Enrollment

"Come on, let's go inside first." Dugu Yan patted her on the shoulder, and the two of them started up the mountain path. Qingxi thought to herself, Since Master wants to live by the lake, I might as well stay there too. That way, I can cultivate without drawing anyone's attention.

The stone steps leading up the mountain were carved from white marble, and each one bore a different Soul Beast design. After a long climb, they finally got a full view of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

The buildings were mostly blue and white, with suspended corridors and courtyards in seemingly endless profusion. Everything looked lavish, and the sparkling glazed tiles refracted brilliant colors in the sunlight.

The tallest building was a five- or six-story bell tower halfway up the mountain. Its facade featured a white archway, above which the gold characters "Heaven Dou Royal Academy" were mounted.

As they reached the main gate, they began to see students. Most wore pale yellow uniforms. The girls mainly wore short skirts, while the boys wore trousers. The academy's standard emblem was pinned to the front of each uniform, though a few students wore clothes of their own choosing.

Overall, the academy didn't seem to enforce its rules very strictly.

Along the way, Qingxi had already witnessed plenty of bullying: students were trampled underfoot and beaten at will, stripped of every shred of dignity. She could more or less understand what Dugu Yan meant.

"Those are the specially admitted students." Dugu Yan gestured toward a group of students who were surrounding and beating someone.

"Isn't anyone going to stop them?" A flicker of distaste crossed Qingxi's eyes. She clenched her fists, looking ready to step in at any moment.

"There's no way to keep up with it all. This happens every day, and they don't even stand up for themselves. How can they expect anyone else to help? It isn't other people who hold them back—it's the servility buried in their own hearts."

Qingxi didn't answer. She raised her hand, and the Universe Staff, no bigger than a silver needle, appeared in her palm.

With a single word—"Suppress!"—a tremendous force pinned the group of bullies to the ground. They couldn't move, and they stared at one another, utterly bewildered.

"If you see injustice and act, you can answer to your own conscience. As you said, it's the servility in their hearts that holds them back, but that servility wasn't something they were born with. People are born free."

Just as Dugu Yan had said, those commoners really were like that. Qingxi knew this was simply the state of the continent.

In the six years she'd spent traveling, she had seen far too many commoners like them. They groveled before nobles and worked like oxen, and even when they were killed, they begged for mercy instead of fighting back.

Those nobles would be only too happy if commoners couldn't awaken their Martial Souls, if they had no way forward.

Then the nobles could remain prosperous and powerful forever, while the commoners stayed beneath their feet, with no hope of ever rising.

Put simply, it was a vast web of vested interests.

But seeing all this with her own eyes and doing nothing went against her Dao Heart.

Dugu Yan sighed, watching sorrowfully as the skinny youth, bruised and swollen, now tried his best to help the nobles who had beaten him back to their feet.

"Even if you help them, it won't do any good. This is their own choice. And if you interfere, they'll only face even more terrible retaliation in private."

After all, proud as Dugu Yan was, she had once made the foolish mistake of helping someone like this. Instead of thanking her, the person had accused her of meddling.

Just thinking about it made Dugu Yan angry.

"If anything like that happens, I'll make the bullies suffer worse than their victims until they never dare to abuse their power again." Qingxi looked at the ones pinned to the ground and at the boy, who had already gone back to fawning on them. She frowned slightly, her dark eyes calm and detached, with a hint of distaste.

For the sort of people Dugu Yan described, she would simply use more violent methods. After all, unless it hurt them personally, they would never understand how much damage they caused others.

But the boy before them clearly didn't need anyone to save him.

"Come on, let's go to the academic affairs office." Dugu Yan took Qingxi by the arm and half-dragged her away.

From time to time, they passed groups of three or five students. Whenever they saw Dugu Yan, they hurriedly gave her a wide berth.

"Senior Yanzi is back..."

"I heard Senior Yanzi is about to become a Soul King."

