Before long, Old Jack led Tang San and Han Qiu to Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.
The enormous archway was built from solid blocks of stone, with a pair of iron gates beneath it. It looked quite imposing.
But in Han Qiu's eyes, compared with the magnificent buildings of every kind he had seen in his previous life, this place was ordinary at best. It looked remarkably like a run-of-the-mill elementary school in the countryside.
As he looked around, a snide voice suddenly rang out.
"Who are you?" Two gate guards in gray cloth uniforms stood with their arms folded, looking down at the three people at the entrance, their eyes full of scrutiny and contempt.
Their gazes swept over Old Jack, who was plainly dressed and thoroughly rustic, before settling on the young Han Qiu and Tang San. Their faces were full of disdain.
Old Jack hurried forward, respectfully explaining in a low voice, "Greetings, sirs. We're from Holy Soul Village. These two children are this year's work-study students. They've come to report for enrollment."
"Holy Soul Village?"
One of the guards snorted, his tone biting and sarcastic, full of mockery. "A little mountain village in the middle of nowhere can produce Soul Masters who come to study at Nuoding Academy? I think you've come to the wrong place. A mud pit can only raise earthworms, yet you dream of a true dragon flying out of it? What a joke."
The other guard chimed in, his eyes sweeping over the two children, his face full of impatience. "Where's the proof of identity for the work-study students? Hurry up and show me the documents issued by the Spirit Hall. Don't tell me you're just some wild kids who popped up from who knows where, trying to sneak into the academy and sponge off its resources."
Old Jack dared not be slow. He quickly and carefully took the neatly folded documents from inside his clothes and held them out to the two guards with both hands.
The two took them and glanced down. When they saw the words "Innate Full Soul Power," along with the records of Tang San's Blue Silver Grass and Han Qiu's unknown Martial Soul, they froze for a moment before bursting into unrestrained laughter.
"Hahaha! Innate Full Soul Power? That's enough to make someone laugh their teeth out!"
"I've guarded the gates of Nuoding Academy for three years and seen countless noble children enroll. Even the most gifted had only innate level-seven Soul Power. I've never seen any Innate Full Soul Power! And you expect a rundown little village like yours to produce a genius who appears once in a hundred years?"
With that, the guard casually tossed the documents onto the ground, his eyes full of scorn.
Fury surged through Old Jack, but he forced it down. This was Nuoding Academy; he dared not lash out recklessly. Tang San's brows knotted, and a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes. Old Jack bent down to pick up the documents, but Han Qiu caught his wrist.
Han Qiu looked up at the two guards and slapped a grave accusation on them the moment he spoke. "You're mere academy guards, yet you dare to belittle documents issued by the Spirit Hall. Could it be that you intend to make an enemy of the Spirit Hall? I never imagined Nuoding Academy's gatekeepers had such nerve."
He turned to Tang San and Old Jack, making a show of leaving. "In that case, we might as well forget about attending this academy. Little San, Grandpa Jack, let's go straight to the Spirit Hall."
At those words, both guards turned deathly pale. Opposing the Spirit Hall? The mere accusation was enough to crush them.
Then they thought again of the Innate Full Soul Power written on the paper, and their expressions changed repeatedly.
If they really let these people leave like this, not only would the academy punish them severely, but if the Spirit Hall held them accountable, neither of them could bear the consequences!
No longer as arrogant as before, they hurriedly bent down and picked up the documents. The contempt on their faces vanished, replaced by fawning smiles, and they strode over to Han Qiu.
By now, they were certain that the three people before them were no ordinary people.
The boy in particular was composed in everything he said and did, and his presence was formidable. He was even more intimidating than those noble children who looked down on everyone.
"Young brother, we were blind and looked down on you like dogs looking down on people. We were wrong!" The gatekeeper wore an ingratiating smile, his tone as humble as could be. "Please don't take it to heart! We would never dare oppose the Spirit Hall, and we absolutely meant no disrespect!"
