The two powerful words were uttered, and the playground fell silent for a while before people emerged from the orderly mass of students.
Once there's a first, there will be a second.
"Nana!"
A familiar voice came from behind.
Qian Yuelong, who was whispering with Hu Liena, turned her head and saw two familiar faces.
A smile appeared on Hu Liena's face when she saw the two people walking towards them.
“Brother, Yan.”
"Huh, you."
Hu Liena's voice and Yan's surprised voice overlapped.
Qian Yuelong looked at the red-haired boy who had given her a sesame seed cake yesterday and blinked. "We meet again."
Thinking it was a greeting, Xie Yue nodded politely. Yan caught Xie Yue's response out of the corner of his eye, and belatedly widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at Qian Yuelong, who was petite compared to girls her age. "You, you, you, you are really a Soul Master?!"
Those who pass the final assessment are clearly not pushovers.
"If you're not a Soul Master, why would you stand in a long recruitment line? Isn't that just asking for trouble?" Qian Yuelong watched Yan's astonishment with great pleasure.
Sensing something, Hu Liena looked at her brother, then at her new roommate, and asked hesitantly, "Yuelong, do you know your brother and the others?"
"Uh, well..." Yan scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "Nana, she's the girl I was talking about who got a pancake halfway through the trip."
"For the final assessment, I teamed up with her. I didn't expect that she and Nana would get along so well."
Compared to Yan, Xie Yue's explanation was much more composed.
Having roughly pieced together the whole story, Hu Liena suddenly realized and said with a smile, "Then it seems we really are destined to meet. Yuelong is now my roommate in the same dormitory. Yuelong, this is my brother Xieyue, you should know him. This is Yan, my good friend, we are all from the same place."
Qian Yuelong nodded to them: "Hello, my name is Qian Yuelong."
Next, the four of them walked around the academy together to familiarize themselves with the layout before returning to their dormitories to rest after dinner.
The next morning, Hu Liena was awakened on time by her biological clock, which was used to waking up early.
She sat up after a while, and when she turned her head, she saw Qian Yuelong sleeping soundly in the next bed, curled up in the blanket like a little cat.
That sleeping posture is kind of cute.
After waking Qian Yuelong, the two changed into the uniforms of the Spirit Hall Academy, pressed down the last stubborn tuft of hair sticking up, and prepared to go to the canteen to buy breakfast.
To Qian Yuelong's surprise, Xie Yue and Yan, who had gotten up even earlier than them, had already bought breakfast and were waiting for them downstairs at the eighth dormitory building.
"Do I have one too?" Qian Yuelong carefully took the oil paper package that Yan handed her. It was still warm to the touch, and it contained three meat buns.
"Thank you, how many soul coins will this cost?"
Prices vary from place to place. Even in the Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy, where land is incredibly valuable in a different sense, a steamed bun that used to cost a few copper soul coins in a typical town has gloriously increased in price to 10 to 15 copper soul coins.
Yan waved his hand dismissively and said, "No need, no need, this little bit of money is nothing."
The gold soul coins they earned through rankings in the training camp were quite substantial.
Moreover, 1000 copper soul coins are only equal to one gold soul coin.
"Let's have lunch together then, and I'll give each of you an extra chicken leg!"
Based on the principle of reciprocity, Qian Yuelong was not willing to take advantage of them.
Yan wanted to refuse, but Hu Liena agreed first: "Okay, then I'll ask for a big chicken leg."
Hu Liena understood that every interaction should be reciprocal; simply taking what others had already given her would only make them feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, let's eat as we walk."
The evil moon sealed the deal with a single blow.
On the playground, 26 students from the elite class stood at the spot where they had been dismissed the day before.
During the morning class, besides their elite class, students from other classes could be seen starting their morning exercises.
Unlike other academies that group new students with those admitted the previous year into the same class, the Spirit Hall Academy assigns the class number to each teacher based on the class number of the previous teacher who led the class to graduation.
The elite class that Qian Yuelong and the others are currently in is numbered 03, collectively known as Elite Class 3.
There might be two more classes of elite students ahead of them.
Wei Ming glanced at the energetic students, nodded in satisfaction, and said loudly, "Very good, not a single one of you is late. Today is the first day of school. In the morning, I will take you on a tour of the academy to familiarize you with it. In the afternoon, we will begin physical training. There will be a penalty if you do not complete the training I assign in the afternoon within the allotted time. Do you have any objections?"
"No!"
The two words, "simply and decisively," were shouted from the crowd.
Wei Ming turned around, walked ahead, and led his new class on a tour of the academy.
The Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy is a bit different from other academies. It not only respects strength, but also considers individual credits and conducts a comprehensive ranking within the academy. The top ten in each quarter can receive different blind box rewards and even have the opportunity to meet the powerful Title Douluo elders of the Spirit Hall.