"She's the undisputed number one in Heaven Dou Grade!"

Qingxi had heard remarks like these several times. She couldn't help smiling. "Looks like you're famous at Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

"Of course. Among the students of my generation, I'm the strongest in Heaven Dou Grade, and the youngest Soul King in the Heaven Dou Empire. The student ranked second in Heaven Dou Grade is about ten Soul Power Levels below me. His name is... Yu Tianheng." Dugu Yan's face grew complicated.

Sometimes, she didn't know how to face Yu Tianheng.

They had been childhood sweethearts, innocent and inseparable, until the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, when he confessed his feelings to her.

But just as her grandfather had said, the gap between them kept growing...

"What's wrong?" Qingxi studied Dugu Yan's expression, a knowing smile on her face. Her instincts told her that boy named Yu Tianheng had a story with her little Yanzi.

"Nothing!" Dugu Yan hurriedly put an end to the subject and stopped walking. "We're here."

Qingxi followed her gaze and realized they had arrived at the academic affairs office.

They entered the hall. A few bookshelves stood in the otherwise empty room, and a middle-aged man in a white robe sat behind a long table, copying something.

"Teacher He." Dugu Yan greeted him politely.

The middle-aged man looked up. His name was He Shuwen, and he taught Heaven Dou Supreme Grade at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

When he saw that it was Dugu Yan, a friendly smile immediately spread across his face. He stood and came over to greet them. "It's Student Dugu. What brings you to the academic affairs office?"

"Teacher, let me introduce you. This is my younger sister, Dugu Qingxi. I'd like to enroll her at Heaven Dou Royal Academy so she can study alongside me. It'll be easier for me to look after her that way. Would that be possible? She's only eleven, but she's already a Soul Grandmaster above level twenty." Dugu Yan didn't know her exact Soul Power Level. After all, she had never seen her master cultivate a Martial Soul.

"Oh?" He Shuwen's gaze fell on the girl behind Dugu Yan. He didn't look particularly surprised.

In truth, an eleven-year-old Soul Grandmaster was rare even in the Heaven Dou Empire.

But in terms of talent, she was still nowhere near Dugu Yan.

At twelve, Dugu Yan had already been a thirty-fifth-level Soul Elder—the youngest Soul Elder at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and indeed in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

She should have competed in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament four years ago, but no one knew what had happened. She had rarely appeared at school in recent years, let alone competed.

"Little girl, don't be afraid. Uncle will test your Soul Power." He Shuwen bent slightly to look at the adorable girl before him. Her clear black-and-white eyes were so bright he couldn't help taking a liking to her. He reached out to pat her head, but she slipped out of reach.

Such speed!

He paused, watching the impassive little girl now standing behind Dugu Yan.

He hadn't even seen her move.

"Heh." Dugu Yan chuckled. "Let's use a crystal ball instead. My little sister doesn't like people touching her."

"Of course." He gave an awkward smile and took a white crystal ball from his Storage Soul Tool. "Come here, little girl. Put your hand above the crystal ball, then release your Martial Soul."

Qingxi glanced at Dugu Yan. Only after Dugu Yan nodded did she step forward and place her hand above the crystal ball.

The pale blue-green skirt stirred in a breeze, and the golden Universe Staff appeared in her hand. Two black Soul Rings followed, radiating a terrifying pressure.

"This..." He Shuwen stared at the two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, completely stunned.

What kind of monster was this? Two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings! Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings!

Everyone knew that the optimal Soul Ring Configuration across the continent was two yellow, two purple, and five black. In particular, if the first or Second Soul Ring exceeded a thousand years, the body would be unable to withstand it and would explode.

He also knew that Dugu Yan's Soul Ring Configuration was purple, purple, black, black. But her first and Second Soul Rings had originally been Hundred-Year Soul Rings. They had transformed into Thousand-Year Soul Rings only after her Martial Soul Mutation, an acquired change.

The girl before him clearly wasn't the same.