Registration, the Soul Master's Path Officially Begins!

"...I-I really stood up?"

Yao's legs trembled slightly, his voice filled with disbelief.

Yao Shi spoke excitedly from beside him. "It's true, Grandpa Yao—you can stand!"

Yao looked at the small Yao Shi before him. Thinking back on the past three years, his eyes grew damp. His voice hoarse, he said, "Little Pebble, these past three years have really been hard on you."

He continued, "Now that you've awakened your martial soul and my injuries have healed, you don't need to keep yourself so busy. Go to school. Learn about soul masters and become a real soul master."

"And look at me now. I don't need you to take care of me anymore—I can take care of myself. Little Pebble, your soul skill is truly incredible."

As he spoke, Yao even flexed his muscles at Yao Shi.

"..."

Yao Shi fell silent for a while. He had originally wanted to stay and continue caring for Yao, because Yao had already been over seventy when he picked him up. Even high-ranking soul masters on the Douluo Continent only lived two or three hundred years at most, while ordinary people lived even shorter lives. He did not know how much longer he could stay by Yao's side. But now, he discovered that his first soul skill, Healing, could not only mend injuries—it seemed to have a slight rejuvenating effect as well.

Yao's body had originally been over eighty years old, nearly gaunt and shriveled, with graying hair. But now, his gray-white hair had fallen out, replaced by a dense growth of black hair. His body had filled out too. To an outsider, he did not look like an old man with one foot in the grave at all. He clearly looked like a robust man in his thirties.

"Alright, I'll go to school."

Seeing Yao showing off like this, Yao Shi felt certain that he would live for a long time, so he immediately nodded in agreement. Besides, if they wanted to live better lives, becoming a powerful soul master was undoubtedly the fastest way to earn money.

"Hahaha, that's more like it." Yao let out a hearty, vigorous laugh. Yao Shi's soul skill made him feel as though he had been given a second life.

Yao Shi had fifteen silver soul coins left on him. This was all the living money they had left. Since Yao's original plot of land had been sold, Yao planned to find work in town. After all, he was now in the prime of his strength. So Yao Shi gave Yao eight silver soul coins and kept seven for himself to pay the registration fee.

Thus, the next day, the two of them set out together for Bluestone Town. To save money, they still chose to travel on foot. However, since both of them ran the whole way, they arrived in Bluestone Town before noon. It was understandable for Yao Shi, a soul master, to run quickly, but Yao himself was astonished by his own speed.

"Good heavens, Little Pebble, I feel like I can almost run as fast as a carriage—and I'm not even out of breath!"

Yao Shi was curious as well. Could a healing soul skill really achieve this? Not only making someone younger, but also increasing their endurance?

Upon arriving in Bluestone Town, the two went their separate ways. Yao Shi headed alone to the Bluestone Town Junior Soul Master Academy to register, while Yao hurried off to find work. Those dozen or so silver soul coins were not enough to support the two of them for long.

When Yao Shi arrived at the academy entrance, he found that Bluestone Town was originally just a tiny agricultural town within Star Luo. It was very small in scale, and the surrounding area was populated by ordinary farming households. Thus, the Bluestone Town Junior Soul Master Academy was not particularly large or prosperous either. In return, however, its registration fee was quite low.

It was currently registration season, and a short line had already formed at the academy's registration office. The chances of commoner soul masters awakening soul power were very low to begin with, and the area around Bluestone Town was mostly farming households. Therefore, there were only around twenty people lined up to register.

Yao Shi hurried over to join the line.

The registration process for a junior soul master academy was quite simple. One only needed to register their information, test their soul power, and pay the tuition fee. Since there were few people, it was soon Yao Shi's turn.

The person responsible for admissions was a female teacher. Her tone had been indifferent toward the others before him, but when she saw Yao Shi's handsome baby face, her voice immediately softened.

"Name and age?"

"Yao Shi, seven years old."

"Martial soul?"

"Tree branch."

Teachers at junior academies did not care whether a student had a useless martial soul. As long as they possessed soul power, they would accept them even if their martial soul was just a blade of grass.

"Alright, test your soul power." As she spoke, she pointed at the crystal ball beside her.

Yao Shi obediently did as told and placed his hand upon it. His level immediately appeared on its surface.

Level 12!

"Huh? Level twelve!"

The admissions teacher beside him was also shocked by Yao Shi's soul power level. "If I remember correctly, you're only seven this year, right? You broke through to level twelve after cultivating for one year. It seems your talent is quite good."

It was not that the admissions teacher did not know about innate full soul power, but she did not believe the child before her could possess it. After all, those with innate full soul power were one in ten thousand. For a commoner to possess soul power at all was already fortunate enough. The chances of a commoner awakening with innate full soul power were simply lower than her own chances of becoming a Titled... no, lower than becoming a Soul Douluo.

"Alright, little one. Pay one more silver soul coin, and your registration will be complete."

Yao Shi reached into his small cloth pouch, took out a coin, and handed it to the teacher, feeling somewhat reluctant.

So expensive. Living expenses: -10.

That was ten copper soul coins! Enough to cover three days of his living expenses!

"Alright, pack up your things and head to the dormitory. Oh, there'll be bedding on the dorm bed, so you can move in directly."

Yao Shi was delighted. That meant he would not have to spend extra money. It seemed that the one silver soul coin tuition fee was quite reasonable after all!

So Yao Shi thanked the registration teacher, then picked up his bundle containing two sets of clothes and headed toward the dormitory.

The dormitory was large, with more than twenty beds inside. The environment was plain, but at least it was clean. At the moment, he was the only one there, so he casually chose a bed and lay down, burying his face in the blanket.

Three years. I've finally awakened my martial soul. My path as a soul master begins today!

Yao Shi sometimes wondered about this. He had clearly seen some soul tool technology in town, and it already possessed the beginnings of modern technology. Thus, he guessed that this was currently the era of the Peerless Tang Clan. Yet he could not understand why, when everything he had seen in the original work had seemed so wonderful, life had become so difficult after he arrived here.

Survival required money. After Spirit Hall was destroyed, awakening one's martial soul required money too. The descendants of soul masters might still become soul masters, but the descendants of commoners, without money or opportunities, were destined to remain commoners. Who had created all this?

Why? Awakening a martial soul was clearly such a simple matter, so why did it cost money? And why was it so expensive?

Yao Shi was determined to change all this. Even if commoners remained commoners, he hoped to give them at least a sliver of hope to defy fate and change their lives.

Yao Shi, lying facedown on the blanket, did not notice a faint green light beginning to emanate around him, nor that his eyes had turned a pale golden green.

"Hey, looks like someone's moved into the dormitory!"

At that moment, a hearty male voice interrupted Yao Shi's thoughts.