In the cafeteria, while he was getting lunch.
"Hey, ma'am, didn't you give me too much? I didn't order these two chicken legs, this braised pork, or this meatball soup."
Looking at the incredibly generous lunch in front of him, Qin Qi paused in surprise and spoke up.
"The chicken legs were ordered for you by your teacher. The principal asked us to give you this braised pork as an extra."
"The meatball soup was given to you by one of our cafeteria cooks."
"Young man, we all heard your speech. You spoke very well."
The lunch lady patted Qin Qi on the shoulder, looking at him with satisfaction. The cafeteria staff had heard him call the cooks great people.
Whether he'd meant it or not, Qin Qi had said it in front of so many people, and that had made the cafeteria staff happy.
"Then thank you, ma'am."
Qin Qi thanked her, then took his food and left, intending to find Teacher Zhao and eat with her.
"Qin Qi, come eat with us!"
"There's an empty seat here. Come sit with me!"
"Little brother, come eat with us big sisters. I have dessert!"
"Thank you, everyone, but I've already arranged to eat with my teacher. Next time, I promise!"
Qin Qi knew why everyone was being so warm toward him. He'd shown them he had plenty of talent.
That was why he'd earned their goodwill. It was a little cynical, but not necessarily a bad thing.
After all, if someone was nice to you for no reason, they probably wanted something from you. Yes, I'm talking about you, Grandmaster.
"Looks like our little prodigy is very popular."
Watching Qin Qi walk over, Teacher Zhao teased him.
"Hehehe."
Qin Qi gave her an honest smile. At first glance, he looked like a sweet, well-behaved boy.
Downstairs, on the first floor.
"Boss Qin Qi is amazing. He's so young, and he already has a Spirit Ring—and it's a hundred-year one!"
"I'm so jealous!"
The other students in Dorm Seven excitedly discussed Qin Qi, even though they weren't the ones being praised.
But Qin Qi had come from their dorm, and they felt proud of him too.
"Hmph, what's so great about that? I'll go get a Spirit Ring in a few days too, and mine will be a hundred-year one!"
Hearing everyone talk about Qin Qi, Xiao Wu suddenly felt irritated. She was supposed to be the big sister around here!
"Sister Xiao Wu, Soul Beasts aren't that easy to deal with. With our strength, we can't take on a hundred-year Soul Beast."
"And even if we did, we might not be able to absorb its Spirit Ring safely."
"Most graduates from our academy have ten-year Spirit Rings, or ones that are a few dozen years old."
"Hundred-year ones are very rare. I don't know about other big cities, but here in Nuoding City, we haven't seen anyone like Qin Qi in years."
Wang Sheng sighed. Nuoding City was small to begin with, and they were all Work-Study Students.
Getting a good Spirit Ring was even harder for them.
"Thump!"
As soon as Wang Sheng finished speaking, Xiao Wu punched him.
"Quit talking nonsense! I said there won't be a problem, so there won't be. Just wait and see."
Xiao Wu retorted, clearly annoyed.
"Oh, right, I forgot to ask. Sister Xiao Wu, what level is your Soul Power?"
Wang Sheng suddenly remembered the question. His Soul Power was at level nine, and Xiao Wu could beat him easily.
So she had to be at least level nine—or maybe she'd already reached level ten!
"I..."
Xiao Wu was just about to answer when Qin Qi came downstairs and walked over to their table with a smile.
"What are you talking about?"
Qin Qi asked.
"Hmph, none of your business. Didn't you go up to the second floor? Why are you back down?"
Xiao Wu gave Qin Qi a snort and asked.
"I finished eating, so I came down to chat with you."
"Oh, right. Here are the carrots I promised you earlier. And everyone, here's a chicken leg each!"
Qin Qi handed out the food he'd brought.
"Boss Qin Qi, did you strike it rich?!"
Watching Qin Qi being so generous, Wang Sheng felt a chill run down his back. When something out of the ordinary happened, there was bound to be a catch!
