The afternoon sun beat down mercilessly, baking the courtyard's bluestone slabs scorching hot.
After Qiao Rong returned, the couple chatted for a while. Then Fang Yuanqiao eagerly took off his outer robe, walked into the courtyard, and spoke to Fang Lin with a smile.
"Come on, you little brat!"
In the sunlight, the old scars crisscrossing Fang Yuanqiao's forearms stood out. Two Soul Rings, one white and one yellow, lit up beneath his feet, and the light reflecting off his long saber's blade was dazzling.
Fang Lin glanced back at his mother. A blue-purple, seven-petaled flower in her hand was glowing, and she was ready to come to his rescue at any moment.
The couple's practiced coordination gave him a bad feeling.
The last rays of the setting sun fell across the courtyard.
Clang!
Their blades met, and Fang Lin's saber arm trembled uncontrollably.
Although Fang Yuanqiao had suppressed his Soul Power, his physical abilities were still at the Soul Grandmaster level. With his wealth of combat experience on top of that, he beat Fang Lin so thoroughly that Fang Lin couldn't fight back.
After taking a beating until his legs went weak, Fang Lin finally understood. He raised a hand and shouted.
"I give up! Dad really is Dad!"
Fang Yuanqiao chuckled, put away his Martial Soul, and looked satisfied.
"That's enough for today. Let's eat."
At the dinner table, Fang Lin shoveled mouthfuls of fragrant, plump rice into his mouth with his chopsticks. After the intense exertion that afternoon, he had worked up such an appetite that three bowls weren't enough.
Across from him, Fang Yuanqiao set down his bowl and chopsticks and leaned back in his chair.
"Brat, do you know what your problem was this afternoon?"
Fang Lin swallowed, clearing his stuffed cheeks, and ventured an answer.
"My saber wasn't fast enough, or ruthless enough?"
Fang Yuanqiao froze for a moment and knitted his brows, seemingly mulling over those words.
"Mm, that's about right. The saber is the courage of all weapons. Once you seize the initiative, you have to overwhelm your opponent with a chain of saber strikes. You kept holding back when you fought, doing one thing one moment and another the next. You couldn't build up any momentum at all."
Build up momentum?
Fang Lin stared for a moment. "Dad, if you're going to explain it, be clear. Don't give me that inscrutable master act."
Fang Yuanqiao's dark face flushed.
"Brat, that's how my master taught me back then. This is something you have to figure out for yourself."
Fang Lin looked thoughtful. The short combination Fang Yuanqiao had used that afternoon had indeed grown stronger with every strike.
He had thought his father was just toying with him, but looking back, it seemed more like he had been using the force of Fang Lin's blocks...
At that point, a flash of insight crossed Fang Lin's mind.
The Tang Clan Smithing Technique?
To test his idea, Fang Lin dragged Fang Yuanqiao out to practice early the next morning. Although he didn't succeed right away, he gained a rough grasp of it.
From then on, Fang Lin added two hours of sparring to his morning training. Fang Yuanqiao would occasionally call Wang Yu and Li Tian over, along with a Control System Soul Grandmaster, to spar with Fang Lin.
At first, the four of them whipped Fang Lin around like a spinning top in all sorts of ways. It wasn't until the third month that he could finally exchange blows with them properly.
By the fifth month, Fang Lin could hold his own.
By the eighth month, he could even gain the upper hand on occasion.
By the tenth month, with their Soul Power suppressed, Fang Lin could sometimes win and sometimes lose even against Uncle Wang, the trickiest of them all.
At the same time, Fang Lin's Soul Power finally broke through to level fourteen.
He hadn't neglected his meditation during this time, keeping it up for at least sixteen hours every day.
That evening, Fang Yuanqiao finally made up his mind and announced at the dinner table that he would take Fang Lin to Heaven Dou Academy in three days.
Though Fang Lin's mother, Qiao Rong, was reluctant to part with him, she simply prepared his luggage in silence.
Three days later, father and son said goodbye to Qiao Rong and left Soto City by carriage.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy lay outside Heaven Dou City, with the Silves Kingdom between it and Soto City. Along the way, they would pass through a famous checkpoint—Jialing Pass.
As they passed through the towering stronghold, a hundred meters high, Fang Lin was deeply awed. He marveled that a world whose combatants could smash floor tiles had managed to build such a mighty pass.
After crossing Jialing Pass, another day's journey brought them to the mountain where Heaven Dou Royal Academy stood.
The academy had been built outside Heaven Dou City, surrounded by mountains and water. Its beautiful scenery made it look just like a paradise untouched by the world.
Along the way, they saw many parents bringing their children to enroll. Most wore fine clothes and were plainly dressed as nobles.
Perhaps because Fang Yuanqiao was well dressed, no one gave them any trouble on the way, and they reached the enrollment office without incident.
A young man in a pale yellow uniform received them. Behind him sat a middle-aged man with thick brows and large eyes, dressed in fitted training clothes.
When they arrived, the young man didn't even look up.
"Name, age, Soul Power, Martial Soul, proof of identity."
"Fang Lin, not quite eight and a half, a level-fourteen One-Ring Soul Master. His Martial Soul is an Iron Saber, and he has a letter of recommendation."
