Enrollment, Dormitory Seven

A month later, at the dilapidated courtyard on the edge of the city.

Fang Ling ate pig intestines, gazing at the growth of the illusory Progress Bar with unconcealed delight.

The originally empty bar had now increased by more than one-sixth!

A pig could increase it by one percent, just like a person, but killing pigs was far easier than killing people.

This was the progress he had once dreamed of.

Although because of his physical condition and skill, he could only kill one pig every three days.

It was not much, but it was still far better than waiting around doing nothing.

With pig slaughtering and the Progress Bar growing together, he would be able to accumulate one full point in just over five months.

His speed of becoming a Soul Master had more than doubled.

However, besides killing pigs, there was another very important matter--

It was time to enroll.

That was right. There were countless villages outside the city, so the Spirit Hall would go there three months in advance to awaken their martial souls.

The city was close by, so the people there did it one month in advance.

After killing pigs for a month, Fang Ling was now supposed to go to school.

After changing into a clean, plain set of new clothes, he reluctantly committed the Dilapidated Courtyard to memory.

From now on, he would live at Notting Academy. Unless something unexpected happened, he probably would not return to this Hidden Dragon Land.

He fastened the Dagger that had been loot from the Old Beggar around his waist, then took out the proof he had hidden away.

He studied it carefully first, then kissed it once. Fang Ling strode out.

Notting Academy was in the west of Notting City, while his Dilapidated Courtyard was in the south.

The city was not large, and he was fairly familiar with every area. It would not take long to get there.

He arrived at his destination in about half an hour.

A towering stone archway stood there, with two dark iron gates beneath it.

At the center of the archway were four large characters: "Notting Academy."

The gate alone showed how expensive the place must have been. Soul Masters truly were the rulers of the Douluo Continent.

A young gatekeeper stood at the entrance. From his slovenly appearance, it was obvious he was not a good person.

He was probably the man who would make things difficult for Tang San later, then be judged to have a death wish.

Seeing Fang Ling standing motionless, the gatekeeper waved his fingers downward at him and shooed him away.

"Go, go, go. Scram off and play somewhere else, brat. This is Notting Academy, not a place suitable for you to fool around."

"Hello, handsome. I'm a Work-Study Student from Barren Stone Village here to enroll at Notting Academy. This is the Soul Master certificate issued by Master Su."

Fang Ling was not annoyed by his rude words. He simply took out the Soul Master certificate and handed it over.

The gatekeeper accepted it and glanced at it. "Tool Martial Soul Sickle, Level One Soul Power?"

He waited a moment. When Fang Ling showed no sign of offering him anything, he glanced at Fang Ling's prosthetic limb, and an amused smile appeared on his face.

"With such low Soul Power, and you're a Little Cripple too? You think you can enroll?"

"What kind of trash village is Barren Stone Village?"

Fang Ling did not care about Barren Stone Village being insulted. After all, he was not from there.

But he could not help feeling a surge of anger at the gatekeeper blocking his way.

Tang San really had not been wrong.

Fang Ling found himself agreeing with him a little. This damned gatekeeper truly had a death wish!

He had only worked for a month. Not only did he have no money, there were also some things he absolutely could not give away!

This gatekeeping idiot was not even a Soul Master, yet he dared to block the way and demand money. Did he want to die?

Fang Ling was currently living cautiously, but that did not mean he would let an ordinary person threaten him without daring to fight back!

A flash of light flickered across his right palm, and the Scythe Martial Soul appeared in an instant.

At the same time, his eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze turning exceedingly cold. A faint trace of Killing Intent unconsciously surfaced between his brows.

He had killed people before, and he had also killed ten pigs. As long as he recalled the feeling from back then, the so-called Killing Intent would naturally emerge.

For someone without Soul Power to become the gatekeeper of a Soul Master Academy, he definitely had connections. Killing him would be troublesome.

So he was merely trying to frighten him. Otherwise, he would have opened with a handful of lime powder.

The smile on the gatekeeper's face suddenly froze.

Looking at the cold, gleaming blade in Fang Ling's hand, he felt a chill wash over him. His hair stood on end, and his muscles trembled uncontrollably.

He had picked the wrong person!

Where had such a formidable little devil come from?

He had extorted money for three years and survived until now precisely because of his good judgment and timely submission.

Realizing that things were going badly, he cursed his luck and hurriedly begged for mercy. "I didn't sleep well last night, so I let my mouth run today. Brother Fang, don't stoop to the level of an idiot like me."

Fang Ling ignored his pleas and walked straight past him.

Once he entered the academy, the Sickle vanished, and only then did he take his left hand out from the lime-powder bag fastened around his waist.

He patted the dust from his hand and sneered. "What a cheap bastard."

Watching the dust scatter, the gatekeeper suddenly felt a chill run down his back. He knew he had just wandered along the line between life and death.

He hurriedly bowed over and over, viciously slapping his own cheeks.

"I'm a cheap bastard. I'm a cheap bastard."

Fang Ling paid no further attention to the unlucky fool. He knew where the Academic Affairs Office was, so he headed straight for the first floor of the main Teaching Building.

The door to the Academic Affairs Office stood open. After glancing at the sign and confirming that he had not come to the wrong place, he walked straight inside.

After enrolling smoothly, Fang Ling accepted a standard white Notting Academy uniform from the Dean and headed toward the Dormitory Building.

The Work-Study Students lived in Dormitory Seven, which was also the dormitory with the worst environment in the entire academy.

This was not surprising. They had not paid tuition in the first place. Letting a poor boy like him have a place to live and study already counted as the Spirit Hall benefiting the world.

At least he had a bed and would not be killed in his sleep. No matter how one looked at it, it was still better than his original Dilapidated Courtyard.

As soon as he reached the entrance to Dormitory Seven, he heard a noisy commotion coming from inside.

Looking closely, he saw that the door was open and seven or eight children were playing around inside.

Fang Ling knocked on the door, wearing his usual brilliant smile.

They were all roommates, so he had to build a good relationship with them.

That would make life more comfortable too.

"Hello, I'm the new Work-Study Student. Fang Ling."

Everyone was drawn to the newcomer and stopped playing around.

The tallest and most imposing one walked toward him.

He was burly and powerfully built, standing a full two heads taller than the thin and undersized Fang Ling.

He looked in surprise at Fang Ling's already-improved prosthetic limb, then looked down at him from his superior height.

"I'm Wang Sheng, the boss of this dormitory. My martial soul is Battle Tiger. What's yours, kid?"

"Sickle."

Fang Ling summoned his martial soul and displayed it for them.

A Sickle!

Wang Sheng's eyes lit up. It was a decent combat martial soul.

But his eyes immediately dimmed afterward. What a pity that its owner was a cripple.

"Little Cripple, remember to listen to me from now on, understand?"

"What happens if I don't?" Fang Ling blinked.

"Beat me, and you can be the boss. Then you won't have to listen! Want to try?"

Wang Sheng clenched his fists with a crackle, then raised his massive fists toward Fang Ling.

The corner of his mouth curved into an unruly smile, as if he intended to intimidate him with that.

"Scared?"

"Let's fight." Fang Ling's smile did not fade as he raised his Sickle and challenged him.

"I have my own things to do. It's impossible for me to follow your orders."

With only Wang Sheng's physical advantage, Fang Ling would probably lose if he did not strike hard from the beginning.

They would be classmates for at least three years, and they were in an academy. Fang Ling had no intention of going all out, but he had to fight.

When people were bullied, they naturally wanted to vent their anger. The simplest method was to redirect that anger.

That was why he could not be looked down on from the very beginning.

Otherwise, being so young and physically weak, he would easily suffer.