Douluo: Shadow Sovereign

Mo Ling's P.O.V

As I opened the door to my dorm, I instinctively braced myself for a punch or a kick to the face—something, anything. But nothing came.

Well, that's disappointing.

I took a step inside, scanning my surroundings. The working students' dormitory was simple but well-maintained. Rows of wooden beds lined the room, most of them unoccupied. A few personal belongings were scattered here and there, but overall, the place was neat and orderly.

Three students sat together on one of the beds, engaged in conversation. As I entered, they turned to look at me.

One of them spoke up. "Are you a new working student?"

"Yeah," I replied casually.

Another, a boy with short black hair, leaned forward with interest. "What's your Martial Spirit and innate Spirit Rank?"

I met his gaze and answered, "My Martial Spirit is Shadow, and my innate Spirit Rank is 5."

Silence.

Then, as if on cue, all three of them reacted at once. "Seriously?! Your innate Spirit Rank is really 5?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it really is."

Their eyes widened in shock, and I could tell what they were thinking. A working student with an innate rank of 5?That wasn't exactly common. But what they didn't know was that in three years, two more students would arrive—each with an innate spirit rank of 10.

Breaking the silence, I asked, "Why are there so few people in the dorm?"

One of them shrugged. "You came early. Classes won't start until next week, so most students will only arrive by the end of this week."

"Got it. Thanks," I said, then suddenly realized something. "Ah! I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry about that. My name is Mo Ling, from Clear Spring Village."

One of them grinned. "Nice to meet you, Mo Ling. I'm Liu Long. My Martial Spirit is a Brown Bear, and my innate soul power is 2."

The second followed. "I'm Chen Wu. My Martial Spirit is a Black Dog, with an innate soul power of 2."

The last one spoke, his voice carrying a hint of pride. "Wang Sheng. My Martial Spirit is a Battle Tiger, and my innate soul power is 3."

I blinked. Wang Sheng? Now that name rang a bell. I didn't remember the first two, but Wang Sheng—he appeared in both the anime and the novel.

Pushing that thought aside, I gave them a nod. "Nice to meet you all."

Liu Long grinned. "Since you're new here, let me give you some advice. Life as a working student isn't easy. We do extra labor to cover our tuition, and some noble students like to pick on us."

Chen Wu sighed. "Especially those arrogant noble kids. They think they're better than us just because they were born into rich families."

Wang Sheng smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Doesn't matter to me. If they mess with us, we fight back."

I chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Liu Long gestured toward an empty bed. "You can take any free bed. The one near the window is pretty nice."

I nodded and tossed my bag onto the bed he pointed at. It wasn't much, just a simple wooden frame with a thin mattress, but it would do.

Settling in, I turned back to them. "So, what do you guys usually do before classes start?"

Chen Wu shrugged. "Some students train, some explore the academy. Others just relax since we'll be busy once school officially starts."

Wang Sheng leaned back. "We were actually thinking of going to the training grounds later. Want to come?"

A chance to test my strength? That sounded like a good idea.

"Sure, why not?" I replied with a small grin.

Liu Long laughed. "Great! But don't expect us to go easy on you just because you're new."

I smirked. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

As we chatted, I couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. This was just the beginning, but I knew that soon, the real challenges would start.

And I was ready for them.