Nuoding Primary Spirit Master Academy (2)

After confirming that neither certificate showed any signs of forgery, the person in charge began registering them.

"Alright. Your information has been registered. Work-study students are generally assigned to my class. My name is Mo Hen. You can call me Teacher Mo. I'll be your head teacher from now on. Here are your uniforms."

As he spoke, Teacher Mo handed two sets of uniforms to Lin Xiao and Xia Liang, then added one final reminder. "Starting today, you are students of this academy. You must obey the academy's rules and regulations. Understand?"

"Understood, Teacher Mo," Lin Xiao answered loudly.

Xia Liang nodded as well and accepted the uniform handed to him.

There was only one dormitory building, making it easy to find. Both the academy's students and teachers lived there.

There were only seven student dorms in total, with one teacher assigned to each.

Dorm 7 had the worst conditions among the seven student dorms and was specifically for work-study students.

Regardless of grade or age, all work-study students lived in Dorm 7.

Xia Liang and Lin Xiao had barely reached Dorm 7's entrance when they heard noisy voices coming from inside.

The door was open, and the two walked up to the entrance and looked inside.

It was a spacious room, nearly three hundred square meters in size. There were fifty beds inside, but only eleven of them had bedding.

At the moment, seven or eight children between the ages of eight and twelve were making a racket inside.

Xia Liang knocked on the door, and the talking children immediately turned their gazes toward him.

One tall boy looked at Xia Liang's patch-covered clothes, then at Lin Xiao, who carried a cloth sack on his back.

Though they were about the same height, Lin Xiao looked sturdier and stronger than Xia Liang. He immediately caught the tall boy's attention.

Seeing the tall boy approach, Xia Liang frowned slightly and silently stepped behind Lin Xiao.

The tall boy stopped in front of Lin Xiao and looked down at him. "New work-study student?"

Lin Xiao replied with a smile, "Yes. Hello, I'm a work-study student from Niupi Village. My Martial Soul is a Water Buffalo, and I have Innate Level Two Soul Power."

"And you?" The tall boy looked past Lin Xiao at Xia Liang.

"Me? I have Innate Level Five Soul Power."

Upon hearing Xia Liang's words, not only Lin Xiao but even the tall boy froze.

What did Innate Level Five Soul Power mean? Among Soul Masters, the highest Soul Power talent was Innate Level Ten.

Innate Level Five Soul Power was somewhat lower than those geniuses. But in the eyes of commoner Soul Masters, it was already a remarkably good cultivation talent.

"What is your Martial Soul?" the tall boy asked Xia Liang.

"My Martial Soul is a Skeleton." Xia Liang raised his right hand, and a palm-sized black-purple rib appeared in his palm.

At the sight of this, the tall boy and Lin Xiao froze again.

Why did this Skeleton Martial Soul only have a rib? Had the Martial Soul Awakening been incomplete?

Looking at Xia Liang, who possessed Innate Level Five Soul Power but had a crippled Martial Soul, the tall boy showed no mockery. Instead, his expression held a little sympathy and regret.

They were all work-study students. None of them had it easy, so they could understand one another. There was no need to laugh at each other.

With a quiet sigh, the tall boy patted Xia Liang on the shoulder to comfort him. "Don't be discouraged. With such high Innate Soul Power, becoming a Soul Master definitely won't be a problem. A rib has some defensive capability, so it can't possibly be a Waste Martial Soul. Welcome to Dorm 7."

"Thank you." Xia Liang had not expected such a response.

"Go into the dorm first." As he spoke, the tall boy stepped aside to make way.

Lin Xiao returned the cloth sack he had been carrying to Xia Liang.

Xia Liang dragged the sack into the dorm.

"What about me?" Lin Xiao looked at the tall boy in confusion. "Can't I go in?"

"Of course you can. But first, I have to tell you Dorm 7's rules." The tall boy said, "My name is Wang Sheng. I'm ten years old and a fourth-year student. I'm the boss of Dorm 7. Little Xiaozi, from now on, you have to listen to me. Got it?"

Lin Xiao frowned. "My name is Lin Xiao, not Little Xiaozi!"

Wang Sheng raised his hand and shoved Lin Xiao's shoulder. "I'm calling you Little Xiaozi. What, you don't like it?"

Xia Liang had just reached an empty bed when he saw the two arguing at the door. He was about to go over and break it up when a dormmate stopped him.

The dormmate told him that as Dorm 7's boss, Wang Sheng was not deliberately trying to make things difficult for the new work-study student. He used this method to test newcomers' strength so that he could better organize everyone to resist the bullying of those Noble Students in the future.

Remembering that the original story had described something similar, Xia Liang gave up on breaking up the fight and quietly stayed by the bed. If possible, he did not want to mediate anyway. It was better to keep a low profile than invite trouble.

Having just arrived, Lin Xiao clearly did not know Dorm 7's rules. He firmly believed that Wang Sheng, the boss of Dorm 7, simply wanted to put him in his place.

Meeting Lin Xiao's angry glare, Wang Sheng smiled disdainfully. "Little Xiaozi, it seems you really aren't convinced."

"I'm not!" Lin Xiao's eyes were filled with indignation.

"Then fight. Between Battle Spirit Masters, we settle things through battle. I'll give you three moves. Don't blame me for bullying someone smaller than me."

As he spoke, Wang Sheng released his Martial Soul. A humanoid tiger suddenly appeared before everyone.

Lin Xiao was unwilling to be outdone. His Water Buffalo Martial Soul appeared like an illusion, and in the next moment, he charged fiercely at Wang Sheng.

Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom! Ah—

The whistling sounds of buffalo hooves and tiger claws cutting through the air, the impacts of their bodies colliding, and Lin Xiao's cries of pain echoed outside one after another.

A short while later.

Inside Dorm 7, on an empty bed.

Xia Liang was applying the academy-issued wound medicine to Lin Xiao's injuries.

A dormmate stood nearby, explaining Dorm 7's rules to them.

After hearing it, Lin Xiao finally understood that Wang Sheng had not been targeting him. He had merely wanted to test the strength of this future Battle Spirit Master.

Lin Xiao felt that the beating he had received was well worth it, because his strength had earned Wang Sheng's recognition. In the future, he might even become a candidate for Dorm 7's boss.

Looking at Xia Liang as he treated his wounds, Lin Xiao asked curiously, "Is your Innate Soul Power really Level Five?"

Xia Liang nodded. "Yeah. But Master Su Yuntao, who helped awaken my Martial Soul, said my Skeleton Martial Soul was defective."

"What does that matter?" A dormmate beside them said with a smile. "Master Su Yuntao called mine a Waste Martial Soul too. Can't I still cultivate now? And within five years, I'll become a Battle Spirit Master!"

"You're impressive, Senior," Xia Liang casually praised him.

"Have you eaten?" Wang Sheng walked up to Lin Xiao and Xia Liang and suggested, "Want to eat with us?"

"You go ahead. I'll go after I finish applying Lin Xiao's medicine."

After hearing Xia Liang's words, Wang Sheng smiled. "Alright, then. We'll eat first."

With that, he led the dorm's students out.