At the breakfast table, chaos reigned as usual.
“Mother! You put salt instead of sugar in the buns again!” Xiao Rui yelped, spitting out his bite dramatically.
Madam Bai waved the ladle threateningly.
“Be grateful you have food to eat! In my day, we didn't dare complain about a meal!”
Xiao Ren, sitting at the head of the table with his newspaper, cleared his throat.
“That’s because you burned all your attempts at cooking when we first married.”
Madam Bai’s face turned red. “You—! Don't think I won’t pour porridge on your head, Old Man!”
The younger maidservants nearby stifled their laughter behind their hands.
Xiao Zhan, sitting properly across from them, couldn’t help but let out a rare chuckle.
It was genuine, soft, almost vulnerable.
"You’re all... lively," he said quietly, smiling.
Xiao Rui leaned over and nudged him.
"Lively? Bro, we’re an action movie every breakfast."
"You mean comedy," Xiao Zhan replied dryly.
Another explosion of laughter.
And amidst it, Xiao Zhan felt his chest tighten again.
A strange, aching warmth.
In the worlds he had known before—of bloodshed and betrayal, sterile labs and lonely nights—such moments were rare.
Precious.
"I will protect this," he thought with conviction.
"No matter what comes, I won't let anything harm this family."
Unlike the scheming noble families he had encountered before, the Xiao family was refreshingly real.
There was teasing, shouting, a little bickering—but no hidden knives behind smiles.
Even more so, Xiao Zhan had recently learned that his grandfather, Xiao Wutian, had once been a Grandmaster of great fame.
A legend among martial artists, who had now retired quietly, content to watch over his descendants.
The blood of warriors flowed here.
And it flowed strong.
Standing before the gates of Danghai Metropolitan University, Xiao Zhan was momentarily still.
Massive stone lions flanked the entrance, carved so finely that their fur seemed to ripple.
The sprawling campus beyond combined ancient traditional architecture—curved roofs, dragon carvings—with cutting-edge modern buildings.
A testament to its heritage.
And its hidden power.
Rumors whispered that powerful sects and aristocratic families funded the university secretly.
A training ground for both ordinary scholars and future martial elites.
Xiao Zhan walked in, his simple yet elegant attire drawing quiet attention.
He wore a fitted white shirt, slim black trousers, and a dark-gray jacket.
No flashy brands.
No ostentatious jewelry.
Yet the way he moved—smooth, sharp, balanced—made even the seasoned martial arts students take notice.
"Who’s that?"
"Look at that aura…"
"Maybe some young master from the capital?"
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Meanwhile, in the shadows, several figures hidden among the crowd observed him carefully.
There was a pressure about him.
Subtle but oppressive.
Like a blade sheathed in silk.
Just as Xiao Zhan finished his registration papers, a loud voice called out:
"Hey, freshman! You look lost!"
Turning, Xiao Zhan faced a tiny girl with short bobbed hair, large glasses, and a university jacket that practically swallowed her whole.
"I'm Xu Yan! Sophomore! Guide Extraordinaire!" she beamed.
Before Xiao Zhan could react, she grabbed his wrist firmly.
"Come on, I'll show you the dorms!"
He hesitated, utterly thrown off by her sheer enthusiasm.
"...Thank you," he said stiffly, allowing her to pull him along.
As they walked, Xu Yan rattled off facts:
"Dormitory C is a bit older, but don’t worry, it's sturdy! The best cafeteria is next to Building D! Oh, and don't ever use the public showers at 7 PM unless you want to die of waiting!"
Xiao Zhan, who had fought armies and monsters, found himself struggling to keep pace with one hyperactive girl.
At one point, Xu Yan turned around and leaned close, peering up at him.
"You’re really stiff, you know that? You act like an ancient grandpa!"
"...Habit," Xiao Zhan replied honestly.
Xu Yan laughed so hard she almost tripped over her own feet.
"I like you, Grandpa!"
