An Unexpected Encounter at the Station

At East Sea City's soul train station, a dark blue soul train stood at the platform. Tang Wulin stepped down from the student-discount carriage.

It was his first time in a major city, so he walked slowly, his clear eyes curiously taking in his surroundings.

He had come alone, but he had signed an A-rank genius contract with the Spirit Pagoda. Now that he had come to study in East Sea City, the Spirit Pagoda could help his family settle there free of charge, allowing his father and mother to move over. However, finding a suitable place to live would take time, so his parents had not come with him for the time being.

Suddenly, the crowd ahead automatically parted to both sides, and Tang Wulin followed along. Looking forward, he saw a glossy black soul car parked on the platform. People had moved aside to avoid it, going around it instead.

Wow, how arrogant. This is a soul train station, yet they actually drove a soul car in here and even parked it on the platform.

As Tang Wulin thought this, a youth in a blue tracksuit stepped out from behind him and boarded the soul car, surrounded by a group of black-clad bodyguards.

(Complaint: The Xie Family was a local family in East Sea City. Xie Xie often ate braised beef from the streets around East Sea Academy, which showed that the Xie Family was not far from East Sea Academy. Now that bodyguards and a private car had been sent to pick him up for school, he could have left directly from home and gone straight to East Sea Academy. His appearance at the soul train station was clearly just a contrived way to create an unpleasant first meeting between Xie Xie and Tang Wulin.

Also, Tang Wulin, who took the train, actually arrived at East Sea Academy earlier than Xie Xie, who took a private car. Was it because the driver had exercised too intensely and his legs were too weak to press the accelerator?)

"Wulin, looks like we're going to have a pretty arrogant classmate."

The speaker was a fair, chubby little boy named Wan Yunchao, Tang Wulin's classmate from Red Mountain Academy.

Tang Wulin, who had innate soul power at rank seven, was Red Mountain Academy's foremost genius. Wan Yunchao, whose martial soul was a saber and whose innate soul power was rank five, was Red Mountain Academy's second greatest genius.

Over their three years at the academy, the two had become good friends. This time, they had ridden in the same carriage of the same soul train because they had applied to the same academy: East Sea Academy.

"You mean that blue-clothed youth just now?"

"Of course. At that age and at this time, that arrogant guy is definitely a new student at East Sea Academy like us. He comes from a big family, so his talent should have a certain baseline. He probably won't be bad, but he still can't compare to you, Wulin."

As Wan Yunchao said this, pride appeared on his chubby face.

His best brother was a Great Soul Master at nine years old. Not just any pampered young master from a major family could compare himself to that.

Though he was not as impressive as his best brother, he was not bad either. A rank-fourteen Soul Master at nine years old—he was undoubtedly a little genius himself.

"Hard to say." Tang Wulin looked in the direction the soul car had departed and shook his head slightly. "A nine-year-old Great Soul Master is indeed rare, but one must know that there are always greater people beyond people and greater heavens beyond the heavens. Only by maintaining a humble heart can one go farther."

Big Brother Huo had said that the world was vast, while the place where he lived was very, very small.

Being conceited would only make one unable to see one's own place clearly, causing one to lose sight of one's true heart and preventing one from going far on the path of a soul master.

Humble?

Wan Yunchao could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth.

Did he mean the kind of humility that involved beating every student in Red Mountain Academy's soul master class to the ground?

East Sea Academy had endured through the ages while remaining ever new.

A gentle breeze swept across the tree-lined avenue. Ancient verdant trees planted along both sides rustled softly, and from time to time, a few yellowing leaves drifted down onto the old, weighty bluestone pavement.

Three new students walked side by side along the avenue, heading deeper into the academy.

"Idol, Miss Gu Yuena, should we report to the Academic Affairs Office first? Or should we go directly to the principal's office?"

Xu Xiaoyan smiled sweetly as she spoke. The breeze brushed over her face, making the short bangs on her forehead flutter gently and accentuating her pure, innocent features. She was like a pristine little white flower just beginning to bloom.

As Meng Xinghe's follower, she knew that the breathtakingly beautiful Gu Yuena was one of their own, and that her identity was anything but ordinary. As for exactly what it was, her idol had said that the time was not right yet. When the time came, she would naturally learn the truth.

She's so beautiful. Xu Xiaoyan secretly glanced at Gu Yuena's stunning profile, and a flush rose to her fair cheeks.

Among everyone she had ever seen, Gu Yuena was the only one whose appearance could rival that of His Excellency the Heavenly God.

If status could be judged by appearance, then Miss Gu Yuena might be an existence on the same level as His Excellency the Heavenly God.

"No need," Meng Xinghe said. "Principal Yu has already handled the procedures required for our enrollment, and the dormitory keys were delivered long ago. We can go straight to the dormitory building now."

Although it was Meng Xinghe's first time at East Sea Academy, he seemed extremely familiar with the place. He led Gu Yuena and Xu Xiaoyan to the dormitory building with practiced ease.

The environment here was peaceful, surrounded by lush, flourishing ancient verdant trees. The dormitory building faced south, and directly in front of it was a modest artificial lake. Its water was clear enough to reveal the bottom, goldfish swam leisurely within it, and green ivy covered the walls on both sides. The open-air balconies on the second floor and above were filled with pots of blooming flowers facing outward, their fragrance pleasant and refreshing.

Today was the first day of school, yet there was no one here apart from the three of them. Clearly, this was special treatment granted to them by Yu Zhen.

"Wow, having privileges is great."

Xu Xiaoyan's eyes sparkled as she said happily, "Idol, you have no idea. At the private junior soul master academy my father arranged for me, even after pulling strings, I could only stay in a double room with someone else. The accommodations were nowhere near this good."

"Enjoying privileges means taking on corresponding obligations. Such excellent treatment may be free, but it is also the most expensive."

Meng Xinghe took out the keys and gave them to Gu Yuena and Xu Xiaoyan. "This place will become lively in the future, but for now, it's just the three of us. Come on, let's go up to the second floor and take a look at our rooms."

This year, East Sea Academy had received excellent students, perhaps the best class it had seen in hundreds of years. Yu Zhen was certain to pool resources to nurture the exceptionally gifted students, and the establishment of Class Zero was already inevitable. The three of them were merely enjoying this treatment in advance.

The first floor of the dormitory contained meditation rooms and training rooms. The bedrooms for living began on the second floor.

"202." Gu Yuena glanced at the number on her key, then turned to look at the key in Meng Xinghe's hand.

"Mine is 201. It's next to yours."

For some reason, she felt a faint sense of delight in her heart.

Meng Xinghe lived in 201, Gu Yuena in 202, and naturally, Xu Xiaoyan's room was 203.

The room order was obviously arranged according to talent. His Excellency the Heavenly God was first, Miss Gu Yuena was second, and she herself was third. It was perfectly reasonable.

They climbed to the second floor. The key entered the lock with a click, the doorknob turned, and the door opened.

A brown wooden window directly faced the entrance, letting in abundant light. A fresh, elegant green curtain was propped up by a wooden rod over the window. It swayed in the wind, fluttering against the smooth, flat wooden desk with soft pats. A row of bookshelves stood to the left of the desk, while a bed was on the right.

The conditions here naturally could not compare to those of the Spirit Pagoda, but for a dormitory at an intermediate academy, they were already top-tier. Not only did they surpass soul master academies from ten thousand years ago, they even exceeded those of many modern academies.