A Clichéd Plot

"Old Jack! Chu Chen! You've both earned yourselves a death sentence!"

Tang San cursed under his breath, but it was too late now. There was no chance of getting an adult to show him the way.

With no other choice, Tang San headed home to discuss enrolling at the academy with Tang Hao.

As for going to Notting City alone...

It wasn't that Tang San couldn't manage it. Notting City wasn't far from Holy Soul Village, twenty or thirty li at most.

The problem was, Tang San had never traveled anywhere on his own!

If he got lost and missed enrollment, he'd regret it for the rest of his life!

Damn it. Chu Chen and Old Jack really deserve to die!

Seething with anger, Tang San returned to the smithy. The moment he opened the door, he saw Tang Hao passed out drunk at the dinner table.

At the sound of the door, Tang Hao raised his bleary eyes toward the entrance. A flicker of surprise crossed his face.

"Xiao San, weren't you supposed to enroll at the Soul Master Academy today? Why are you still here?"

"Dad, the village chief took Chu Chen and left first thing this morning! Nobody waited for me!"

Tang San answered through clenched teeth.

"That old bastard has gone too far!"

Tang Hao flew into a rage.

Never mind the matter of the stolen place, or that they hadn't arranged to travel together in advance. Never mind whether Old Jack had any obligation to take Tang San.

As far as Tang Hao was concerned, it was all Old Jack and his family's fault!

What, was he, the Clear Sky Douluo, supposed to personally escort his son to enroll at a low-level Soul Master Academy in some border town?

What a joke. What Titled Douluo would do that?

With that thought, Tang Hao looked straight at Tang San.

"So why did you come back?"

"Me?"

Tang San pointed at himself, bewildered, his eyes full of hurt as he looked at Tang Hao.

"Dad, I don't know the way..."

"What's there to know? Notting City isn't far. Just follow the main road north!"

Tang Hao took a swig of wine and spoke without a care.

Ever since he discovered that Ah Yin's true form and soul bone had been stolen, Tang Hao had been unable to keep up his doting-father act. His words and manner had reverted to those of the dispirited middle-aged man he used to be.

"Xiao San, don't forget you're my son. You're not a little kid anymore. Can't you handle something this simple?"

"I..."

Tang San opened his mouth, but no words came out.

All he could think about was what had happened to the father who used to care for him so tenderly.

Father and son stared at each other for a long while. In the end, Tang San was the first to lower his head.

"I understand, Dad. Then I'll get going..."

"Wait!"

Before Tang San could finish, Tang Hao seemed to remember something. He set down his wine bottle and pointed toward the kitchen.

"Since you're back, make lunch before you go. I haven't eaten yet!"

"Okay... Dad..."

Meanwhile, as Tang San worked over the stove, Chu Chen had already caught sight of Notting City's walls in the distance.

Notting City was no great metropolis, but because it lay near the border, its walls were built fairly thick.

After undergoing an inspection at the gate, Chu Chen finally stepped into the first city he had seen since arriving on Douluo Continent.

Old Jack then led him across the city to the Notting Junior Soul Master Academy in its western district.

As the only Soul Master Academy in Notting City, it was an imposing sight despite being just a junior academy.

Its main entrance was a towering archway over twenty meters wide and ten meters high, built entirely of solid stone.

Beneath it stood two dark iron gates, both forged from high-quality refined iron.

Through the bars, Chu Chen could see a winding path leading inward. A broad road ran deeper into the grounds, flanked by tall trees.

The sight drove home just how important Soul Masters were on Douluo Continent. And also...

Just how absurdly wide the gap between rich and poor was in this world!

Chu Chen was still reflecting on that when, the moment he reached the gate, a painfully familiar cliché unfolded.

The gatekeeper stepped out and raised a hand to stop grandfather and grandson.

"Hold it! What do you want?"

His eyes held all the arrogance of a city dweller.

"You country bumpkins think you belong here?"

Old Jack instinctively started to smile and explain, but before he could even bow, Chu Chen stepped forward.

He took two documents from his grandfather and held them out to the gatekeeper.

"These are the Spirit Hall's certificate and my work-study admission quota. Read them, then open the gate. And show my grandfather some respect!"

Chu Chen's face was expressionless, his voice cold. Coupled with the Soul Force he made no effort to suppress, it sent the gatekeeper stumbling back two steps.

But once he realized how badly he had reacted, the gatekeeper felt even more humiliated.

What the hell? I let a little kid scare me?

Angry as he was, he no longer dared show it.

Someone who worked the gate at a Soul Master Academy had to know who he could and couldn't afford to offend.

The teachers and students passing through were all lofty Lord Soul Masters. Crushing an ordinary man like him would be no harder for them than squashing a bug. Who could a mere gatekeeper afford to cross?

So despite his irritation, the gatekeeper obediently took the documents Chu Chen offered and began to examine them.

One glance was enough to make him cry out.

"A mutated Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul... Innate Full Soul Power!?"

The gatekeeper rubbed his eyes, afraid he'd read it wrong.

"That's impossible. I've worked the gate here for four years, and I've never heard of a student with Innate Full Soul Power. And this kid's Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, mutated or not..."

"And after four years, you're still just a gatekeeper!"

Chu Chen cut him off without a trace of courtesy.

"You've seen the documents. Now open the gate and get out of the way. I don't want to hear another word of nonsense. You're a gatekeeper obstructing a Soul Master student's enrollment. I don't need to spell out the consequences, do I?"

"You..."

The gatekeeper faltered, then instinctively turned aside to let them through.

But before opening the gate, he seemed to remember something important. He turned back and glared coldly at grandfather and grandson.

"I get it now. You almost fooled me. You two paupers forged a Spirit Hall certificate to sneak into the academy, didn't you?"

"And Holy Soul Village? Looking at you two, it ought to be called..."

Smack!

A sharp slap cut off the gatekeeper's shouting.

Chu Chen knew that Old Jack treasured the village's honorary name, "Holy Soul Village," above all else. He slapped the gatekeeper before the man could say something that would send Old Jack into a fury.

Then he turned toward the academy grounds, looking behind one of the stone pillars of the archway, and spoke evenly.

"You behind the pillar. Come out. If I'm not mistaken, you're the one who told this gatekeeper to change his tune, aren't you?"