Mo Ji Wu walked along the stone path paved with simple yet elegant bricks.
Tall trees lined both sides, casting a touch of color over the gray stones.
As he smoked his pipe, he followed the parents and their children toward the Administration Office to report his attendance and register using the letter of recommendation.
Naturally, his appearance drew a lot of attention—from senior students, new students, younger kids, and even parents.
Everyone who passed him couldn’t help but look.
He wore loose clothes that revealed no details of his physique and carried no luggage, smoking his pipe as he walked.
Combined with his handsome face and dead eyes, it was easy to stand out.
A girl who looked about sixteen due to her height slowly approached him.
Of course, Mo Ji Wu didn’t notice her.
He was too focused on finding the Administration Office.
Suddenly, a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Mo Ji Wu turned around to find a young girl—”young” from his perspective—grabbing his shoulder and stopping him.
“Do you need something, little girl?” Mo Ji Wu asked calmly and kindly, in the manner of an old man.
“Little girl?
You’re the younger one here.
What is a child like you doing smoking like that?
And right in the middle of the academy grounds?
Don’t you know smoking is bad for your health, especially for a child like you?
Where are your parents?
Why are you alone?” She bombarded him with a barrage of questions.
Mo Ji Wu thought for a moment before answering each one as the girl waited.
“Hmm…
Is there a problem with a child smoking?
Is there a rule that prohibits students from smoking?
What I smoke is healthy and harmless.
You can try it if you want.
I’m an orphan, so of course I’m alone.” The girl was a bit angry at his indifference at first, but at the last part of his reply she felt pity for him.
She imagined a scenario of a child with no one to care for him slowly turning into a delinquent.
“I’m sorry for asking so bluntly.
And yes, there’s a rule that prohibits students from smoking unless it’s part of training or related to their martial soul.
So you must stop while you’re on academy grounds.
Come with me, I’ll guide you to the Administration Office.” Saying that, she was about to take his hand, but Mo Ji Wu quickly pulled away.
“Little girl, I’m grateful for your advice and offer to help, but please keep your distance.
We’re of different genders.” His words left the young woman speechless for a few seconds before she said, “What would a child like you know about that?
And stop calling me ‘little girl’.
My name is Yun Hua.
Follow me now.” Yun Hua respected his wish and didn’t grab his hand, walking ahead of him.
Mo Ji Wu also respected the rules and extinguished his pipe before storing it in his Storage Bracelet.
That stopped drawing as much attention.
He still attracted gazes with his handsomeness and long gray hair, but less than before.
After a few minutes, the two arrived in front of a large, wide building with only a few floors.
Yun Hua said, “This is the Administration Office.
You can go in, register, and get what you need for your first year.
They’ll also give you the key to your dorm room and assign you to a class.
Be careful.
If you need anything, look for me.
I’m in Class 3 of Year 1 at the Advanced Academy.” Saying that, she felt a bit guilty for mentioning parents to an orphan, and made her offer of help clear.
From what Mo Ji Wu understood, the Advanced Academy was separated from the Middle Academy.
Entry wasn’t mandatory like the Middle Academy.
Only those who passed the entrance exam could get in, and only one out of every ten students from the Middle Academy made it into the Advanced Academy.
That meant everyone there was strong and a genius in their own field.
Of course, he forgot her and entered the Administration Office.
He approached what seemed to be an assistant and took out the letter of recommendation.
“Hello, young man.
I’m here to register.” The staff member looked up, barely bothered by Mo Ji Wu, and handed him a form.
“Fill this out first.” Mo Ji Wu took the form and read it.
Then he began writing.
Luckily, he had improved his handwriting, or he would’ve been mocked today.
After he filled out the form and returned it, the staff member took it and read: “Mo Ji Wu?
What a name.
Nine years old.
Graduated from Deep Blue Academy in Iron Mountain City.
Rank 12.
Body-type Spirit Master.
Martial Soul: Eyes…
Eyes?!
Wait, your eyes are your martial soul?!” The staff member almost shouted in shock.
When he noticed Mo Ji Wu’s reaction, Mo Ji Wu enveloped the area around them with his mental power to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
Then he replied, “Yes, my eyes are my martial soul.
Is there a problem?” “No, no problem.
It’s just rare to see a Body-type martial soul, let alone eyes.” The staff member replied quickly and took the standard letter of recommendation to register Mo Ji Wu.
Thanks to the letter, registration was easy and there were no issues.
He received two sets of school uniforms in the same size as his current clothes after refusing the ones in his exact size, along with a dorm key.
As for textbooks and learning materials, he wouldn’t get them until the first class.
He was told he’d been assigned to Year 1, Class 1.
Just as he was about to leave, he was surprised.
From what Wu Zhangkong had told him, Class 1 was for geniuses—students with at least Rank 16 soul power—but he didn’t care.
