Going to School

A few days later, the Huo Family finally confirmed that Huo Hai had indeed lost part of his memory—and a very large part at that. Fortunately, he still remembered his own family. As for everyone else, forgetting them was no great matter. After all, Huo Hai was still young.

As the Huo Family's eldest young master—and its only young master—even if he had lost his memory, or even gone mad, he would still be the Huo Family's future ruler. That day, Huo Kai came before Huo Hai and said with a grave expression, "Xiao Hai, we are powerless to help with your memory loss. But there are some basic facts you cannot afford not to know, so we have decided to send you to study."

Study? What was this about? Huo Hai's head was full of question marks. He knew that at a time like this, it was best not to ask too many questions.

"Very well. Since you have no objection, then it is settled. Starting today, you will attend the academy with the other Lineage children and learn some basics and common knowledge. As for the rest, we can discuss it later."

After saying that, Huo Kai left. Huo Hai shook his head helplessly. "Sigh, I still don't even know what this world is like, yet they're making me go to school. Heavens, I finally graduated, and after changing worlds, I still have to go to school. Can't I just cultivate Spirit Arts a little more?" Compared to Blood Qi, Huo Hai preferred cultivation.

Before he started cultivating, he had not known any better. He had thought that sitting here alone without moving, like an idiot, would require tremendous willpower to endure. But after cultivating, Huo Hai no longer thought so.

Drawing spiritual energy into his body and constantly tempering himself, he could feel himself growing stronger every moment, his body continuously rising to a higher plane. And that wonderful sensation was so addictive that one could not pull away from it. It was simply more pleasurable than doing that sort of thing.

Only then did Huo Hai understand why some experts could sit still and cultivate for years, even decades. Cultivation was actually this comfortable. Not only did it feel good, it also made one stronger. With strength came status, and with status came everything. Given the chance to cultivate, who would leave it untouched?

But his father had made the decision, so there was nothing to be done. Forget it. Let's see what they teach in that classroom. Maybe it will help me understand this whole world better. Huo Hai shook his head and began cultivating again.

Who knew how long it would take to enter the Spirit Blood Realm? It seemed he would have to waste quite some time. Reaching the Spirit Body had taken several years. Now, to cultivate to the Blood Spirit Realm, even with utmost diligence, it would probably take several months.

Time passed amid Huo Hai's night of cultivation. Early the next morning, the maids woke him. "Young Master, Young Master, wake up! You still have to go to the academy later." At the mention of the academy, the two maids' expressions became somewhat strange.

"That's right, I still have to go to the academy," Huo Hai muttered to himself. He had gone to sleep very late the previous night, but thanks to cultivation, he was in excellent spirits. Nor did he notice the maids' expressions. With their assistance, Huo Hai dressed, ate dinner, then headed toward the academy with his book boy. Why did he need a book boy? Because he had brought a great many books with him.

"A young master's life really is good. Back on Earth, probably very few people had the right to enjoy a life like this. I wonder what we'll be learning later. Could it have something to do with cultivating Spirit Arts?"

Huo Hai suddenly recalled all those novels and anime he had once seen about magic academies. If it was like that, it would be wonderful. With his incomplete memories and his recent start in cultivation, Huo Hai had many questions he was desperate to figure out.

A few minutes later, led by his book boy, Huo Hai arrived outside the academy. This academy belonged to the Huo Family itself. Its students were the Huo Family's direct descendants, collateral descendants, and even the children of some distant relatives. As for the servants' children, they could only serve as book boys. They had no qualifications to enter the academy.

After arriving, Huo Hai discovered that quite a few book boys were already there. They gathered at the entrance or leaned over the windowsills, waiting to hear the instructor's lessons. As servants, they only had the right to audit the classes this way.

Seeing this, Huo Hai could not help but feel a trace of pity. Sigh, they really are pitiful. On Earth, no matter how poor someone was, they could at least attend elementary school. On the Spirit Realm Continent, after all, only a small minority had the right to receive an education.

Suddenly, Huo Hai fiercely shook his head. "Why am I thinking like this? Didn't I want to become a bad person? What should a bad person do upon seeing this? Remain unmoved? No, that's not it. Right, I should go over and mock them, rub salt into their wounds." Huo Hai thought for a long time before finally recalling what a bad person ought to do.

But just as Huo Hai was preparing to act, he saw the yearning and worship in those book boys' eyes. The words he had intended to say immediately went back down his throat. Huo Hai was not wicked by nature, after all. He could not bring himself to do it.