"...I'm 20," Xiao Zhan said with a sigh.
"Exactly! Grandpa age!" she teased mercilessly.
He rubbed his temple.
Maybe facing demon beasts was easier than this.
His dormitory was modest but clean, walls painted a dull cream with sturdy bunk beds.
Three other boys shared the space:
-
Wang Jun: Short, round, and eternally snacking.
-
Li Heng: Lanky, bright-eyed, a gossip collector of martial arts rumors.
-
Zhao Qi: Tall, thin, perpetually serious behind square glasses.
Upon seeing Xiao Zhan walk in, Wang Jun immediately threw a chip at him.
"Oi, new guy! You’re too handsome! Stand over there, you're killing our morale!"
Xiao Zhan calmly caught the chip mid-air and placed it on Wang Jun’s desk.
"Here. You dropped it."
The dorm erupted into hoots of laughter.
"Bro's got skills!" Li Heng laughed, clapping.
As they settled in, Li Heng peeked at Xiao Zhan’s registration card.
"Xiao Zhan, huh? ...Wait. Xiao?" He leaned closer. "As in that Xiao family from Danghai?"
Zhao Qi adjusted his glasses thoughtfully.
"If you are, you’re pretty low-key about it."
Wang Jun whistled. "Damn, we’re rooming with royalty?"
Xiao Zhan gave a mild shrug, expression unreadable.
"Just a coincidence. Common surname," he said lightly.
The boys exchanged glances, then shrugged.
"Eh, fair enough," Wang Jun said, returning to his chips.
Xiao Zhan hid a faint smile.
"No need to drag the family's reputation here," he thought. "I want to build myself without leaning on anyone else."
Thanks to Li Heng's endless chatter, Xiao Zhan learned about the important figures on campus:
-
Dean Huang, the mysterious and powerful head of Martial Studies, known for defeating a rogue Grandmaster bare-handed.
-
Vice-Chancellor Tang, a former elite scholar with rumored sect ties.
-
Yue Qianqian, the top beauty and the university’s martial genius, chased by a dozen young masters.
"You gotta stay away from that one," Wang Jun said wisely, munching.
"People get hospitalized for just looking at her wrong."
"And she doesn’t like pretty boys anyway," Li Heng teased.
Xiao Zhan sipped his tea calmly.
"I’m here to cultivate and study," he said.
Li Heng gasped theatrically.
"A man of virtue! An endangered species!"
Wang Jun wiped fake tears.
"Protect him at all costs!"
That night, Xiao Zhan walked to a secluded park behind the university.
The moon hung low, silvering the grass and trees.
He stood shirtless under a great banyan tree, letting the cool air lick his skin.
His muscles had grown denser—compact, coiled like a predator ready to spring.
His hair had lengthened slightly, flowing past his ears, the same as his warrior life.
"I’m almost back to Mortal Level..." he thought, feeling the Qi swirl inside him like a thin mist.
He exhaled, stepped forward, and struck.
A low rock exploded under his palm, shards flying.
A thick tree quivered violently, bark cracking.
Still, Xiao Zhan frowned.
Not enough.
In his old world, Mortal Level was a mere starting point.
But here, even that was enough to be called a "genius."
He moved into a sword stance unconsciously, though he had no blade.
His arms sliced through the air like a blade cutting through silk.
Fast. Precise. Deadly.
"I need a sword," he thought. "Soon."
Resting on a broken stone bench, Xiao Zhan gazed up at the stars.
The breeze whispered through the trees.
This world might have begun as a novel he once read—
But now, every soul here breathed, laughed, cried, struggled.
"This is no longer a story."
"They are living beings."
And he—
A variable, an anomaly.
"I will change things," Xiao Zhan thought.
"Maybe for better. Maybe for worse."
But he would no longer treat this world as fiction.
It was real.
And so was he.
Above, the stars seemed to shimmer a little brighter, as if recognizing the beginning of a storm yet to come.
[End of Chapter 6]