Special-Grade Treatment

To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools. If he wanted to work, he had to wait until he was full enough to have the strength.

Lin Huo had not forgotten Principal Huo Lie's assessment that he was malnourished during the earlier examination.

He had spent a full six years in New Town, and a life of poverty naturally could not provide him with sufficient nutrition.

Even while traveling before this, he had endured the hardships of the road, living on nothing but dry rations to stave off hunger.

Now that he had officially enrolled at Blazing Fire Academy, the first thing he wanted was a proper meal.

Lin Huo weighed the bag containing two hundred Gold Soul Coins in his arms, then looked at the lavishly decorated Blazing Fire Academy cafeteria. For a moment, his heart began to pound.

The cafeteria's upscale decor made him doubt whether his two hundred Gold Soul Coins would even be enough to fill a crack between his teeth.

"Hello, are you Student Lin Huo? May I ask if you've come to dine?"

"You know me? If I remember correctly, I only enrolled today, didn't I?"

Standing at the cafeteria entrance, a greeter wearing a tall black hat and an immaculate formal suit warmly stepped forward to welcome him. The fact that he immediately called out Lin Huo's name left Lin Huo rather puzzled.

However, Lin Huo only froze for a moment before realizing the reason. That so-called Special-Grade Treatment was probably taking effect.

Seeing Lin Huo's confusion, the greeter smiled softly. His posture was exceptionally respectful as he explained in a gentle voice:

"Student Lin Huo, you jest. As a student receiving Special-Grade Treatment, your portrait has already been distributed to every staff member and teacher in the academy.

"In most areas of Blazing Fire Academy, you may pass without obstruction simply by showing your face. Dining in the cafeteria also grants you complimentary, top-quality service."

The greeter made a gesture, and a line of pretty attendants immediately approached in graceful formation.

Damn, it's just a meal. Is there really a need for such a huge display? Lin Huo muttered inwardly as he looked at the line.

This extravagant, decadent feudal capitalist style practically blinded him.

That said, as the one being served, aside from feeling slightly unaccustomed to it, he was enjoying it quite a lot.

It was already mealtime, and many students had gathered in the cafeteria.

All three grades of Blazing Fire Academy shared the same cafeteria. The moment Lin Huo was ceremoniously escorted inside, he drew everyone's attention.

"That kind of reception seems to be reserved for the Special-Grade students in the Academy Support Program, right?"

"That little brother looks like a freshman. Among this year's junior division freshmen, could there be another Special-Grade student besides Big Sis and Big Brother?"

"Hehe, the academy doesn't forbid fighting. Once this kid gets used to academy life, we can test what he's made of."

The murmurs filled the cafeteria with noise, but Lin Huo did not care in the slightest. At that moment, he was waiting for his meal at a private dining table.

Half an hour later, Lin Huo rubbed his swollen belly and let out a satisfied burp. The cafeteria's dishes were terrifyingly abundant. Even after eating his fill, he had only sampled one-twentieth of the menu.

Unfortunately, dishes made with Soul Beast meat were supplied in limited quantities due to Soul Beast protection measures. Otherwise, he could probably have pushed himself to eat even more.

"Blazing Fire Academy really is a proper academy. If this were that backwater school Shrek, I'd probably be gnawing on steamed buns and drinking plain congee right now."

As he sat in his chair digesting his food, Lin Huo could not help recalling Shrek's miserly conduct in the original work. There truly was no harm without comparison.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Huo left the cafeteria. Following the guidebook hurriedly handed to him by an academy staff member, he made his way to the academy training grounds.

Originally, Lin Huo had intended to find some deserted patch of wasteland behind the mountain to test his skills.

But Special-Grade Treatment really was different. The academy training grounds actually had an area specifically reserved for Special-Grade students to train alone.

According to the explanation in the guidebook, a Soul Master's soul skills and cultivation methods were matters that urgently needed to be kept secret, which was why the academy had specially built Solo Training Grounds.

It was the same familiar scene. As soon as Lin Huo arrived near the training grounds, staff members were already greeting him with smiles.

"Student Lin Huo, are you using the training grounds now? Solo or group? For how long? Please register first."

Huo Tian had given Lin Huo plenty of extra instruction during their journey, allowing him to sense the faint traces of Soul Power on the staff member before him.

He understood. To prevent accidents, the training grounds' staff were likely all Soul Masters.

"Now. Solo. One hour. Thank you."

His brief reply was practically stingy with words. Lin Huo could no longer wait to test his own abilities.

He had spent the previous twenty days at Huo Tian's side without any chance to try them out, and it had nearly driven him mad with frustration.

Once the registration was completed, the staff member quickly led Lin Huo into a Solo Training Ground, then respectfully withdrew, shut the training ground's doors, and stood guard outside.

Alone, Lin Huo carefully surveyed the training ground. Its spaciousness went without saying; an area of several thousand square meters was enough for a Soul Ancestor expert to act freely within it.

Perhaps because Blazing Fire Academy was filled with fire-attribute Soul Masters, the walls and all kinds of equipment were made of stone and highly resistant to fire.

After inspecting it closely and confirming that there were no hidden Soul Tools capable of surveillance, Lin Huo finally relaxed completely and began studying his panel.

[Trainer: Lin Huo]

[Pokémon: Charmander/Bulbasaur/?]

[Attributes: Fire/Grass Poison/?]

[Abilities: Blaze/Overgrow/?]

[Level: Level 6]

[Skills (Charmander): Scratch, Growl, Ember, Belly Drum, Dragon Tail]

[Skills (Bulbasaur): Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Toxic, Ingrain, Growth]

[Skill: Meditation]

The Trainer entry on the panel corresponded to himself, while the Pokémon entry should more accurately have been called Martial Souls.

As for those question marks, he still had no idea what they meant.

Lin Huo rubbed his chin and thought continuously. Could those question marks mean that he had a third Martial Soul?

As for triple Martial Souls, he only remembered Prisoner Huo and Tang Wutong from Douluo 2 possessing them.

One had Spirit Eyes, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, and the Holy Necromancer, while the other had the Clear Sky Hammer, the Light Dragon God Butterfly, and the Sea God.

The key was that neither of them was ordinary. Even with cheats powerful enough to reach the heavens, neither of their triple Martial Souls had been innate.

As for himself, honestly, he was completely baffled by those question marks. Other than baseless speculation, he had no clues at all, so he could only set them aside for now.

Putting aside the Martial Souls and the question marks, there was nothing much to say about the Fire, Grass, and Poison attributes. They had all come from his Pokémon Martial Souls.

As for the abilities...