Chapter 34 – Reporting In

“Hello elder sister, my name is Tang Wulin. I’m here to report,” Tang Wulin said politely.

Liu Yuxin was a bit surprised when she sized up the little boy in front of her. He looked to be about 11 or 12 years old, but he was actually a new student here to register. Since he definitely had an academy’s recommendation, this meant he was actually just nine years old!

Although he was young, he still had a very pretty appearance. That’s right. Liu Yuxin had to use ‘pretty’ to describe this boy’s appearance. He had large eyes and long eyelashes that even made her a bit jealous. In front of this pretty boy, she couldn’t help but be at a loss as her face cramped up a bit.

“Hello, my name is Liu Yuxin. I’m a first grader at the Eastsea Advanced Academy and I’m in charge of receiving new students this year. I’m your senior sister here. Come and fill out this form and afterwards, show me your recommendation letter from your elementary academy.”

Liu Yuxin passed a form to Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin relaxed a bit in his heart as he took a furtive glance at the senior sister in front of him.

Liu Yuxin watched as Tang Wulin filled out the form, and couldn’t help but read out loud as he did so, “Tang Wulin. Nine years old. Graduated from Glorybound City’s Red Mountain Elementary Academy. Rank 11 plant system Soul Master. martial soul: Bluesilver Grass. Ah! Your martial soul is Bluesilver Grass?”

Tang Wulin nodded.

Liu Yuxin smiled sweetly, “To be able to reach rank 11 at your age with a martial soul like Bluesilver Grass, it truly isn’t easy at all.”

When he didn’t hear the usual disdain in this senior sister’s words, Tang Wulin’s gained a much more favorable impression of her. He scratched his head as he said, “Elder sister, you’ll even recognize a Soul Master who has Bluesilver Grass for a martial soul?”

Liu Yuxin smiled. “Of course! Of course our academy recognizes it, even if it is just an alright martial soul. Soul Masters have been developing for several tens of thousands of years all the way until now. The martial soul isn’t nearly as important as it was back in ancient times. You can definitely improve it with spirit souls and furthermore, you’ll discover that martial souls won’t be that significant in your upper years.

“More importantly is your soul power rank and your talent with mechas. Afterall, a mecha can turn a Soul Master with an ordinary martial soul into a powerhouse! So you must cultivate properly, little brother. In the future you can also just call me Senior Sister.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister.” Tang Wulin wholeheartedly thanked this pretty senior sister. Her words had dispelled much of the worries Tang Wulin had upon first arriving in such a large city.

Liu Yuxin looked over Tang Wulin’s recommendation letter before stamping it and handing it back to him along with a small metal placard.

“Wear this metal placard around your neck as it’s proof that you’ve been admitted to the academy when you get to the gates. You still need to go check-in and receive your supplies. Get on the bus behind me and we’ll take off for the academy once a few more students arrive.”

Tang Wulin thanked her once again and greeted the others as he walked over to the big bus.

An upper grade student from Eastsea Academy who stood beside Liu Yuxin gave Tang Wulin a glance as his mouth twitched. “Yuxin, what are you telling that bumpkin? He’s already carrying such a big burden with his martial soul being Bluesilver Grass. That’s a trash martial soul and it’s not like all Bluesilver Grass martial souls possess the lineage of our senior’s Bluesilver King.”

Liu Yuxin stared at him wide eyed. “You can’t discriminate against our junior brother. He’s only nine years old and he was able to cultivate his Bluesilver Grass to the realm of Soul Master. How would you know if that Bluesilver Grass carries the lineage of a the king or not? Don’t cheat those younger than you, haven’t you ever heard of that before? Who knows if our pretty junior brother will become a proud son of heaven in the future.”

Tang Wulin hadn’t heard those words, otherwise he would have viewed this senior sister even better.

The Eastsea Academy’s bus was exceptionally wide and could hold fifty people. There were already some on the bus. Some of them were his peers, while the others were adults. These were clearly parents who had come to accompany their children to report.

A trace of envy flashed through Tang Wulin’s eyes. Even if his willpower surpassed his peer, he was still just a nine year old child in the end! How could he not wish for his mother and father to accompany him here?

He sat on a seat by the window and peered through to observe the unfamiliar city as he tightly hugged his arms. This was where he was going to live from now on.

After finding the Eastsea Academy’s bus, most of his nervousness had been dispelled. In this strange new environment, however, he still felt as lost and helpless as he did before.

He still clearly remembered the meaningful and heartfelt words his father had told him before he left.

“Lin Lin, you must remember that in this world, the only person you can completely trust and rely on is yourself. No matter what kind of setbacks you encounter, or bad affairs you run into, you have to ask yourself if this was just because you weren’t powerful enough.”

When these words were spoken to a nine-year-old child, they had a shocking impact. After separating from his mother and father, he could only rely on himself now.

He lowered his head and peered down at the modest looking Heavy Silver Rings on his wrists. The rings originally had extra space which could have been used for his luggage. Instead, Mang Tian had him bring his Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers in addition to the Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers he was already bringing. With only one eighth of a cubic meter of space, there naturally wouldn’t be much room left after those four hammers.

Tang Wulin closed his eyes and rested. He went over the words of his father and his teacher once more and thought, ‘I can do it!’ Subconsciously, he had regained his confidence.

Tang Wulin quickly fell asleep in a dazed state. When the bus began making its way to the academy, Tang Wulin woke up and looked out the window.

The bus was already full. Everyone else was accompanied by their parents, leaving him the only one who was sitting alone.

He watched as the scenery outside of the window changed to stores that lined the streets. The bus was travelling amongst an endless stream of vehicles. Urgency and the scent of steel permeated the atmosphere. Everyone on the streets were bustling about. At the very least, it was countless times busier than the streets of Glorybound City.

A lofty building slid into view after the 20 minute long bus ride. In front of them was a high wall.

“We’ve arrived at the academy. Please get off the bus now, everybody.” A familiar voice came from the front, drawing Tang Wulin’s attention. It was Senior Sister Liu Yuxin who had been sitting all the way at the front. She greeted all of the students, along with their parents, who had come to report in.

When Tang Wulin hastily got off the bus, Liu Yuxin instantly recognized him as this junior brother of hers had left a profound impression upon her. “Ah that’s right. Tang Wulin, come with me in a moment.”