"Huh? This isn't right. Why are you all suddenly taking my side?"
Qin Qi looked at the people around him. He hadn't expected the story to go this way, and for a moment he was stunned. Then he quickly figured it out.
"Oh, I get it. I can actually be considered a Spirit Master now."
"Even though I used to be a Work-Study Student, my status changed as soon as I became a Spirit Master."
Qin Qi understood. He was now part of the Soul Hunting team, which meant he was already a Spirit Master in the making.
The sixth-year students who had gathered around him came from wealthy or powerful families.
Growing up in that kind of environment, learning to read people and get along with them was a basic skill.
Qin Qi had become a Spirit Master at such a young age. They might not need to become close to him, but at least getting acquainted couldn't hurt.
"Ah, people really are different from one another."
Qin Qi looked at the children who had become so worldly at such a young age and sighed.
"Tsk."
The student who had called Qin Qi a Work-Study Student clicked his tongue in annoyance, then walked away.
"Mm. People really are different from one another."
Qin Qi watched the fool walk away and sighed again at the diversity and unpredictability of human nature.
After they waited for a while, the dean arrived. He started off with a speech to everyone, long and dreary enough to make them drowsy.
"School principals everywhere have this same bad habit."
As Qin Qi spoke, he glanced at the other students. Sure enough, they were already nodding off.
Once the principal finished speaking, he personally led everyone out of Notting Academy.
"Hey, the principal's leading the group himself?"
"Looks like I misunderstood him. He may talk a lot, but when something needs doing, he really does step up."
Qin Qi was a little surprised. He'd thought only a teacher would lead the group, but he hadn't expected the principal to go along too.
"Qin Qi, Qin Qi."
Suddenly, the teacher leading the group called out.
"Here!"
Qin Qi raised his hand from somewhere in the crowd.
"Stay by my side."
The teacher looked around and finally spotted Qin Qi in the crowd. There was no helping it.
Qin Qi was well developed for his age, but compared to the sixth-years, he was still much smaller.
"Okay."
Qin Qi stepped forward, but inwardly he sighed. It'd be a little difficult to sneak off and do his own thing now.
The other sixth-year students watched the teacher without saying or discussing anything.
They knew the teacher wasn't deliberately looking after Qin Qi. It was simply because he was so young.
The teacher was worried he might wander off, and since Qin Qi was small, he could easily get lost in the crowd.
The group left Notting Academy, but instead of heading out of the city, they went to the Spirit Hall in Nuoding City.
The dean had everyone's Soul Power tested, then collected the Soul Hunting Permits from the Spirit Hall.
At last, he handed the permits to the teacher leading the group, who took Qin Qi and the others to Soul Hunting Forest.
"Damn, so you're not going after all? You were just going through the motions!"
"Of course. You never see the principal under normal circumstances. The only time he shows up is when he's giving a speech."
Qin Qi vented to himself.
Led by the teacher, everyone boarded a carriage and headed for Soul Hunting Forest. They arrived before long.
Outside Soul Hunting Forest, many people were hawking goods, looking for groups to join, or selling various items.
The teacher brought everyone to the entrance and showed the guards the Soul Hunting Tokens he had.
Then he led everyone into Soul Hunting Forest, and their Soul Hunting began.
"All right. From here on, start looking for a Soul Beast that suits you. Once you find one, tell me, then hunt it under my supervision."
The teacher spoke up.
"Yes, teacher."
Everyone answered in unison, then started searching the area for Soul Beasts that suited them.
"Hm?"
Qin Qi was taken aback. In his mind, the Soul Hunting Operation involved the teacher finding a Soul Beast, crippling it, and then having the students kill it.
But that didn't seem to be the case.
"You're in your first year, so you probably haven't learned about Soul Hunting yet. Let me explain it to you first."
The teacher saw Qin Qi's puzzled expression and spoke up.
"Okay. I'll trouble you, teacher."
Qin Qi replied.
"First, Soul Beasts produce different Spirit Rings depending on how many years they've lived. There are white Ten-Year Spirit Rings..."
"Yellow Hundred-Year Spirit Rings, purple Thousand-Year Spirit Rings, and black Ten Thousand Year Spirit Rings."
"The Spirit Ring's color corresponds to its age. The older the Spirit Ring, the higher its level."
"But purple and black have nothing to do with us. We only need to pay attention to white and yellow ones."
"For ordinary students, we recommend hunting for white Spirit Rings. They're the easiest to absorb."
"But if you have enough talent, you can try absorbing a hundred-year Spirit Ring."
The teacher first explained the basics of Spirit Rings and offered his recommendations.
"But it depends on your own strength..."
"Teacher, I found one! I want this Variegated Cat!"
The teacher hadn't finished speaking when a student came running over and called out.
"Mm. You can look at the rest on your own."
The teacher took Qin Qi with him to find the Variegated Cat. Once they found it, he nodded.
The student summoned his Martial Soul and charged at it.
"Ah, you have to go in yourself?"
Qin Qi looked at the teacher and asked.
"Yes. That's how Soul Hunting works at our academy. Ideally, you should defeat the Soul Beast yourself to obtain its Spirit Ring."
"Finding one yourself tests your knowledge of Soul Beasts. Fighting it yourself trains your combat skills."
"But don't worry about getting hurt. I'll be watching, and I'll step in if you're in danger."
The teacher nodded as he explained. Notting Academy was a legitimate Junior Spirit Master Academy.
It wasn't like some backwater outfit. The academy had a standard procedure.
"What if I find one but can't beat it myself?"
Qin Qi thought of auxiliary Martial Souls, which had very poor combat ability and couldn't hunt Soul Beasts alone.
"Well, first you should try to find a way to deal with it yourself. For example, some Martial Souls don't have any offensive abilities yet."
"In that case, you'll need to ask your classmates to help you hunt it. If that still doesn't work, come to me."
The teacher leading the group replied.
"Oh, I get it."
Qin Qi nodded. Unlike schools in the real world, which only cared about grades, Spirit Master academies really taught students how to become independent Spirit Masters. The teacher's role was simply to impart knowledge and guide them.
As time went on, students occasionally found Soul Beasts that suited them and called the teacher over. Under his watchful eye, they began their Soul Hunting.
Some succeeded and some failed, but in the end, the teacher stepped in, and they all managed to absorb a Soul Beast's Spirit Ring.
While the teacher was busy, Qin Qi quietly slipped away and found a Soul Beast on his own.
"Let's see what Dan Shi can do!"
Qin Qi looked at a Ten-Year Soul Beast in the distance and condensed a Dan Shi. Colorless and formless, it drifted slowly toward the Soul Beast.