know, but the general plot remains the same.]
Hearing this, Su Ming sighed in understanding. So that's how it is.
Meanwhile, the system quietly added to itself: Of course, it's a parallel world. Your presence here changes everything. Only the world without you could be considered the original.
Ning Rongrong curiously asked, "Su Ming, do you have full innate soul power too? Your soul level is so high, after all."
Su Ming froze for a moment before scratching his head awkwardly. "Actually, my innate soul power is lower than yours. I started at level seven."
Ning Rongrong feigned surprise. "Wow, then how did you cultivate so quickly?"
Though Ning Rongrong already knew the truth—Su Ming's soul power had been boosted by the system, and his cultivation speed was accelerated by various techniques—she was teasing him, letting her playful side show.
Su Ming simply smiled mysteriously. "That's a secret. Maybe you'll find out someday."
Ning Rongrong pouted with mock disappointment.
Afterward, Su Ming returned to his new dorm, where he began organizing his room. In reality, all he did was set up a comfortable bed, then he sat down and started writing in his journal.
[I'm shocked. Really shocked. I didn't expect Rongrong and Zhuqing's innate soul powers to be different from what I know.]
The girls weren't surprised to see Su Ming writing in his journal after returning to his dorm. They knew he'd mention the topic.
[I asked them about their soul powers, and they said their innate powers are level ten and level nine. That's completely different from the level nine and level seven I was expecting. Could this really be the parallel world the system mentioned? The system confirmed it, but I'm still a bit skeptical. Part of me doesn't fully believe it.]
[Originally, I didn't plan to ask about their soul powers so soon. After all, we've only just met.]
[But after I used Wood Release to build a new dorm with three bedrooms and a living room, Xiao Wu asked me to build one for her and the others too, so I took the opportunity to ask. It felt like the right time.]
[Tomorrow, if nothing goes wrong, Rongrong will start showing her spoiled nature. Without any real-world experience, she'll likely throw a fit after running, especially when Flender catches her trying to slack off. It'll be harder to ask her anything then.]
In the girls' dorm, the three of them gathered in Xiao Wu's room, chatting together on her large bed.
While reading the journal, Ning Rongrong's face turned bright red in embarrassment. She felt like Su Ming had exposed her for being spoiled, and now she was enduring a "social death."
Xiao Wu teased her. "Rongrong, are you really going to sneak into town tomorrow?"
Rongrong shook her head quickly. "Of course not! I might be influenced by my upbringing, but I'm much more mature than Su Ming thinks. I wouldn't act spoiled like that."
Xiao Wu smirked. "So why did you ask my brother about his soul power when you already knew the answer?"
Rongrong giggled and said, "I just wanted to see how he'd respond. Too bad he just said it was a secret."
Xiao Wu understood. Rongrong might have matured, but the mischievous side of her personality still lingered.
Rongrong waved her hand. "Alright, enough about me. What about Zhuqing? You're engaged to Dai Mubai, right? Can you really accept him?"
Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned bitter. "I don't know what to do. When I arrived, I saw Dai Mubai with twins at the Rose Hotel."
Both girls nodded in sympathy.
Zhu Zhuqing continued, "I had some hope for Dai Mubai, thinking maybe he was just pretending to be reckless to throw off his enemies. But now, I'm completely disappointed."
"I don't want to marry him. To escape my fate, I need to focus on improving my strength. For now, I'll keep my engagement, but I have to get stronger. My family can't stand up to the Star Luo Empire on its own."
Xiao Wu thought about offering her brother's help but held back, knowing Su Ming wasn't strong enough to take on an empire just yet. For now, Zhu Zhuqing's plan was the best option.
Ning Rongrong also wondered whether she should ask her father to help Zhuqing. But offending the Star Luo Empire for Zhu Zhuqing's sake would bring no benefit to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Her father probably wouldn't agree.