Today was their registration day, and classes would not officially begin until the next day, so they had only one task today: making their beds.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wu quietly sought out Tang San in the crowd.
Xiao Yan saw it happen but did not interfere. In the end, Tang San and Xiao Wu pushed their beds together and slept under the same quilt.
Xiao Yan was only mildly surprised. After all, they were two six-year-old brats; even if they wanted to, they lacked the ability.
"Boss Xiao Yan, it's about time. How about we head to the cafeteria for a meal?"
Wang Sheng spoke up, and under his lead, the group marched off to the cafeteria in force.
Xiao Yan had not expected Tang San to be completely penniless. Fortunately, Old Jack had given Xiao Yan a little traveling money before they left Holy Soul Village. It was not much, but it was enough for food.
Besides Tang San, Xiao Wu did not have any cash either. Seeing this, Xiao Yan gave her a few appraising glances.
The work-study students who came to register at the academy did not come from wealthy families, but Tang San and Xiao Wu were probably the only two who had brought neither bedding nor money.
One more made little difference, and Xiao Wu was easy on the eyes, so Xiao Yan naturally paid for her meal too.
"Thank you, Boss Xiao Yan!"
Xiao Wu followed Wang Sheng and the others in how she addressed him, her eyes full of smiles.
After getting their food, the group sat down in a corner of the cafeteria. Someone in the distance spotted Wang Sheng and the others and immediately jeered:
"Isn't that Wang Sheng and his bunch of little beggars? I was wondering what smelled so bad..."
"Don't start trouble!"
Xiao Yan reached out to stop Wang Sheng, who wanted to rush over, and said, "If a dog bites you, are you going to bite it back?"
Xiao Yan's words left the furious Wang Sheng standing there in a daze. Everyone looked toward the student who had spoken in the distance. His face had turned livid; Xiao Yan's remark had clearly made him furious too.
"Hahaha, Boss Xiao Yan is right. If a dog bites me, I can't bite it back."
Wang Sheng sat down in his chair and cast a provocative look into the distance. Seeing the other party's livid face, he felt much better, even though he had not been able to teach him a lesson with his fists.
"Hmph! I don't know where a sharp-tongued country bumpkin like you came from, but sooner or later I'll show you who calls the shots at Nuoding Academy!"
As more and more people around them began to pay attention, the other party could only leave after delivering that threat.
Xiao Yan paid the little conflict no mind. As he saw it, it was just a bunch of brats trading barbs. As he ate, he pondered how to bring up the matter of obtaining his Soul Ring with his teacher.
After all, he had Innate Full Soul Power. If he did not obtain his First Soul Ring, he would have no way to break through.
But Xiao Yan's sharp eyes caught sight of Grandmaster waving to them from a distance as the students around him dispersed. Grandmaster then pointed toward the cafeteria entrance.
Xiao Yan immediately understood what Grandmaster meant. It was mealtime, after all, and Grandmaster had only just arrived to eat.
Xiao Yan quickly finished his meal and said to Tang San, "Little San, wait a bit after you finish eating. Teacher wants to see us."
Tang San nodded. He had naturally seen Grandmaster too.
After the meal, Wang Sheng and the others headed back to the dormitory, while Xiao Yan and Tang San stood at the cafeteria entrance like door gods.
Passing students' gazes fell on the two of them, but neither reacted in the slightest.
"Are these the two disciples you took in?"
Soon, Grandmaster came out of the cafeteria with a middle-aged man. The man's gaze fell on Tang San and Xiao Yan, and he studied them for a while with some surprise before saying to Grandmaster:
"Then I wish you success!"
"Come with me."
Grandmaster looked at Xiao Yan and Tang San and led them toward the dormitory area.
Grandmaster's dormitory was in a corner on the top floor of the dormitory area. As soon as they entered, Xiao Yan and Tang San's attention was drawn to the densely packed books in his room.
Grandmaster's room was not especially spacious, but books of all kinds related to Martial Souls were neatly arranged along several walls.
It was enough to show how diligently Grandmaster studied Martial Souls in his daily life.
"Hehe, Little Yan, Little San, make yourselves comfortable."
Grandmaster turned to face them, then said, "First, show me your Martial Souls."
Hearing Grandmaster's words, Xiao Yan and Tang San exchanged a glance and hesitated no longer.
The cold white Bone Spirit Cold Flame blazed to life in Xiao Yan's palm, and the black, humanoid Soul Division Martial Soul emerged behind him. Wisps of black mist appeared, deep and mysterious.
"Flames, and... a humanoid Martial Soul..."
Grandmaster turned his gaze to Tang San. The familiar Blue Silver Grass twined around his fingertips, but when Tang San held out his other hand, a blue hammer appeared in his palm.
Perhaps because of his Soul Division Martial Soul, Xiao Yan could keenly sense that the moment Grandmaster saw the Martial Soul in Tang San's palm, his emotions fluctuated violently!
"Tang San... Tang... a hammer..."
Grandmaster murmured to himself, seemingly taking something in, then said to the two of them:
"All right, you can put your Martial Souls away."
"Oh, and Little San, you must remember: from now on, no matter who you are in front of, you must never reveal your Second Martial Soul, and you must never attach any Soul Rings to it. Do you understand?"
Tang San was puzzled, but faced with Grandmaster's gaze, he nodded. "I understand, Teacher. But my father also told me not to attach any Soul Rings to this Martial Soul. Why is that?"
"Your father? What does he do?"
Grandmaster was somewhat surprised.
"He's the village blacksmith."
"A blacksmith... hehe, a blacksmith and a hammer really are a perfect match."
Grandmaster gave a bitter chuckle and cautioned Tang San, "In any case, just remember: never attach any Soul Rings to this Martial Soul in the future."
Watching Grandmaster, Xiao Yan felt a trace of curiosity about Tang San's hammer Martial Soul. For Grandmaster to treat it so seriously, either its background was extraordinary or its power was!
Xiao Yan recalled the inherited family Martial Souls Grandmaster had told them about earlier and leaned toward the former.
"All right, I have a general idea of your Martial Souls now. Both of you have Innate Full Soul Power, so I've decided to take you to hunt for Soul Rings tomorrow! But before that, you must first decide the direction in which to develop your Martial Souls!"
"That's great!"
Hearing that Grandmaster would take them to hunt for Soul Rings tomorrow, Xiao Yan and Tang San were both delighted.
Xiao Yan had been worrying about how to bring the matter up with Grandmaster, but the direction of development Grandmaster had mentioned puzzled them both.
"Direction of development?"
Xiao Yan and Tang San exchanged a glance, each seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.
"We simply divide Martial Souls into Tool Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls. For example, your plant-type Martial Soul is also included among Tool Martial Souls."
"The greatest difference between Tool Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls lies in how they manifest."
"When a Beast Martial Soul is used in combat, the beast's power is added to the user's own body. This is the possession effect; by merging the human body with the Martial Soul, the user increases their attack power."
"Tool Martial Souls are completely different. They function outside the body. For example, if a Martial Soul is ordinary rice, it can be eaten as food. Moreover, because it is condensed from Soul Power, it contains more energy and has a better effect."
Tang San exclaimed in surprise, "Martial Souls can be eaten too?"
"Of course." Grandmaster nodded.
"Your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is plant-type, so it also counts as a kind of Tool Martial Soul."
"As for Soul Masters, we divide them according to the characteristics of their Martial Souls into food, combat, control, healing, scouting types and so on. Before obtaining Soul Rings, the two of you must first decide the future direction of your Martial Soul development."
"A Soul Master's cultivation of their Martial Soul must proceed in one direction!"