Chapter 86: Super Enhancement

After seeing Zhang Hui off, Lin Xiao headed to his own dormitory. The Spirit Martial Academy of the Capital truly lived up to its reputation as the country’s premier martial arts institution—its dormitory building was grand and imposing. Lin Xiao had heard before that the dorms were shared by four students to a room; he wondered if any of his roommates had already arrived.

Room 303 was not hard to find, and Lin Xiao soon located his assigned dorm. The door stood open, a clear sign someone had beaten him there. As Lin Xiao stepped inside, he saw a young man busy arranging his belongings. Recognizing the youth, Lin Xiao felt a flicker of exasperation—of all people, it was Sun Zhiyuan’s great-grandson, Sun Bin. He’d met Sun Bin once before, at Sun Zhiyuan’s ninety-ninth birthday celebration. What a small world!

Sun Bin, hearing movement, turned around, and upon seeing Lin Xiao, was equally surprised. “It’s you? What brings you to the Spirit Martial Academy?” Sun Bin knew Lin Xiao, though not well; they had only met that one time at his great-grandfather’s birthday. Still, he was aware that Lin Xiao was a resident of the Rising Sun Care Home—a place reserved for extraordinary people—so he unconsciously addressed Lin Xiao with respect.

Lin Xiao couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “What, is the Spirit Martial Academy your family’s private property? If you can come, why can’t I?”

It now dawned on Sun Bin that Lin Xiao was about his own age, perhaps even a touch younger in appearance. “That’s not what I meant. I just didn’t expect to see you here.”

Lin Xiao was rather satisfied with Sun Bin’s respectful attitude. “Are you staying in this dorm too?”

“Yes! Senior, are you here looking for me?” Sun Bin noticed Lin Xiao had arrived empty-handed; new students usually carried luggage, so he instinctively assumed Lin Xiao was here for him.

“What are you thinking? I’m a freshman too—this is my dorm.”

Sun Bin was dumbfounded. “Are you here to experience campus life? Or do you have some special mission? Is there anything I can help you with?”

Lin Xiao felt a bit helpless—Sun Bin seemed to have turned into his little fanboy. Still, he wasn’t wrong; Lin Xiao was indeed here on a mission.

Walking over, Lin Xiao slung his arm around Sun Bin’s shoulders. “Listen, kid, some things are best kept to yourself. Don’t go blabbing. In the care home, your great-grandfather and I are like brothers, so by seniority, I’m your great-grandfather’s peer. Why don’t you try calling me ‘Great-grandfather’?”

Sun Bin felt awkward. Although he respected Lin Xiao, he couldn’t help but feel something off about Lin Xiao’s smile. Given that they were about the same age, calling Lin Xiao ‘Great-grandfather’ was simply too much.

Lin Xiao could tell what Sun Bin was thinking and promptly pulled out his phone. All those years of shamelessly calling the residents of the care home ‘brother’ and ‘sister’—wasn’t it for moments like this?

“Looks like you’re not too happy about it. Well, I haven’t even reported my safe arrival to the folks at the care home yet. Time to give your great-grandfather a call.”

Right in front of Sun Bin, Lin Xiao dialed Sun Zhiyuan’s video call. The old man answered quickly.

“Old Sun, I’ve arrived at the Spirit Martial Academy.”

“Brat, at least you have a conscience, letting us know you’re safe.”

“Brother, that’s only part of why I called. Take a look at this—recognize him?”

Lin Xiao turned the camera toward Sun Bin.

Seeing his great-grandfather, Sun Bin hurriedly greeted him. “Great-grandfather!”

Sun Zhiyuan paused in surprise. “Hey, brat, why are you with Lin Xiao? Oh right, you’re a freshman here too this year. I almost forgot.”

“Great-grandfather, I ended up in the same dorm as Senior Lin.”

“I see. Well, Lin, since you and Bin are roommates, look after the boy for me, will you? You and I are brothers, so by seniority, he’s your junior as well.”

Lin Xiao was delighted. He didn’t even have to say anything—Old Sun had just promoted his status for him.

“No problem, leave it to me. Say hi to everyone at the care home for me, Old Sun. I just wanted to let you all know I arrived safely. When I go back, I’ll bring gifts!”

After hanging up, Lin Xiao turned to look at Sun Bin.

There was nothing more Sun Bin could say. With his great-grandfather’s directive clear, he didn’t dare disobey—he could practically feel the old man flying over to smack him if he refused.

“Greetings, Great-grandfather.”

“Just call me Great-grandfather—no need for the ‘little’ in front. Since you’ve called me that, I’ll look after you from now on. If you run into trouble at the academy, I’ll handle it for you.”

“Thank you, Great-grandfather.”

“By the way, have any of the other roommates arrived yet?”

“No, I was the first one here. There are only a couple days left before term starts—my guess is they’ll arrive soon. Great-grandfather, where’s your luggage? Let me help you make the bed.”

Since there was free labor on offer, Lin Xiao saw no reason to refuse. He took his luggage out from his spatial ring. It didn’t matter if Sun Bin saw it—he’d have found out sooner or later anyway. Lin Xiao wore a spatial ring on his hand, though not the one he usually used; this one was much smaller, chosen deliberately to avoid drawing attention. His regular, much larger ring was simply too conspicuous.

Sun Bin immediately realized what it was, and envy welled up in his eyes. “Great-grandfather, is that a spatial ring? I’m so jealous.”

“What, you don’t have one?” Lin Xiao asked.

Sun Bin was momentarily at a loss for words. Even the most basic spatial ring cost several million and was rarely available for purchase. Even if he wanted one, he couldn’t get it. His great-grandfather did know Elder Murong, and had given the family a few storage rings, but not enough for one to fall into his hands.

“No, I really don’t.”

“Well, now you will!”

Since Sun Bin was not only trustworthy but also Old Sun’s great-grandson, there was no harm in giving him a storage ring. With that, Lin Xiao casually took out a storage ring with a space of about ten square meters and tossed it to Sun Bin.

“You called me Great-grandfather, so I can’t let you go unrewarded. Consider this storage ring a gift from me.”

Sun Bin could only stare at the ring in his palm, lost for words. He examined it and found that its space really was over ten square meters. This was quite an extravagant first meeting gift.

“Thank you, Great-grandfather. If you need anything, just say the word.”

Lin Xiao nodded in satisfaction. That “Great-grandfather” sounded much better now. Without further prompting, Sun Bin eagerly helped Lin Xiao with his belongings. The dorm had two upper and two lower bunks; since they’d arrived first, they naturally claimed the two lower beds.

Once everything was neatly arranged, Lin Xiao sprawled out on his bunk. There were still two days before the start of term. He wondered if he ought to explore the city a bit—the prospect of staying cooped up on campus the entire time sounded dreadfully dull.