A Lion Patrols His Territory

"Hm? Paying your own tuition?" Director Su finally looked up for the second time, a trace of confusion in his eyes.

"Child, are you sure? Our academy's tuition is a full two Gold Soul Coins. That is no small sum."

Chen Yumo demonstrated his resolve through his actions. He reached into his pocket as if taking out money, but actually retrieved two Gold Soul Coins from the System Space and placed them on Director Su's desk.

"This is my tuition."

Now that he had left Holy Soul Village, he naturally had to find a way to live a little better.

Male and female Work-Study Students lived together, with thirty or forty little brats crammed into one place. Chen Yumo could guess how awful that environment would be without even seeing it. It might not be as outrageous as Shrek's outer academy ten thousand years later, where four hundred people fought over one toilet, but it definitely was not a suitable place for cultivation.

Compared to the living conditions, the little bit of work Work-Study Students had to do was nothing.

Chen Yumo disliked noise. He was more accustomed to quietly doing his own things alone. It was only two Gold Soul Coins, and he felt the price was well worth it.

Didn't the system provide him with startup funds precisely so he could focus more fully on researching his Martial Soul and finding a way for it to evolve?

This was what money was for.

Looking at Chen Yumo's childish little face, Director Su hesitated for a moment before picking up the two Gold Soul Coins and weighing them in his hand. To his surprise, they were genuine.

Then he had nothing more to say.

The boy was willing to pay for school himself. What was there for him, the director, to persuade him about?

He tore up the form that had already been more than half filled out, then wrote up a new one. After finishing, he took out a large ring of keys from the desk drawer in front of him, casually selected one, and handed it to Chen Yumo as he explained.

"Self-funded students do not need to work like Work-Study Students, nor do they need to live in shared dormitories. You will have an individual dormitory, complete with its own toilet and bathroom. This is your dormitory key."

"School officially begins tomorrow. You still have some time today. You can go outside the academy and pick up some daily necessities, or wait until you're settled before buying them."

"I understand. Thank you, Director Su." Chen Yumo bowed in thanks, then left the Academic Affairs Office.

Leaving aside everything else, just the private dormitory and private bathroom made Chen Yumo feel those two Gold Soul Coins were money well spent.

Counting his assets, the exchange rate between gold, silver, and copper soul coins was one to one hundred. After spending two Gold Soul Coins, Chen Yumo still had ten thousand and ninety-nine Gold Soul Coins in his little treasury.

Mm, he was still very wealthy.

Chen Yumo first went to the dormitory, patrolling his territory like a lion.

The dormitory was an ordinary small single room. It had a single bed one and a half meters wide and one point eight meters long, along with a desk and chair by the window. At the far end was a wardrobe. He would need to buy his own daily necessities.

It was unrealistic to expect it to be particularly large or luxurious. After all, this was merely an academy dormitory in a small city.

But a private room was bound to be more comfortable than shared accommodations. Human cubs at that age were the sort everyone found irritating. Chen Yumo did not even dare imagine how noisy thirty or forty of them gathered together would be.

After checking everything over and finding no problems, with the lighting also being suitable, Chen Yumo left the dormitory to buy daily necessities in the city.

Having money gave him a different kind of confidence. At this point, Chen Yumo basically bought whatever he lacked.

However, he was still new here, so he had to maintain basic vigilance. Wealth should not be flaunted, or disaster would surely follow. Though everything he bought was complete, the prices were all moderate—items that were quite good to use and a little expensive, but not enough to make others jealous.

When going out alone, only sufficient caution allowed one to live longer.

Whether he was outsmarting the air or not, being careful was never wrong. It might save his life someday.

After buying his daily necessities, Chen Yumo found somewhere in Nuoding City to eat. He did not return to the dormitory to rest until the sky had begun to darken.

The only thing worth mentioning was this.

After returning to Nuoding Academy, Chen Yumo saw Tang San, who had just finished eating, on campus. A lively little girl dressed in pink was following beside him.

One look was enough to confirm it: the hundred-thousand-year Rogue Rabbit.

Chen Yumo only gave her a brief glance to confirm her identity and did not look any further.

The Rogue Rabbit's Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone were not something he could covet at his current stage. Besides, those Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone might not even suit him. If he wanted to follow the path of Divine Silkworm Breaking the Cocoon, he could not make any mistakes in choosing each Spirit Ring and every Spirit Bone. It was not simply a matter of higher age being better.

If he chose the wrong Spirit Ring, the stronger the ring he absorbed, the farther he would go in the wrong direction of evolution. There would be no way to correct it.

That did remind him of something.

When choosing Spirit Rings in the future, he had to choose only rings he had already confirmed. Even mutated soul beasts of the same type would not do. He had to strictly hunt soul beasts and absorb Spirit Rings according to the soul beasts he had chosen.

Lying on the soft bed, Chen Yumo gradually drifted into sleep.

The next day.

The opening ceremony was held as scheduled.

In all of Nuoding Academy, only Tang San had gone out to hunt soul beasts and failed to attend. Everyone else was present.

At the opening ceremony, Nuoding Academy's dean did not waste time with nonsense. He briefly encouraged them to cultivate diligently and become great Soul Masters, then announced the dismissal.

Chen Yumo had thought that would be the end of the day, but just as the opening ceremony ended, the male louse from the other end of Nuoding Academy led the Louse Swarm to find him.

Xiao Chenyu blocked his path and sized him up from head to toe.

"You're Chen Yumo?"

"Yes, I am." Chen Yumo nodded, looking directly at Xiao Chenyu. His body was steady and relaxed, but he was also prepared to counterattack at any moment.

However, Xiao Chenyu had not come to pick a fight this time. He had come to make Chen Yumo pledge allegiance.

"My name is Xiao Chenyu. My Martial Soul is a wolf, and I'm a one-ring battle Soul Master—the only man in Nuoding Academy! You're not a Work-Study Student, so I'll give you a chance to join us. Call me Boss Xiao, just like them!" Xiao Chenyu declared arrogantly. The lackeys behind him clustered around him with their fists clenched, looking eager for a fight.

A normal child would probably have been frightened into tears before immediately bowing his head in submission.

But to Chen Yumo, who possessed an adult soul, this behavior was so childish it was almost laughable.

Yet Chen Yumo did not argue. Instead, he smiled and nodded. "All right, Boss Xiao. I just enrolled and don't understand anything. Boss Xiao, you're so impressive. Please take care of me from now on."

Xiao Chenyu froze slightly, all the words he had intended to say caught in his throat.

Seriously, man, were you really this adaptable?

If you did this, how were they supposed to show off their domineering aura and make you submit?

Didn't normal new students usually act all proud and rebellious, then join only after getting beaten up by them?