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South of Spirit City lay a cluster of scattered courtyards, with houses standing close together. Housing prices in Spirit City were not particularly high, and many Soul Masters made their homes here.

The land around Spirit City all belonged to Spirit Hall. Some lower- and middle-ranking personnel lived within the city, while the true upper ranks either lived in the valley where the Papal Hall stood or had claimed large tracts of suburban land outside the city and transformed them into estates for their families.

The White Scaled Earth Dragon Clan was one such family. Their clan grounds were located in a valley south of the city. Every day, the chubby boy took a carriage to and from school, rising early to ride into the city with others his age from the clan.

Most Soul Masters living in Spirit City merely settled in noisy areas where housing was cheap. These quiet, detached courtyards were quite valuable, far beyond what ordinary Soul Masters could afford. Yan had only avoided moving into the academy dormitories because of Feng Lin.

The academy in Spirit City recruited students from all across the continent. Aside from some children whose families were settled in Spirit City, most students lived in the academy dormitories.

When too many people lived in a dormitory, all sorts of trouble arose. Tang San fighting for the position of boss in the work-study dormitory in Notting City was practically nothing. There were countless secret brawls and mutual beatings. In that kind of environment, forget cultivating peacefully after class—even finding a chance to read quietly was difficult.

"Boss, this is your home? Aren't you an orphan?"

Yan led Tuo Ba Hong to a stop before a courtyard. Looking at the sizable grounds before him, Tuo Ba Hong was a little dumbfounded. But Yan did not wait for him and simply continued ahead, so he hurriedly followed.

"Just like how you acknowledged me as your boss, naturally someone in Spirit Hall noticed my extraordinary potential and came to invest in me early."

Yan pushed open the courtyard gate and entered. Through the gaps by the windows of the small building visible from the entrance, they could see a young girl guiding a group of children in meditation and cultivation.

Yan led Tuo Ba Hong into the building. The girl turned and saw him, and a smile immediately appeared on her face. She walked over, took the backpack from Yan's back, and said gently, "Little Yan, you're back."

"Mm, thank you, Sister Liya."

Yan nodded and handed over his backpack. He then glanced at the group of children sitting cross-legged and cultivating in the hall, before looking upstairs and asking, "Uncle Lin hasn't returned yet?"

"Not yet."

Liya answered casually, only then noticing the chubby Tuo Ba Hong following Yan inside. She smiled gently at him. "Are you Little Yan's friend? This is the first time Little Yan has brought a friend home to play."

"Uh, well..."

The chubby boy appeared somewhat reserved and looked uneasily at Yan.

"Sister Liya, this is my classmate, Tuo Ba Hong. He'll be staying for dinner today. He has quite an appetite, so prepare a little more food."

Yan smiled at Liya. Then, before the chubby boy could recover, he led him upstairs. The study upstairs was quite warm, with the blazing fireplace constantly supplying heat.

"Sit."

Yan casually pointed to a chair for Tuo Ba Hong, then found a book on the shelf and sat down to read on his own.

Tuo Ba Hong looked around curiously. After hesitating for a while, he tentatively asked, "Boss, who was that sister just now?"

"Sister Liya used to be a deacon at the Nahr City Spirit Hall, but now she plans to stay in Spirit City and take care of me, along with the little ones downstairs."

Yan answered casually. Liya, Light, and Kent had been deacons of the Nahr City Spirit Hall Branch. Bringing this group of children to Spirit City to enroll had been a special assignment.

Originally, their mission would have ended once they safely delivered the children for enrollment. However, Feng Lin considered Yan's need for someone to care for him and discussed having Liya remain behind.

Liya was naturally willing to stay and care for Yan, her little brother. But she had also grown attached to some of the other children in the group and wanted to find Yan some companions so he could have a happier childhood.

After giving it some thought, Yan agreed to her suggestion and allowed the children from Nahr City to move in as well. The house was large enough, and even with more than ten children living there, it would not feel crowded.

Of course, although they lived under the same roof, there were differences in status between them. Feng Lin was the owner of the house, and Yan was naturally its young master. Liya was not a maid, but more like a private tutor. They all lived upstairs, each with their own room.

The children downstairs slept in communal beds, separated by gender. The conditions were not especially good, but compared to the other children living in the academy's work-study dormitories, they were certainly far better.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Yan sat in the room reading a book on theoretical research into martial souls, occasionally chatting with Tuo Ba Hong. About ten minutes later, there was a light knock on the door, followed by Sister Liya peeking inside.

"Little Yan, everything is ready."

Liya smiled at them. Yan set down his book and gestured for the bored chubby boy to follow him downstairs. The two left the room together and made their way to the kitchen.

"Boss, wasn't Sister Liya supposed to prepare dinner?"

Tuo Ba Hong followed Yan into the kitchen and saw all kinds of ingredients neatly arranged there. Some vegetables and fruits had already been made into salads and the like, but the main ingredient, the meat, was still raw and unprocessed.

"Help me out on the side."

Yan casually instructed him, then rolled up his sleeves. Flames instantly rose from both his palms. Yan picked up an all-metal kitchen knife and lightly heated the blade and the meat with his flames before beginning to carve up a slab of venison on the cutting board.

Many soul beasts had died during the chaotic battle in the Hot Springs Mountain Range. To avoid wasting them, Yan had Feng Lin store some of the better-quality ones in a Soul Tool. They still had not finished eating them even now.

Yan casually flicked the knife in a flourish, then stood beside a cutting board that had clearly been deliberately made lower. The kitchen knife in his hand flashed rapidly, and bone after bone was stripped away.

Watching the scene, which possessed an unusual sort of beauty, Tuo Ba Hong unconsciously swallowed. Although he had not tasted anything yet, he could not help looking forward to it.

Yan casually made cuts and picked the large bones into an iron pot one by one, while the processed venison lay limply across the cutting board.

Yan took several small bags from a kitchen cabinet, selected some spice fruits from them, and once again raised flames in his palm. The many spices were instantly dried and even released faint aromas before Yan stopped.

After finishing that, Yan called Tuo Ba Hong over. "Come here. Use that to grind these into powder. It needs to be very, very fine..."

Tuo Ba Hong silently accepted the spices. Under Yan's guidance, he mixed the many spices with pepper salt and ground them into powder. Meanwhile, Yan went to the iron pot holding the bones. Under his control of Soul Power, a blaze rapidly heated the pot, and a fragrant aroma gradually filled the kitchen.

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