Spirit Hall Academy

Ten days later.

Fang Qingshan and his nephew, Duan Fan, arrived safely in Spirit City.

The sun hung in mid-air, its light spilling over the city in an overwhelming deluge.

This was a truly massive city, countless times larger than Notting City.

If Notting City were placed here, it would be nothing more than a tiny corner.

The sheer presence of the city pressed down with an all-encompassing weight; just one glance from afar was enough to make one feel breathless.

The city walls stood eighty meters high. They were not the dusty, grey brick walls of Notting City, but were constructed from solid blocks of granite, the cut surfaces of the stone as smooth as if carved by a blade.

The entire city was hexagonal, with a massive relief of a spirit embedded into each of the six walls, their lines sharp and their presence imposing.

Duan Fan stood beneath the city gate, tilting his head back to look up.

What did eighty meters even mean?

The walls of Notting City didn't even reach a quarter of this height.

His neck grew sore before he could even see the edge of the battlements.

Standing at the foot of the wall, one couldn't help but feel insignificant.

Fang Qingshan, standing right beside Duan Fan, reached out to press his nephew's head down, smiling as he said, "Stop looking, your neck will start to hurt."

"Is it shocking?"

"When your uncle first came here, I was the same."

"We should head inside."

Spirit Master guards stood watch at the city gate, dressed in the standard uniforms of Spirit Hall. With tokens hanging from their waists, they scanned the people entering and exiting with calm gazes.

Fang Qingshan led Duan Fan toward the gate.

After walking into Spirit City, Duan Fan's eyes lit up.

The interior of the city was incredibly spacious.

The streets were at least three times wider than the main street of Notting City, paved with large slabs of bluestone, making the entire thoroughfare smooth and clean.

The buildings on both sides were arranged in perfect order. The walls were a light grey, the wooden frames of the doors and windows were coated in clear varnish, and the shops lining the street were packed side by side, far more numerous than in Notting City.

There were plenty of pedestrians on the street, but unlike the boisterous, noisy atmosphere of Notting City, the people here walked at a steady, unhurried pace. They spoke in low voices, appearing orderly and carrying a sense of composure that seemed to come from their very bones.

Seeing Duan Fan's wide-eyed, transfixed expression, Fang Qingshan asked with a smile, "Is this Spirit City much more impressive than Notting City?"

Duan Fan nodded. "Yes, it is."

Fang Qingshan introduced, "Almost everyone who comes here is a Spirit Master, and most of the shops on either side of the street sell items related to Spirit Masters."

"This place is truly excellent; perhaps you will be living here in the future, Fan."

"Let's find a place to eat first, then we'll head to Spirit Hall Academy."

"If you can get enrolled in Spirit Hall Academy, you'll have plenty of opportunities to get to know this city later."

A short while later, the uncle and nephew found a small restaurant by the roadside. The storefront was modest, but the interior was clean.

Fang Qingshan ordered two meat dishes, a soup, and three bowls of rice.

The cost of living in Spirit City was significantly higher than in Notting City; the price of this one meal would have been enough to eat for several days back home.

However, Fang Qingshan didn't even frown when he paid. He simply pushed the dishes toward Duan Fan and said, "Eat more. If it's not enough, we'll order more."

"It's been a hard journey. We were so busy rushing that we didn't eat or sleep well."

Duan Fan picked up a meatball and placed it in Fang Qingshan's bowl, saying earnestly, "It is you who have worked hard, Uncle. You traveled such a long way and had to take care of me the whole time."

Fang Qingshan smiled with gratification. "You've always been such a sensible child."

After eating their fill and resting for a while, Fang Qingshan took Duan Fan and set off for Spirit Hall Academy.

"When I was young, I came to Spirit City many times with your father. While I can't say I'm intimately familiar with it, I know the basic routes."

"See those two buildings on the mountain in the distance? The golden one halfway up the slope is the Pope Palace, and the white building at the summit is the Douluo Palace..."

Along the way, Fang Qingshan pointed out many of the landmark buildings in Spirit City to Duan Fan.

Though he said they were going straight to Spirit Hall Academy, he actually took Duan Fan on a tour of quite a few places.

By the time the uncle and nephew arrived in front of Spirit Hall Academy, the sun was already setting.

Spirit Hall Academy was located at the foot of the hill where the Pope Palace and Douluo Palace stood.

The academy was greyish-white, constructed of massive stone pillars and arched corridors. From a distance, it looked as steady and solid as a fortress.

Its main structure rose in tiers along the slope of the mountain, and one could faintly see students dressed in Spirit Hall attire walking about.

The academy gate was not large, with two iron-grey fence gates left half-open and a small guard booth standing to the side.

Fang Qingshan and Duan Fan had only paused at the gate for a moment when a middle-aged guard in a Spirit Hall uniform walked out.

He stood with his back straight and his face expressionless, but his tone was polite enough. "The two of you, the academy is not open to the public. If you are here for a tour, please head back."

Fang Qingshan stepped forward and said with a smile, "We aren't here for a tour. I've brought my nephew here to enroll."

The guard looked the two of them up and down, pondered for a moment, and said, "To register, please present your Spirit Hall identification. Spirit Hall Academy is only open to internal personnel; those not affiliated with Spirit Hall are not permitted to enter."

Upon hearing this, Fang Qingshan immediately pulled two tokens from his bosom and handed them over.

The tokens were made of a special metal; the front bore the Spirit Hall emblem, while the back of each featured a name and a line of small, annotated text.

Fang Qingshan's voice was neither too high nor too low: "These two tokens belonged to this child's parents."

The guard took the tokens, flipped them over to inspect them, and his expression turned respectful.

He immediately returned them to Fang Qingshan with both hands, bowed slightly, and his tone became much more polite than before: "Please, go ahead."

"Follow this main road straight to the end, and you will reach the academy's administrative area. Once you arrive, just ask anyone there, and you will be able to find the registration office."

"Many thanks."

Fang Qingshan tucked the tokens away and led Duan Fan inside.

Duan Fan was not curious about the tokens, as he had already seen them back on the road to Spirit City.

During the ten days of travel, Fang Qingshan had told him quite a bit about his parents.

This included the items his parents had left behind.

Those two tokens were among them, serving as both his parents' identification within Spirit Hall and their death certificates.

In addition to those, there were two black cards, each containing ten thousand gold soul coins, which were the death benefits issued by Spirit Hall.

Walking along the academy's main road, Fang Qingshan and Duan Fan encountered many Spirit Hall Academy students.

They ranged in age; the older ones were sixteen or seventeen, while the younger ones were about the same age as Duan Fan.

The uncle and nephew inevitably drew curious gazes from some of the students, but it was nothing more than a passing glance.

All the students walked with hurried steps, as if everyone had their own business to attend to.

After walking for quite a distance, Fang Qingshan and Duan Fan finally arrived at the administrative area the guard had mentioned.

Two five-story gray buildings stood on the grounds, with academy teachers constantly entering and exiting.

Fang Qingshan led Duan Fan forward and quickly inquired about the location of the registration office.