Enrollment

As a directly affiliated academy of Spirit Hall, the Spirit Hall Soul Master Academy held an indispensable position in the soul master education system.

Other places had Intermediate Soul Master Academies, but Spirit City had no intermediate soul skill academies.

Spirit City was a holy land for soul masters. Seven out of every ten people were soul masters.

To meet its citizens' schooling needs, the wealthy Spirit Hall had established four Junior Soul Master Academies in the east, south, west, and north.

Along the academy's lush, tree-shaded path, Tuoba Xi earnestly instructed his grandson at his side.

"Yan'er, I've already spoken with the East Academy Headmaster. If you don't want to attend class, there's no need to go. The teachers won't make things difficult for you. Spend more time cultivating diligently in the Simulated Training Grounds instead."

After all, whether an academy possessed Simulated Training Grounds was the key criterion for judging whether it qualified as an Advanced Soul Master Academy.

With its immense wealth and resources, Spirit Hall had established Simulated Training Grounds—the kind found only in Advanced Soul Master Academies—in all four Junior Soul Master Academies of Spirit City, providing soul master students with an exceptional cultivation environment.

Tuoba Yan had read extensively through Spirit Hall's collection. His understanding of martial souls, soul rings, soul beasts, soul skills, and soul bones had reached a level comparable to that of an expert.

He was even fully confident that he was qualified to serve as a teacher at the academy.

The fundamental reason he had chosen to enroll was precisely because he had his eye on the academy's Simulated Training Grounds.

This miraculous cultivation ground could not only increase cultivation speed, but also simulate all kinds of natural environments, greatly enhancing cultivation results.

With its help, Tuoba Yan believed he could achieve twice the results with half the effort on his path to raising his Soul Power Level.

In his view, without external assistance, raising his Soul Power from level 19 to level 20 within three months would not be difficult through his own efforts. Now that he had the Simulated Training Grounds, he was even more certain that he could achieve this goal within a month.

Of course, the Simulated Training Grounds were not omnipotent. As one's cultivation steadily advanced, their effect on cultivation speed would gradually become negligible.

"If our clan could take another step forward and establish an Advanced Soul Master Academy of our own, you wouldn't need to enroll here. All right, the academy officially starts tomorrow. Are you planning to stay at school tonight, or go home?" Tuoba Xi asked.

"I'll stay at school."

"Fine, as you wish."

As Tuoba Xi spoke, he flipped his empty hand and took out a token from his ring Storage Soul Guide Device.

One side of the token bore an engraving of the East Academy's main gate, while the other displayed the emblem of a sword and hammer.

"Go up by yourself. This is proof that you are a member of Zero Dormitory."

Tuoba Yan accepted the token from his grandfather.

Zero Dormitory was not somewhere just anyone could enter.

The academy's ordinary student dormitories had no rank distinctions, but on a small mountain within the academy stood a specially built, unique Zero Dormitory.

To live there, one had to meet either of two conditions: first, possess Innate Soul Power of level nine or higher; second, on the last day of every month, any student in the academy could challenge a Zero Dormitory resident. If successful, they could advance and replace the defeated student as one of its members.

"Oh..." Tuoba Xi gave a mysterious smile. "Besides all that, I've prepared a little surprise for you!"

"What surprise?"

"Hehe, if I told you in advance, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore."

Zero Dormitory was located halfway up the back mountain, with a flight of stairs leading straight to it.

From afar, it did not resemble an ordinary dormitory at all, but rather an exquisite little villa.

The villa rested against the mountain and beside the water, its scenery as picturesque as a painting. From here, one could take in the academy's entire landscape and admire the dazzling night view of nearly half of Spirit City.

In daily life, the students living here received exceptional treatment. Professional attendants carefully took care of everything from clothing and meals to their daily needs.

There were seven rooms in the villa. Two were tightly locked, while the other five stood vacant.

Tuoba Yan cultivated for the entire day, yet never discovered the surprise his grandfather had mentioned. Still, he did not care much and went to sleep early.

In the middle of the night, he got up to use the restroom. However, the instant he opened his door, he froze completely.

