Enrollment

At the gate, Wang Hong was already waiting.

"Good morning, Big Brother Wang Hong!"

"Good morning, Lord Huo Yuhao." Wang Hong also bowed slightly to Huo Yun'er, standing behind Huo Yuhao, then said, "You must be Lord Huo Yuhao's mother. Rest assured, I'll make sure he gets to school safely."

"Hehe, then I'll have to trouble you, Martial Soul Envoy." Huo Yun'er stepped behind Huo Yuhao and gave him a hug. "Make some friends at school. You're a genius in the eyes of those important people, but don't let that make you arrogant and complacent. Understand?"

"Mm, I understand, Mom."

"Take care of yourself, too."

After that, Huo Yuhao took one last reluctant look at Huo Yun'er, then followed Wang Hong onto the carriage.

"Don't worry. People from the Martial Soul Community will take good care of your mother." Sitting in the carriage, Wang Hong spoke to Huo Yuhao, who was still leaning out the window.

Huo Yuhao nodded. He and Huo Yun'er had only been reunited for a few days, and now he had to leave for a long time. He was just a little reluctant to go. But having lived two lives, he knew a thing or two about concealing his feelings.

He sat back in the carriage and looked around. Sure enough, Bei Bei was nowhere to be seen.

"If you're looking for Lord Bei Bei... I'm afraid he left with another distinguished person from the Crafting Bureau. You know her, don't you?"

"Mm... Director Tang You of the Crafting Bureau's daughter, Big Sister Tang Ya, right?"

"That's right. Their relationship isn't something I can casually discuss. Lord Huo Yuhao, you've dealt with both of them before, so I won't say more."

As he spoke, Wang Hong took out a small booklet and handed it to Huo Yuhao.

"Student Handbook for Spirit Soul Academy. It would be best to familiarize yourself with it. As the top academy on the continent, our teaching methods are rather... unusual. If there's anything you don't understand, I can explain it to you."

Huo Yuhao nodded. During the journey to the academy, he carefully read through the rules in the handbook.

When they reached their destination, Huo Yuhao felt his head was starting to ache.

It was strange. Most of the rules in the handbook contained unfamiliar terms he had never seen before.

Most bewildering of all was the schedule laid out in the handbook:

From Monday to Saturday, students had to be in the classroom for morning study at six thirty. They spent the entire day there, only leaving after evening self-study ended at ten. Until the eleven o'clock curfew, that one hour was the only time students had completely to themselves.

He could understand getting up at six thirty. Back at the academy in his previous life, he had usually gotten up around that time to train his Purple Demon Eye. That wouldn't be difficult for him.

But classes didn't end until ten at night...

Huo Yuhao frowned. That seemed far too harsh. A student would get less than ten hours of rest a day by that count. Wouldn't that cause problems in the long run?

Seeing Huo Yuhao's furrowed brow, Wang Hong quickly understood why and began to explain.

"Surprised? But I should remind you that this system has been in place at Spirit Soul Academy for ten thousand years. Almost every student who first joins the academy objects to it."

"For most Soul Masters, free time is a Soul Master's most basic right. A thousand years ago, most academies scheduled theory classes in the morning and free cultivation in the afternoon. Even today, many academies still follow that arrangement."

"But remember what I told you? Soul Masters on Douluo Continent are now far stronger than Soul Masters were a thousand years ago. And the 'average level' of Soul Masters who graduate from Spirit Soul Academy is likewise far above that of graduates from other academies."

Wang Hong placed special emphasis on the words "average level."

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's first thought was that Spirit Hall was like Shrek Academy in his memories: it only admitted geniuses, not ordinary people, so of course its graduates were better.

But then he realized that Spirit Hall's financial aid didn't restrict students' Innate Soul Power levels. The only requirement seemed to be that they had to "possess" Innate Soul Power.

Along with the emphasis Wang Hong had placed on the words "average level," Huo Yuhao felt he was beginning to grasp the thread.

"Ha, I've called you Lord Huo Yuhao so often that I forgot you're only six years old."

"If someone is a truly top-tier genius, Spirit Soul Academy will let them join a branch with a freer schedule after additional assessments."

"To put it in terms you'll understand more easily, Spirit Soul Academy's teaching method might feel stifling to certain geniuses who value freedom. But for those mediocre children, even the ones with somewhat poor talent, it's a shortcut to producing 'qualified students' in batches."

"A shortcut to producing qualified students... Lord Huo Yuhao, you're still a child. You might not understand what that means."

As he spoke, Wang Hong flipped to the last page of the student handbook. A passage was written there:

"Geniuses stroll among the stars, while the mediocre can't even chase down a single footprint. So I gave the mediocre a tall tower, one they could climb by the clumsiest, most tedious means, so that they too could climb out of the mud and taste the starry sky they thought they could never touch in their entire lives."

Huo Yuhao read the words slowly. Before he realized it, his eyes had grown a little moist.

"These are the words of the founder of Spirit Soul Academy, Pope Chen Mo, spoken when the academy officially opened. Afterward, he ordered his subordinates to carve them onto the final page of the student handbook."

Huo Yuhao fell silent, holding the handbook. He didn't know what to say.

"Indeed, he was a legend." After taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao managed to say that much.

Wang Hong said nothing, only nodding along.

A few minutes later, the carriage came to a slow stop. The sounds outside soon grew lively.

After Wang Hong led him out of the carriage, the first thing Huo Yuhao saw was the enormous gatehouse standing before him. At its highest point were four vermilion characters: "Spirit Soul Academy."

Countless students were being led into the academy by adults. Their clothes varied, from expensive finery to simple homespun garments. But what surprised Huo Yuhao was that there was no friction between them.

"Why are they able to get along so... amicably?" Huo Yuhao asked, puzzled.

"Amicably? You may have misunderstood, Lord Huo Yuhao. Under the Martial Soul Law, no form of violence is permitted within the grounds of any academy registered with Spirit Hall. If someone is caught, Spirit Hall will immediately strip the instigator of their right to an education for a year."

"No registered academy is allowed to take that student in, under any circumstances."

"Of course, unregistered private academies are a different matter. But the educational resources available at officially registered academies and private academies are worlds apart. For the sake of those resources, at least here, they'll maintain peace with one another."

"Still, once classes officially begin, who knows."