Enrollment, a First Encounter with Grandmaster and Tang San, and a Suppression Reward!

"Well done."

Jiang Hao nodded in satisfaction.

Tang Hao had been dishonest. He had deserved that beating.

As for killing him, there was no rush.

Tang Hao still had the Clear Sky Sect behind him, along with that person far away in Slaughter City. Both would become part of Tang San's backing in the future.

And Tang Hao was the key to unlocking those connections.

If Jiang Hao wanted to squeeze more rewards out of Tang San, he needed Tang Hao around.

Besides, Tang Hao posed no threat to him now.

Time flew by. Before long, enrollment day arrived.

In his room, Jiang Hao sorted through a bulging bag of Gold Soul Coins and a sack of herbs he couldn't even name.

During this time, he had almost figured out the abilities that came with his Kirin martial soul. He divided them into three: Five Elements Affinity, Auspicious Beast Body, and Auspicious Fortune.

Five Elements Affinity was straightforward: it let him control metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Auspicious Beast Body gave him physical strength and recovery comparable to a dragon-type martial soul. There was also a good chance he would awaken Qilin Transformation later.

But Jiang Hao felt Auspicious Fortune held the greatest potential.

Fortune was intangible, yet it was everywhere.

A person could get by without good luck, but bad luck was another matter.

And just how good was Jiang Hao's luck now?

He had found the entire bag of Gold Soul Coins and the sack of herbs by the same roadside over the past few days.

"Looks like the Five Elements Qilin is far more powerful than I imagined."

And that was without a Soul Ring.

If Jiang Hao kept growing stronger, could he influence the fortune of an entire group like the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?

Or was he already changing it without realizing?

"Jiang Hao, time to go!"

Grandpa Wang's voice came from outside.

"Coming."

Jiang Hao shouldered his packed bag and opened the door.

A carriage was waiting outside, with a lively-looking Grandpa Wang sitting on it.

"Don't just stand there. Get in! The village rented this specially for you."

"Got it, Grandpa Wang. Thank the villagers for me when you get back."

"No need for thanks. We're all family. It's the least we could do."

As they talked and laughed, the carriage slowly set off.

Piaoxiang Village grew smaller in Jiang Hao's view until it became a tiny dot and disappeared into the surrounding landscape.

At noon, the carriage stopped outside Notting Academy.

The gate was plain, with an old European castle style, and a guard stood on either side.

Grandpa Wang got down first, and Jiang Hao followed.

"Gentlemen, this is Piaoxiang Village's Working Student for this year. Here's his certificate from the Notting City Martial Soul branch hall."

Grandpa Wang handed the certificate to one of the guards.

"Piaoxiang Village?"

Seeing their shabby clothes, the guard took the certificate with one hand.

After a quick glance, his expression turned respectful.

A Beast Martial Soul! Innate Full Soul Power!

This boy was bound to become a Lord Soul Master. The guards wouldn't dare give him trouble if they had a hundred lives to spare!

So what if his clothes were shabby?

Perhaps dressing that way was simply one of the future Lord Soul Master's quirks.

"Everything's in order."

The guard bent to return the certificate, then bowed and gestured respectfully. "Please come in. Head southeast and you'll find the Academic Affairs Office."

Grandpa Wang paused, then smiled and nodded. "Thank you both."

He and Jiang Hao entered the academy together.

Not long after they left, the guards saw two more people approaching.

Again, an older person and a young boy. Again, both were plainly dressed.

One guard immediately raised a hand to stop them.

"Where did you country bumpkins come from? Do you even know what this place is?"

"This is a Soul Master Academy, not somewhere for you to beg. Now get lost—"

Inside Notting Academy, Jiang Hao quickly completed all the paperwork.

But there was a problem when it came to arranging his room.

He naturally didn't want to squeeze into the Working Student Dormitory, so he offered to pay extra for a different room.

To his surprise, several female teachers working nearby said they had spare beds in their rooms. Jiang Hao could stay with them for free.

Jiang Hao refused at once.

A boy away from home had to protect himself and steer clear of temptation.

In the end, at Jiang Hao's insistence, he was assigned a Luxury Single Room.

As for the cost?

Free.

Not only was the room free, but he would also receive twenty Silver Soul Coins a month as a meal allowance.

After all, only a fool would fail to win over a genius with a Beast Martial Soul and Innate Full Soul Power.

Grandpa Wang helped Jiang Hao carry in his luggage and make his bed, then said it was time for him to leave.

Jiang Hao walked him to the entrance. Before they parted, he quietly slipped a few Gold Soul Coins into Grandpa Wang's pocket.

Grandpa Wang had looked after him for so long without asking for anything. Repaying him was only right.

Just as Jiang Hao was about to turn away, he caught sight of a middle-aged man walking past. The man had close-cropped hair, a scruffy beard, and a stiff expression.

A thin, dark-skinned boy with ordinary features followed behind him.

He looked about Jiang Hao's age, though a little shorter, a little darker, a little uglier, and rather less remarkable in bearing...

Could that be...

Two names immediately sprang to Jiang Hao's mind.

Yu Xiaogang and Tang San!

The infamous master and disciple!

He hadn't expected to run into Tang San so soon. From the looks of it, the kid was about to fall for Yu Xiaogang's tricks.

Just then, a system notification sounded in his mind.

[The suppressed target has found a life mentor. Suppression reward granted: Full Theoretical True Interpretation!]

Jiang Hao's vision went black.

The next instant, a flood of knowledge burst through his mind: information on soul beasts, Soul Ring combinations, types of soul bones, techniques for breaking through cultivation bottlenecks...

There was even a complete catalog of immortal herbs, along with cultivation methods and warnings on how to consume them.

"Holy shit, System, that's one hell of a reward."

Jiang Hao took a deep breath, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

Knowledge of immortal herbs was one of the greatest advantages anyone could have on the Douluo Continent.

Tang San's path to godhood owed at least seventy percent of its success to immortal herbs.

Now Jiang Hao had that knowledge too. Hadn't he just stripped Tang San of one of his biggest advantages before the boy could even use it?

At that moment, the two of them noticed Jiang Hao as well.

More precisely, Tang San noticed him.

For some reason, Tang San felt an inexplicable hostility toward this boy he had never met.

It was as if they had been born enemies.

What Tang San didn't know was that, as the child of fortune of this era, he possessed tremendous fortune.

And Jiang Hao's Kirin martial soul was auspicious by nature, carrying the fortune of heaven and earth.

When two people with such powerful fortune met, there could be only one outcome.

Either one would drain the other's fortune, or the other would drain his.

Yu Xiaogang saw Tang San stop and followed his gaze. "Tang San, do you know him?"

"No."

Tang San shook his head, then asked, "Grandmaster, is he a student here too?"

Yu Xiaogang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "We haven't seen him before. He's probably a Working Student here to enroll today, just like you."

"I see."

Tang San nodded. After committing Jiang Hao's face to memory, he turned and left.