Academy Life

The Martial Soul Primary Soul Master Academy was established at the very inception of Martial Soul Hall, serving as a dedicated institution for cultivating the organization's future talent.

Many public officials within Martial Soul Hall also chose to enroll their offspring here.

Following instructions from Qian Daoliu, Lin Beiya arrived that very day at the soul master academy located on the southern side of Martial Soul Hall.

Consistent with the overall aesthetic of the area, the academy's architecture was not particularly luxurious, leaning instead toward a somber and serious style.

He walked straight into the academy and found the principal's office, where an elderly man with greying hair looked at him with a smile.

"You must be Lin Beiya, right? The Grand Pontiff has already sent word. I will take you to the first-year Elite Class in a moment."

"If you have any questions or requests during your studies, feel free to bring them to me."

Lin Beiya raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that having connections made things much easier. No matter how great one's talent was, before growing up, one was merely a junior. These people had likely seen many fallen geniuses; the only reason they were being so courteous to him was surely because of Qian Daoliu's intervention.

Although this former Pope had long since stepped back from the center of power, his lingering influence remained.

Perhaps it would not be until Bibi Dong held absolute power that people would finally forget this man, known as the invincible of the skies.

"Many thanks, Principal. If I encounter any difficulties, I will be sure to mention them."

"Good, come with me to the classroom. You haven't arrived too late; registration just ended, and today is their first day of formal classes."

Lin Beiya nodded and followed the principal toward the classroom.

The meaning of an "Elite Class" was easy to understand: the students within were the batch with the best talent from the recent martial soul awakening. If his guess was correct, the little fatty Shi Nuo would also be in this class.

The two figures, one large and one small, arrived at the classroom door, successfully drawing the attention of both the students and the teacher inside.

The teacher was a man in his forties who had likely received notice from the principal in advance, so he showed no surprise, merely nodding with a smile toward the principal and Lin Beiya.

The nearly thirty students below, however, wore varied expressions—some surprised, some disdainful, and of course, some pleasantly delighted.

The one waving and cheering was Shi Nuo, the little fatty from the orphanage who had been in the same intake as Lin Beiya. Possessing the Great Strength Demon Bull martial soul and Innate Soul Power of rank eight, he had successfully entered the academy's Elite Class.

"Beiya, over here!"

There happened to be an empty seat next to the fatty. After obtaining permission from the principal and the homeroom teacher, Lin Beiya chose that spot as his own—the place famously known as the hometown of kings.

Just as he was about to head toward his seat, the homeroom teacher reached out to stop him.

"Student Lin Beiya, why don't you give a brief introduction? Your classmates don't know you yet."

Although he had no desire to get to know these people, Lin Beiya did not intend to act like a troublemaker in the academy. After a nod, he returned to the podium.

"Lin Beiya, martial soul Stone Statue, rank twelve Soul Master!"

Having said that, Lin Beiya walked slowly toward the seat next to the fatty under the homeroom teacher's helpless gaze, leaving the classroom in a state of chaos.

His short introduction was like a stone thrown into a calm pool, creating a thousand ripples. One had to realize that among these first-years, not a single person had managed to obtain a soul ring and become a Soul Master upon enrollment. Regardless of whether the Stone Statue martial soul was powerful or not, Lin Beiya's Innate Full Soul Power was now self-evident.

"Are you kidding? I thought I was a genius for having rank seven Innate Soul Power, but there's actually someone here who has already obtained a soul ring?"

"Exactly, did he get held back a year?"

"I think that's possible."

People are always prone to speculating about things that exceed their understanding and which they are unwilling to believe. In just a few minutes, the group had nailed Lin Beiya to the pillar of shame as a student who had been held back.

Just as everyone was whispering, a boy in the middle row with a pair of hawk-like eyes slowly turned back, looking with disdain at the children who loved to gossip.

"Hmph, just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't. Lin Beiya's first soul ring was hunted for him by my father; he definitely awakened his martial soul at the same time as us."

Hearing the boy's words, the other children swallowed their disparaging remarks, not daring to speak further. No one wanted to offend the son of a Platinum Bishop.

The boy was Yu Quan, the son of Yu Lin. Since his own cub was in this age group, Yu Lin—who had already concluded that Lin Beiya had a limitless future—had long ago told his son to build a good relationship with Lin Beiya, as it was closely tied to his future prospects.

That was why Yu Quan had helped clear the rumors at the first opportunity and looked up to smile at Lin Beiya, who was sitting in the back row.

This left Lin Beiya somewhat confused, but one does not strike a smiling face; he responded with a smile of his own to the boy's clearly well-intentioned gesture.

Shi Nuo, who had been furious just moments ago because his good brother was being slandered, saw that the others had quieted down and asked Lin Beiya with great curiosity:

"Beiya, do you know Yu Quan? Why would he speak up for you?"

"I don't know? I arrived even later than you; I don't know anyone here."

"That's strange. Logically speaking, this guy is the son of a Platinum Bishop; there's no reason for him to speak up for a commoner like you, right?"

"Hmm?"

Although he hadn't heard exactly what Yu Quan said, Lin Beiya gathered useful information from the fatty's fragmented words.

The son of a Platinum Bishop, surnamed Yu—the truth could only be one thing: this guy must be the son of Yu Lin, the middle-aged man who had taken him to hunt for his soul ring. It was no wonder the other party had shown goodwill upon their first meeting.

Although he hadn't revealed too much in front of Yu Lin, the talent he had displayed was enough to make them take the initiative to befriend him.

"His father was the one who took me to hunt my first soul ring; that must be the reason."

"So that's it!"

"But Beiya, you're too strong! You've already become a Soul Master. It'll take me a while longer just to reach rank nine!"

The little fatty looked at Lin Beiya, the envy in his eyes overflowing, which made him feel a sense of amusement.

"Alright, it won't be long before you get your first soul ring too. What's the rush?"

"Hehe, that's true. I went to the library a few days ago to look at the catalogs, and I've already chosen the Black Stone Giant Bull as my first soul ring."

Lin Beiya curled his lip. Did one really just run into a spirit beast whenever they felt like it? Of course, he didn't intend to discourage the other boy; what if they actually got lucky and bumped into one?

On the first day of class, Lin Beiya still felt quite intrigued. The teacher didn't actually lecture on knowledge regarding spirit master cultivation, but instead simply introduced the academy's rules and regulations, the daily schedule, and similar matters. By the time these were explained, it was already time for the day to end.

The academy's curriculum was quite relaxed. In the morning, they would introduce the various paths suitable for different martial souls to the new students—namely, the distinctions between the Control, Assault, Agility, and Support systems—while the afternoons were left for the children to cultivate their spirit power on their own.

After all, spirit power was the very foundation of a spirit master.

After class, Lin Beiya followed the chubby boy around the academy to get a feel for the various facilities, and afterward, he accompanied him to the dormitory.

Unlike the communal sleeping quarters of Nuoding Academy, the educational environment at the Martial Soul Hall Primary Academy was undoubtedly much better.

At the very least, Shi Nuo, who was in the Elite Class, had been assigned a double room, and the other spot had conveniently remained vacant, leaving it open for Lin Beiya—though he couldn't tell if that was the result of some old geezer pulling strings behind the scenes.