Tianxing Academy Was Ready

At a countryside restaurant, the group wolfed down their food, with Zhao Wuji, that Savage Bear of a man, eating the most fiercely.

After roughing it for so many days, they had finally gotten a hot, freshly made meal. Naturally, they ate their fill.

After a long while, Flender leisurely stretched and looked at Zhao Wuji, who was still stuffing his mouth, then said bluntly,

"Zhao, you're still eating the slowest. You can pay the bill later."

"Damn it." Zhao Wuji cursed, but did not stop eating. "You old miser, I'll pay, I'll pay."

The other three were already used to this scene. Only Qin Ming watched them and shook his head with a laugh.

His teachers, honestly...

Once they had rested up, Flender turned serious and looked at Qin Ming.

"Qin Ming, is the academy ready?"

Before leaving, Flender had handed Qin Ming the savings of half his life and told him to contact a construction crew.

Qin Ming was mild-tempered and meticulous in his work. Flender trusted him completely with anything he was assigned.

"Teacher, it was finished days ago. We've just been waiting for you to inspect it."

"Ha ha, good!"

Spirit Masters were also an important part of this world's workforce. Battle-type Spirit Masters were naturally the most famous, but life-type Spirit Masters had permeated every aspect of society.

Having lived in Suotuo City for so long, Qin Ming had long since built up his own network of contacts.

After Flender and the others left, Qin Ming found a Soul Elder contractor. In just one week, the academy had been built.

Once Zhao Wuji finished eating and paid, the group immediately set off without delay. Before long, they arrived before a building that stood head and shoulders above the rest in a small village south of Suotuo City.

At first glance, the first thing they saw was the pristine white marble. A tall wall enclosed the grounds, followed by a sturdy, exceptionally wide iron gate made from top-quality steel. Large stone carvings stood on both sides of the entrance. They were not statues of anything, merely two lines of words.

"Heaven's movement is vigorous; thus the noble person strives tirelessly for self-improvement. The earth's nature is receptive; thus the noble person bears all things with great virtue."

Flender swept his gaze over the two stone carvings and nodded in great satisfaction.

So this was why schools liked putting up such big stones. They really were pleasing to the eye. Perhaps this was the perspective of a headmaster.

"Zhao, Li, Lu, Shao, and you too, Qin Ming. Read these two lines carefully. From now on, they will be our academy's motto.

"Strive tirelessly for self-improvement; bear all things with great virtue. Every teacher and student must keep these eight words firmly in their hearts!"

"Yes, Teacher!"

Qin Ming answered excitedly. He had known his teacher was extraordinary, but after seeing those two lines, the admiration in his heart left him speechless.

Zhao Wuji muttered the words twice, then nodded as though he understood despite not really understanding. Those two lines really did seem to have something to them. Just as expected of that old miser.

Pushing open the gates revealed a huge training field. One corner contained many wooden, stone, and iron stakes for power-attack and agility-attack Spirit Masters to spar against. Another corner held all sorts of specially made obstacles and balance tracks.

Strength and speed were the easiest abilities to train, so they had to be part of the daily morning classes. What was that called again? Right, campus running. It was mandatory.

Past the training field were the classrooms, fully furnished with desks and chairs. Flender even had Zhao Wuji sit on one to test it. It was incredibly sturdy, without the slightest issue.

Academic education was also essential. Flender planned to leave it to Lu Qibin, who was the oldest among them and the one who enjoyed reading the most.

Next came the cafeteria. Qin Ming had already arranged for the first batch of stored food to be delivered. The kitchen was fully stocked with firewood, rice, oil, salt, and seasonings, while chicken, duck, fish, shrimp, and more were abundant.

Shao Xin immediately went inside to inspect it, and the smile never left his face. As a food-type Spirit Master, he would naturally become the academy's future head chef.

As usual, Zhao Wuji slapped the cafeteria table. Seeing that it remained perfectly fine under his blow, he nodded in satisfaction as well.

Anything meant for students had to be durable.

The teachers' offices, teachers' quarters, student dormitories, bathing rooms, toilets...

They inspected them one by one. Every place was quite good. It might not have been the best, but it certainly deserved to be called decent.