First, the fresh fragrance of bathwater drifted into his nose.

Then, a graceful, alluring figure came into view.

A girl was bathing in the bathroom. She looked no more than eleven or twelve, yet she had already developed into a slender, elegant young woman, beginning to show the soft contours of feminine beauty.

Perhaps sensing his burning gaze, the girl turned her head and met Tuoba Yan's eyes.

At that moment, Tuoba Yan's mind went blank.

Then the girl's magnetic voice drifted over.

"Be good. Get out, and close the door for me!"

Tuoba Yan's mouth twitched awkwardly. Only then did he come back to his senses, hurriedly shut the bathroom door, and stood with his back against the wall.

Not long afterward, the bathroom door opened again, and the girl emerged wearing a bathrobe.

The room was pitch-black. In the faint light, Tuoba Yan finally saw the girl's face clearly at close range and could not help exclaiming.

"It's you!"

It turned out that during the day, this very girl had snatched away the sachet Tuoba Yan wanted from a stall at a high price.

At that moment, the girl reached out and grabbed Tuoba Yan's arm.

Tuoba Yan immediately became wary. With a hard shake, he easily broke free from the girl's Seizing Hand Technique. Frowning, he demanded, "What are you doing?"

The girl's eyes burned with anger. She assumed a fighting stance and shouted, "You saw my body, and you're asking what I want to do? Pervert, you're asking for a beating!" Before her words had even faded, she shot toward Tuoba Yan like an arrow loosed from a bow, her right hand clawed as it struck straight for his face, swift and fierce.

Tuoba Yan's pupils contracted slightly. He nimbly turned aside and dodged the blow, using the Tuoba Clan's secret Dragon Step beneath his feet and leaving behind a half-arc afterimage.

"I told you, it was a misunderstanding!"

As Tuoba Yan dodged the girl's storm-like attacks, he explained helplessly, "I got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom. Who knew the lock was broken, and you were bathing inside..."

"Shut up!"

The girl barked angrily, her assault growing ever fiercer as both legs kicked out in succession, stirring waves of fragrant wind.

Tuoba Yan did not dare take the blows head-on. Relying on reactions far sharper than those of children his age, he used his movement technique to dodge left and right, weaving through the cramped space.

Though forced on the defensive at every turn, he continued to use his deft footwork to make every one of the girl's attacks miss.

In the midst of their clash, the girl suddenly spun and launched a flying kick, her toes aimed directly at Tuoba Yan's chest. It was astonishingly fast, and the kick carried an intense aura of Fox Charm.

Instead of retreating, Tuoba Yan advanced. His body twisted as nimbly as a loach, barely slipping past the side of her foot. At the same time, his right hand formed a fist and accurately struck the numb tendon behind her knee.

"Ah!"

The girl let out a soft cry, her leg going weak as she nearly dropped to her knees. But she reacted quickly, rolling away and widening the distance between herself and Tuoba Yan.

The girl's eyes were filled with shock and suspicion. Clearly, she had not expected this six-year-old child to possess such exquisite combat skills.

Tuoba Yan grew impatient and explained, "I'll say it one more time. It was a misunderstanding. I needed to relieve myself. Who knew the lock was broken, and you were bathing inside?"

"You saw my body, and you still call it a misunderstanding?"

"I didn't see much."

"Then exactly how much did you see?"

"I saw everything I was supposed to see. The important thing is, the lights were off, so I couldn't see very clearly."

"You... you're asking for a beating!"

The girl was furious at his words, her chest rising and falling with rage.

In an instant, two yellow soul rings slowly descended above her head.

At that very moment, a strange transformation took place.

Her figure became even more slender and captivating. Her ears turned into fluffy fox ears, and a soft, bushy fox tail grew behind her.

Her already exquisite face now carried an even more bewitching beauty, while a dense aura of Fox Charm radiated from her body, making people unable to resist being entranced.

"A Soul Fox!" Tuoba Yan was stunned. Staring at the transformation before him, he blurted out in shock, "You're Hu Liena!"