St. Thorn High School

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

This time, in the bedroom, Tang Qi placed the last piece of clothing into the wooden trunk before him, closed and locked it, then picked up the exquisite envelope lying on the bed beside it. Inside was an admission notice—the thing Tang Qi had been waiting three days for.

The notice was made of some sort of cool, textured paper, with intricate patterns around its edges. At the top was an emblem: a holy sword entwined with thorns. It exuded an air of nobility and holiness.

In the center, it read:

Dear Tang Qi, following an assessment, we believe you are an upright and kind young man who fully meets our requirements for a Thorn Apprentice. You have been admitted to St. Thorn High School. Please report to St. Thorn High School between May 3 and May 9, Divine Eagle Calendar Year 102.

The final line was the school motto.

May you Embrace the Thorns; may you one day Cut Through the Thorns.

Judging by that motto alone, one might have thought it was simply a church high school.

In truth, St. Thorn High School had indeed been one a century ago. But as the church's influence weakened, St. Thorn High School had become more like an aristocratic high school. It was renowned throughout Mihuang State for its exceptional education and fine school spirit, and was one of Messer City's calling cards to the outside world.

This was the second small favor Tang Qi had asked Ronald to handle.

The Original Owner had just turned fifteen, the proper age for high school.

If the Original Owner's parents had not died unexpectedly, the Tang Family's wealth and connections would barely have been enough to send Tang Qi into St. Thorn.

Unfortunately, now that Tang Qi was alone, even if he wanted to call in favors, people probably would not have paid him any attention.

With Ronald stepping in, everything was different.

And the reason Tang Qi had insisted on entering St. Thorn High School was certainly not for the status of an aristocratic student. Aside from needing a good place to study and learn about this New World, his greater reason was to avoid the Samira Family's revenge.

According to Old Morgan's Diary, whenever members of that family approached St. Thorn High School, their power rapidly weakened, sometimes leaving them even frailer than ordinary people.

Even Samira herself was not exempt from this. The old witch had guessed that remnants of the church's power still lingered within St. Thorn High School—and they were no weak remnants. Even without a confrontation, the aura they emitted could suppress the evil of Dark Witchcraft.

With that information, Tang Qi would have been a fool not to take advantage of it.

He tucked the admission notice into his coat, lifted the trunk, locked every room in the villa, and thoroughly locked the large iron gate as well. After one last look at the completely deserted "home," he turned away with a calm expression and left without a trace of reluctance.

The life of a rich second-generation heir with a vast fortune and no one to control him sounded wonderful.

Unfortunately, it was not what Tang Qi wanted.

If he had never witnessed Supernatural Power, perhaps Tang Qi would have enjoyed it peacefully.

But now, everything was different.

Carrying his trunk, Tang Qi strolled out along the tree-lined road beyond the villa. His appearance was somewhat different from when he had first been reborn: comfortable black dress trousers, a teal linen shirt, a somewhat formal short trench coat, black hair, and black eyes. He looked refined and youthful.

It had to be said that the Original Owner had been blessed with excellent looks and a great deal of natural charm.

So, to conceal himself a little, Tang Qi had rummaged through the villa for a pair of black-rimmed glasses. At last, he no longer looked quite so conspicuous.

The Tang Family's home was in a community called Loki. It was quiet and pleasant, inhabited by people of considerable means, most of whom had their own transportation.

But there were clearly plenty of children as well, so public transit ran along the central tree-lined road of the villa district.

At that moment, a yellow bus pulled up in front of Tang Qi.

After boarding, Tang Qi did not speak to anyone and headed straight for an empty seat.

The buses here were all free. The cost was probably included in the villa management fees, so there were no fare collectors. Nor did Tang Qi need to announce his stop; the place he was going was surely one of the designated stops.

In fact, the moment he sat down, Tang Qi realized that everyone on the bus was probably headed to the same destination.

The bus was filled almost entirely with students.

They were around Tang Qi's age, though one or two looked a little older. Unlike Tang Qi, they all wore uniform-like clothing, much like the aristocratic school uniforms he had imagined. Over their hearts, every one of them bore the same emblem.

The Holy Sword and Thorn Emblem from the admission notice.

Perhaps because Tang Qi was not wearing a uniform, the students on the bus all glanced at him. The indifferent ones looked away immediately, while the friendlier ones smiled. No inexplicable bullies appeared to pick on him.

Tang Qi returned their smiles, perfectly playing the part of a shy, ordinary black-haired boy.

He took a seat in a corner of the bus. The ride was uneventful, and before long the school bus arrived at what seemed to be the only stop—Thorn Street.

