The next day, Notting Orphanage.
Looking at the familiar gate, Lin Mo set the things in his hands down to one side for the moment. After taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
The grating sound of the knock rang through the small courtyard.
"Coming, coming! Who is it?" an old voice called from inside.
"Dean, it's me, Lin Mo."
Hearing the familiar voice, Lin Mo replied, his excitement showing.
"Oh, it's Lin Mo."
Realizing it was someone he knew, the old man's footsteps inside the courtyard quickened noticeably.
Soon, the lock clicked open, and the iron gate swung wide.
Standing behind it was a thin old man with graying hair.
The instant he saw Lin Mo, his eyes lit up.
Seeing the dean in front of him, Lin Mo smiled.
Without the slightest effort, he lifted the two enormous bundles, each nearly taller than he was, and carried them into the courtyard.
The dean stepped aside. Watching Lin Mo handle the bundles so easily, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
"Lin Mo, what brings you back all of a sudden?" he asked curiously.
"The school year's over, and the academy's on break," Lin Mo explained. "I've got nowhere else to go, so I thought I'd come back and visit. I also picked up a few things for everyone."
As he spoke, Lin Mo raised the bundles in his hands. "These are some gifts I got for everyone, though most of it is basic supplies the orphanage needs."
The dean's gaze settled on the two bulging bundles. He raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "You became a Soul Master?"
Lin Mo was only a student. The wages he earned as a work-study student probably barely covered his daily expenses.
There was only one reason he could have spent so much money buying things for the children in the orphanage.
Lin Mo had become a Soul Master and could now claim a Soul Master's stipend.
For anyone else, becoming a Soul Master after only a year of study would have been little short of a fantasy.
But Lin Mo had Innate Full Soul Power, so it was only natural.
And besides... Lin Mo was the only genius Soul Master to have come from Notting Orphanage in all these years.
Under the dean's expectant gaze, Lin Mo nodded. "I've been a Soul Master for a while now.
"When I first enrolled, I was fortunate enough to go to Soul Hunting Forest with one of the academy's teachers. I successfully obtained a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
"After a year of hard cultivation, my Soul Power Level has now reached level sixteen."
"You're already level sixteen?" The dean's eyes widened. "Then you'll soon become a respected Soul Grandmaster!
"Just like those important figures from Spirit Hall in Notting City!"
In a small place like Notting City, every Soul Grandmaster was held in high esteem.
A Soul Grandmaster as young as Lin Mo would even be treated with the utmost courtesy by the city lord.
"Maybe," Lin Mo said with a sheepish smile, scratching his head.
Soon, the dean noticed the pretty girl standing beside Lin Mo.
She wore a pink dress, and her long black hair was braided into a scorpion braid that hung down her back. She was as delicate as a porcelain doll.
The dean looked at Xiao Wu, then at Lin Mo. A mischievous smile appeared on his face, and he couldn't help asking, "And who's this by your side? Your little girlfriend?"
Lin Mo's smile froze. "Dean, don't make things up. Her name's Xiao Wu.
"She's a classmate I met at Notting Academy. Her family has some things to take care of, so she had nowhere to go for the holiday. She decided to come along with me."
Unnoticed by Lin Mo, Xiao Wu lowered her head, her ears already turning red. She murmured a greeting to the dean. "Hello, Dean."
Her voice was tiny, and her head remained bowed. At some point, she had clasped both hands together and was twisting them nervously.
Lin Mo continued introducing Xiao Wu, oblivious to it all. "Xiao Wu also has Innate Full Soul Power, just like me.
"She's a little behind me in cultivation right now, but by the end of the holiday, she should break through to level sixteen."
Incidentally, Tang San, who also had Innate Full Soul Power, was currently at level sixteen as well.
Judging purely by cultivation speed, Lin Mo was only a little faster than Tang San, whose innate soul power was nearly full, and Xiao Wu, who had reincarnated as a Soul Beast.
That was because Xiao Wu spent most of her time eating, drinking, and having fun.
As for Lin Mo, he devoted some of his energy to tempering the innate talent of his Inversion of Three.
His Inversion of Three was still at the first stage: Qi-flesh Transformation.
After more than a year of training, he had made considerable progress, but it would still take quite a while before he reached the second stage, Qi-bone Transformation.
The dean stepped aside. "Don't stand around talking at the gate. Come on in.
"The children will be overjoyed when they find out you're back."
At the dean's invitation, Lin Mo and Xiao Wu stepped into the orphanage and carried the supplies they had bought into a room at the back.
The orphanage's courtyard was small, with bluestone paving underfoot and a few clumps of Blue Silver Grass growing between the stones.
Several children were playing in the yard. They ranged in age from three or four to eight or nine. Their clothes were worn, but all had been washed clean.
"Brother Lin Mo!"
A skinny little boy recognized Lin Mo first. He dropped what he was holding and ran over at once.
The other children swarmed around too, calling out excitedly in a lively jumble.
Lin Mo reached out and rubbed the heads of the little ones, then pulled a few pieces of candy from his pocket and handed them out.
The children who got candy lit up at once.
Xiao Wu watched quietly from the side. This was her first time meeting the orphans who had lived alongside Lin Mo for so long.
But when she saw the adorable little ones Lin Mo had told her about with her own eyes, she couldn't help feeling sorry for them.
Most of the children were in poor health.
Some were far too thin, with sallow faces that clearly showed they were malnourished.
The worst off was a boy whose arm was partly missing. He looked as if he had been born with a disability.
Healthy children like Lin Mo were few and far between in the orphanage.
The vast majority of the orphans looked sickly and weak.
Following behind Lin Mo, Xiao Wu took it all in. Her normally lively nature quieted somewhat.
After talking with the children for a while, Lin Mo and Xiao Wu carried the supplies into the room at the back.
The bundles contained rice and flour, oil and salt, cloth, and some common medicines...
These were the things the orphanage needed most right now.
Now that he had the means to help, he would do as much as he could.