Chapter 17: First Encounter
Quan Yi planned to eat on the second floor of the cafeteria. He picked up two trays directly.
There were so many dishes available that it was a bit overwhelming.
But Quan Yi had a very clear goal. He first scooped a large portion of rice, which took up half of one tray.
Then he added a large serving of vegetables and fruits. He didn't choose any meat dishes.
After paying, Quan Yi found a relatively empty corner where he planned to have his breakfast.
As he was walking toward the empty seat, Quan Yi suddenly sensed a strange kind of fluctuation and instinctively looked in its direction.
He happened to lock eyes with a girl.
She had starry eyes and white teeth—a very pretty little girl. No, judging by her height, she was probably a senior, Quan Yi judged inwardly.
Her long dark red hair reminded Quan Yi of his own mother.
At the same time, the girl's eyes also carried a look of confusion.
But staring at someone for too long wasn't polite, so Quan Yi quickly averted his gaze.
His seat was across from the girl, though with one table in between.
Quan Yi had no interest in paying further attention to the girl—his focus was on the delicious food before him.
He directly took out a small jar of soul beast jerky from the Blazing Sun Heart. The jar wasn't very tall, so he placed it on the table and began devouring its contents along with his rice.
The girl sitting opposite was named Huo Wu, a new student this year.
She came from a noble background and was the daughter of the principal of Blazing Fire Academy.
Exceptionally talented, she was already a level twelve soul master.
She had sensed something special about this "senior" across from her. From their brief eye contact earlier, it seemed he had the same reaction.
So, while Quan Yi was observing Huo Wu, Huo Wu was also observing Quan Yi.
He had fair skin and short, neat hair, giving off a clean and pleasant first impression.
More importantly, the muscle lines on his body were perfect—displaying both explosive strength and flexibility.
This showed that he put a lot of emphasis on physical training.
Just as Huo Wu was observing him, Quan Yi did something that surprised her.
He took out a jar from his chest.
Huo Wu's heart skipped a beat. A storage-type soul tool—this was a very rare treasure. Even with her family background, she hadn't seen one up close.
She didn't expect to witness one right in the school cafeteria. In her mind, she had already concluded that Quan Yi must be from some prestigious family.
But what surprised her even more was that the jar contained jerky.
He actually brought his own meat? Huo Wu had never thought of doing that.
Could it be that the school's meat wasn't clean?
She began to have doubts but quickly dismissed the idea.
After all, her older brother was at the academy. If something were wrong with the food, there's no way he wouldn't have warned her.
Her brother was the doting type.
Huo Wu watched as Quan Yi bit into the tough meat, then shoved in a large spoonful of rice and vegetables, chewing slowly.
The motion was bold and rough at first, but the slow and careful chewing at the end totally broke that impression.
Watching Quan Yi with his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel while he chewed carefully made Huo Wu burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
The sudden laughter caught Quan Yi's attention. He looked up to see that same little girl laughing so hard she was almost trembling.
The surrounding students also noticed and turned to look at Huo Wu.
Quan Yi looked at her with confusion, and Huo Wu, realizing her slip, was about to cover her mouth when she saw Quan Yi staring at her with a puzzled expression—while still chewing.
That combination of confused expression and puffed cheeks was just too much.
"Pfft—!"
Huo Wu laughed even louder than before. At this point, the other students began giving her strange looks, as if they were looking at a socially awkward person.
Quan Yi was completely baffled.
Was she… laughing at me? He clearly saw that the girl had looked right at him and burst out laughing again.
Just as he was about to stand up and ask her about it, the girl was faster—she ran out of the cafeteria laughing.
Quan Yi was completely lost.
Was I just laughed at by a little girl?
Though still somewhat puzzled, Quan Yi didn't dwell on it too much. He sat back down and resumed eating.
Still stuffing in big spoonfuls of food, then slowly chewing.
This way of eating was something Quan Yi invented himself.
What mattered most when eating was absorbing nutrients. Chewing thoroughly helped the body absorb them more quickly.
But as his appetite grew, he was spending more and more time eating. To cut down on time, Quan Yi adopted this method.
Whether it looked awkward or not wasn't something he cared about.
Meanwhile, outside the cafeteria—
Huo Wu had finally calmed down. Thinking back on what she had just done, her face turned crimson.
She never expected her first day to involve making such a scene in public. But the moment she recalled Quan Yi's expression, she couldn't help smiling again.
That "scene" had hit her funny bone in a completely unexpected way.
What she didn't know was that her behavior was already beginning to spread throughout the academy.
Not long after, some students began calling her the "Red-Haired Laughing Girl."
"Ah! I didn't finish my breakfast!" she suddenly remembered, but she was too embarrassed to go back.
"Whatever, I'll just go find my brother. I wonder if he knows that senior."
With that, Huo Wu skipped away from the cafeteria to find her brother.
Back in the cafeteria, Quan Yi ate quickly. In less than an hour, the two trays of food and the small jar of soul beast meat were gone.
Wasting no time, Quan Yi planned to visit the academy's library and the simulated training grounds today.
The library was located near the teaching building, and Quan Yi found it without much trouble.
Though not very large, the library was packed with books.
Quan Yi was very satisfied with the academy's library.
It had three floors, each equipped with tables and chairs for reading.
On the Douluo Continent, books were generally controlled by the upper class. When Quan Yi tried collecting books before, he had run into the awkward problem of not being able to buy them.
It wasn't a matter of money—the books simply weren't available in the market.
He never expected the academy library to hold such a large collection. It was a pleasant surprise.
Quan Yi wandered through the shelves. The collection covered many topics, though most books were about martial souls and soul beasts.
That made sense, given it was a soul master academy—books on soul masters were the main focus.
But there were also many other types: history, music, etiquette. Clearly, the academy had put a lot of thought into curating the library.
"The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls!"
Quan Yi spotted a peculiar book tucked in the corner of a bookshelf. Compared to the others, the cover looked almost new.
Yet the book was hidden in the farthest corner. If Quan Yi hadn't scanned every shelf, he might have missed it.
Intrigued by the title, he took the book to a nearby table and began reading.
(End of Chapter.)