Six Years Later

Time flew by.

So quickly that Meow Meow had only taken a few naps, while the Blue Silver Grass in Notting City had already gone through several generations.

At first, the Notting City Martial Soul Hall Holy Fire Primary Academy was just a pilot project.

A small courtyard.

A few classrooms.

A handful of textbooks.

And a group of commoner children who barely understood cultivation.

No one had expected that six years later, this little school would become a well-known place in Fasinuo Province for introducing commoner children to the world of Soul Masters.

Of course, the school itself wasn't what it was most famous for.

It was the patch of Blue Silver Grass by the entrance.

When many children first came to the school, their teachers would bring them to the grass.

The teachers would tell them:

"Look, this is just the most ordinary Blue Silver Grass."

"It's weak."

"But it can sense life and Soul Power, detect fluctuations in Soul Power, and help plant-type Soul Masters understand their Martial Souls."

"So being weak doesn't mean being useless."

That saying was later carved into a wooden sign at the school gate.

It became the line the Notting City Branch Hall most liked to use when teaching new students.

Meow Meow was quite pleased the first time he saw the sign.

Until he noticed another line of tiny writing carved beside it.

[As Lord Holy Cat said.]

Meow Meow stared at it for a long time.

"When did this meow ever say that?"

Su Yuntao was standing nearby, head lowered and afraid to speak.

The Branch Hall Master was also afraid to speak.

In the end, Bibi Dong looked through the records and said calmly:

"It means more or less the same thing."

Meow Meow: "..."

Fine.

Let Lord Holy Cat have said it, then.

It did sound pretty imposing, at least.

Notting Academy had changed quite a bit over the past six years, too.

Tang San had gone from a newly enrolled child to the academy's most famous Work-Study Student.

Blue Silver Grass, first Soul Skill: Entanglement.

He was steady at controlling the field, quick to assess situations, and measured in his attacks.

He no longer just listened to Grandmaster's theories.

Grandmaster still taught him.

But the public lectures and basic textbooks from the Martial Soul Hall School, records of Soul Hunting, and advanced materials occasionally sent over from Spirit City had all influenced him as well.

Tang San rarely trusted only one person.

He was used to comparing different views.

He listened when Grandmaster offered one explanation.

He also read the different account in the Martial Soul Hall textbooks.

If the two conflicted, he tested them himself.

At first, Grandmaster found this hard to get used to.

Gradually, he accepted it.

Tang San really was growing well.

In fact, he was becoming more grounded than Grandmaster had expected.

Still, whenever Tang San brought him a Martial Soul Hall textbook and asked:

"Grandmaster, this part doesn't quite match what you told me."

Grandmaster would fall silent for a while.

Then he would start revising his theories.

In a way, the Martial Soul Hall hadn't suppressed Grandmaster.

It had actually pushed him to take his work more seriously.

Meow Meow's opinion was simple.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Theories should get more accurate as they're revised."

"You can't keep relying on one genius disciple to save face."

When Bibi Dong heard this, she said nothing.

She simply had someone gather together all the lessons Yu Xiaogang had publicly taught over the years.

When Meow Meow found out, he nearly laughed himself awake on his cushion.

His Holiness the Pope might not say it aloud, but she still held a grudge.

That was only natural.

Meow Meow held grudges, too.

Xiao Wu had changed a lot as well.

At first, she had been very wary of the Martial Soul Hall.

Whenever she saw one of its deacons, she would instinctively keep her distance.

But after six years, her feelings toward the Notting City Martial Soul Hall Branch had become much more complicated.

After all, the school really had taught many commoner children.

And it offered a course called Soul Beast Habits and Coexistence.

The course didn't teach children how to hunt Soul Beasts.

Instead, it taught them how to recognize their behavior.

What counted as a warning.

What counted as a threat to drive someone away.

What counted as protecting their young.

And what counted as a real attack.

Once, Xiao Wu was sitting in the last row when Su Yuntao explained that "you shouldn't approach a Soul Beast that's protecting its young." She suddenly lowered her head.

Tang San glanced at her.

"Xiao Wu?"

"I'm fine."

Xiao Wu shook her head.

She had just suddenly remembered her mother.

After that day, Xiao Wu never again said, "Everyone from the Martial Soul Hall is the same."

Of course, she still didn't completely trust the Martial Soul Hall.

Meow Meow thought that was perfectly normal.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that had taken human form was right to be wary.

It would have been dangerous if she had completely let her guard down after just a few lessons.

Spirit City hadn't been idle over those six years, either.

The Martial Soul Hall Holy Fire School had gradually expanded from a pilot project around Spirit City to several important cities.

The Soul Pact system was still a secret.

But experiments with low-level Soul Pacts were becoming increasingly stable.

Lin An, the first Soul Pact Soul Master, had now become an assistant teacher at the Holy Fire School.

