Chapter 3 – Half a First Place

Ma Dong’s eyes were filled with a fiery anger. Wang Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this. “If you have any more recruitment plans, then hurry and finish it. Don’t forget that today is my birthday. You’re coming over to my house for dinner tonight.”“Ah, see how clever my brain is! That’s right, we’ll just split up the work. You go and recruit in the crowded areas and I’ll continue pulling people in from over here. I refuse to believe that I won’t be able to recruit at least a few people with my good looks!” Ma Dong stated.

Wang Zhong smiled and nodded. He wouldn’t be able to recruit anyone anyways.

After Wang Zhong left, Ma Dong immediately got up and looked around. Although he wanted to recruit pretty and delicate junior sisters, the survival of their society was still his top priority. If he was unable to gather five people, then the society would be forced to disband. They wouldn’t even be able to become a dark society.

Ma Dong’s eyes suddenly brightened and he charged towards a new student at lightning speed. After blocking this student’s way, Ma Dong took a good luck at him, his eyes narrowing. This guy was over 2.2 meters tall with a muscular build; he was definitely a student of the soldier department.

“Student, you must be new. Have you joined a society yet?”

The new student was stunned for a moment from having his path barred. However, he quickly recovered and revealed a smile as he nodded. “Hello senior. I am indeed a new student. My name is Barran Gestalt. I’m from Dunsquake City and haven’t joined a society yet.”

“Haha. That’s perfect then. You’re really lucky. It seems that my judgement of you was correct. You should enter my Prodigy Society. This society is a paradise for elites. Just look at one of our members, Wang Zhong. He’s ranked first on the theory exams for the commander department. You know about the commander department, right? It’s a paradise for experts!” Ma Dong opened up a report on Wang Zhong, giving Barran Gestalt a look. However, his left hand covered up a part of the report.

Ranked first!?

Barran Gestalt was stunned. All of the other seniors seemed to only care about the junior sisters and hadn’t paid him any attention at all. What kind of outstanding society could he enter?

“S-senior. Can I really join?” Barran Gestalt stuttered in shock.

“You can just call me President from now on! I’ll look after you!” Ma Dong said pretentiously.

“Yes, Sen… President. I’ll definitely do my best!” Barran nodded.

Ma Dong’s whole body brimmed with happiness. No wonder so many people wanted to be president. It actually felt so good. “Barran, this president shall give you your first mission. Return the table and the materials to the storehouse. I’ll send the address to your skylink.”

“Ah. President, aren’t we going to continue recruiting?” Barran Gestalt inquisitively asked.

Ma Dong rolled his eyes. “What do you think our Prodigy Society is? We only recruit elites. The inner qualities of our recruits are the most important. It’s better to have nothing than to compromise!”

Barran Gestalt’s face turned red from excitement. Tianjing really was a major city. Even this Heroic Soul Academy senior’s moral character was better than those of smaller cities.

As he watched Barran pick up the table gently, Ma Dong couldn’t help but feel proud of his cleverness. The society wasn’t as lacking anymore. They now had three members.

Ma Dong disappeared like a wisp of smoke and quickly found Wang Zhong still distributing the leaflets. He stuffed the flyers back into the bag and said, “Let’s go brother! I’ve already recruited someone. Today is your sixteenth birthday, a joyous occasion. We can continue tomorrow!”

Wang Zhong laughed and nodded. “Did you trick them by showing half my grades again?”

“What do you mean trick? I merely stated a fact… just half a fact,” Wang Dong said with a poker face.

Wang Zhong was a prodigy. In middle school, he was known as the “Team Battle Tactician,” attracting the attention of numerous schools. In addition to his excellent grades, he had already ignited his soul fire, allowing him to directly enter the commander department.

However, his following development would shock everyone. This so-called genius’ growth potential was only at level five. This was a level that was even lower than an average person. In other words, he was only good at theory. They had thought that he would flourish with an orthodox education, but the result… the results had blown everyone away. Even the academy had been forced to suffer in silence. Wang Zhong had become the joke of the commander department.