Fang Yuanqiao handed over the letter from his bundle and the Soul Master certificate issued by Spirit Hall. The middle-aged man behind the young man reached out and took them first. After a quick glance, he fixed his gaze on Fang Lin.
"Innate Soul Power of level five, and you've cultivated to level fourteen at eight years old. Not bad."
The middle-aged man then looked at Fang Yuanqiao.
"With Marquis Klein's recommendation, you can enroll him after paying one hundred Gold Soul Coins. Students live at the academy and have one month of vacation each year. If there's anything you want to tell him, say it now. We'll arrange his lodgings shortly."
Fang Lin wasn't surprised to hear that he could enroll.
Heaven Dou Academy had loose standards for both admission and graduation, with a clear divide between its extremes. It valued social standing far more than talent.
Fang Yuanqiao's delight was plain to see. He pulled his son aside and lowered his voice.
"Kid, you'll be on your own from now on. We don't fear trouble, but don't go looking for it either. Take a step back, and the sea and sky open wide."
Fang Lin found that funny and deliberately spoke in a teasing tone.
"Dad, didn't you say that when practicing the saber, you had to press straight ahead? Why are you telling me to be a turtle now?"
Fang Yuanqiao glared at him, as if frustrated that iron wouldn't turn to steel.
"Brat, look where you are! Besides, that teacher seemed to have a good impression of you. I'd say he's at least a Soul Ancestor. Take the initiative, and it'll be easier to get your Second Soul Ring later."
Fang Lin was aiming for a seven-hundred-year limit on his Second Soul Ring. Fang Yuanqiao and the others might not be able to handle it, and finding a suitable one in Soto City's Soul Hunting Forest would be difficult too.
After finishing his instructions, Fang Yuanqiao took out a silver metal ring.
"There are a hundred Gold Soul Coins inside, along with some things your mother packed. I'll come pick you up when you're on vacation."
"A Storage Soul Tool?"
Fang Lin took the ring and infused it with Soul Power. It contained a space one cubic meter in size, holding Gold Soul Coins and some dried meat and snacks.
Fang Lin fell silent. Fang Yuanqiao had never been willing to buy one for himself all these years, yet in the end he had prepared one for him.
"Brat, remember to write to your mother when you have time."
With that final reminder, Fang Yuanqiao slapped Fang Lin on the shoulder, then turned and left.
After completing the enrollment procedures, Fang Lin received a jade token as proof of his identity and followed the middle-aged man from before up the mountainside.
The man explained things to him on the way.
"Heaven Dou Academy's students and teachers are divided into three grades: Heavenly Minor, Heavenly Supreme, and Heaven Dou. Generally speaking, students below level twenty-five in Soul Power belong to the Heavenly Minor Level, those from level twenty-five to thirty belong to the Heavenly Supreme Level, and those above level thirty belong to the Heaven Dou Grade."
"Soul Power Level is one measure. If a student is talented enough, they can also be admitted to a higher grade. After all, the three grades differ in their food, lodging, and cultivation resources. At the Heaven Dou Grade, tuition is waived, and there's even a credit allowance..."
Fang Lin listened in silence, recalling the jade token he had just received. Besides his name, it bore the words "Heavenly Minor."
"Credits can be used to buy daily necessities and exchange for resources. One credit has roughly the same purchasing power as one Gold Soul Coin, but some resources can only be obtained with credits, such as Soul Bones."
"Soul Bones?"
Fang Lin spoke up in surprise.
Even a Hundred-Year Soul Bone of the lowest grade could sell for tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins. A Thousand-Year Soul Bone was worth dozens of times more, yet Heaven Dou Academy actually made them available for all students to exchange credits for.
The middle-aged man seemed pleased with Fang Lin's reaction and smiled faintly.
"That's right, Soul Bones, and they're at least a thousand years old. But they also cost a great many credits-more than a hundred thousand."
A hundred thousand credits.
Fang Lin rubbed his nose.
In terms of purchasing power, a hundred thousand credits equaled a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. But if a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins could actually buy a Thousand-Year Soul Bone, it would be a bargain.
The academy had set it up like a carrot before a donkey: visible but out of reach, purely as an incentive.
It seemed there were only other things he could exchange credits for.
"Teacher, how do you earn credits, then?"
"There are three ways. The first is Soul Fighting. The academy holds a grand competition once a year, and anyone at the Soul Grandmaster level or above can participate. The winners receive a large number of credits. The second is to take assignments from the instructors. They're issued by the imperial army, and completing them earns credits. Besides being dangerous, they take up time, so they aren't recommended before you have two rings."
After hearing this, Fang Lin's impression of Heaven Dou Academy as a "cradle of spoiled nobles" in the original book changed considerably.
As a cradle for Soul Masters that supplied strength to the Heaven Dou Empire, it wasn't entirely gold and jade on the outside with rot within. At least its underlying system was sound.
"We're here."
The middle-aged man stopped before a row of single-story buildings. He led Fang Lin to one of the houses, then turned to leave.
Fang Lin was a little stunned.
Wait, shouldn't what comes next be, "I see you're naturally gifted. Why don't you call me teacher?"
Fang Lin stood there, unable to make sense of it. Then he noticed that the man seemed to be deliberately slowing his steps as he left.