Nuoding Academy, First Meeting Yu Xiaogang

A few days after Tang San and Chen Ming's spar, the opening day of Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy drew near. Old Jack prepared to borrow a donkey cart from the neighboring village to take the two children and a basket of local specialties to Nuoding City.

On the night he borrowed the donkey cart, Chen Ming quietly sought out Old Jack and told him about the secret he had hidden in the mountains.

In this era of underdeveloped technology, Black Fungus was a rare mountain delicacy that could only be gathered in the wild. It was both an ingredient and a nourishing medicinal herb. Because Chen Ming had watched videos in his previous life about how to cultivate Black Fungus, he had secretly grown a batch of it on the mountain in this era.

He had eaten most of it himself and occasionally shared some with others. Now that he was leaving Holy Soul Village, Chen Ming simply handed over both the Black Fungus he was cultivating and the method for growing it to Old Jack, leaving him to figure things out.

If used properly, it would be absurdly easy for the village to escape poverty and grow prosperous. Even if they could not reveal the cultivation method, selling some Black Fungus now and then would greatly improve the lives of Old Jack and the villagers.

Old Jack excitedly hugged Chen Ming, his eyes filled with gratitude. Even when he got up early the next morning, his face was glowing and his lips wore a broad smile. Tang San, standing beside him, looked utterly confused and had no idea why Old Jack was so happy.

The cart wheels creaked over the uneven dirt road. The somewhat aged donkey in front puffed and snorted as it pulled the cart, carrying the three of them and a large basket of local specialties onward.

Although it was not much faster than walking and the constantly jolting wooden cart was torture on their backsides, it at least saved them energy.

The three of them set out when the sky had only just begun to brighten. By the time they arrived in Nuoding City, daylight had fully broken. After asking passersby for directions several times, Old Jack drove the cart to the Junior Soul Master Academy in western Nuoding City and dropped off Chen Ming and Tang San first.

"These are two children from our village. One has Blue Silver Grass and Innate Full Soul Power, while the other has a Heavy Armored Earth Dragon with Innate Soul Power at rank seven."

Looking at the gatekeeper, Old Jack took out their awakening certificates and handed them over.

"Two children with Soul Power? This..." Though the gatekeeper did not quite believe it, seeing Old Jack's donkey cart and the large basket of dried goods, he ultimately accepted the two certificates with lingering doubts.

"One has Blue Silver Grass with Innate Full Soul Power, and the other has a Heavy Armored Earth Dragon with rank-seven Soul Power. Dragon... dragons are the mark of an emperor. Can a golden Phoenix really fly out of a little village?"

"I've been a gatekeeper here for four years, and I've never seen anyone with Innate Full Soul Power."

The gatekeeper did not truly believe that such promising Spirit Masters could come from a tiny village, especially one with the unheard-of Innate Full Soul Power. In his mind, a Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass was useless beyond measure.

According to the original story, he should have shown Old Jack intense contempt and disdain, deliberately making trouble because Old Jack had not given him a gift.

But when he saw the basket of mountain delicacies on Old Jack's donkey cart and the words "Heavy Armored Earth Dragon" on the certificate, the gatekeeper still forced out a smile despite receiving no gift.

Don't look down on a donkey cart just because it is a cart, and don't look down on an Earth Dragon just because it is a dragon.

Could riding in a cart be the same as walking? Could Blue Silver Grass and an Earth Dragon possibly be on the same level?

"All right, you two new students may enter." The gatekeeper awkwardly smiled as he returned their certificates, then welcomed Chen Ming and Tang San inside.

Just as Chen Ming slung the bundle from the donkey cart onto his back and prepared to enter the academy gates, a hoarse voice suddenly cut in.

"Innate Full Soul Power?" A slovenly, dispirited middle-aged man seemed to have discovered some priceless treasure. He hurried over from afar without so much as a greeting and directly snatched the certificates from their hands.

When he saw that one certificate read, "Chen Ming—Innate Soul Power Rank Seven—Heavy Armored Earth Dragon," a trace of disdain flashed across Yu Xiaogang's face. He casually tossed Chen Ming's certificate back into his arms.

Only after seeing the certificate reading, "Tang San—Innate Full Soul Power—Blue Silver Grass," did a faint smile appear on the man's face.

"I'll take these two children." Yu Xiaogang's tone was stiff and carried a hint of command.

Although a trace of barely concealed disdain flashed through the gatekeeper's eyes, he still forced a smile and explained to Old Jack, "This is our academy's Grandmaster, a good friend of our Dean. Leave these two new students to the Grandmaster, and he will definitely handle everything properly."

"Grandmaster..." Suspicion flashed in Old Jack's eyes as he looked at the dispirited middle-aged man, but he immediately suppressed it. "Thank you, Lord Soul Master."

Yu Xiaogang did not bother saying more to Old Jack. He directly grabbed Tang San's hand and led him into the academy, completely ignoring Chen Ming, Old Jack, and the gatekeeper.

Seeing such undisguised contempt and disregard, all three of them felt a trace of displeasure, but none of them said anything.

"Grandpa Jack, I'm leaving. Make sure you take good care of yourself."

"Good child, I will." Old Jack rubbed Chen Ming's head and handed him a small pouch. "I brought some Dried Sweet Potato before we set out. You can eat it later."

Chen Ming did not remember Old Jack bringing any Dried Sweet Potato, but the instant he accepted the pouch, he felt the round outline inside.

"Thank you, Grandpa Jack. I'm leaving." Chen Ming tucked the "Dried Sweet Potato" into his robes, then bade Old Jack farewell and hurried into the academy with his certificate.

After watching the two enter, Old Jack casually greeted the gatekeeper and prepared to leave. But the gatekeeper stopped him. "Old Village Chief, are you selling Mushrooms and Black Fungus? Our academy happens to be short on such fine goods. My brother-in-law is a teacher here. Shall I call him over to discuss it with you?"

"Then thank you, little brother." Old Jack pulled out a smile. Remembering Chen Ming's earlier instructions, he took a small bag, filled it with some dried Black Fungus, and slipped it to the gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper tucked the bag into his robes, his mood improving somewhat. After giving Old Jack a few reminders, he went into the academy to find his brother-in-law.

Within minutes, a middle-aged Spirit Master came out. He was slightly stunned when he saw Old Jack's basket of mountain delicacies, then began negotiating with him.

Since the teachers at the Soul Master Academy received subsidies from Spirit Hall, they were fairly generous with money. They simply contracted all of Holy Soul Village's Black Fungus and Mushroom production at a price slightly above market value. They also ordered some vegetables and staple foods, asking Old Jack or other villagers from Holy Soul Village to deliver them at regular intervals.

Though this money was not much to Spirit Masters, it truly gave Old Jack and Holy Soul Village a stable source of extra income. And with these regular deliveries, Old Jack would be able to come by and see how Chen Ming and Tang San were doing.