The commander department definitely represented elites, but in the entire academic year, Wang Zhong only had Ma Dong for a friend.

The Heroic Soul Academy was composed of four departments with different specialities: the commander department, abilities department, soldiers department, and the rune department.

The commander department was the cradle of officers. Every student there needed to know theory, as well as have the talent to excel in combat. Naturally, the majority of students had profound backgrounds and came from Heroic Soul families.

The abilities department only recruited students with special abilities. After all, only a small percentage of people who had ignited their soul fire would possess a power. The department also researched the science behind these special abilities.

The soldier department recruited students with outstanding growth potential in their soul power.

As for the rune department, they recruited students who had already ignited their soul fire, but didn’t have any outstanding qualities. The rune department was also the largest department, and had the most subjects. Their studies went beyond just rune technology, and were more specialized in giving support. After all, in this era, every student who had ignited their soul fire was a precious resource. Even if they weren’t suited for battle, there were still many other things they could do.

Naturally, all of the rune department students had a heart that yearned for battle. If they were able to rank in the top ten of the comprehensive rankings, then they would have the opportunity to change their specialization. In theory, if a student’s scores were too low for their specialization, they would be forced to drop down to the rune department. It was just that this had never occurred in the last two hundred years.

Although Ma Dong was in the commander department, his dreams weren’t related to becoming a hero at all.

As soon as he opened the door, a fragrant aroma assaulted his nostrils, and Ma Dong quickly scuttled inside. “Uncle Wang, this is definitely your cooking! This sweet and sour pork smells so good!”

A graceful woman walked over and gave a humble laugh. “Little Dong, you’re here. Come sit down. Dinner will be ready in a moment.”

“Aunt Shirley, you’re so pretty. I would be so happy if my girlfriend was even half as pretty as you!” Ma Dong laughed.

“Your mouth really is sweet like honey.” Shirley smiled. Although she didn’t put on any makeup and wore simple clothes, it was unable to conceal her inner elegance.

Ma Dong wasn’t naive. The reality was that even after applying makeup, those so-called upper class ladies were still unable to match Aunt Shirley’s beauty.

“This guy’s mouth can even make the dead come alive. I wonder who fell into his pit today.” Wang Zhong said. Even if he didn’t know what exactly had happened, he still knew that their new recruit had been duped by Ma Dong.

“Yeah, right. You’re just denying my charisma. As soon as those junior sisters get one look, they immediately begin to cry and throw themselves at me. Ahhh. Am I not simply an outstandingly honest person?” Ma Dong said as he unceremoniously took a piece of sweet and sour pork.

Shirley couldn’t help but laugh. Wherever Ma Dong was, the mood would always be lively. She gave Wang Zhong a look full of affection. Ten years ago, she and Wang Zhan Feng had thought that Wang Zhong would die, but Wang Zhong had miraculously recovered from his illness. This was the greatest gift God had given them.

Their dinner was joyous and harmonious. With a buffoon like Ma Dong, the entire night was full of cheering and laughter. Wang Zhan Feng had even made an exception for himself and drank some alcohol. Aunt Shirley had never hidden the fact that Wang Zhong was an orphan, and Wang Zhong wasn’t remorseful either. On the contrary, he found even more warmth within his home.

Without any last comforting words for the night, they saw Ma Dong off and Wang Zhong returned to his room. He gazed out his window and gave a sigh of sorrow within his heart. He had finally reached adulthood now. Entering the Heroic Soul Academy had always been his dream. He had also hoped to solve his issue, but it seemed that there was nothing to be done.

A year had gone by, and as he watched the new students trinkle in, Wang Zhong felt pressured. After thinking it over for a moment, there was no reason to complain about his debility due to his illness. If he was lacking, then it meant that he wasn’t putting in enough effort. This year, he had to do his best. Filled with similar thoughts, Wang Zhong entered the land of dreams. It was still a world of darkness like before, but a rainbow streak cut through the darkness, and a smile appeared at the corner of Wang Zhong’s mouth.