"Forget it, I'll let you off today. I'll come back another day." Muttering to himself, Huo Hai gave up on his so-called bad-person behavior and entered the academy. The moment he stepped inside, all the students turned their eyes toward him. Huo Hai felt his scalp go numb. Then it was no longer just his scalp going numb—his face filled with gloom and shock.

"Who—who can tell me what is going on? Am I supposed to study with these little children?" Huo Hai finally understood why his father's expression had been so strange that day, and what he had meant by learning common knowledge.

Damn it, this was not learning common knowledge at all. This was practically preschool enlightenment! Looking at those little faces, their youngest owners were only three years old, while the oldest were no more than six. This body of his was at least fourteen or fifteen. In this world, he was already considered an adult. Was he really supposed to study alongside children who had not even grown up yet?

"Hey, is that the newcomer? Isn't he a young master of the main branch? Why is he here?" Children's mouths could never stay idle. Adults might not gossip so casually, but what child would think of that?

"Yes, yes, I heard too. It seems Young Master Huo Hai was injured for some reason and lost his memory. Even the things we are learning have to be learned all over again." Beside them, a cute little girl spoke with a smug expression.

Hey, hey, listen to yourself. You may be cute, but why is your mouth so nasty? What did she mean, injured and lost his memory? What did she mean, even the things they learned had to be learned all over again? Were they flaunting their superiority in front of him? Huo Hai was almost cursing his mother in his heart. He felt that he could barely remain here for another moment.

But he soon encountered something even more hateful. A cute little boy looked at Huo Hai, his eyes filled with sympathy. "Ah, so the eldest young master is so pitiful. He wasted so many years."

"Yes, yes, so pitiful." Those words immediately stirred a resonance among the children. Children were perhaps the most compassionate creatures in the world. Every gaze turned pitiful, filled with sympathy.

Huo Hai felt like he was going mad. "Damn it, I don't need your pity. No, that's not right—I don't need you to pity me at all. No, that isn't right either." Huo Hai became thoroughly tangled up. He could neither hit nor scold these children. Though he had resolved to become a villain, villains had their bottom lines too. How could one bully children so casually?

Thinking this, Huo Hai immediately felt that he could no longer stay here. So he turned and headed outside. But the moment he reached the entrance, two guards stopped him. The two men blocked the doorway and would not let Huo Hai leave.

"Young Master, the master ordered that you cannot leave this place before the lesson ends. Please do not make things difficult for us. For the sake of helping you recover your lost memories as soon as possible, please endure this small grievance." The two guards spoke in pitiful tones, yet showed no intention whatsoever of moving aside. Their cultivation was higher than Huo Hai's.

"You really won't move?" Huo Hai's expression changed. He charged at them several times, but still could not get out.

The two guards exchanged a look, their expressions growing even more miserable. They were the same two men who had gone with Huo Hai to capture the Spirit Beast before, and now they had been assigned to watch him. "Young Master, please do not make things difficult for us. If you leave today, the master will surely break our legs." Young Master Huo Hai was easy to talk to; if it were someone else, they would never dare speak this way.

"You—you really won't move... Fine, then I'll move." Once Huo Hai confirmed that he could not get out, he immediately deflated and returned to the academy. The instructor had not arrived yet.

Some of the children in the academy gathered together to chat, while others flipped through books made from special leaves, reviewing what they had learned yesterday. Huo Hai had no interest in mingling with these children. In his previous life, he had already been over twenty. In this life, this body was also around fourteen or fifteen, and he retained some memories.

By that calculation, his mental age was probably over thirty. How could he lower himself to sit with these little brats? With nowhere to vent his frustration, Huo Hai began sweeping his gaze around the room.

Suddenly, a spark flashed in Huo Hai's eyes. "Right! Didn't I say I should start with small bad deeds? Then I'll try my hand at it first. This world probably doesn't have tricks like these." A flood of scenes of students pranking teachers suddenly surfaced in Huo Hai's mind. Many of them had been learned from television, while others had come from computer books.

Thank television, thank all those bad influences for teaching us so many ways to prank teachers. If I did not recreate them in this world, would I not be letting down my identity as a transmigrator? Huo Hai felt as though his entire body were about to burst into flame.

No sooner thought than done. Under the gazes of the many children, Huo Hai began bustling about.