Spirit Hall Academy, a Well-Connected Student Arrives

Seven days after the River Valley Town mission ended.

Chu Jin returned to Spirit City.

When he handed the Dragon-Patterned Spear and Light Feather Badge to Chu Lie, the man whose hands were harder than iron tongs from swinging hammers year-round sat silently at the entrance to the forge for a long time.

Chu Lie did not cry out.

He merely wiped the broken half of the spear again and again, bit by bit removing the dried dark-red bloodstains from its shaft.

By evening, he had lit the furnace again.

He spent the entire night melting the broken spearhead into a piece of black iron, forging it into a palm-sized dragon-patterned heart-protecting mirror.

The Light Feather Badge was inlaid into the back of the mirror.

The next morning, Chu Lie personally tied the heart-protecting mirror onto Chu Jin's chest.

"Your parents left these things behind. You don't need to keep worshipping them."

"Carry them with you. Whether it blocks a blade or an arrow, it can still protect you one more time."

Chu Jin lowered his head and looked at the heart-protecting mirror.

Clear hammer marks remained on the black iron's surface. There were no elaborate carvings, only a long spear and a feather engraved at its center.

"Alright."

Chu Lie patted him on the shoulder.

"Go train."

After the battle at River Valley Town, Chu Jin's training at the Consecration Hall did not lessen.

Golden Crocodile even increased his daily weight load by a hundred jin.

In his view, having truly experienced a life-and-death battle meant Chu Jin should understand his own lack of strength even more clearly. If killing one Soul King made him complacent, then this was as far as Chu Jin would ever go.

Chu Jin understood that himself.

Blood Butcher had died by his hand because Qin Yue had restrained him head-on, Qian Renxue had destroyed the blood pool, four Soul Ancestors had suppressed the high-level evil soul masters, and more than a hundred soul masters and civilians had provided the boost of the Overlord Army.

If he had encountered Blood Butcher alone, a single slash might have taken his life.

He was still far from being a true powerhouse.

That afternoon, Golden Crocodile ended the training session early.

Just as Chu Jin returned the eight-hundred-jin heavy halberd to the weapon rack, Yue Guan arrived at the training grounds.

"Clean up."

"You'll be attending Spirit Academy tomorrow."

Chu Jin wiped the bloody blisters on his palms.

"Are the Consecration Hall's lessons not enough?"

"Spirit theory, soul beast records, body tempering, and practical combat—the Consecration Hall can naturally give you the very best."

Yue Guan walked over and glanced disdainfully at the cracks covering the ground where the heavy halberd had struck.

"But if you keep training with old fellows like us, you won't have much contact with soul masters your own age."

"A soul master's growth isn't just about cultivation."

"Team coordination, academy competition, and adapting on the spot to different martial souls all require plenty of opponents your own age."

Guang Ling jumped down from a tree.

"To put it simply, we're sending you to bully children."

Yue Guan turned and glared at him.

"What do you mean, bully children?"

"He's over seven this year, while the oldest students in Spirit Academy's elite class are already fifteen or sixteen."

"So being younger means it isn't bullying?"

Guang Ling looked at Chu Jin.

"Tell me yourself. How many strikes from your halberd can those little brats at the academy take?"

Chu Jin considered it for a moment.

"That depends on their level and martial souls."

"See? Even he didn't deny it."

Yue Guan could not be bothered arguing with Guang Ling.

"This was arranged jointly by His Holiness the Pope and the Grand Consecrator."

"You will still live at the Consecration Hall. You'll attend the academy in the mornings for theory and team courses, then return in the afternoon to train under the Second and Fifth Consecrators."

"Everything has already been arranged at the academy."

Chu Jin nodded.

"When do I report in?"

"Tomorrow morning."

The next day.

Spirit Hall Academy.

As one of the continent's top soul master academies, Spirit Hall Academy possessed a complete training system ranging from beginner classes to advanced classes.

Ordinary students needed recommendations from local branch halls and had to pass the academy's assessment to enter.

Children with truly exceptional talent were sent directly into elite classes.

Chu Jin entered Beginner Elite Class One.

Though it was called a beginner class, the students' ages varied greatly.

The youngest were only eight or nine.

The oldest were already close to fifteen.

They had entered the academy at different times, and their soul power levels ranged from the teens to the twenties.

When Chu Jin arrived at the classroom, more than twenty people were already seated inside.

Teacher Lin Yue, who was responsible for the lesson, stood beside the lectern sorting through the soul beast illustrations needed for the day.

The moment Chu Jin entered, the previously noisy classroom quickly fell quiet.

All eyes focused on him.

The battle at River Valley Town had not been publicly spread across the continent.

But it had already become common knowledge within Spirit Hall.

A core disciple of the Consecration Hall.

Twin martial souls.

An eight-hundred-and-eighty-year first soul ring.

At thirteen levels of soul power, he had defeated a twenty-sixth-level Agility Attack System Grand Soul Master.

He had participated in the River Valley Town evil-suppression mission and personally killed Blood Butcher, leader of the Bloodfang Evil Soul Group.

The final point was the hardest to believe.

Blood Butcher was a fifty-fourth-level Soul King.

Even though everyone knew the victory had depended on the team, they could not ignore that Chu Jin was only seven and had not even obtained his second soul ring at the time.

At the back of the classroom, a red-haired youth sat with his arms folded, his gaze lingering on Chu Jin for a moment.

The youth was far larger than others his age. The muscles on his exposed arms were clearly defined, and his skin carried the dark-red hue of someone who had long been exposed to high temperatures.

Yan.

One of the Golden Generation members personally cultivated by Bibi Dong.

He was twelve this year, a twenty-seventh-level Grand Soul Master, with the Flame Lord martial soul.