Tang San and Old Jack stood beside him, utterly stunned, their hearts full of doubt and surprise.
Neither of them could have imagined that with just a few words, Han Qiu would make the guards, who had been so overbearing moments ago, completely back down. The difference in their attitudes was like heaven and earth. Such a method was truly formidable.
A trace of a cold smile flickered in Han Qiu's eyes. He understood.
He clearly remembered the plot of the original work. These two gatekeepers were typical troublesome little demons.
They had deliberately made things difficult and shown such contempt just now simply because they saw that Old Jack was a simple, honest man who didn't understand the ways of the city and hadn't prepared gifts to grease their palms.
Having spent half his previous life riding the ups and downs of the workplace, he couldn't have been more familiar with the twists and turns of currying favor with the powerful and squeezing those at the bottom.
As the saying went, the King of Hell was easy to meet, but the little demons were hard to deal with.
In the original work, these two guards had later harbored ill intentions toward Old Jack. In the end, Tang San had stepped in and subdued them, and the matter had only been fully settled when the Grandmaster appeared.
But Han Qiu disdained to get into a dispute with two gate guards and take action himself, lowering his own status for nothing. He was even less willing to wait until they bullied Old Jack before stepping in to help, so he struck first.
As a transmigrator, all he needed was a little thought to keep these two snobs firmly in his grasp. By invoking the mountain that was the Spirit Hall and slapping an enormous accusation on them, he could make them afraid to act up.
Old Jack had lived for years in Holy Soul Village, where the people were simple and honest, and had been plain and kindhearted all his life. How could he understand the city's snobbish schemes?
And as a genius of the Tang Sect, Tang San had encountered few people outside who dared provoke him.
Han Qiu couldn't be bothered listening to any more of their excuses. He merely raised a hand and pointed at Old Jack beside him.
The two guards understood at once. They hurriedly turned and bowed deeply to Old Jack, their manner humble. "Elder, we were rude just now and caused you much offense. Please be magnanimous and forgive us!"
Their respectful manner, so completely different from before, left Old Jack in a daze. For a long time, he couldn't come back to his senses.
"It's... it's all right."
Old Jack's aged face turned bright red, and he waved his hands repeatedly. But inside, he felt a satisfaction he had never known before, and a deep sense of pride welled up in him.
After living more than half his life, this was the first time Nuoding Academy's gatekeepers had apologized to him with such groveling humility. The vanity in his heart was almost overflowing.
Seeing Old Jack relent, the two guards hurriedly looked back at Han Qiu, their expressions fraught with anxiety.
But Han Qiu only looked at them with a faint, ambiguous smile and spoke slowly. "But I'm in a very bad mood right now, and I still want to turn around and complain to the Spirit Hall. Tell me, how should we settle this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the two guards shuddered, their hearts hanging in suspense.
By now, Han Qiu had their state of mind firmly in his grasp, and they dared not show the slightest trace of arrogance. They hastily exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and made up their minds. Each took several hefty Silver Soul Coins from inside his clothes and carefully held them out, wearing fawning smiles. "Young brother, look... please accept this small token as our apology."
Tang San and Old Jack, standing nearby, both sucked in a sharp breath. Their heads buzzed, and their eyes were full of disbelief.
They could never have dreamed that the academy gatekeepers, who had just been so overbearing and looked down on them like dogs, would turn around and offer Han Qiu Silver Soul Coins as compensation!
What a formidable method!
But Han Qiu couldn't even be bothered to lift an eyelid. Without so much as looking at the Silver Soul Coins, his tone suddenly turned cold, tinged with disdain. "A mere few Silver Soul Coins? Do you take me for a beggar on the street? Do you think I'm short of your little bit of money? The pocket money I get on an ordinary day is far more than this."
At his side, Old Jack froze when he heard that and silently grumbled to himself.
When you were in Holy Soul Village, weren't you following me around every day, farming and tending cattle? Where did you get pocket money? How come I didn't know about it?