First arrival in Eastsea

Three days later, Eastsea City.

This was a major city on the eastern coast of the Sun Moon Federation, a hub for ports, shipping, and marine resource development. Compared with Aolai City, it was far bigger and far faster-paced. Before the Soul Guidance Train had even come to a complete stop, people were already getting up to collect their luggage. The moment the doors opened, the crowd surged out.

With his bag on his back, Tang Wulin slowly followed the crowd forward.

This was his first time traveling far from home alone.

It was also his first time coming to such a big city to register all by himself.

Before he left, Lang Yue had folded and refolded his clothes. Even though everything in his suitcase was already neatly packed, she kept checking it, afraid he might leave something behind. Tang Ziran had written down the route to Eastsea Academy, how to find the reception point at the station, and what kinds of people he should ignore, listing everything on a sheet of paper and slipping it into his bag. He had even made Tang Wulin recite it once in front of him.

Everything had been carefully arranged.

Yet Tang Wulin still felt that the atmosphere at home over the past few days had been a little different from before.

His father had been quieter than usual, and whenever his mother looked at him, she always seemed to have something left unsaid. But every time he asked, they both smiled and said nothing was wrong. They only told him to study hard, cultivate diligently, and eat well once he reached Eastsea City.

They had not lingered long after seeing him onto the train.

Before the train started moving, Lang Yue straightened his collar one last time. Tang Ziran patted his shoulder and said only one thing:

"Wulin, you're a big boy now."

At the time, Tang Wulin had thought those words sounded a little awkward.

But now, standing on the platform at Eastsea City's Soul Guidance Train station, he suddenly felt as though he really was setting out on his own to make his way in the world.

The train came to a complete stop.

Tang Wulin followed the crowd off the train. The instant his feet touched the platform, he felt that everything around him was different from Aolai City. The air was damper here, and the wind carried a distinct scent of the sea. The platform was wider, higher, and brighter, too. Overhead, sections of metal roofing stretched into the distance, with thick supports and neatly aligned joints. Even a passing glance told him that their specifications were beyond anything ordinary stamped parts could match.

He did not spend too long looking wildly around like a child visiting a big place for the first time. He merely hitched his backpack straps higher on his shoulders without thinking, then continued forward.

But however much he restrained himself, he still could not help noticing the differences between this place and Aolai City.

There were so many people.

The sounds were jumbled, too.

People dragging luggage, people pushing carts, uniformed law enforcement officers, train staff weaving back and forth, and the constant honking of vehicles beyond the platform all mingled together, making him feel as though even breathing required a little more effort.

As he walked forward, the crowd ahead suddenly parted.

A jet-black soul guidance car stood beside the platform. Its body had sleek lines and a low chassis, and it was equipped with both wheels and tracks. At a glance, it was clearly the sort of luxury vehicle commonly seen only in big cities.

Two men dressed in black stood beside it, scanning the crowd.

Tang Wulin had paid them no attention at first, but as he drew closer, one of them hurried toward someone and spoke respectfully:

"Young master."

Tang Wulin instinctively turned his head.

A boy about his age walked past right beside him.

The boy wore a blue tracksuit and was about as tall as he was. He had brown hair, very fair skin, and finely sculpted features, but his eyes were rather cold. It was not a deliberately affected arrogance, but a habitual aloofness, as though the people and things around him were not worth a second serious glance.

Just then, the crowd behind them suddenly pressed forward.

Tang Wulin stumbled, and his shoulder bumped the boy—not too hard, but not lightly either.

"Sorry." He reacted quickly and apologized at once.

The boy paused briefly and turned to glance at him.

Just once.

He did not lose his temper or reply. He did not even show much displeasure. Yet that look still made Tang Wulin uncomfortable—because it did not mean "never mind." It meant he had not considered the collision worth noticing at all.

A moment later, a hand shoved Tang Wulin in the chest.

There was considerable force behind it.

Tang Wulin staggered back two steps, nearly colliding with the people behind him.

"Watch where you're going, country bumpkin," the man in black who had pushed him said coldly, before immediately turning to catch up with the boy ahead.

The other man in black had already opened the car door and ushered the boy inside. The door closed, a low engine rumble sounded, and the black soul guidance car soon drove away from the platform.

Tang Wulin stood where he was, rubbing his chest as his brows drew together.

The shove had not hurt all that much.

But an inexplicable surge of anger still flared up inside him.

"What's wrong with you?" he muttered.

After saying it, he was the first to be taken aback.

Because this was probably the first time in days that he had expressed his anger so directly.

The crowd on the platform continued toward the exit, soon washing away that little incident.

Tang Wulin did not linger either, following the others toward the station exit.

Once he left the station, the view suddenly opened up.

Wide streets, rows of tall buildings, a constant stream of soul guidance vehicles, neon signs near and far, and pedestrians converging from every direction all seemed to crowd into his vision at once. Eastsea City still retained quite a few old buildings, but the area around the station was clearly a new district, all hard lines and rapid rhythms. It was nothing like a small place such as Aolai City.

Tang Wulin stood still for a few seconds before taking his water bottle from his backpack's side pocket, unscrewing the cap, and taking a sip.

Then he took out that neatly folded sheet of paper.

It was the route sheet his father had slipped into his bag before he left.

The first line was written very clearly:

"After arriving in Eastsea, find Eastsea Academy's new student reception point first. Don't readily trust strangers."

Tang Wulin stared at that line for two seconds, then folded the paper again and put it back in his pocket.

Just then, a thin, small middle-aged man approached him with a broad smile.

"Hey, kid, first time in Eastsea? Where are your parents? Want me to take you—"

Without giving him another glance, Tang Wulin turned and headed toward a nearby booth.

The booth bore the words: Administrative Law Enforcement.

Two law enforcement officers sat inside, on duty.

"Hello, sir." Tang Wulin walked up to the window, his tone very polite. "Where is Eastsea Academy's new student reception point?"

One of the officers glanced at him, then looked behind him.

"Did you come alone?"

"Yes." Tang Wulin nodded. "I'm here to register."

The officer did not ask any further questions. He simply raised a hand and pointed ahead to the left.

"Over there. The sign with blue lettering on a white background."

"Thank you, sir."

Tang Wulin thanked him at once and ran in that direction with his bag on his back.

After running a few steps, he paused and glanced back at the booth.

At least the first instruction his father had written on the paper was right.

After passing through a stretch of the crowd, he did indeed spot an upright sign with blue lettering on a white background. Written clearly across it were the words:

Eastsea Academy

A long table stood beneath the sign. Behind it sat several young men and women in blue tracksuits. None of them looked very old, perhaps seventeen or eighteen. They were probably senior students from the academy.

As soon as Tang Wulin approached, the black-haired girl behind the table looked up.

She had a fresh, pleasant appearance and almond-shaped eyes that tilted upward at the corners. Her smile was very welcoming. She was clearly nothing like the people on the platform who made his chest tighten just looking at them.

"Little brother," she said first with a smile, "are you here to register at Eastsea Academy?"