His Green Wood Mouse had grown from a Hundred-Year Soul Beast to nearly a thousand years old.

Even more absurdly, the Green Wood Mouse now attended lessons.

It even nodded along.

The first time Yue Guan saw this, he stood outside the classroom in silence for a long while.

Then he went back and wrote a report.

It began:

[Soul Pact Soul Beasts possess basic learning abilities. Recommend including them in the school management system.]

Meow Meow was delighted when he saw this.

"See? This meow said Soul Beasts could go to school, too."

Bibi Dong asked him:

"Would the Green Wood Mouse's enrollment count as a Soul Master student or a Soul Beast student?"

Meow Meow fell silent.

That was a good question.

In the end, the Holy Fire School created a new category just for it.

Pact Spirit Student.

The first officially registered Pact Spirit Student was that very Green Wood Mouse.

Lin An was so happy on the day the Green Wood Mouse registered that his eyes turned red.

The Green Wood Mouse was happy, too.

It took a bite out of its enrollment card.

When Meow Meow heard about it, he immediately added a new school rule.

Pact Spirit Students were not allowed to chew on their enrollment cards.

Bibi Dong read the new rule and said nothing for a long time.

She felt that the Martial Soul Hall was becoming a very strange place.

But it wasn't a bad kind of strange.

The Golden Generation was growing, too.

Hu Liena's Heart Shadow Dreamscape had become increasingly refined.

Her Charm no longer merely made people lose focus; it could find the weaknesses in their hearts.

Xie Yue had begun to master Moon Phase Blade Intent.

His Moon Blade was steadier than before, and its trajectory was harder to predict.

Yan had changed the most.

He was still hot-tempered.

But he no longer just set things on fire.

Earth Fire Insight had finally let him touch upon another side of his Flame Lord Martial Soul.

His fire had begun to take on the heavy quality of molten rock.

Even his defense had grown much stronger.

Of course, he still couldn't escape teaching lessons.

Over the course of six years, Meow Meow had sent Yan to teach Soul Master Ethics and Martial Soul Hall Statutes nineteen times in different places.

By the end, he could recite the whole course by heart.

Once, Hu Liena asked him:

"Do you still want to switch courses?"

Yan fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I want to see who'd dare bully commoners in a Statutes class taught by me."

Hu Liena laughed so hard her eyes curved.

Xie Yue even smiled, which was rare for him.

Meow Meow was pleased when he heard about it.

That was more like it.

A Flame Lord could be a civics teacher, too.

As time went on, it was finally graduation season at Notting Academy.

Tang San was twelve.

Xiao Wu was twelve, too.

They were no longer the little children who had first enrolled.

Wang Sheng had graduated a year earlier and gone to work as a low-level guard at a nearby city's Martial Soul Hall Branch.

Before leaving, he made a point of returning to the school to attend a Statutes lesson.

After the lesson, he thumped his chest and said:

"I'll never bully ordinary people."

Su Yuntao was very pleased.

Meow Meow was very pleased, too.

Although Wang Sheng wasn't a major character in the main storyline, it was still satisfying to see a minor character like him turn his life around.

The night before graduation.

Tang San sat on the steps outside Dorm Seven, holding a letter in his hand.

It contained Grandmaster's advice.

The letter mentioned a place.

Suotuo City.

Shrek Academy.

Xiao Wu bounded over and plopped down beside him.

"What are you thinking about?"

Tang San handed her the letter.

"My teacher suggested I go to this academy."

Xiao Wu took it and glanced at it.

"Shrek Academy?"

"Sounds weird."

Tang San nodded.

"I've never heard of it either."

Xiao Wu asked, "So are you going?"

Tang San didn't answer right away.

Six years ago, he might have followed Grandmaster's instructions without a second thought.

But now, he was used to looking into things first.

"I'm going to ask at the Martial Soul Hall Branch."

Xiao Wu blinked.

"Ask the Martial Soul Hall?"

"Yeah."

Tang San put the letter away.

"If I'm going to Suotuo City, I should find out what academies and powers are there first."

"If Shrek Academy really is good, then of course I can go."

"But if it just has a weird reputation, I'll need to think it over."

Xiao Wu propped her chin on her hand.

"You're really cautious."

Tang San smiled.

"I'm used to it."

The next day.

Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived at the Martial Soul Hall Branch in Notting City.

When Su Yuntao saw them, he couldn't help feeling a little sentimental.

One had been a Blue Silver Grass wielder with Innate Full Soul Power.

The other had been a little Soft Bone Rabbit girl with incomplete records.

In the blink of an eye, six years had passed, and they were about to graduate.

"Suotuo City?"

After hearing Tang San's question, Su Yuntao took out a map.

"Suotuo City is in the Balak Kingdom."

"There are indeed a few Soul Master Academies there."

"The best known is Suotuo Intermediate Soul Master Academy."

