Going to School

The day after returning from Spirit Hunting Forest, Lin Qiuyu began thinking about Yang Dong's schooling.

She had originally sent him to Nuoding City so he could have a relatively comfortable childhood, but the talent Yang Dong had displayed made staying here a waste of his abilities. It might even hinder the child's growth.

This left Lin Qiuyu deeply troubled.

"Let's stay here. It's nice having Grandfather with me."

In the end, Yang Dong remained in Nuoding City and enrolled at Nuoding Academy.

Nuoding Academy was an elementary Soul Master school under the Heaven Dou Empire. It possessed only basic teaching resources. There were many schools like this, with practically one in every city, so it was nothing remarkable.

Nuoding Academy was located in the western part of Nuoding City. Today was the first day of school, and many children entered the academy accompanied by their parents.

Yang Dong was the same, though the person accompanying him was neither his mother, Lin Qiuyu, nor his grandfather, Lin Nuo, but the old butler, Butler Ma.

From afar, they could see a towering archway. It was twenty meters wide and ten meters tall, unforgettable at a single glance.

"Name?"

"Yang Dong!"

"Martial Soul?"

"Ghost Hand."

"Innate Soul Power?"

"Level one."

After the simple questions and answers, Yang Dong received an identity plaque. The person recording his information was not surprised by his level-one Soul Power. In Nuoding City, even possessing Innate Soul Power was an incredibly fortunate thing.

"Oh, right. The academy is closed-campus. Students must board at the academy and are not permitted to leave even a single step except during holidays. Violators will be expelled immediately."

The person writing the records spoke without even raising his head. It was a routine reminder, just like the questions before.

"Isn't this Butler Ma? How rare. I actually ran into you here today."

Yang Dong and Butler Ma had just turned to leave when a deep voice sounded behind them.

A richly dressed, middle-aged fat man was smiling at Yang Dong.

"Butler Ma, who is this? He actually warranted you personally seeing him here. Aren't you going to introduce this genius with level-one Innate Soul Power?"

There was a barb in his words. Butler Ma lowered his head and glanced at Yang Dong, only to find him completely calm, unaffected by that remark in the slightest.

Right, the young master was already a true Soul Master.

With that thought, Butler Ma pretended not to see the middle-aged fat man and left with Yang Dong.

"Pah! What the hell is he acting like?"

The middle-aged fat man spat disdainfully, then said to his son, "Xiao Bao, if you run into that child at school in the future, teach him a harsh lesson for me!"

"Okay, Dad. Candy!"

The child holding his hand answered in a muffled voice.

"Young Master, are you really sure you'll be fine living here alone?"

With his grandfather's considerable influence behind him, Yang Dong naturally did not have to share a room with several other people. He lived alone in a very luxurious, large room.

"No problem, Grandpa Ma."

Yang Dong looked over the furnishings in the room and nodded in satisfaction.

"Oh, right, Grandpa Ma, get me a few wooden swords too."

Thinking of the still-locked panel representing swordsmanship, Yang Dong came up with a new idea. He wanted to see whether practicing swordsmanship himself could speed up the unlocking process.

"Wooden swords?"

Butler Ma nodded without asking any further questions, then turned and went to buy what Yang Dong had requested.

That evening, Butler Ma reluctantly left Nuoding Academy, just like the many other parents.

Without their parents around, the children seemed to be liberated for a time, and the entire academy brimmed with cheerful energy.

But that cheerful atmosphere did not last long before some upperclassmen offered them a friendly greeting.

Bang! Bang bang bang.

"Open up! Open the door, little junior! Your seniors have come to see you."

Yang Dong's unconventional behavior had long drawn the attention of many people. Having an entire dormitory room to himself was something that had never happened before at Nuoding Academy. Thus, after greeting some of the new students, many older students voluntarily gathered outside Yang Dong's dormitory door.

"Principal, will this really be okay?"

Some teachers were gathered in the distance. It had become a tradition at Nuoding Academy for upperclassmen to give lowerclassmen a little greeting. To prevent accidents, the teachers naturally kept a close watch.

"He's being so high-profile. If he doesn't suffer a little now, he'll suffer even more later. I'll handle Lin Nuo, so you don't need to worry."

The current Principal was a potbellied fat man. Though he looked obese, his strength had surpassed level thirty—he was a Battle Soul Elder.

At that moment, he narrowed his eyes and watched the dormitory where Yang Dong was staying.

Inside the dormitory.

Yang Dong had just been about to meditate when he heard the commotion outside, followed by a series of loud knocks.

"Come to see me?"

Hearing their claim, Yang Dong's little face showed a cold smile. Others might believe such words, but he had lived more than ten extra years. How could such nonsense possibly fool him?

Creak!

Yang Dong opened the dormitory door, and the gazes of many children immediately converged on him.

"What do you want?"

Yang Dong's voice was cold. These people could not bring him even the slightest pressure.

"You're Junior Yang Dong, right? We didn't come for anything else. We just want to borrow something from you. Don't worry, we'll definitely return it."

One of the children, around eight years old, patted his chest as he spoke.

"Don't believe him! They're all liars!"

Some new students who had already received their greetings shouted upon hearing this. They had not grown up yet and did not possess the mindset of merely watching a show.

"Looks like you want another greeting?"

The older students looked maliciously at the new students who had just shouted.

"What if I don't lend it to you?"

Yang Dong tilted his head, inwardly finding it amusing. The reason these students dared to act so recklessly was certainly because they had the tacit approval of the teachers. There were both benefits and drawbacks to this.

The benefit was that, for a period of time, these new students would become easier to manage, and some might even strive to improve themselves. But there was also a downside: it could leave psychological shadows on these six-year-old children.

"If you won't lend it to us, that's fine. We'll settle it with a Soul Master duel. If you win, then naturally you won't have to lend it to me!"

A trace of surprise flashed across the eight-year-old's face, but he quickly offered a solution.

Before coming here, they had already investigated Yang Dong's background. His Martial Soul was the unheard-of Ghost Hand Martial Soul, and his Innate Soul Power was only level one. Dealing with a six-year-old boy like that would be ridiculously easy.