First Arrival at Nuoding Academy

The next day, accompanied by the Jiangrong Village chief, Mo Hui set out for Nuoding City by carriage.

Jiangrong Village was not far from Nuoding City, and with the carriage, they arrived after only a morning's journey.

After a simple inspection, Mo Hui and the Jiangrong Village chief entered Nuoding City. The carriage continued onward and soon arrived before the gates of Nuoding Academy.

"Xiao Hui, I have matters to attend to, so I can't accompany you any further. With your uncle working at the academy, I'm sure you won't suffer any grievances there. But if you ever need help from the villagers, remember to write to us."

After giving Mo Hui a few reminders at the gates of Nuoding Academy, the Jiangrong Village chief hurried off, looking as though he truly had something urgent to handle.

Mo Hui picked up the large and small bags piled before him, preparing to enter Nuoding Academy.

"Stop! Kid, what are you doing here? This isn't somewhere you can enter whenever you like!"

Just as Mo Hui was about to enter the academy, a young gatekeeper quickly stepped in front of him and blocked his way.

Seeing himself being stopped, Mo Hui frowned slightly. He thought of the scene from the original story where Tang San had been stopped upon first entering Nuoding Academy. This person seemed to be that gatekeeper who had invited his own death.

However, Mo Hui did not react much. He simply took out the certificate issued by Su Yuntao from his clothes, handed it to the gatekeeper, and said, "Hello, I'm this year's Work-Study Student from Jiangrong Village. This is the certificate issued by Spirit Hall!"

The gatekeeper took the certificate and looked it over, muttering, "Mo Hui, Mutated Sparrow Spirit Pidgey, Innate Level 3 Spirit Power. A golden phoenix really did come out of this grass nest."

Innate Level 3 Spirit Power was not particularly high, but at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, it was already quite a good talent. Graduating as a soul master would not be difficult.

"Where are your parents?" the gatekeeper continued.

Whenever new students enrolled in the past, he would always earn a fair amount of extra money. There were always parents willing to slip him some cash, making his life much more comfortable.

So he wants money. Mo Hui's gaze flickered.

Of course, he had money. His parents had left him a considerable inheritance when they died. Although he had spent quite a bit over the years, he still had around two Gold Soul Coins left.

Together with the five Silver Spirit Coins the villagers had pooled for him, he had brought a total of two and a half Gold Soul Coins with him.

But if he gave the man money, there was no guarantee he would not push his luck. Besides, his money was meant for cultivation and daily living, not for this gatekeeper.

"My parents are no longer around, but I have an uncle who teaches at the academy. His name is Mo Hen!"

After some consideration, Mo Hui decided to bring up his relative who worked at the academy.

The moment he heard Mo Hen's name, the young gatekeeper's expression changed. His voice immediately softened as he said to Mo Hui in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "So you're Teacher Mo's relative. No wonder your talent is so outstanding."

He did not know how close Mo Hui was to Mo Hen, but as long as there was even the slightest possibility, he did not dare take the risk. Any teacher in the academy was at least a Soul Grandmaster in their twenties. He was merely a lowly gatekeeper and could not afford to offend one.

"Can I go in now?"

"Of course. Go ahead!"

After returning the certificate to Mo Hui, the young gatekeeper hurried back to his original post, his heart pounding wildly.

He had thought he could earn a little extra, only to nearly offend someone important. He would have to be more careful in the future.

"Thank you."

Mo Hui put the certificate back into his clothes, then continued carrying his bags and followed the academy's signs to the Academic Affairs Office to register.

"Knock, knock."

After a simple knock, Mo Hui entered the Academic Affairs Office.

At the moment, there was a teacher in his sixties inside the office. When he saw Mo Hui enter, his eyes showed some surprise.

"Little friend, are you here to register?" Director Su asked when he saw the large and small bags Mo Hui had placed outside the door.

As he spoke, Director Su was somewhat puzzled. Wasn't this far too early for registration? There were still more than two months before the new students were meant to report.

