Enrollment Time

At the entrance, Wang Hong had already been waiting for quite some time.

"Brother Wang Hong, good morning!"

"Good morning, Lord Huo Yuhao." Simultaneously, Wang Hong bowed slightly toward Huo Yun'er, who stood behind Huo Yuhao, and said:

"This must be Lord Huo Yuhao's mother. Please rest assured, I will certainly deliver Lord Huo Yuhao to the academy safely."

"Hehe, then I shall trouble you, Martial Soul Envoy." Huo Yun'er finally leaned in behind Huo Yuhao and gave him a hug:

"Make plenty of friends at the academy. You are a genius in the eyes of those important figures, but you must not become arrogant or complacent because of it, do you understand?"

"Mm, I understand, Mother."

"You take good care of yourself as well."

After saying this, Huo Yuhao took one last reluctant look in Huo Yun'er's direction before following Wang Hong onto the carriage.

"No need to worry, the people of the Martial Soul Community will take good care of your mother," Wang Hong said while sitting in the carriage, watching Huo Yuhao, who was still clinging to the window.

Huo Yuhao nodded; it was just that he and Huo Yun'er had only reunited a few days ago, and now he had to leave for a long time, so he felt a bit reluctant. However, having lived two lifetimes, he still knew a few techniques for masking his emotions.

He sat back in the carriage and looked around; sure enough, he did not see Bei Bei.

"If you are looking for Lord Bei Bei... I am afraid he has departed to accompany another official from the Crafting Bureau. You should know that person as well, right?"

"Mm... the daughter of Director Tang You of the Crafting Bureau, Sister Tang Ya, correct?"

"Precisely. The relationship between those two is not something I can discuss at will. Lord Huo Yuhao has dealt with both of them before, so I shall not elaborate further."

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

"The Spirit Soul Academy Student Handbook. It would be best to memorize the contents inside. As the top academy on the entire continent, our educational methods are rather... unique. If there is anything you find difficult to understand, I can explain it for you."

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

By the time they reached their destination, Huo Yuhao felt his head throbbing.

It was too strange; most of the entries in this handbook contained novel terms he had never seen before.

The most critical part was the student schedule recorded in the handbook, which was the entry he found most incomprehensible:

From Monday to Saturday, students must arrive at the classroom at 6:30 AM for morning reading. The entire day is then spent in the classroom until the end of evening self-study at 10:00 PM, at which point they can return to their dormitories. The one hour before the 11:00 PM curfew is the only time students have for complete freedom.

He could understand waking up at 6:30 AM; in his previous life, he had basically woken up at that time to train his Purple Demon Eye, so that was not difficult for him.

But the problem was that school didn't end until 10:00 PM...

Huo Yuhao frowned. This schedule was far too harsh. By this calculation, a student's normal rest time was less than ten hours a day. Would this not cause problems in the long run?

Seeing Huo Yuhao's furrowed brows, Wang Hong quickly realized the reason and began to explain:

"Surprised, aren't you? But I must remind you that this system has been implemented at the Spirit Soul Academy for ten thousand years. Almost every student who joins the Spirit Soul Academy for the first time expresses dissatisfaction with this system."

"For most soul masters, free time is the most basic right of a soul master. Most academies ten thousand years ago arranged for theoretical classes in the morning and free cultivation in the afternoon. Even today, most academies still adopt such arrangements."

"However, do you remember what I said? The soul masters of the Douluo Continent today have strength that far exceeds those of ten thousand years ago. And the 'average level' of the soul masters who successfully graduate from the Spirit Soul Academy also far exceeds that of graduates from other academies."

Wang Hong emphasized the words "average level" quite heavily.

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's first reaction was that the Spirit Soul Academy was just like the Shrek Academy in his memories—an academy that only accepted geniuses and not ordinary people, so the quality of graduates was naturally higher.

But he immediately realized that the financial aid from the Martial Soul Hall did not restrict one's Innate Soul Power level; the only requirement seemed to be that you simply "possessed" Innate Soul Power.

Coupled with the "average level" that Wang Hong had emphasized, Huo Yuhao felt as if he had vaguely grasped the underlying thread.

"Ha, I've called you Lord Huo Yuhao too much, forgetting that you are still just a six-year-old child."

"If it were a true top-tier genius, the Spirit Soul Academy would allow them to join branches with more flexible schedules after additional assessments."

"At the same time, to put it in terms you can understand more easily, this educational method of the Spirit Soul Academy might be stifling for some geniuses who love freedom, but for those mediocre children, or even those with poor talent, this is a shortcut that can create 'qualified individuals' in batches."

"A shortcut to create qualified individuals... Lord Huo Yuhao, you are still a child, so you might not understand the significance of this sentence."

As Wang Hong spoke, he flipped the student handbook to the last page, where a paragraph was written:

"Geniuses stroll among the stars, while the mediocre struggle to even follow in their footsteps. Therefore, I have given the mediocre a tall tower—a tower that can be climbed using the clumsiest and most tedious methods—so that they, too, may climb out of the mire and taste the starry sky they once thought they could never reach in their entire lives."

Huo Yuhao read it slowly, and before he knew it, he felt his eyes growing moist.

"These were the words spoken by the founder of the Spirit Soul Academy, Pope Chen Mo, when the academy was officially opened. Afterward, he ordered his subordinates to carve these words at the end of the student handbook."

Huo Yuhao fell silent. He held the student handbook, not knowing what he should say at this moment.

"He is indeed a legend." After a deep breath, Huo Yuhao managed to squeeze out this sentence.

Wang Hong did not speak, merely nodding in agreement.

A few minutes later, the carriage slowly came to a stop, and the sounds outside quickly became lively.

After being led off the carriage by Wang Hong, the first thing Huo Yuhao saw was the massive gate tower standing before him. At its very top were the vermilion characters: "Spirit Soul Academy."

Countless students were being led into the academy by adults. Their attire varied greatly, ranging from expensive finery to simple cloth garments, but to Huo Yuhao's surprise, there was no friction between them at all.

"Why... why are they able to get along so... peacefully?" Huo Yuhao asked in confusion.

"Peacefully? You might have a misunderstanding, Lord Huo Yuhao. According to the Martial Soul Law, any form of violent behavior is prohibited within the grounds of any academy registered with the Martial Soul Hall. Once discovered, the Martial Soul Hall will immediately strip the perpetrator of their right to education for one year."

"As long as it is a registered academy, they are forbidden from harboring such a student under any circumstances."

"Of course, unregistered private academies are a different matter, but the educational resources that officially registered academies can provide to students are worlds apart from those of private ones. For the sake of these resources, at least here, they will ensure peace with one another."

"However, once the semester officially begins, that is hard to say."