Enrollment

But just because you asked a question didn't mean I had to answer it.

"That's my secret. I don't think there's any need to tell the three of you, is there? Surely I'm allowed that much privacy?" Lin Qingchen looked Meng Shenji straight in the eye.

Meng Shenji was taken aback, then smiled. "Of course you are. I was just curious, that's all. It's fine if you don't want to say."

In fact, even without Lin Qingchen telling him, Meng Shenji already had a vague guess.

After all, he had lived to a ripe old age and had studied Soul Masters to some extent. A situation like this was most likely due to the other party's Martial Soul being particularly unusual.

(Or rather, everything that defied common sense on the Douluo Continent could be forcibly explained away as Martial Soul Mutation.)

If so, this most likely couldn't be reproduced on a large scale. Was it worth making an enemy of a genius over a thousand-year second ring that couldn't be mass-produced?

Meng Shenji didn't think he was a fool.

Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin exchanged a glance. Both were old hands, so they naturally knew what Meng Shenji was thinking and understood the reasoning.

"In that case..."

Meng Shenji looked at Lin Qingchen and said kindly, "I've approved your admission, but there's something I need to make clear beforehand."

"Please, go ahead."

"As everyone knows, both students and teachers at Heaven Dou Royal Academy are divided into three grades: Heaven Wei, Heaven Zhi, and Heaven Dou, from lowest to highest. With your cultivation, you'd naturally have no trouble qualifying for Heaven Dou Grade. But since you've only just arrived, we can't award you Heaven Dou Grade directly. The academy holds a grand competition once a year. Your performance determines your resource allocation for the following year and can also earn you a promotion. Since you've only just enrolled this year, you wouldn't normally have to participate, but... you understand, don't you?"

I know what you mean.

"Of course," Lin Qingchen said.

Bai Baoshan added from the side, "If you can make a name for yourself at the academy competition, the academy will make sure you have all the resources you need. Of course, given your talent, I'm sure that'll be easy."

"Although you're not Heaven Dou Grade, you're still a three-ring Soul Elder. You can study under Teacher Qin Ming alongside Tian Heng and the others. It works out well, since he was the one who brought you to the academy," Zhi Lin said.

"I understand."

Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief beside him and cupped his hands to the three committee members. "Thank you, all three of you. Qingchen and I will take our leave now."

"Mm, go on. We won't keep you any longer. As their teacher, you should continue to pay close attention to them. We can rest easy leaving these children in your care. Oh, right, there are a few other things. Qingchen, remember..." Meng Shenji nodded. Before the two left, he gave them a few words of warning.

And just like that, Lin Qingchen joined Heaven Dou Royal Academy without a hitch.

As for the rule that Heaven Dou Royal Academy only accepted nobles, they naturally tossed it to the back of their minds.

After all, if a genius like this were left out in the cold, that would be a serious dereliction of their duty.

Besides, with his talent, it was only a matter of time before he became a noble.

After they left the committee building, Qin Ming patted Lin Qingchen on the shoulder. "I don't know why you're hiding your Martial Soul Mutation, but since you haven't said anything, I'll keep it secret for you too."

"Then thank you, Teacher Qin."

"No need to say more." Qin Ming smiled faintly. He naturally had a set of scales in his own heart.

"But Committee Member Meng Shenji was right to warn you. Your Soul Ring Configuration is too conspicuous. Once the senior students at the academy find out, some of them are bound to take issue with it. You need to be prepared."

He naturally knew something about the unhealthy influences at Heaven Dou Academy. After all, those coming and going here were either children of officials or descendants of wealthy merchants.

Not to mention royal descendants like Xue Beng.

Fortunately, the academy had always respected strength above all else. As long as Lin Qingchen could demonstrate his strength, naturally none of that would be a problem.

Qin Ming was quite confident about that. After all, he didn't think anyone at the academy could withstand Lin Qingchen's terrifying Five Elements Divine Lightning.

"It's fine," Lin Qingchen said. "If they're not convinced, let them come and try."

Qin Ming glanced at him and chuckled. "All right, it's good to have ambition. I'll take you back to the class."

As a team gathering the true geniuses of Heaven Dou Academy, the Imperial Fighting Team had a training ground all to themselves. Not only that, they also had a small building for their daily accommodation and lessons.

Why else would people say Heaven Dou Royal Academy had money to burn?

The two followed the academy road back.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was many dozens of times larger than Nuoding Academy. Just walking from the committee building back to the dormitory area took nearly a quarter of an hour.

They passed several groups of students along the way, most wearing the academy's standard uniform. Quite a few stopped to greet Qin Ming when they saw him, then swept their gazes over Lin Qingchen beside him, a hint of curiosity in their eyes.

"Those students are all looking at you," Qin Ming said.

"Let them look. It's not like I'll lose a piece of flesh," Lin Qingchen said indifferently.

"Heh, you're pretty carefree." Qin Ming shook his head, smiling without another word.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was a place where cliques were a serious problem. After all, many of its members were children of officials and naturally brought plenty of political habits with them.

A stranger like Lin Qingchen, who had arrived halfway through, would generally find it very difficult to get into such circles. Of course, since he had already joined the Imperial Fighting Team, he naturally had no need to join those little circles.

After all, the Imperial Fighting Team was itself one of the cliques with the highest status.

But judging by Lin Qingchen's conduct, even if he hadn't joined the Imperial Fighting Team, it felt as though he could single-handedly isolate everyone else.

Perhaps that was the eccentric independence of a genius.

Soon, the two reached their destination.

Qin Ming stopped and pointed to the building ahead. "Here we are. This is the dormitory building. You spent a night here, so it shouldn't be unfamiliar. But I didn't have time to properly introduce it to you yesterday. This entire place is actually our turf. Your room is on the third floor. Everyone in our class has a room to themselves, so you can just move in. Tian Heng's room is right next to yours. He'll go over the academy's other rules with you later. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask him."

Lin Qingchen looked up at the luxurious five-story building.

He went straight up to the third floor and found his room. The door next to it was unlocked, so he pushed it open and saw Yu Tianheng sitting on the bed, leafing through a book. When Yu Tianheng saw him enter, he closed it.

"Qingchen, you're back. Did everything go smoothly?" Yu Tianheng asked.

Of course, he didn't believe someone with Lin Qingchen's talent would be turned away at the door.

"Mm."

"What did the committee say?"

"They told me to prepare for the academy competition."

Yu Tianheng's expression changed slightly. "They want you to participate in the academy competition? You've only just enrolled."

"Still, that makes sense. With your talent, you'll most likely amaze everyone with a single brilliant feat."