33: My roommate is the chosen one? This wave of suckers is definitely in the bag!

Academy dormitory area, Dormitory 404.

This dormitory was famous in the War God Academy, known as the "Cursed Room."

It was said that the Feng Shui here was terrible, located in the dark corner of the building, never seeing sunlight all year round.

Not only that, it was said that students who used to live here would hear strange crying sounds from the walls in the middle of the night, or wake up to find themselves sleeping in the hallway.

Over time, it became a vacant room, and only freshmen who offended the Logistics Department or were extremely unlucky would be assigned here.

And Gu Fan clearly belonged to the latter.

After the "Stone Hitting People" incident, the teacher in charge of dormitory assignments gave him the key to 404 with a "serves you right" look.

"Creak—"

Gu Fan pushed open the wooden door, which was slightly warped from dampness.

A waft of musty air hit him in the face.

The room wasn't large; it was a standard double room. Two wooden beds, two desks, and a window that, instead of having a view, faced the exhaust fan of the girls' dormitory restroom opposite.

However, to Gu Fan's surprise, although the room was old, it was cleaned spotlessly.

Even on the moss-covered windowsill, there was a pot of unknown wildflowers, adding a hint of Life Qi to this gloomy room.

On the bed by the window, the bedding was already laid out, neat and tidy like a block of tofu.

Beside that bed sat a youth cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation and breathing.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the youth slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.

It was Xiao Fan.

"So it really is you."

Gu Fan, acting like he had met an old friend he hadn't seen in years, strode in without any hesitation, dragging a non-existent suitcase (which was actually just air).

"I told you we were destined. Not only did we report on the same day, but we were even assigned to the same dorm."

Gu Fan threw his backpack onto the empty bed with a dull thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Xiao Fan frowned; he was an extremely self-disciplined and clean person.

"Classmate Gu."

Xiao Fan didn't get up, saying flatly, "I didn't expect it to be you either. This dorm is said to have bad Feng Shui, and no one wants to come. It seems you've offended quite a few people too."

Gu Fan smiled and sat down on the somewhat wobbly chair.

"Bad Feng Shui? That's just their superstition."

"I think it's quite good here. It's quiet and suitable for comprehending the Dao."

With a thought, Gu Fan spent 10 malice points he had just earned from Zhao Ridi to exchange for two bottles of [Karma Happiness Water (actually just cola, but with added special effects)] from the System mall.

"Here, a meeting gift."

Gu Fan casually tossed a bottle over. "This is good stuff. Drinking it will boost your courage."

Xiao Fan instinctively raised his hand to catch it.

A cold sensation came through; the black liquid sloshed in the transparent bottle, giving off a layer of fine bubbles.

The ancient ring on Xiao Fan's hand suddenly vibrated violently.

"Master? What's wrong?" Xiao Fan was startled.

"Don't move! Don't speak!"

Inside the ring, the previously arrogant soul of the old man was now filled with terror. "This water... how can there be such a terrifying Dao rhythm in this water?!"

In the old man's perception, how was that cola?

It was clearly a mass of liquid containing the Laws of Heaven and Earth! Every bubble bursting was like the birth and death of a world!

(In reality, this was just a fifty-cent lighting effect the System added to make the cola look like it was worth 10 malice points, but in the eyes of the natives, it was a miracle.)

"Dao rhythm?" Xiao Fan looked at the ordinary bottle of drink in his hand, his expression becoming solemn.

The way he looked at Gu Fan also changed.

He had originally thought he was just a playboy with some tricks, but now it seemed... could he be a peerless expert hiding in plain sight?

Or was this some kind of test?

"Thank you."

Xiao Fan didn't drink it; instead, he solemnly placed the cola at the head of his bed, as if it were a bottle of nectar from the heavens.

[Detected 'Dihua-style' awe and suspicion from 'Xiao Fan'.]

[malice points (converted to competitive mindset): +20.]

[Current 'leek' maturity: Good.]

Gu Fan almost couldn't hold back his laughter seeing Xiao Fan's "facing a great enemy" look.

He unscrewed the cap himself, and with a "pssh" sound, he tilted his head back and took a large gulp.

"Burp—!"

A loud burp echoed in the small dormitory.

The old man in the ring trembled again: "He actually swallowed the Laws of the Dao directly? Just how powerful is this person's Physical Body? How terrifying!"

Night deepened.

Dormitory 404 welcomed its first night.

The wind outside blew through the treetops, making an eerie whistling sound; it was indeed a bit gloomy.

Xiao Fan truly was the King of Grinders.

Even on his first day of school, he didn't relax at all. He remained sitting cross-legged on the bed, five hearts facing the sky, with faint air currents swirling around him and sweat sliding down his forehead.

He was Cultivating the "Wilderness Body Refining Art" passed down by his Master, an extremely painful but fast-progressing Cultivation Technique.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Gu Fan... "Snore... snore..."

By now, he was already lying sprawled on the bed, letting out rhythmic snores.

He hadn't even taken his shoes off properly, with one foot hanging off the edge of the bed.

With every snore Gu Fan made, the Spiritual Qi in the surrounding air was forcibly sucked over like it was being pulled by some kind of vacuum cleaner, frantically boring into his body.

Not only that, because Xiao Fan was Cultivating desperately nearby, this competitive malice of "wanting to become stronger and surpass Gu Fan" was continuously generated.

Gu Fan's System accepted all of this malice.

[Strong competitive malice detected! Backlash conversion activated!]

[Conversion effect: Cultivation amplification!]

Two-thirds of the Spiritual Qi that Xiao Fan had worked so hard to absorb actually took a turn a second before entering his body, smoothly drifting over to Gu Fan's side.

Xiao Fan opened his eyes, looking bewildered.

"What's going on? Why is the Spiritual Qi so disobedient tonight?"

"I clearly felt it, so why does it run away as soon as I try to absorb it?"

The old man in the ring sighed with a complex expression: "Xiao Fan, go to sleep. Stop practicing."

"Why? Master, I want to become stronger!"

"Because... if you keep practicing, you'll just be working for that sleeping guy! It's not that the Feng Shui in this room is bad; it's that it's been monopolized by that guy named Gu!"

Xiao Fan looked at Gu Fan on the opposite bed, who was sleeping with drool running down his face while his cultivation aura was rapidly skyrocketing.

He clenched his fists.

He felt a sense of powerlessness, but an even stronger fighting spirit ignited within him.

"I don't believe it! Diligence can make up for lack of talent! I don't believe I can't out-train someone who's sleeping!"

Xiao Fan gritted his teeth, closed his eyes again, and frantically circulated his Cultivation Technique.

[malice points +10... +10...]

Gu Fan turned over in his sleep and smiled contentedly.

"This heating is really powerful."

"What a diligent roommate. This batch of leeks is a sure thing."

The lights in Dormitory 404 didn't go out all night.

One was grinding until he coughed blood, the other was sleeping until he leveled up.

This was the legendary first close encounter between the "Child of Destiny" and the "King of Backlash."