On the Possibility of Catching Xiao Wu

[Humanoid Soft Bone Rabbit]

[Base Stats: High]

[Evaluation: A high-grade Pokémon that reset its account to start over]

Xiao Wu?

An odd expression appeared on Su Lin's face as he watched the pretty girl with the scorpion braid walk past.

If the panel could mark her, didn't that mean that, in theory, even she could be caught in a Poké Ball???

With a chuckle, Su Lin soon arrived at the academic affairs office and completed his registration as a new student.

The teacher handling registration looked down, froze for a moment, then frowned. He could not help looking up at Su Lin. "Poké Ball? Capturing Soul Beasts to fight alongside you? What kind of Martial Soul is this?"

At those words, the teachers busy with their own work seemed to have had a pause button pressed on them. Then they all put down what they were holding and gathered around.

Four or five heads huddled together, staring at the writing on the registration form and exchanging puzzled glances.

"Capturing Soul Beasts and commanding them in battle? Why does that sound like a beast tamer...?"

"But there's never been a branch like that in the Soul Master system. Beast tamers only exist in novels and storybooks."

"This kid isn't making it up, is he?"

"Lord Grant brought him here personally. How could it be made up?"

The teachers kept their voices low, but the academic affairs office only had so much space. However quietly they discussed it, their words could not escape Su Lin's and Grant's ears.

Even Principal Jiang, who prided himself on his broad knowledge and experience, could not resist coming over for another look.

"Little Lin." Grant sighed and turned to glance at Su Lin.

Understanding his meaning, Su Lin nodded and took two steps back, coming to a stop in an open space in the office. He raised his right hand, light gathering in his palm as a red-and-white Poké Ball appeared in his hand, then split open with a click.

A streak of golden light shot out of the ball, taking the form of a palm-sized golden Lightning Rat as it landed. Its short, gilded fur stood on end, its four little paws gripped the floor tiles, and its tail stood straight up.

The instant Pikachu landed, he put on a fierce display. His amber beast eyes were full of wariness as he bared his two little front teeth and glared viciously around him. Then he sensed the presence of the teachers before him.

Principal Jiang, standing at the very front, was a Soul Ancestor.

The bespectacled female teacher to his right was a Soul Elder.

Round-faced Teacher Zhang by the window was a Soul Elder.

The dean standing at the door was a Soul Elder.

The other two crowding in at the back were also Soul Grandmasters.

Several waves of Soul Power pressure, varying in strength but without exception several major realms above his own, crashed over him like invisible breakers. The electric arcs around Pikachu instantly weakened by half, and his bristling golden fur quietly smoothed back down.

He stiffly turned his head, blinking his round little eyes at Su Lin, his gaze filled with confusion and grievance.

You want me to fight them?

Su Lin nearly burst out laughing. He hurriedly cleared his throat and said, "They aren't enemies."

At those words, Pikachu looked as though he had been granted a pardon. All the lightning around him vanished, and with a push of his hind legs, he leaped into Su Lin's arms with a whoosh. He burrowed his head into the crook of Su Lin's arm and nuzzled him, then curled into a ball of fur and nestled there without moving.

The entire academic affairs office fell silent for an instant, followed by a chorus of sharp intakes of breath. The teachers' eyes widened almost in unison.

Principal Jiang stared at the docile Lightning Rat in Su Lin's arms and could not help exclaiming, "Incredible, truly incredible! It looks like Wealth Village will produce another remarkable figure before too many years have passed!"

"Of course." A smile tugged at Grant's lips.

To him now, what level his own Soul Power could reach no longer mattered. What he valued more now was Wealth Village's future.

Half an hour later, Su Lin stood on the stone steps at the academy gates, watching the luxurious dark-purple carriage slowly disappear down the long street. Only then did he follow the map Principal Jiang had given him to the dormitory building.

Unlike the communal sleeping quarters housing the hard-pressed work-study students, Su Lin, a student with connections whom the principal took special care of, had a private room on the west side of the dormitory building's top floor.

The room was not large, a little under thirty square meters, but its layout was compact and practical. A single wooden bed came with a soft Simmons mattress, a desk and wardrobe stood by the window, and a simple wardrobe stood beside them.

Of course, most importantly of all, the room had its own bathroom.

"The facilities are decent enough." Su Lin set his bundle on the desk and inspected the room. The windowsill and corners were clean, with barely any dust. It seemed Principal Jiang had specifically had someone clean it beforehand.

He had only just untied his bundle to start unpacking when the golden ball of fur in his arms suddenly squirmed, shot out of the crook of his arm, and landed steadily on the mattress.

The sprung mattress sank slightly beneath him. Pikachu froze at first, then, as though he had discovered some peerless treasure, pushed off with his hind legs and bounced high into the air with another whoosh. He somersaulted in midair and landed back on the bed with a plop, making the mattress quiver again.

"All right, all right, don't bounce the bed to pieces."

Su Lin sighed helplessly. This little fellow was just like Pikachu and did not like staying inside the Poké Ball's space, so most of the time, he let him roam outside.

Not bothering with Pikachu, who was having the time of his life, Su Lin turned and walked to the window, braced both hands on the sill, and looked out.

From this angle, he could look down over almost the entire layout of Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.

He could only say that it was, after all, merely a junior academy. Its overall size was nothing particularly large, roughly comparable to an ordinary elementary school from his previous life. Walking from south to north would not even take fifteen minutes.

"Speaking of which, Tang San should be in Dorm Seven right now, shouldn't he?"

Lightly tapping his fingertips against the windowsill, Su Lin suddenly grew interested. When he had seen Grant off earlier, he had spotted Xiao Wu in the distance, only just wandering up to the academic affairs office. Judging by the original story's timeline, Dorm Seven was probably staging the famous battle for dorm leader right about now. He could go join the fun and watch a live-action elementary school brawl.

At that thought, Su Lin felt a stir of interest and turned to Pikachu, who was already sprawled on his back on the bed, limbs spread wide. "I'm going to look around elsewhere. Want to come?"

Pikachu was lounging comfortably. Hearing his voice, he first lazily lifted one eyelid, then seemed to remember the sight of Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors everywhere half an hour earlier. He gave a sudden shudder, hurriedly rolled over, and jumped off the bed into Su Lin's arms.

Su Lin chuckled, raised a hand to stroke the soft golden fur on his back, and pushed the door open to leave.

Only half a flight of stairs separated the west side of the fourth floor from the work-study students' area in the south wing,

And just as he had expected, a true boys' 1v1 battle was underway in Dorm Seven. Before he even approached the doorway, he heard the thuds of heavy bodies hitting the floor, mixed with boys' defiant shouts. It was quite lively.

Su Lin softened his footsteps, stopped at the doorway, and looked inside.

A fairly sturdy adolescent boy lunged at a comparatively scrawny child. But before his fist could even touch the other boy's clothes, the latter turned his wrist lightly and deftly laid his hand on the attacker's forearm. Following the momentum of the charge, he gently guided, deflected, and pulled. The adolescent boy flew out completely beyond his own control and hit the floor so hard that his senses reeled and stars swam before his eyes.