"Hahaha, that's right, I struck it rich!"
"After getting certified as a Spirit Master at Spirit Hall, I can collect one Gold Soul Coin every month!"
"I'm a rich man now!"
Qin Qi marveled once again at how quickly Spirit Masters made money. In Nuoding City, a blacksmith could work nonstop for a month and earn only one Silver Spirit Coin.
That came to twelve Silver Spirit Coins in a year—one Gold Soul Coin and two Silver Spirit Coins.
But Qin Qi didn't have to do a thing. He could lie around and still get one Gold Soul Coin every month, for a total of twelve Gold Soul Coins a year!
"Wait, you get paid just for becoming a Spirit Master?"
"Then I'd better become one soon! Aiyaya!"
Xiao Wu held a carrot in each hand and stuffed them into her mouth, quickly finishing one.
She'd completely forgotten that she'd been upset just moments ago and had started chatting with Qin Qi as naturally as ever.
"Qin Qi, could you tell me about the process of Soul Hunting?"
Tang San suddenly spoke up.
He, too, had Innate Full Soul Power, and it was time for him to get a Spirit Ring. But he wasn't very familiar with the process.
"Sure. First, let me explain the Spirit Ring categories: ten-year rings are white, hundred-year rings are yellow, thousand-year rings are purple, and ten-thousand-year rings are black."
"When hunting, it's important to choose the right Soul Beast. Ideally, you want one that suits your Martial Soul."
"For instance, Wang Sheng's Martial Soul is a tiger, so he should look for a tiger or another feline Soul Beast."
"That would give his Martial Soul the best boost and make it easier for him to get a Spirit Ring that suited it."
"As for the age of the ring, a hundred-year one is best. If it's too low, it'll affect your future development."
Qin Qi didn't hold anything back. He had no grudge against Tang San, and this knowledge wasn't a secret anyway.
He could ask any teacher and get the same information.
"As for specific ways of identifying Soul Beasts, the teachers cover that in the upper grades. Tang San, if you want to know, I can lend you my textbook."
Wang Sheng spoke up.
"There's no need. Doesn't Xiao San have a teacher? Even if Grandmaster is just freeloading, he ought to know these basics, right?"
"Just ask Grandmaster directly, Xiao San."
Qin Qi said with a smile.
Speaking of Grandmaster, there he was. Yu Xiaogang had just walked in from outside and was heading straight toward Qin Qi and the others.
"Xiao San."
Yu Xiaogang greeted Tang San.
"Teacher."
Tang San greeted him too.
But then Yu Xiaogang turned to Qin Qi. He'd heard about Qin Qi as well.
"What's your Martial Soul? How much Soul Power do you have?"
Yu Xiaogang asked as he looked at Qin Qi.
"Hm?"
Tang San couldn't help frowning when he heard that.
"What my Martial Soul is... what's it to you? Why should I tell you?"
Qin Qi looked at Yu Xiaogang, his smile unchanged, but his words were anything but polite.
"You! I'm a teacher at this academy. You're being incredibly rude to me!"
Yu Xiaogang looked displeased.
"Rude? You're a Spirit Master too. Don't you know it's rude to pry into someone else's Martial Soul and Soul Power?"
"And you're a teacher. Tell me, what grade do you teach?"
Qin Qi didn't back down in the slightest. What kind of person did Yu Xiaogang think he was, putting on a teacher's airs in front of him?
To put it bluntly, I could kill you right now with a single thought.
"Never mind what grade I teach. I'm still a teacher at this academy!"
Yu Xiaogang was even angrier. Although he had the title of teacher at the academy, he'd never had the chance to teach.
The principal might not do his job properly, but he had a clear head. Yu Xiaogang could get by at the academy as a freeloader.
But if he were allowed to teach students, with that lofty opinion of himself and lack of ability, Notting Academy would be ruined.