Although Chu Jin had often met Hu Liena during the past year, he had not had much contact with Yan or Xie Yue.

Their training areas were different.

Yan had also always been in the advanced elite class. He had only recently come temporarily to Beginner Elite Class One to retake the basics because of a martial soul control course.

Seeing Chu Jin enter, Lin Yue set down the illustrations in his hands.

"He's here."

"Introduce yourself first."

Chu Jin walked to the lectern.

"Chu Jin."

"Level twenty. Second soul ring not yet obtained."

"First martial soul: external beast martial soul, Xiao Jin."

"Second martial soul: Double Pupils."

The introduction was extremely brief.

Yet hushed discussions rose throughout the classroom.

"He's already level twenty?"

"Wasn't he only level thirteen a year ago?"

"He hasn't even obtained his second soul ring. How did he get into Elite Class One?"

"Haven't you heard? He killed a Soul King in River Valley Town."

"The team killed him together. It wasn't like he won alone."

Lin Yue raised a hand and knocked on the lectern.

"Quiet."

"Chu Jin's theory lessons were previously arranged separately by the Consecration Hall, and some of the material has already gone beyond your current progress."

"He has come to the elite class mainly to learn team coordination, different martial soul applications, and academy combat."

"Your seat is in the third row."

Chu Jin headed toward the empty seat.

As he passed Yan, the latter spoke.

"I heard you have your own private mimicry cultivation ground at the Consecration Hall?"

Chu Jin stopped.

"I do."

"And you can collect dragon-type and light-attribute materials from the Consecration Hall's material storehouse every day?"

"I collect them according to my training needs."

Yan's gaze gradually turned serious.

"You're only level twenty right now."

"Those materials would be enough even for a Soul Elder."

"Do you think you deserve them?"

The atmosphere in the classroom immediately grew still.

Lin Yue did not stop them right away.

Spirit Hall Academy allowed competition.

As long as students did not deliberately harm one another in private, questioning the distribution of resources was perfectly normal.

Chu Jin looked at Yan.

"You think I don't deserve them?"

"At least, I can't see that you do yet."

Yan was not deliberately belittling Chu Jin's martial souls.

He merely said bluntly, "Since entering Spirit Academy, I've participated in eleven academy missions and taken first place in my grade twice."

"Even the fire-attribute resources in the Consecration Hall material storehouse can only be claimed according to my monthly assessment results."

"You arrived in Spirit City and immediately received the highest-standard cultivation ground and fixed materials."

"Anyone would be dissatisfied with that."

Quite a few students in the classroom secretly nodded.

They did not dare openly question the Consecration Hall's decision.

But they truly harbored similar thoughts.

A large part of the reason Chu Jin received the best treatment was the unknown potential of his martial souls.

But potential had yet to be fully realized.

Xiao Jin currently had only one soul ring.

Chu Jin himself was merely level twenty.

Judging by level alone, there were far too many people in the elite class stronger than him.

"What would make you accept it?"

Chu Jin asked.

A flash of fighting spirit passed through Yan's eyes.

"Fight me."

"If you win, I won't question your treatment again."

"If I win, let me use your advanced mimicry cultivation ground for three months."

Chu Jin shook his head.

Yan frowned.

"You don't dare?"

"That cultivation ground was given to me by the Consecration Hall."

"I can decide whether to use it myself, but I have no right to give it to you for three months."

Chu Jin glanced at Yan.

"Change the wager."

Yan pondered for a moment.

"I have an advanced fire-attribute cultivation room at the academy."

"I lost. The right to use it is yours."

"I don't need a fire-attribute cultivation room."

"Then what do you want?"

Chu Jin walked over to his seat and leaned his heavy halberd against the wall.

"The loser keeps his mouth shut for three months."

Someone in the classroom failed to hold back a laugh.

Yan's expression gradually darkened.

"You think I talk too much?"

"Since you questioned my treatment, it's only reasonable that you stop questioning it for three months after losing."

Chu Jin sat down.

"Do you dare?"

Yan stared at him for several breaths, then suddenly smiled.

"Fine."

"Three days from now, at the academy's main Soul Arena."

"I hope you'll still be as calm then as you are now."

Only then did Lin Yue speak.

"Challenges need to be registered in advance."

"I'll submit the application to the academy."

"Class begins now."

He unfolded a diagram of soul beast meridians.

Everyone's attention gradually returned to the lesson.

Yet Yan continued to watch Chu Jin.

He bore no ill will toward the Consecration Hall.

Nor did he think Chu Jin was useless.

It was precisely because Chu Jin's treatment was so exceptional that he wanted even more to confirm for himself whether this person truly had the qualifications to stand above every genius of his generation.

After class, the news quickly spread throughout the academy.

Twenty-seventh-rank Flame Lord Yan challenged twentieth-rank twin martial soul Chu Jin.

The match would take place three days later.

When Hu Liena received the news, she was cultivating in the mental mimicry training grounds.

She opened her eyes, with little worry on her face.

"Yan is probably going to be in trouble this time."

Xie Yue looked at her.

"You think Chu Jin can win?"

"Yan has the advantage in rank and frontal combat strength."

Hu Liena recalled how Xiao Jin had shattered her mental illusion twice.

"But Chu Jin never competes with others in what they're best at."

"If Yan treats him like an ordinary assault-type soul master, he'll only lose faster."

That evening, Chu Jin returned to the Consecration Hall.

Golden Crocodile already knew about the challenge.

He did not try to stop him. He merely tossed a thousand-jin heavy halberd into the training grounds.

"For the next three days, use this."

Chu Jin gripped the halberd shaft, and his arm instantly sank downward.

"Will I use it in the match too?"

"Use an eight-hundred-jin one for the match."

Golden Crocodile stood beside the waterfall.

"For now, make eight hundred jin feel a little lighter."