School Rules

Lan Xue smiled. "Just luck, that's all." Her strength was her own; she had no need for anyone else to believe anything.

Dai Mubai told Ma Hongjun the names and martial souls of Tang San and the other three newcomers. As for Lan Xue's true strength, he did not explain much, merely hinting that Ma Hongjun had better not provoke her.

After the introductions, Dai Mubai continued, "Since we'll all be living and cultivating together from now on, there's no need to be so formal with how we address each other. Including the four of you newcomers, there are only seven people in the academy altogether. Xiao Ao and Fatty both call me Boss Dai because I'm a little older than they are. You can just call me Mubai. As for Ma Hongjun, just call him Fatty. That guy Oscar—you can call him Xiao Ao or Uncle Great Sausage. Tang San, how about I call you Little San from now on?"

Tang San nodded, indicating that he had no objections. Though he had not spent much time at Shrek Academy yet, he already felt a faint sense of belonging. Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun each had their own distinct traits, but none of them rubbed him the wrong way.

"Call me Little Xue." After eating her fill, Lan Xue leaned against Tang San's shoulder.

Before Dai Mubai could address her, Ning Rongrong said readily, "Just call me Rongrong. My family and friends all call me that."

A smile remained on her face. With that simple sentence, she invisibly drew herself closer to the others.

When Dai Mubai's gaze fell on Zhu Zhuqing, she stood up. "I'm full." With that, she turned and walked outside.

Ma Hongjun looked at Dai Mubai in surprise. "Boss Dai, aren't you supposed to be invincible among women, a legendary girl killer? Why won't this new beauty even spare you a second glance?"

Dai Mubai wore a bitter smile. He shook his head but offered no explanation.

Tang San said to Dai Mubai, "Mubai, we're all new here. Tell us about the academy's rules and classes."

Dai Mubai reluctantly pulled his thoughts away from Zhu Zhuqing. "The academy doesn't have any special rules. Simply put, no robbery or plundering, but fighting and gambling are encouraged."

A faint smile appeared on Tang San's face. Monster Academy truly lived up to its name. Even its teaching methods were vastly different from Nuoding Academy's.

Dai Mubai explained, "The teachers believe that combat is the best shortcut to becoming proficient with your martial soul. Building actual combat experience is extremely important. Gambling, meanwhile, is a battle of the mind. It is highly beneficial for strengthening one's mental fortitude, observational skills, and judgment. Of course, everything must be done in moderation. Simply put, don't kill anyone in a fight, and don't gamble away your pants."

"As for the class schedule, I can't say what it'll be like in the future, because our classes can change at any time. After all, there are only a few of us, and there are even more teachers than students. So the academy adjusts the curriculum according to each person's circumstances. But I can say for certain what today's most important class is: collecting tuition. The academy's annual tuition is one hundred gold coins. For Soul Masters at the Soul Grandmaster level like you, that shouldn't be a problem at all."

Hearing this, Lan Xue could not help interrupting, "Boss Dai, you said yesterday that the academy was very poor. But why would it be poor? Some of the teachers we've met are over level sixty, while some are over level seventy. Judging by their ranks, the subsidies they can receive from Spirit Hall should be astronomical. Supporting such a small academy shouldn't amount to much, should it?" After asking that idiotic question, Lan Xue consoled herself: The plot requires it, the plot requires it. Hahahaha.

Dai Mubai shook his head. "If things were as you say, of course the academy wouldn't need to worry about income. But that isn't the case. The subsidies granted by Spirit Hall are funded by the Empire and distributed through Spirit Hall. Subsidies are only provided up to the Soul Elder rank. You receive one hundred gold coins each month, like I do now. But once you surpass the Soul Elder rank, not only does the subsidy not increase—it disappears. In other words, Soul Ancestors and all Soul Masters above them cannot receive any subsidies from Spirit Hall. Whenever you go to Spirit Hall to collect your monthly subsidies, they test your Soul Power, right? That is to determine whether your Soul Power has exceeded level forty. Once it does, the subsidy immediately stops."

This time, even Tang San could not help being curious. "Why is that? The stronger a Soul Master is, the more valuable they should be, shouldn't they?"

Dai Mubai said, "But it has to be viewed realistically. Although Soul Masters are a noble profession and true Soul Masters are not numerous, they still form a fairly large group. You should have calculated it before: if subsidies were distributed according to that scale, a Soul Saint would receive one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins per month, or one million two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins per year. What an enormous sum that would be. Not even counting other places, if the teachers of our academy received subsidies according to their strength and the Empire paid them in full, our teachers' yearly income alone would equal one-tenth of the total income of all the people in Suotuo City. What an enormous figure that is. Across the entire Empire, high-level Soul Masters may be few, but distributing subsidies this way would still be enough to drag the whole Empire down."

"Therefore, the Empire stipulated that subsidies exist only to encourage and assist low-level Soul Masters in cultivating, so they can raise their strength as quickly as possible. But above level forty, a Soul Master is already quite powerful and can choose to pledge loyalty to the Empire or join the military. In that case, the Empire will provide the appropriate compensation. Of course, Soul Masters also have the right to choose freely. Joining certain clans can also bring in considerable income."