17. The First Meeting

Quan Yi planned to eat on the second floor, so he grabbed two dinner plates without hesitation.

The variety of dishes was overwhelming, a dazzling array of colors and aromas filling the air.

However, Quan Yi's goal was clear. He first scooped a generous portion of rice, nearly filling half of one plate. Then, he loaded up on vegetables and fruits, deliberately skipping the meat dishes.

After paying, he found a quiet corner with fewer people and made his way toward an empty seat.

Just as he was about to sit down, a strange fluctuation suddenly caught his attention. Instinctively, he glanced in the direction of the disturbance—

And met a girl's gaze.

She was an exceptionally beautiful young girl, with bright, star-like eyes and pearl-white teeth.

No… based on her height, she should be an upperclassman, Quan Yi quickly judged.

Her long, dark red hair reminded him of his mother, a fleeting thought that made his expression waver for a moment.

At the same time, the girl across from him was also looking at him, her eyes filled with curiosity and doubt.

But staring at someone for too long was impolite, so Quan Yi quickly looked away.

His seat happened to be directly across from the girl, though they were separated by another table.

At this moment, however, Quan Yi had no energy to dwell on this encounter—his attention was entirely on the food before him.

Without hesitation, he reached into the Heart of Fierce Sun embedded in his chest and retrieved a jar of soul beast meat. The container wasn't very tall, so he simply placed it on the table and began eating, pairing the dried meat with rice.

The girl sitting across from him was named Huo Wu, a new freshman this year.

She came from a noble background—her father was the principal of Blazing Academy.

Despite her young age, she was already a twelfth-level soul master, a testament to her extraordinary talent.

Earlier, she had sensed a peculiar fluctuation from this "senior," and judging from his reaction, he must have felt it too.

Thus, just as Quan Yi observed her, Huo Wu was also studying him.

His skin was fair, his short hair neatly trimmed, giving off a clean and comfortable first impression.

More importantly, his body's muscle definition was near perfect—each line exuded both explosive power and flexibility.

It was clear that he placed great emphasis on physical training.

But what truly caught Huo Wu off guard was his next action.

She watched in astonishment as Quan Yi pulled a jar out of his chest.

'A storage-type soul tool?"'

Huo Wu was stunned. Storage soul tools were incredibly rare treasures. Even with her privileged background, she had never personally owned one.

Yet now, in the academy cafeteria, she was witnessing a student casually pull one out as if it were nothing.

'Who is this guy? He must be from a powerful family...'

What surprised her even more was what the jar contained—

Dried meat.

Quan Yi had actually brought his own food?

Huo Wu couldn't comprehend it.

'Is the academy's meat unclean or something?'

She frowned slightly, but soon dismissed the thought.

That was impossible.

Her own elder brother studied here. Given his protective nature, if there were any issues with the food, he would have definitely warned her.

As she continued watching, she saw Quan Yi bite into the hard dried meat, chewing slowly while pairing it with large spoonfuls of rice.

At first, his movements seemed bold and heroic.

But then—

His cheeks puffed up slightly as he carefully chewed each bite.

The contrast between his earlier decisive movements and his current squirrel-like appearance was so unexpectedly funny that Huo Wu couldn't hold back—

"Hahaha!"

Her sudden laughter drew the attention of the entire cafeteria.

Quan Yi, who had just taken another bite, immediately looked up, slightly puzzled.

Across from him, the red-haired girl was laughing so hard her shoulders trembled.

The surrounding students turned their heads, curious about the commotion.

Quan Yi frowned slightly and gave Huo Wu a questioning look.

Realizing that she had acted a little inappropriately, Huo Wu hurriedly raised a hand to cover her mouth. But as she did, she met Quan Yi's confused gaze—

As Quan Yi looked at her, he was still chewing his food. His puzzled expression, combined with his puffed-up cheeks, was too much for Huo Wu to handle.

"Pfft—!"

She burst into even louder laughter than before.

At this moment, the surrounding students exchanged glances, their expressions turning strange, as if they were witnessing a fragile member of society losing control.

Quan Yi was utterly confused.

'She's not laughing at me, is she?'

He had clearly seen the little red-haired girl glance at him before erupting into laughter again.

Just as he was about to stand up and ask what was so funny, she unexpectedly reacted first—bolting out of the cafeteria with a wide grin still on her face.

Quan Yi was left sitting there, completely bewildered.

'Did… did I just get laughed at by a little girl?'

Though still a bit dazed, he didn't dwell on it. Shrugging it off, he sat back down and resumed eating.

Big mouthfuls of rice, slow and deliberate chewing.

This eating method was something Quan Yi had developed himself.

The most crucial part of consuming food was absorbing nutrients efficiently. Thorough chewing aided digestion and allowed the body to absorb nutrients faster.

However, as his food intake increased, so did his mealtime. To shorten the duration, he had adopted this approach.

Whether it looked strange or not was irrelevant to him.

Outside the Cafeteria

Huo Wu finally managed to calm herself down, but as she replayed the scene in her head, her cheeks flushed red.

She hadn't expected to make such a public spectacle of herself on the very first day.

Yet, when she thought of Quan Yi's expression—his puffed-up cheeks, his serious chewing, the unexpected contrast—she couldn't help but laugh again.

That scene was simply too funny.

But at this moment, she had no idea that her reaction was already spreading throughout the academy.

It wasn't long before some students began referring to her as "the red-haired laughing girl."

"Ah, I didn't even finish my breakfast!"

Huo Wu suddenly realized she had left her meal unfinished, but after causing such a commotion, she didn't have the face to go back.

"Forget it. I'll go find my brother. I wonder if he knows that senior."

With that, she bounced away from the cafeteria, heading straight to find her brother.

Meanwhile, in the Library

Quan Yi finished eating at an efficient pace. In less than an hour, he had polished off two large plates of food and a small jar of soul beast meat.

Wasting no time, he set off to explore the academy's library and simulated training ground—two key locations he had noted earlier.

The library was near the teaching building, and it didn't take him long to get there.

Though the building itself wasn't particularly large, the collection inside was vast.

Quan Yi was more than satisfied.

The library spanned three floors, with tables and chairs set up on each level for students to read.

On the Douluo Continent, books were largely controlled by the upper class. In the past, Quan Yi had encountered the frustrating situation of being unable to buy books—not because he lacked money, but simply because they weren't available on the market.

He hadn't expected the academy's library to have such a rich selection. This was an unexpected but welcome surprise.

As he wandered among the bookshelves, he noticed a diverse range of topics. However, the most abundant books were those related to Martial Souls and soul beasts—naturally fitting for a Soul Master Academy.

That said, there were also numerous books on other subjects, including history, music, and etiquette.

It was clear that the academy had put considerable effort into curating its library.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, a peculiar book title caught his attention.

"The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls"

The book's cover looked noticeably newer compared to the surrounding texts.

Yet, it had been placed in a remote corner of the shelf—if Quan Yi hadn't been meticulously scanning each title, he might have completely overlooked it.

Curious, he retrieved the book, walked over to a nearby table, and sat down.