Mo Hui nodded, placed the certificate issued by Su Yuntao on Director Su's desk, and said, "Teacher, I'm this year's Work-Study Student from Jiangrong Village. Please help me register."

Director Su took the certificate and glanced at it. He really was a soul master who had only awakened this year. Innate Level 3 Spirit Power—his talent was not bad.

A moment later, Director Su returned the certificate to Mo Hui. Just as he was about to say something, a plain-looking teacher in his thirties with dark green hair walked in.

After entering, the teacher was slightly stunned when he saw Mo Hui standing before the desk.

"Xiao Hui, why did you come here by yourself?" Mo Hen asked in pleasant surprise.

Although he had already received news that Mo Hui had awakened Innate Level 3 Spirit Power, Nuoding Academy would not officially begin classes for another two months. He had originally planned to take leave in a few days to visit his nephew, yet Mo Hui had unexpectedly come on his own today.

"Uncle Mo Hen, I wanted to cultivate and become a soul master sooner, so I came early."

Seeing Mo Hen, Mo Hui smiled and greeted him.

After his parents' deaths, Mo Hen had treated him quite well. Otherwise, he would not have turned down Spirit Hall's recruitment and come to Nuoding Academy.

Because he believed that, at least during the soul master stage, with Mo Hen's help, his conditions would not be much worse than those at Spirit Hall's academy.

"You came rather early."

Hearing this, Mo Hen smiled helplessly. Reporting three months early was technically against the rules, and Mo Hui should have gone back to wait.

But rules could be flexible as long as they did not touch the bottom line.

Mo Hen then looked at Director Su and said, "Director Su, this child is my nephew, Mo Hui. Xiao Hui, hurry and greet Director Su!"

"Hello, Director Su! I'm Mo Hui!" Mo Hui said.

Seeing this, Director Su swallowed the words he had been about to say. He had originally intended to tell Mo Hui to return and wait three months because it was against the rules. But if he was Mo Hen's nephew, admitting him a little early was only a minor matter.

Thus, Director Su changed his tone. "Hehe, it's a good thing that Xiao Hui has such a diligent heart!"

The three then exchanged pleasantries for a while. During that time, Mo Hui's registration to stay at the academy was completed.

Next, under Mo Hen's guidance, Mo Hui arrived at the Work-Study Student dormitory. At the moment, the Work-Study Students were cleaning around the academy, so no one was in the dormitory.

Mo Hen set down the luggage and said to Mo Hui, "Xiao Hui, you'll stay here for the next three months. Once school officially starts, I'll help transfer you to become a regular student."

However, Mo Hui shook his head. "Uncle Mo Hen, being a Work-Study Student is actually pretty good. I don't have to pay tuition either."

Tuition at Nuoding Academy was one Gold Soul Coin per term. That was indeed nothing to soul master noble families, but it was not cheap for Mo Hui. Naturally, it was best if he could avoid paying tuition.

After hearing Mo Hui's words, Mo Hen thought for a moment and said, "All right. If you change your mind, tell your uncle. As for the cleaning work, don't do it. It's only ten Copper Spirit Coins a day. Delaying your cultivation for that would not be worth it."

Mo Hen was actually the one responsible for the Work-Study Students' cleaning duties. Ordinary Work-Study Students came from very poor families, so the income from cleaning was quite important to them. Otherwise, they could not even afford food.

But Mo Hui did not need it. As a Soul Grandmaster in his twenties, Mo Hen could collect ten Gold Soul Coins from Spirit Hall every month. Together with his salary as a teacher, how could he let his nephew go hungry?

Especially a nephew who clearly had talent as a soul master and might even surpass him in the future.

"Thank you, Uncle."

Hearing this, Mo Hui nodded. He had originally worried that cleaning might be a mandatory task that could affect his cultivation, but since Mo Hen had said so, he naturally would not clean anymore.

After all, he still had two and a half Gold Soul Coins on him. He was not truly that poor. He felt that he should be able to break through to Level 10 before spending all that money. By then, he would have an income of one Gold Soul Coin per month.