Three days passed quickly. After the departure of the Pu father and son from Spirit City, it was as if they had vanished into thin air. Naturally, they no longer dared to trouble Gu Chen. And with Qianjun Douluo and Jiangmo Douluo present, Gu Chen killing someone in Spirit City was no longer considered a big deal.
On the evening of the second day, Gu Chen followed protocol and collected the paper Zhuhuan and the Xuan Iron Steel Wire that he had commissioned from the blacksmith shop, paying the remaining gold soul coins.
At this moment, Qianjun Douluo arrived at the inn as promised to escort Gu Chen and Gu Yuena to enroll in Spirit Academy.
"Spirit Academy is located in the outskirts of Spirit City, covering an area no smaller than one-third of the city itself. It is a large-scale soul master academy with simulated training environments and various specialized facilities. For you two, Dragon Valley would be the most suitable training ground," Qianjun Douluo explained as he led the two to the academy's entrance.
They saw two large words, "Spirit Academy," deeply engraved in titanium on a metal wall made of deep silver. Below these grand words was the emblem of the highest-level token of the Spirit Hall.
"Sixth Worship, these must be the Gu Chen and Gu Yuena you mentioned?" At the academy gates, a middle-aged man with reddish-brown hair spotted Qianjun Douluo and quickly approached.
"Dean Juesheng, I'll leave Gu Chen and Gu Yuena in your care," Qianjun Douluo said.
Dean Juesheng bowed to Qianjun Douluo and repeatedly assured him, "Rest assured, I will take good care of them. With their talents, they will receive the best development in Wuhun Academy."
Qianjun Douluo nodded, gave Gu Chen and Gu Yuena a few words of advice, then took off into the sky and departed.
"I've heard about your spirit rings. If it's true, then you two are truly once-in-a-million prodigies," Dean Juesheng said. "With your talents, you absolutely cannot be wasted. Therefore, I have already arranged for you to skip the Ren (Earth) Class and Di (Emperor) Class and directly enter the Tian (Heaven) Class for your studies."
"What do the Ren Class and Di Class mainly teach?" Gu Chen asked curiously.
"The Ren Class and Di Class focus primarily on cultivation and theoretical knowledge of soul masters, whereas the Tian Class is centered around actual combat training to hone students' battle skills. Students can form teams for sparring or apply to have academy instructors as sparring partners," Dean Juesheng explained.
"After receiving your uniforms, head to your respective dormitories to store your belongings, then come see me," Dean Juesheng said, leading Gu Chen and Gu Yuena to the administrative office. After they collected their uniforms and dormitory keys, he dismissed them.
Gu Chen nodded and parted ways with Gu Yuena, each heading to their own dormitory.
Spirit Academy's dormitories were all double rooms. Since it was currently the lunch break, Gu Chen's roommate was already in the dormitory resting.
"Huh? Are you my new roommate?" As soon as Gu Chen opened the door, he saw a small boy about 1.6 meters tall with a baby face curiously looking him up and down.
"Yes, my name is Gu Chen," Gu Chen replied with a nod. He had a favorable impression of his cute new roommate.
"Hello, hello! My name is Luo Chen. I'm a student in Tian Class 1, and my martial soul is a food-type martial soul—fried rice!" Luo Chen said cheerfully, extending his hand toward Gu Chen.
"Analyze Luo Chen's attributes," Gu Chen mentally commanded his system.
Ding!
System Character Panel:
Name: Luo Chen
Age: 12
Strength: 200
Spiritual Power: 750
Bloodline: 100% Human
Soul Power Level: 29 (Grandmaster)
Soul Rings: Yellow, Yellow
Loyalty: 20%
Overall Assessment: A food-type martial soul user with considerable potential. However, he is overly kind-hearted and easily taken advantage of in daily life.
Gu Chen then asked the system, "How is loyalty categorized?"
Ding!
Loyalty Levels:
Below 10%: Hostile toward the host.
10% - 15%: Equivalent to a stranger.
16% - 40%: Casual acquaintance.
41% - 50%: Friend.
51% - 60%: Willing to assist the host.
61% - 90%: Loyal to the host.
91% - 99%: Willing to risk their life for the host.
100%: Absolute loyalty—if you order them to die, they won't resist.
The Enslavement Rune can forcibly raise someone's loyalty to 100%.
"Hmm," Gu Chen nodded. Luo Chen seemed decent—he was worth recruiting.
Gu Chen shook his hand and introduced himself, "Gu Chen. Martial soul: Golden Dragon. Soul power level: 41, Four-ring Battle Soul Master."
"What?! Level 41? You're only 12 years old, right? How is that possible?! Even I'm only level 29!" Luo Chen exclaimed.
Gu Chen shook his head slightly. "One percent talent, ninety-nine percent hard work. By the way, can I see your soul skills?"
Luo Chen nodded. Two yellow soul rings appeared behind him. He muttered a soul incantation under his breath, and Gu Chen could faintly hear phrases like "Even if I starve to death..., Even if I jump from here, I still won't..., Ah, so fragrant!"
After chanting, Luo Chen lifted his baby face and flipped his palm upward. A golden light appeared in his hand.
"First Soul Skill—Fragrant Fried Rice!"
A bowl of steaming fried rice appeared in Luo Chen's hand. The grains were plump, glistening with oil, and emitted an irresistible aroma.
"My first soul skill, Fragrant Fried Rice, allows any soul master who eats it to interrupt half of their enemy's soul skill activations for ten minutes or forcibly neutralize incoming force without backlash. Additionally, they will recover 1% of their soul power per second for twenty seconds, regardless of level!" Luo Chen said proudly.
Gu Chen was slightly stunned—this ability was ridiculously overpowered! But if that was the case, why hadn't he seen Luo Chen in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament representing the Spirit Hall team?
"Amazing skill!" Gu Chen praised.
"Really? But others say my skill is weak and useless," Luo Chen said, his eyes glimmering with hope.
"Weak? That just means they're incompetent and don't know how to use it properly," Gu Chen scoffed.
Just like in King of Glory—a professional player with the right skills can achieve multiple kills, while a rookie would just keep feeding the enemy team.
"Alright, Dean Juesheng is still waiting for me. I'll head over now," Gu Chen said, setting his things aside.
"Okay, okay!" Luo Chen nodded.
…
After reuniting with Gu Yuena outside the girls' dormitory, Gu Chen quickly found Dean Juesheng. At that moment, the dean was speaking with a bald middle-aged man. When he saw Gu Chen, he introduced them.
"Gu Chen, Gu Yuena, this is the academy's Director of Education. You can call him Teacher Lin."
"Teacher Lin," they greeted.
Teacher Lin nodded slightly and said, "I've reviewed your cultivation reports. You two are undoubtedly extraordinary prodigies. You will be placed in Tian Class 1, which consists of the academy's elite students. So far, there are only nine students in this class."
Gu Chen was surprised to learn that he and Gu Yuena would be in the same class as Luo Chen—what a coincidence.
"This afternoon, Tian Class 1 has combat training. Your roommates are all in this class, so let them take you to class," Dean Juesheng added.
Returning to his dorm, Gu Chen got straight to the point. "Luo Chen, Dean Juesheng said you should take me to class this afternoon."
"Huh?" Luo Chen looked at him in confusion.
"I was assigned to Tian Class 1 too," Gu Chen explained.
"What?! Skipping both Ren and Di Classes? Straight into Tian Class? Well... I guess with your talent, that makes sense," Luo Chen admitted.
"There's a combat training session later—let's team up," Luo Chen suggested.
Gu Chen nodded. "Alright."