Chapter 52 My goodness, the tuition is so expensive! I almost couldn't afford to go to school.
Spirit City, located at the border of two great empires, is home to one of the two most revered halls of the Spirit Hall. The Papal Palace is situated within Spirit City and is a sacred place for all Soul Master. It is also a place that the Spirit Hall has established for itself, much like a capital city.
What's most peculiar is that Spirit City is not a quadrilateral like ordinary cities, but a hexagon, meaning it has a total of six city walls.
The city wall was built according to the style of the capital's main city. The wall, which is eighty meters high, looks extremely majestic from the outside. The wall is also more than thirty meters thick and is made entirely of granite.
On each of the six city walls, there is a huge relief, exactly the same as the one on the Spirit Hall token, symbolizing six powerful Martial Soul.
"It really is Spirit City; it looks so grand."
Jun Yi gazed at Spirit City and sighed.
"Of course!" Ning Rongrong nodded in agreement, saying, "As expected of the capital of the Spirit Hall and the holy land of the entire Soul Master World, this is the first time in my life I've come here without my family."
"Huh? You've been to Spirit City? How come I didn't know?"
Jun Yi asked curiously, "Since he moved to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong has basically never left Heaven Dou City. The few times she did go out were only to add Soul Ring."
"Of course, but that was a long time ago, around the time I was five years old, when I came here with my dad," Ning Rongrong replied.
"I see. Let's go inside."
To prevent the sect members from discovering that Ning Rongrong had left Shrek Academy, Jun Yi did not use the resources of the Chamber of Commerce and instead hired another carriage.
The carriage did not enter the city, so the three of them got off the carriage in front of the Spirit City gate and walked into the Spirit City.
The streets of Spirit City are very wide, giving it a spacious feel. There are few pedestrians and shops on the streets, making it far less bustling than Heaven Dou City.
However, all the people coming and going, regardless of age, were dressed in extraordinary clothes and had an imposing presence. Each of them exuded a faint Soul Power fluctuation. However, since it was the day of enrollment, there were also some pedestrians dressed in plain clothes walking on the road with their children.
" Zhu Zhuqing, Jun Yi, look over there, that's the Papal Palace."
Ning Rongrong pointed to two striking buildings on a hill not far away. The one halfway up the hill was the most magnificent, a completely columned structure with a dome, and its exterior was covered with a golden material that shimmered in the sunlight.
"The larger building is the Papal Palace, and the other one is the Douluo Hall."
Jun Yi and Zhu Zhuqing gazed at the two buildings, their hearts filled with awe.
"It's really beautiful. I want to explore this place thoroughly after I pass the entrance exam."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were filled with piety. In her heart, the Spirit Hall was indeed a holy land for Soul Master, and everything here was worth her longing for.
"Hmm. Let's talk about it after we pass the exam. Let's go buy a map first and familiarize ourselves with the routes," Jun Yi suggested.
"Mmm." Jun Yi nodded in agreement.
Jun Yi casually bought a map from a shop, and then the three of them followed the map to find the Spirit Hall Academy. They arrived at the academy gate and registered.
There were quite a few students registering for the Spirit Hall Academy. There were six windows for registration, making the process very efficient. The people queuing were dressed in various styles, from noble children in fine clothes to commoner Soul Master in coarse linen clothes. Everyone lined up in an orderly manner.
Upon witnessing this scene, Jun Yi remarked, "Such a sight—nobles and commoners queuing together—is something you'll never see in Heaven Dou City. Only in Spirit City would there be no distinction between nobles and commoners."
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong's expression darkened slightly. She said, "What did the nobles do to you? Did you eat their rice?"
"Uh, no, no, it was your rice that I ate. Let's go queue up."
Jun Yi didn't dare to offend this young lady, so he suggested that the three of them stand at the end of a line.
Soon after, it was the turn of the three. The staff member in charge of registration appeared to be a young man in his early twenties, wearing a white scholar's robe with the Spirit Hall's insignia on it.
The young man looked up at the three of them, smiled, and asked, "Hello, are all three of you here to register?"
"Yes, we..."
Before Ning Rongrong could finish speaking, Jun Yi interrupted, "The two of them have enrolled. As for me, teacher, do we have a system for temporary students?"
"We do have students who are temporarily enrolled, but our Spirit Hall Academy has very strict regulations on this. In addition to requiring the Soul Master to be strong enough, they must also meet our Spirit Hall Academy's admission requirements," the white-robed youth patiently explained.
"Holy crap, they really do? As expected of the Spirit Hall Academy, they're really considerate," Jun Yi thought to himself.
"Then I'll register as a temporary student. Thank you," Jun Yi replied.
"Please fill out this form. The registration process afterward is the same as for ordinary people. One of the prerequisites for our enrollment is that you must be at least level 20 in Soul Power Level before the age of 12, while transfer students need to reach level 25."
The young man took two forms from the table and handed them to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. He then took out another form and handed it to Jun Yi.
Jun Yi took the form and read it carefully. The information on the form was very simple, including his name, Soul Power Level, and other basic information. The last item was the academy Jun Yi originally belonged to.
After filling out the forms, the three returned them to the young Soul Master.
"Oh, by the way, just letting you know in advance, you can still enroll even if your Soul Power Level doesn't meet the requirements, but you'll need to pay 20,000 Gold Soul Coin as tuition. If you do meet the requirements, the tuition is 2,000," the young Soul Master continued.
Ning Rongrong then asked, "Teacher, what about our tuition fees?"
"Regular students only need 100 Gold Soul Coin."
"Such a big difference?" Ning Rongrong was somewhat surprised.
The young Soul Master explained with a smile, "Yes, after all, students on temporary assignment don't actually belong to the Spirit Hall Academy, so their tuition is higher. If a student on temporary assignment has good talent and intends to join the Spirit Hall Academy, then the tuition will be refunded."
"I see, I understand now." Ning Rongrong nodded.
"My goodness, that's a 20-fold difference! The tuition is so expensive! Luckily, Uncle Ning gave me 10,000 Gold Soul Coin, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to afford school."
"That's good. Now, pour your Soul Power into this crystal ball, and I'll check your Soul Power Level."
The young Soul Master Soul Master pointed to the Soul Power Crystal Ball on the table, and the three nodded and did as he instructed.
Zhu Zhuqing first placed her hand on the crystal ball, and immediately a blue light shone forth. A hazy mist appeared on the surface of the crystal ball, gradually condensing into the number "27".
"Level 27 Soul Power, very good," the young teacher praised.
Next was Ning Rongrong. She placed her hand on the crystal ball, and instantly, the crystal ball flashed with blue light, displaying a series of data in front of the young man.
"Level 31!" The young man's pupils constricted. He had received hundreds of students today and had never seen a Soul Elder before. Now, this extraordinary young woman's Soul Power had actually reached the Soul Elder. How could he not be astonished?
Finally, it was Jun Yi. He placed his palm on the crystal ball, and after a moment, an even more dazzling blue light emanated from within, as brilliant as the sun's rays, even attracting the attention of the other freshmen in line...
(End of this chapter)