Finally, Flender emerged from the Cultivation Room Qin Ming had specially built for him. He patted the walls here and there as the wind brushed past him, looking deeply gratified.

This was the foundation of the academy. If they wanted to surpass other academies in the future, this was where they needed to make their mark.

A Spirit Master's cultivation method could also be considered "a form of breathing," resonating with the Soul Power in nature.

Just like at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where plants and medicinal herbs grew several times faster than elsewhere because of its natural environment.

With the knowledge in his mind, Flender was confident that he could create a high-concentration cultivation environment. Now that he had a stockpile of medicinal herbs, he was even more certain.

After inspecting the entire campus, they found a square five-story main building along with several side buildings and residential areas. It could not compare to a major academy, but though small, it had everything it needed.

Flender laughed heartily and patted Qin Ming on the shoulder, praise pouring from his mouth one sentence after another.

"You brat, you did really well! I knew I could trust you with this. Your teacher will remember it. There'll be a gift suitable for you."

Qin Ming smiled shyly. "As long as... as long as you teachers are willing to let me stay here, that's enough."

"What? You don't want to graduate from under us?"

"No." Qin Ming shook his head seriously. "You teachers took me in and raised me to who I am today. Wherever you teachers are, that is my home."

"You brat..."

Flender smiled in gratification. Now this was a healthy teacher-student relationship.

"Then stay. Work hard. From now on, you'll be the academy's director of instruction."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Qin Ming's heart finally settled. He had no desire whatsoever to leave the teachers who cared about him.

"Oh, right, Teacher. There's one more thing. Our academy still doesn't have a name."

"I already thought of that. Didn't you see the motto at the entrance? It'll be called Tianxing Academy."

"Tianxing? It's a very good name. But Teacher, why not use the next line instead?"

"Because Tianxing sounds better than Earth's Nature."

Flender answered as though it were only natural. He had originally wanted to call it Jinlin Academy—when a golden-scaled creature encounters wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon—but Tianxing still sounded better.

"You old miser, you can fly yourself, so that's why you called it Tianxing Academy, isn't it?" Zhao Wuji said with a curl of his lip.

"Not just that." Flender smiled. "Tell me, what level must a Spirit Master reach before they can travel through the sky?"

The others froze, then immediately realized that to remain suspended in the air, the minimum requirement was Spirit Saint cultivation.

Of course, there was still a vast difference between walking through the air and flying. If one's Martial Soul and soul skills did not grant flight, at most they could only walk through the air.

Was this their teacher's ambition? To ensure that every student here reached at least Spirit Saint cultivation?

Qin Ming grew even more excited. As expected of his teacher!

"Of course, there's still one problem. We have an academy now, but we don't have any students."

Flender rubbed his head. It was truly difficult for children in a small village to awaken Soul Power. They had been stationed here for so long, yet they had only found three children with Soul Power.

But it was not a big problem. Once he revealed his Spirit Saint cultivation, there would be no shortage of students.

"Oh, right, Teacher. About that..."

Qin Ming seemed to recall something and spoke hesitantly.

"The contractor who built this place said he could waive half the cost for us, paying it out of his own pocket."

"Really?!"

"But he has one condition: he wants his son to enroll here."

"If the boy has Soul Power, then there's no problem. Wait—even if he doesn't have Soul Power, there's no problem!"

If half the cost could be waived, Flender would even let that child take up a position here.

"He does have Soul Power, and it's not bad. Level four. It's just that the child's Martial Soul is somewhat unusual."

"I remember that contractor's Martial Soul was an iron shovel. How bad could his child's Martial Soul possibly be?"

"His child's Martial Soul is jade."

"Jade?"

"Just ordinary jade. Its material is the same—any random stone could smash it to pieces. The Spirit Hall Spirit Master who conducted the awakening rated it as a half-crippled Martial Soul."

"That's fine. Let the child come enroll. Do we have too few crippled Martial Souls here?"

Flender said indifferently. Of the three children they were currently teaching, the best Martial Soul was a sickle. The other two were a handkerchief and pig feed.

These four children would be the foundation upon which they proved their teaching ability.