"As for Shrek Academy..."

Su Yuntao paused.

Tang San asked, "Is there a problem?"

Su Yuntao thought for a moment, then said:

"Their registration records are incomplete."

"The academy is very small, and its admissions standards are rather strange."

"It's been reported several times for charging high fees and providing unclear admissions information."

Xiao Wu frowned at once.

"That doesn't sound like a proper academy."

Tang San didn't jump to conclusions.

"Do they have any powerful people?"

Su Yuntao flipped through the records.

"The dean is Flender. His Martial Soul is a Four-Eyed Cat Eagle, and he's a Soul Saint."

"There are also several teachers, and they're quite strong."

Tang San nodded.

"Then they must have some real strength."

Su Yuntao said, "Having some real strength doesn't mean there are no problems."

"Both you and Xiao Wu are outstanding civilian Soul Masters on record at the Notting City School."

"Under the Martial Soul Hall's subsidy rules, if you attend a legitimate intermediate Soul Master Academy, you can apply for some financial aid."

"But we'll need to verify whether Shrek Academy qualifies for the subsidy."

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.

"There are subsidies too?"

Su Yuntao nodded.

"Yes."

"But the academy needs to keep clear accounts and can't charge tuition arbitrarily."

Xiao Wu immediately slapped the table.

"Then we definitely need to look into it!"

Tang San studied the information in his hands, mulling it over.

Grandmaster's recommendation meant there had to be something special about Shrek.

But the Martial Soul Hall's records showed that the academy really did have issues.

So he couldn't just take one side's word for it.

"Thank you, Deacon Su."

Tang San put the information away.

"We'll go and see for ourselves."

Su Yuntao reminded them:

"If you encounter any improper charges, remember to keep the receipts."

Xiao Wu nodded firmly.

"I will!"

Tang San: "..."

He suddenly felt that Xiao Wu was more interested in that than in the academy itself.

Far away in Spirit City, Meow Meow nearly burst out laughing as he watched.

"Here we go."

"We've planted the seed for the Shrek overcharging storyline ahead of time."

Bibi Dong sat beside him, looking at the information about Shrek on the screen.

"This is where you said the Protagonist Group would eventually gather?"

"Yeah."

Meow Meow nodded.

"Shrek Academy."

"The Monster Academy."

Bibi Dong said coolly, "Unclear fees, unknown standards, and a remote location."

"You call that an academy?"

Meow Meow blinked.

"They do have a catchy slogan."

"Only monsters, not ordinary people."

Bibi Dong glanced at him.

"The Martial Soul Hall shouldn't encourage academies like this."

"I agree."

Meow Meow swished his tail.

"So, have the branch in Suotuo City prepare."

Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to shut them down?"

"Not yet."

Meow Meow shook his head.

"First, we check their accounts."

"If they teach their students properly, we'll let them carry on."

"If they overcharge, mistreat ordinary people, or use the word 'monster' to deceive them, then we'll handle it by the rules."

Bibi Dong nodded slightly.

That was very much in keeping with the Martial Soul Hall.

And with Meow Meow.

Don't strike first.

Keep the books first.

Once the accounts are clear, then strike.

"One more thing."

Meow Meow's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Have Hu Liena and the others get ready over in Suotuo City too."

"The Golden Generation?" Bibi Dong asked.

"Yeah."

"Tang San and Xiao Wu are going to Suotuo."

"The people at Shrek will be gathering soon too."

"Since the Protagonist Group is about to make its entrance, the Martial Soul Hall can't just sit around."

Bibi Dong didn't understand what "Protagonist Group" meant, but she more or less understood Meow Meow's idea.

She looked out the window.

"You want the Martial Soul Hall's younger generation to meet them ahead of time."

"Not meet."

Meow Meow smiled.

"Exchange."

"A friendly exchange."

Bibi Dong studied his expression.

"Are you sure it'll be friendly?"

"Absolutely."

Meow Meow lowered his head and licked his paw.

"As long as they don't cause trouble."

At the same time.

Outside Notting City, Tang San and Xiao Wu packed their belongings and set out for Suotuo City.

Tang San carried Grandmaster's letter of recommendation.

Xiao Wu carried the Subsidy Application Form from the Martial Soul Hall School.

They also had a small note that read, "If you encounter improper charges, you may appeal to the Martial Soul Hall Branch in Suotuo City."

Xiao Wu tucked the note away very carefully.

"Tang San."

"Yeah?"

"If that Shrek place charges people unfairly, can I report them?"

Tang San fell silent for a moment.

"Let's see what happens first."

Xiao Wu huffed.

"I don't have any money anyway."

Tang San smiled.

The sun shone brightly in the direction of Suotuo City.

Near that city, a dilapidated academy that claimed to accept only monsters had no idea what kind of students it was about to receive.

It had no idea, either, that the Martial Soul Hall's cat had already opened its ledger.