After paying a fee of 900 federal coins, Mo Ji Wu left for the dormitory.
He asked why there was a fee for mandatory education.
He was told it covered cases where a uniform got torn during combat or training, or if school property was accidentally destroyed during training.
It also included free meals—the lowest-rank food—and paid meals for nutritious food.
All of that was included in this small fee.
Small for a normal person, but not for a vagrant like him.
That made him understand it was reasonable.
He headed toward the dormitory, which was behind the teaching building on the east side of the academy campus.
The building had two floors, with each year using two floors from the bottom up.
Since he was a first-year student, he would be on the first or second floor.
After passing the teaching building, another building came into view behind it—the dormitory building.
The dormitory also had twelve floors, matching the teaching building, and followed the same rule: two floors per school year.
His room number was 210, meaning Room 10 on the second floor.
As he reached the building, he could hear the noise even before entering.
So he used his usual trick: he spread his soul power around him and filtered out the chaotic, annoying sounds, then entered the dorm.
He could see the reason for the chaos—parents were saying goodbye to their children.
Some had come from distant cities, meaning their children wouldn’t be able to return until the break between semesters, about a year.
So they were trying to spend as much time together as possible before parting.
Of course, it didn’t concern him.
If anything, it saddened him and reminded him of his wife, who had always accompanied him everywhere…
After climbing to the second floor and walking down the hall, a child suddenly flew out of an open door and landed on the floor in front of him.
The child’s handsome face burned with rage, reminding Mo Ji Wu of himself when he first stored his bag in the Storage Bracelet.
Because children’s emotions are purer, their anger is intense and hard to control, unlike adults.
And unlike lunatics like him, of course.
He stood and watched as the child got up.
The child glanced at him for half a second before charging back into the room, shouting, “You bastard!” His voice was so powerful it echoed through the entire floor.
Even with Mo Ji Wu’s mental power barrier, the voice broke through slightly, showing its intensity.
Of course, Mo Ji Wu wasn’t using his full strength.
Mo Ji Wu stepped forward and turned to look inside the room.
He saw a hole in the window, a broken bed, personal belongings scattered on the floor, and the child who had just entered was lying down again, apparently fighting with the other child—brown hair, green eyes, and an arrogant face—while the third roommate watched in fear from a distance.
Mo Ji Wu concluded that the hole in the window was made by throwing the fourth roommate through it.
As he watched, the beautiful child who had caught his attention first suddenly summoned a white soul ring.
‘A 10-year soul ring,’ Mo Ji Wu thought.
He noticed the source of his anger was the other children stepping on his things, which gave him his approval.
If someone had done that to his bag, he would’ve killed them.
Especially when he saw the flower embroidered on the blanket and remembered how his wife used to sew his clothes instead of buying them.
While watching, the arrogant child summoned a yellow 100-year soul ring, and a dagger appeared in his hands—apparently his martial soul.
Mo Ji Wu quietly summoned his own soul ring, ready to intervene if things turned dangerous.
But he saw that the arrogant child, despite his 100-year ring, couldn’t even cut the grass.
In fact, he got bound by it.
Mo Ji Wu activated his ability, sensing what was happening with his mental power.
His body was successfully enhanced as he continued watching.
Bam!
With a slapping sound, a fist struck the arrogant child’s face and sent him flying out of the room after the grass let him go.
Mo Ji Wu caught him successfully since he was watching directly from outside the room.
The force was shocking even to him, making him realize the strength of the grass-type child who sent him flying.
If Mo Ji Wu hadn’t caught him, he would’ve crashed into the wall and gotten stuck there.
Mo Ji Wu looked at the grass-type child in shock.
He hadn’t expected to find someone with strength similar to his own, and it seemed to be his natural power without an enhancement ability like his first ring’s ability.
After taking a few steps back with the dagger child, whose face was swollen and who had already lost consciousness—his body clearly couldn’t handle that sudden, powerful attack.
Suddenly, a voice shouted, “What’s going on here?!” …
Ten minutes later, Mo Ji Wu was in the Middle Academy teaching building in front of the dorm, in the office of a man named Long Hengxu, who appeared to be the director in charge of the Middle Division at East Sea Academy Middle-Advanced Academy.
“All of this over a blanket?” Long Hengxu shouted.
As Mo Ji Wu watched him scold the four children, he learned that the fourth child—the one the grass-type kid threw out the window—was named chu Zhanxi, and the scared child who didn’t intervene was named Yun Xiao.
As for the arrogant young man, he had just registered, so Long Hengxu hadn’t had time to review the new files and didn’t know his name yet.
The punishment was to place them permanently in Class 5 for this year.
As for the last child, his name was Tang Wulin.
He was praised for his ability to defeat two opponents alone in the fight, but he’d have to pay compensation for what was broken, which made his handsome face go pale.
Finally, Long Hengxu turned to him with the other children.