Enrollment

Today was the day Lin Chen and Na'er started school. To make things more convenient, Yun Ming and his wife had bought a large, single-story villa in Shrek City's residential district, saving them the trouble of traveling to Shrek after school.

Yali had already taken care of their enrollment the previous afternoon while the two of them were out having fun. Their school badges and uniforms had been neatly laid out in the living room.

The morning sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and bathed the villa's interior in warmth.

Na'er wore a simple, elegant pale-white dress, her smooth silver hair gathered into a small braid.

Lin Chen wore a white tracksuit. His eyes, the color of blue-green glaze, were warm as he reached up and ruffled Na'er's hair. "Are you ready? It's time to report to the academy."

When they arrived at the academy gates, a middle-aged man in the academy uniform had already been waiting for some time. As soon as he saw them, he hurried over and greeted them warmly.

"Lin Chen, Na'er, I'm the teacher assigned to welcome new students. I'll escort you both into the academy."

Lin Chen replied politely, "Sorry for the trouble, Teacher."

The teacher led them through the bustling crowd to the teaching buildings. "Na'er has been assigned to a regular class, while Lin Chen will be in the Soul Master class in the neighboring building."

Lin Chen looked at Na'er. "Teacher, please take Na'er inside."

After seeing them off, Lin Chen headed to his own classroom. The noisy room fell abruptly silent as soon as he opened the door, dozens of eyes turning toward him.

The homeroom teacher was a woman with delicate features and a gentle manner. Hearing the commotion, she looked up at Lin Chen, a warm smile appearing in her eyes.

"You must be the new student, Yun Linchen. Come on in." Her voice was soft, without a trace of sternness. She introduced him to the class: "Starting today, Yun Linchen will be joining us. I hope you'll all get along well."

Most of the students in the class had already spent a year together and knew one another well. Lin Chen's arrival naturally made them curious.

The homeroom teacher said softly, "Lin Chen, why don't you introduce yourself so everyone can get to know you?"

Such a simple thing still made Lin Chen feel a little awkward. He scratched his head and spoke in a clear voice. "Hello, everyone. My name is Yun Linchen. My Martial Soul is the Azure Dragon. I'm a One-Ring Soul Master with Soul Power at level fourteen. I look forward to studying with you all."

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of gasps rang through the classroom.

Disbelief was written all over the students' faces. After all, most of the class still didn't have even one Soul Ring, and their Soul Power Level averaged below ten.

A flicker of surprise crossed the homeroom teacher's eyes, but she quickly recovered. When she'd first heard that Lin Chen would be joining her class, the principal had already told her about him.

She raised a hand in a gentle gesture, signaling for the students to quiet down.

"All right, everyone, please settle down." She looked at Lin Chen and said warmly, "I hope you'll all get along well with Lin Chen." After a brief pause, she added, "Lin Chen, take the empty seat by the window in the back row."

Lin Chen didn't mind being assigned to the back. After all, there was a saying: the back row by the window was where the king came from.

The dull theory lessons of the morning flew by, and the bell rang right on time, announcing that classes were over for the morning.

Like most junior academies, this one held lessons in the morning and let students leave in the afternoon, giving them plenty of time to cultivate.

As soon as the teacher dismissed them, the classroom returned to its earlier clamor. Several curious students gathered together, whispering about Lin Chen's astonishing Soul Power Level. Every so often, someone would sneak a glance back at the boy by the window in the last row.

Lin Chen stood up, put his textbooks into his Storage Soul Tool, and headed straight for Na'er's classroom.

It took him only a moment to reach her classroom door.

Fortunately, the regular class followed the same schedule as the Soul Master class. Na'er spotted the familiar figure at the door at once and bounced over to him.

"Brother Lin Chen, how did you get here so fast?" Na'er lifted her face, eager to share her news. "Class was so interesting today! The teacher taught us all kinds of fun facts about Soul Beasts, and I remembered every single one."

Lin Chen gazed down at her lively expression, his blue-green eyes full of amusement. He reached out and stroked her silver hair. "You look so happy. Sounds like you had a great morning."

Na'er puffed out her cheeks a little, her earlier excitement fading as she muttered, "It's just a shame I can't be in the same class as you, Brother Lin Chen. Now I won't get to see you whenever I want."

Her silver eyes lowered slightly, a faint trace of disappointment between her brows.

But she soon remembered something. "Brother Lin Chen, there's a really strange person in my class."

Lin Chen asked her gently, "What makes him strange?"

Na'er tilted her head and gestured with her little hands. "He sits in the back and wears a black hoodie with the hood up, and a face mask. During class, he keeps doing calculations with his fingers."

She paused, then continued, "The other students say his name might be Jiahao. When I was watching him, he turned his face to the side and propped his chin up with one hand."

Lin Chen's mouth twitched despite himself.

From Na'er's description—a black hoodie, a black face mask he wore all the time, and all sorts of inexplicable antics—this person sounded exactly like Jiahao, the internet personality who'd become famous in his previous life.

He gently rested his hands on Na'er's shoulders, his eyes suddenly serious as he warned her, "Na'er, stay away from that person from now on, understand?"

Seeing how serious he was, Na'er obediently nodded. "I understand. I'll stay far away from him."

Only then did Lin Chen relax. He took her hand. "All right, let's go home."

They walked side by side to the villa. As soon as they opened the door, a warm, peaceful feeling washed over them.

Na'er obediently sat on the soft, comfortable sofa, watching the Soul Tool television play the show "Resurrect My Lover," exclusively sponsored by Tangmen Xuanshi.

Lin Chen didn't notice. He turned and went into the clean kitchen, searching through recipes from his previous life as he worked. He handled the ingredients with practiced ease, chopping everything and cooking the dishes in one smooth motion.

Just as the fragrant dishes were nearly ready and he was about to plate them, the Soul Tool television in the living room suddenly let out a piercing roar. "Resurrect! My lover!"

It came out of nowhere. Lin Chen's body stiffened, and he stumbled, nearly dropping the food in his hands.

As the saying went, there were two things you couldn't dodge: a zero-frame startup and an incredibly long windup.

He hurriedly steadied himself and gripped the counter, still shaken, a bead of cold sweat appearing at his temple.

In the living room, Na'er was engrossed in the show, munching on potato chips before dinner. She hadn't noticed a thing in the kitchen.

Lin Chen took a moment to collect himself, then carefully set each dish on the dining table.

Lin Chen's cooking won over Na'er's taste buds. She ate with a thoroughly satisfied expression, praising his cooking nonstop.

After dinner, the two of them cleared the table and washed up. Lin Chen ruffled Na'er's silver hair and said softly, "Good night, Na'er. You have school again tomorrow."