An Unremarkable Enrollment

Unlike the gilded splendor and solemn grandeur of Spirit Hall, Frost City Junior Soul Master Academy had an overall rugged feel, very much in the style of the Far North.

The academy's outer walls were built from massive dark-gray stones, while its various buildings were all sharply angular, with rigid, straight lines.

Atop the main teaching building directly opposite the gates stood a statue of a Frost Eagle poised to take flight. From afar, the statue's eyes appeared blue.

Lin Wan guessed that some extremely valuable gemstones must have been set there.

Ancient, imposing, sturdy, and rugged—it was like a fortress rooted in the frozen earth.

That was Lin Wan's first impression of Frost City Junior Soul Master Academy, but he felt that his aura did not quite match the academy's.

After all, he was a man destined to become the heartthrob of Douluo Continent and captivate countless young women.

How could he spend his days fighting and killing here?

That did not suit his style at all. But since he was already here, Lin Wan still decided to enjoy his school life.

By the time Lin Wan and old Drus arrived, quite a few parents and children had already gathered at the academy gates. Most were dressed as commoners, though a few wore obviously expensive clothing.

Lin Wan's appearance stood out among the crowd, drawing several curious and scrutinizing gazes.

He paid them no mind. Handsome men knew their own worth.

"Come on, Xiao Wan. Let's go register." Looking at the impressive academy, old Drus's eyes were full of gratification and expectation as he patted Lin Wan on the shoulder.

The two headed straight for the gatehouse.

The guard in the academy uniform was a stern-looking middle-aged man. He took the Spirit Hall certificate old Drus handed him and carefully scanned its contents. "Lin Wan, Cold North Village. Martial Soul: Ice Fox. Innate Soul Power: Level One."

The guard looked up at Lin Wan again. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes at Lin Wan's outstanding appearance, and then he handed the certificate back.

"Mm. Go on in. Follow this road straight ahead, then turn left. You'll find the work-study student office, where you can complete your dorm registration."

"Thank you."

After hearing the guard's instructions, old Drus hurriedly thanked him.

Following the directions, the two soon found the work-study student office.

The procedures were handled quickly. Lin Wan received a rough but clean work-study uniform, a bronze badge representing his identity, and a dormitory key for Room Six, Section C.

After the formalities were completed, old Drus accompanied Lin Wan to a nearby market and bought bedding and some basic daily necessities.

When it was time to pay, old Drus took out a worn old money pouch, faded pale from washing, from inside his clothes. He carefully counted out several copper soul coins and handed them to Lin Wan.

"Xiao Wan, take these. Don't be too frugal at school. Eat when you need to. Grandpa knows work-study students have it hard, but your body is the foundation of cultivation."

Looking at the few copper soul coins, still warm from the old man's rough palm, Lin Wan felt a warmth rise in his heart.

He did not refuse. Instead, he accepted them solemnly. "Thank you, Grandpa Drus. I'll take good care of myself."

After seeing Lin Wan to the foot of the Section C dormitory building, old Drus watched him enter, then earnestly reminded him of several more things before finally leaving the academy, looking back every few steps as he set off for Cold North Village.

By the time Lin Wan arrived at the work-study dormitory, several people were already inside.

Only after he had briefly organized his belongings did he finally feel that this was real.

Everything had changed too quickly over the past few days, and Lin Wan had kept feeling as though it were all a dream.

"I actually enrolled this quietly and smoothly, without a single ripple."

Lin Wan sighed. In novels, did not little villains always come to make trouble whenever the protagonist entered a new area?

Yet that day, Lin Wan encountered absolutely nothing. Even the registration process had gone so smoothly it felt absurd.

"Looks like I really don't have the protagonist's fate Tang San has."

Still, that was fine. It saved him trouble.

Including Lin Wan, there were twenty-one people living in the work-study dormitory. There were boys and girls, and nearly all of them came from villages around Frost City.

Their martial souls came in every variety. Ice flowers, ice blades, ice cats, and ice birds made up the majority, but their Innate Soul Power was generally low. Levels One and Two were the norm.

The only one who could be considered outstanding was a boy named Qin Yi, who looked rather quiet and reserved.

His Innate Soul Power was Level Five, and his martial soul was an ice blade that radiated chilling cold. Among this group of work-study students, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

When Lin Wan arrived, Qin Yi had already been sitting cross-legged on his bunk with his eyes tightly shut and brows furrowed, striving to sense and gather Soul Power.

The dormitory was lively. Some, like Qin Yi, had slightly better talent and immediately sat cross-legged with their eyes closed after settling in, silently striving to sense their Soul Power. Others gathered in small groups, excitedly discussing their martial souls, their voices full of exhilaration.

Still others quietly organized their own small spaces, their eyes holding the restraint of newcomers and a cautious appraisal of their unfamiliar surroundings.

Lin Wan's gaze swept across the youthful faces, and he sighed.

He did not immediately try cultivating like the others, since he had not finished unpacking.

Besides, he did not need to clumsily sense Soul Power like everyone else.

When his martial soul had awakened in Cold North Village, the system had instantly drained nine levels of Lin Wan's Soul Power, causing the crystal ball to display only Level One.

But that absolutely did not mean he had only Level One Soul Power left. His Innate Soul Power was still Level Ten on the system's personal interface. It was merely that his Soul Power reserves had been instantly drained by the system, like water emptied from a vat—the vat itself still had full capacity.

He had not been idle these past few days at old Drus's home.

The person summoned from the character summoning card he had drawn from the system's novice gift pack was no ordinary person.

Eva, the queen skilled in dark magic from the story of Snow White, had only been on Douluo Continent for a few days, but that was already enough time for her to figure out how to cultivate Soul Power.

Thus, several days earlier, she had already shared a rather good meditation method with Lin Wan.

Lin Wan had been cultivating according to the method Queen Eva taught him these past few days, and the results had been astonishing.

The Soul Power the system had drained from him had already been cultivated back within those few days, and he even faintly felt it was about to overflow.

Lin Wan only lacked a soul ring before he could officially step across the threshold of a soul master and become a one-ring soul master.

He had yet to find a suitable and safe place or time to absorb the soul ring he had drawn from the system. He planned to wait until he had attended the academy for a while before finding an appropriate opportunity to absorb it.

After all, the Soul Power accumulated through cultivation before obtaining the first soul ring would not disappear. It would be stored in the body and erupt all at once when the soul ring was absorbed.

"No need to rush."

After making his bed, Lin Wan leaned back against it comfortably. His gaze passed through the narrow window and toward the sky outside.

Since he did not have a protagonist's fate, he would keep a low profile for now, develop steadily, and systematically learn about martial souls.