In the past, one outstanding student was accepted as a disciple by an elder of the Elder Hall who was a Title Douluo-level figure, achieving the top score in the academy. Within the Spirit Hall, this was practically a meteoric rise.
Credits can be earned through monthly theoretical exams, practical exams, the college's comprehensive individual practical ranking competition, and participation in the college's team battle competition.
If both students agree, they can use their different credits as stakes to compete in a Soul Trial Arena, with the winner reaping the credits.
Credits can be used to purchase some of the academy's paid facilities, such as replacing Soul Coins in the dining hall and accessing gravity control training rooms of varying strengths. They can also be used to exchange for cultivation resources, such as valuable Soul Tools, advanced simulated environment training slots that ordinary students are not qualified to enter, and rare books in the library that only teachers can access.
In short, it has a wide range of uses and is also a way to prove one's own strength.
The average age for graduating from advanced soul master academies is 24, as this is the maximum age limit for the continent-wide elite competition of advanced soul master academies.
Every Soul Master dreams of showing their skills in the Elite Tournament.
Winning is an honor, and also the beginning of a promising future.
Even if they lose, they won't regret participating.
Many Soul Masters who enter Soul Master Academy hope that after graduation, before they truly venture independently across the continent, they will have the resources to survive in this world where the strong are respected and the weak are eliminated.
Every battle is a valuable experience for surviving alone in the future.
The Soul Master Academy will be their last stepping stone before entering this cruel society.
Everyone is struggling to survive.
This is Qian Yuelong's most direct impression after visiting the Spirit Hall Academy.
After lunch, everyone went to the No. 2 playground to gather.
The college has five playgrounds of varying sizes, with No. 1 being the largest. The other playgrounds vary in size and have different uses.
For example, the current No. 2 playground.
When Wei Ming gave the first training task of the day—running laps—everyone thought they had misheard.
"Teacher Wei, are you sure it's three laps, and not thirty?"
They looked at the 400-meter circumference track and suspected that Wei Ming had made a mistake.
Wei Ming, standing with his hands behind his back, said without changing his expression, "Yes, it's three laps. You are not allowed to use your soul power during the process. One lap is 400 meters, and three laps are 1200 meters. That's your task this afternoon. I think this mere 1200 meters should be no problem for you who are already Great Soul Masters, and most of you are close to becoming Soul Venerables. Surely no one will try to secretly use their soul power during the process?"
That's a good point.
Many trainees immediately expressed their dissatisfaction and shouted out:
Of course not!
"1200 meters? Who do you think you are!"
"Someone who needs to secretly use soul power to amplify their abilities for such a short distance is probably just a useless pretty face!"
"Exactly! At this distance, if anyone secretly uses their soul power to amplify their power, I'll laugh at them!"
"Exactly. If you need to use your soul power to run such a short distance, you might as well quit the elite class."
The hot-blooded young students were provoked by Wei Ming's few words and began to talk back and scorn each other, expressing their contempt for someone who would cheat like this.
Qian Yuelong glanced at a faculty member who stood at intervals on the playground, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.
She always felt it wasn't that simple.
While the trainees were still trying to stall for time by shouting under the guise of Wei Ming's authority, Wei Ming had already begun to use his soul pressure to urge them to set off quickly.
With trepidation, the group walked to the starting line of the track and lined up in an orderly manner on different lanes, forming a square formation.
"Let's begin."
Wei Ming spoke calmly, and the first row of students at the starting line began to stride forward, steeling themselves to get to the front.
They ran cautiously at first, not very fast, for fear that there might be some traps set on the track for them.
After running several dozen meters, the track was clear and unobstructed, with no traps as I had imagined.
The student running at the front relaxed his tense nerves and tightened his leg muscles. Just as he was about to exert himself and sprint to finish the three laps in one go, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the staff member standing outside the track, watching them with his hands behind his back. It seemed to be the staff member maintaining order.
The other person sensed his gaze and returned a meaningful smile.
Just as he was wondering why the smile seemed a bit off, a powerful aura suddenly rose from the ordinary-looking instructor, and six brilliantly colored spirit rings rose from beneath his feet, with the fifth black spirit ring shining brightly.
"Fifth Soul Skill, Gravity Swamp!"
not good--!
The alarm bells in the student's mind went off, and many students following behind him, realizing that something was wrong, started running as fast as they could, trying to escape the range of the opponent's soul skill, which resembled a gravity field.
Qian Yuelong's expression also changed drastically. She accelerated her pace and, taking advantage of her petite figure, her body became a blur as she quickly passed the students blocking her way and rushed forward, minimizing the distance as much as possible.
However, it was too late.
—A side note—
Mo Li is truly a chosen one, getting a strong yang again today (I feel utterly hopeless). My brain has been forcibly degraded. I was supposed to write 2 chapters, but I only managed 1.5, and then I started to feel dizzy and disoriented.
I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow. If I'm not feeling well, I'll take a day off. (listless emoji)
(End of this chapter)
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