Lin Yuan's kindly father

"Then you'd better be ready to spend a small fortune." Su Yuntao smiled, genuinely happy for Lin Yuan. "Congratulations, A-Yuan."

"Thank you, Master Su Yuntao." Lin Yuan had always respected Su Yuntao's character, and his gratitude now was heartfelt.

After issuing Lin Yuan's martial soul certificate, Su Yuntao escorted father and son downstairs.

When they arrived home, they happened to see Yan Beifei leaving their medicinal herb shop.

Once again, he did not spare either of them a glance.

Seeing not a trace of dejection on their faces, Lin Yuan's mother asked excitedly, "Did you awaken soul power?"

"Yes, Mom," Lin Yuan answered with a smile.

His father added, "Our A-Yuan is much stronger than I was. His innate soul power is a full three levels."

"Level three? Innate soul power at level three! My son, my wonderful son!" Lin Yuan's mother was only an ordinary person. Upon hearing that her son had level-three innate soul power, she threw open her slender arms and swept him into a tight embrace.

His mother might not have been an unparalleled beauty, but she had been known as a pretty young woman throughout the surrounding villages. Otherwise, she would never have married his father, a Soul Master.

Her embrace was warm, and perhaps because she had sold medicinal herbs for so many years, a faint herbal fragrance clung to her.

But Lin Yuan was an adult on the inside, so being held like this inevitably felt a little awkward. He hurriedly said, "Mom, I saw someone come in just now. Was he buying something?"

"He wasn't buying anything. He was selling something. That boy brought in a Hundred-Year Wild Ginseng, and I got it for just ten Gold Soul Coins."

At the mention of business, a shrewd gleam appeared in his mother's eyes.

She released Lin Yuan and recounted exactly what had happened.

In short, his mother had acquired the wild ginseng at an extremely low price. In exchange, she had agreed to keep an eye out for whale rubber for Yan Beifei.

His mother was merely a provincial herb merchant and had no idea what whale rubber was.

Still, she had agreed in order to secure the deal.

This made Lin Yuan even more certain that Yan Beifei was a Transmigrator, while the wild ginseng also caught his attention.

Su Yuntao had said earlier that he had tested everyone in Emperor Soul Village for soul power.

Yet Yan Beifei had claimed otherwise.

Clearly, the latter had been lying.

That raised a question: how exactly had he given his Blue Silver Grass martial soul soul power?

He had also produced an exceptionally rare Hundred-Year Wild Ginseng.

That was hardly something a child should have been able to get his hands on.

Had he practiced some cultivation method, or did he possess a cheat that could accelerate plant growth?

After turning it over in his mind, Lin Yuan still thought the latter was more likely.

I hope his cheat isn't something like a system.

Now that Lin Yuan had discovered him, he could hardly blame Lin Yuan for greeting a fellow traveler with a bullet in the back.

He was certain that if the other boy discovered he was a Transmigrator,

the boy would never spare him either.

This was a struggle in which only one of them could survive.

But before any of that, he needed to begin cultivating.

And unless he had absolutely no choice, it would be best not to expose himself.

Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan looked at his father. "Dad, teach me how to cultivate."

"Come on, let's go to the courtyard." His father paused, clearly not expecting his son to be so eager to cultivate immediately after awakening his martial soul.

Still, a willingness to work hard at cultivation was always a good thing.

They soon reached the courtyard, where his father said, "Sit cross-legged like I do."

As he spoke, his father sat down cross-legged.

Lin Yuan copied him.

"Close your eyes, clear away stray thoughts, concentrate, and feel the flow of soul power inside your body," his father said.

"Then what?" Lin Yuan sensed it almost immediately.

"Focus your mind and guide the flow of soul power within you. Make it move faster," his father said.

Lin Yuan concentrated and followed his father's instructions, using his mind to guide and accelerate the flow of soul power within his body.

Seeing that his son had settled into cultivation, his father reminded him:

"Finally, you just need to circulate it throughout your body. But remember, if you feel pain anywhere, don't force it, or you'll hurt yourself."

"Mm." Lin Yuan gave a quiet acknowledgment, inwardly marveling at how crude this cultivation method was.

No wonder his father was nearly thirty and had only just reached level twenty to become a Soul Grandmaster.

Over the next half month,

apart from eating and his daily workout of a hundred push-ups, a hundred squats, a hundred sit-ups, and a ten-kilometer run, Lin Yuan devoted all his time to cultivating soul power.

His soul power barely improved, but by taking advantage of the quiet early mornings, he did become thoroughly familiar with Notting City.

After all that, the first day of term at Nouding Academy finally arrived.

Nouding Academy's rules were very strict. Every enrolled student was required to live on campus.

Early that morning, his father put on his Soul Grandmaster badge, picked up two sets of bedding and toiletries, and took Lin Yuan to Nouding Academy to register.

Upon seeing the Soul Grandmaster badge on his father's chest, the gatekeeper naturally did not dare stop them. He let them in without even checking Lin Yuan's Soul Master certificate.

Registration and dorm assignment went smoothly from start to finish.

Since he was not a work-study student, Lin Yuan was given a two-person room.

It had not only soft beds but also a private bathroom, making it almost as comfortable as home.

That suited him perfectly.

After all, in the original story, Tang San and Xiao Wu were the only work-study students in this year's intake.

If another Transmigrator recognized him, he would truly be left with nowhere to turn.

His father paid all six years of Lin Yuan's tuition at once and reserved the entire room.

Before leaving, he told Lin Yuan, "The old village chief came to see me a while ago. He said that boy Lin Tian would be coming here as a work-study student and asked me to look after him."

"I thought the boy had it pretty hard, so I spoke to Director Su in your academic affairs office and reserved this room. He'll be living with you from now on."

"I've already prepared the bedding and everyday necessities. There's one set for each of you."

"Also, here are ten Gold Soul Coins for your meals this school year. If it isn't enough, come home and get more."

"I've met that boy. He's proud, and he won't accept money if you offer it to him. Just take him along when you go to eat."

"All right, Dad." Lin Yuan readily agreed.

Yet as he watched his father leave, his feelings grew complicated.

His father was a kindhearted man, no question.

But being kindhearted did not mean the other person would appreciate it.

After all, how many Transmigrators could resist the temptation of sharing a bed with the rabbit?

Even if they could resist the rabbit's beauty, they could hardly resist those three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

Fine, then. Let's see which of us Transmigrators survives to the end.

With that thought, Lin Yuan gave the room a quick cleaning, showered, and changed into his Nouding Academy uniform. After cultivating for a while, he saw that it was getting late and went to wait near the academy gates.

As noon approached, Lin Yuan did not see Lin Tian arrive. Instead, he saw two outsiders, an old man and a boy.