Following the crowd of students off the bus, he was swept with the flow of people toward the buildings at the end of the street.

Ahead lay a plaza paved with white bricks and stone. At its center stood a low church that looked extremely old, yet possessed no hint of extravagance. It perfectly matched the Holy Thorns Church's ideals: revering pain and suffering, without seeking splendor.

The crowd split apart in the plaza. The students headed toward the buildings on the other side, while adults who appeared to be teachers or staff headed in the opposite direction.

After observing for a moment, Tang Qi chose the direction opposite the students.

Beyond the plaza was a disorderly cluster of buildings, with faculty and staff constantly moving through it.

Just as Tang Qi was about to stop someone at random and ask where the Student Reception was, a weathered middle-aged man in priestly robes hurried up from behind. Seeing Tang Qi turn around, he asked directly, "Child, is your name Tang Qi?"

"That's me!"

Tang Qi replied, puzzled.

Upon receiving confirmation, the middle-aged priest let out a breath. "I thought I had missed you. Fortunately, I didn't."

"Child, Mr. Ronald asked me to help you complete your enrollment procedures. You may call me Sinbani. Come with me."

With that, the middle-aged priest turned around and led Tang Qi toward a low red building within the cluster.

As they approached, Tang Qi indeed saw a sign hanging on the wooden door of the third office on the First Layer. It read: Student Reception.

"Pastor Sinbani, thank you for your help."

After the two emerged from the reception office, Tang Qi turned and gave the priest a slight bow, speaking with great politeness.

Before the priest could respond, Tang Qi seemed to remember something and asked, "Pastor Sinbani, are there places to rent within the campus? I plan to live on campus for my three years of Thorn Trial. Because of my personality, I would prefer a quiet room to myself if possible. Do you have any recommendations?"

The trial Tang Qi spoke of naturally referred to studying.

But here, everyone called it the Thorn Trial. At least, that was what the stern blonde Old Woman responsible for receiving new students had called it.

Whether it was his natural disposition or because of Ronald's request, Pastor Sinbani was exceptionally kind toward Tang Qi. Hearing the question, he smiled faintly. "I see. What a brave child. Let me think—what areas still have rooms for rent?"

"At this point in time, there truly are not many options left."

"But you asked the right person. I can still remember a few places where you might find rooms that meet your requirements."

"Pastor, are there any other options? This place is already quite good, but if there is somewhere better, I can afford somewhat higher rent."

Tang Qi walked down the steps of a detached little building, speaking apologetically to Pastor Sinbani.

There were rooms for rent inside the building. Although he would not need to share one, the owner himself lived on the First Layer. Compared to the rooms they had previously inspected, it already suited Tang Qi's needs quite well, but Tang Qi still wanted to make one more effort to see if he could find the place most suited to his needs.

Because of Ronald's instructions, Pastor Sinbani was indeed conscientious. He was not annoyed by Tang Qi's request. He merely rubbed his face, frowned, and thought for a moment before saying with some difficulty, "There is one more place that meets your requirements, but it is somewhat special. It is too close to the Ascetic Society Club. It is very quiet during Other Times, but every dawn is when they train, so it may be a little strange. If you can accept that..."

Buzz

Before Sinbani could finish, Tang Qi's eyes had already lit up.

Not long afterward, in a secluded corner deep within the St. Thorn campus.

Tang Qi was smiling as he bid farewell to two people. One was naturally Pastor Sinbani, who had completed his reception task. The other was a white Old Man with a Rosacea Nose. Tang Qi had just reached a rental agreement with him, renting the two-story building the old man owned for a price that would normally have been considered very expensive.

After bidding them farewell politely, Tang Qi did not look at the refined little building behind him, its walls covered in ivy. Instead, he looked beyond a small grove toward several buildings at the end of a tree-lined road: a clock tower, several low buildings grouped together, and a small plaza resembling a training ground.

"The Ascetic Society Club!"

After looking for a while without spotting anything unusual, Tang Qi shook his head, murmured the words, and returned to the little building.

Pushing open the half-closed front door, he took in the building's layout at a glance: a small yet refined living room, a Restroom, a bathroom, and bedrooms and a guest room upstairs. The furniture and all necessary household items were present, so Tang Qi did not need to prepare anything else.

The owner had even left behind a bookshelf full of books in the bedroom.

Although the rent Tang Qi had paid was somewhat excessive considering all this, it clearly meant nothing to him. After all, his requirements were rather special.

Besides, he had just come into a huge fortune.