Seven Years Old and Enrolled

When the stars and moon gradually brightened in the Eastern Horizon, a colossal beast crawling upon the ground appeared at the far edge of Ling Yi's vision.

Waterwood Principality's capital, Mu Zhi City.

Their luck was good. It was not yet time for the city gates to close, and the carriage carrying Ling Yi and the others passed calmly through the East City Gate amid the sparse streams of pedestrians entering and leaving the city.

As a subordinate principality whose Land Area was merely equivalent to one province of its sovereign nation, the Heaven Dou Empire—and its smallest province at that—the capital naturally could not be very large.

The city walls stood over thirty meters tall. In the ancient era of Ling Yi's previous life, they would undoubtedly have made this a heavily fortified city, easy to defend and difficult to attack. But on Douluo Continent, where extraordinary powers were everywhere, such a height could only be considered fairly standard.

Of course, no matter what, this was still a nation's capital, so it possessed the proper standards.

For instance, the Spirit Hall established here was a Spirit Hall Main Hall on the same level as those found in major cities such as Barak City, the royal capital of the Balak Kingdom, and Silves City, the royal capital of the Silves Kingdom. In terms of rank, it was second only to the Spirit Hall Holy Temples in the imperial capitals of the Two Great Empires.

Anything above that was the Pope's Palace in Spirit City. There was no comparison to be made.

Just as Ling Yi asked Ethan Parker about the location of the Spirit Hall Main Hall within Mu Zhi City and received his answer, the carriage arrived at the roadside at the very end of Chao Yang Street in the eastern part of the city.

"Young Master, we've arrived at the academy~" the Ison Family's coachman called softly toward the carriage compartment.

"Mhm~" Ethan Parker pursed his lips, his gaze sweeping across Lilian and Anno's somewhat stiff expressions before landing on Ling Yi's curious face. He said quietly, "We're here. Let's get down—"

Lilian and Anno did not answer, merely nodding their heads.

Ling Yi, meanwhile, broke into a brilliant smile and replied repeatedly, "Okay~ Okay~~"

None of the four had brought much luggage. Aside from the bundle on Ling Yi's back and the thin bedding roll hanging from the rear of the carriage, the three members of the Ison Family each carried little more than a small hand-held bag, giving them the lightness of having nothing to tie them down.

After getting out of the carriage, Ling Yi looked around. Skipping over the closed storefronts lining both sides of the road, he turned his gaze toward a gatehouse standing at the end of the street a hundred meters away.

By the pure moonlight cast from the half-moon hanging diagonally overhead, Ling Yi's sharp eyesight allowed him to make out a row of large characters above the gatehouse: Green Leaf Elementary Soul Master Academy!

An ordinary child might have asked Ethan Parker why they had not let the carriage drive straight to the gatehouse, instead stopping and getting off more than a hundred meters away.

As for Ling Yi, he imitated Zhang Lei's occasional careless, guileless manner and put on the appearance of someone whose attention had been wholly captured by the novelty of entering a large city for the first time. This made the three Parkers, who had already begun formulating their explanations, breathe a sigh of relief.

The atmosphere immediately became somewhat more harmonious. The four walked naturally along the deserted street, and the hundred-plus meters passed in the blink of an eye.

As for the carriage and coachman, they turned around on their own and headed toward the street entrance. Presumably, they would find somewhere reasonably priced to settle in before returning to North River Mouth Town the next day.

Outside Green Leaf Elementary Soul Master Academy.

With Ethan Parker and the other two introducing him, Ling Yi showed the gatekeeper the martial soul certificate Yan Bin had issued for him last year, along with the work-study student referral certificate he had received two months ago. After some verification, he was allowed into the academy.

"All of us work-study students live in Building No. 3 on the west side of the academy..." Ethan Parker explained to Ling Yi as they walked along the academy's bluestone path. "It has three floors, with four rooms on each floor. This year's new work-study students should be assigned to Room 304 on the third floor..."

"That room used to belong to the sixth-year work-study seniors. Now that they've graduated, it happens to be your first-year students' turn..."

"What about you, Senior?" Ling Yi asked at the appropriate moment.

Hearing this, Ethan Parker turned to glance at Ling Yi. "I'm on the third floor too, but I'm in Room 303, right next to yours..."

He paused, glanced at his cousin and cousin-sister, who had been rather quiet ever since entering the academy, then continued unhurriedly, "Lilian and Anno are in Room 102 and Room 104 on the first floor, respectively~"

"Although we're all still young—the youngest is six, while the oldest isn't even twelve yet—the academy still requires boys and girls to live separately. So, the first and second dorm rooms on every floor of Building No. 3 house the female work-study students from each grade, while the boys live in the third and fourth rooms—"

"The two buildings over on the north side~" As they reached the edge of a broad training ground paved with grayish-white stone slabs, Ethan Parker continued along the blue-gray flagstone path beside it. He raised a hand to point toward the two six-story buildings on the far side of the training ground, and his tone sank slightly. "It's best not to go near them unless you have a reason~"

"Those are—?" Ling Yi cooperatively revealed a curious expression.

Ethan Parker shot Ling Yi a sidelong glance, his voice turning indifferent. "The dormitories for the academy's fee-paying students~"

From his voice, Ling Yi caught the same air he had sensed in news reports from his previous life about campus bullying—the air of a victim.

Ling Yi nodded to show that he understood, then looked back at the two vaguely discernible buildings in the darkness, a thoughtful glint flashing through his eyes:

It seems the relationships between students at this Green Leaf Elementary Soul Master Academy are more severe than at the Noding Junior Soul Master Academy in the original story~

No, rather, Tang San, the protagonist, had immediately intimidated Xiao Chenyu—the city lord's son and leader of the fee-paying students—with a series of displays: Innate Full Soul Power, a hundred-year First Soul Ring, exquisite Combat Skills, and so on...

Otherwise, judging from how Wang Sheng, the initial leader of the work-study students, often bore bruises and injuries, campus bullying was the true norm!

This was Douluo Continent, where class distinctions were even more obvious and naked—!

And Tang San and Xiao Wu were never ordinary work-study students from commoner backgrounds~

It made sense. One of them was a reincarnator with a Titled Douluo father, the Number One Sect Under Heaven, the Number One Tool Martial Soul, Twin Spirits, Innate Full Soul Power, and a whole string of other labels. From the very moment he succeeded in the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony, he had been destined to board a private jet bound for the pinnacle of Douluo Continent;

The other was a Soul Beast in human form, who regarded humans with hostility and vigilance. She had come to live and study among humans solely to increase her strength. If not for the protagonist's overly powerful brainwashing aura—and her own severely lacking judgment—she would likely have been even fiercer than Liu Erlong of Slaughter Corner when it came to killing humans...

For people like these two, their six years at Noding Junior Soul Master Academy had naturally been like a crown prince and princess experiencing life among the common folk—easy and carefree above all else...

All one could say was that true commoner work-study students were quite fortunate if they happened to enroll while these two attended the academy~

That was, provided they kept themselves on the periphery, quietly absorbed the knowledge taught by the academy, developed in secret, and did not wander around in front of those two.

Otherwise, they might very well catch the attention of Yu Xiaogang and Tang Hao.

As Ling Yi thought this, a sudden idea came to him. He wondered whether any of the authors who wrote Douluo fanfiction in his previous life had written a story along such lines: staying far from the center of the plot, moving along the edges, quietly developing oneself, and calmly watching the storms rise across Douluo Continent... Only after the final battle ended and the Protagonist Group departed for the God Realm would one step onto the continental stage with considerable strength of one's own...

Accompanied by Ethan Parker's introductions, they crossed the bluestone path step by step. Before long, the four left the edge of the training ground and arrived before a three-story building on the western side of the academy.

Just as they had at the gatehouse earlier, they showed Ling Yi's martial soul certificate and work-study certificate to the Dormitory Manager in the small room added onto the corner of the first floor. After that, Ling Yi smoothly received his room key and entered the dormitory building.

"Get some rest first~" At the door to Room 303 on the third floor, Ethan Parker said to Ling Yi, "At this hour, the academy cafeteria is already closed. If you're hungry, eat some dry provisions. If you don't have any, I have some jerky here..."

"Thank you, Senior~" Ling Yi replied with a smile, carrying his bundle on his back and his thin bedding tucked beneath one arm. "But there's no need. I still have a few flatbreads in this bundle..."

"Alright~" Ethan Parker nodded, placing his hand on the doorknob of Room 303. Turning sideways, he said, "Go on, then. You rode in a carriage all day, so after you eat tonight, get a good night's sleep. Early tomorrow morning, you'll still need to find a teacher to handle your enrollment and lodging arrangements..."

"Your move-in is only temporary. It won't be settled until you register with the Admissions Office..."