Oakwood Soul Master Academy was located on the east side of the city.
Yuhao and Yun'er took the carriage near the merchant district. They passed through the central noble district and reached their destination in fifteen minutes.
High walls surrounded the academy grounds, and they could see a tall building on each side of the road leading to the academy.
As the carriage slowed, the coachman pointed to the left.
"There are two divisions of the academy," he said. "The Junior Division is on the left, which is for newly awakened children. The Intermediate Division is farther ahead on the right, and it is for older students."
'A good way to separate young children from older kids,' Yun'er noted silently.
The coachman drove the carriage towards the left and stopped before a massive gate.
Yuhao and Yun'er got off the carriage, and Yun'er paid the fare.
A crowd had already gathered outside the entrance. From the looks, these were mostly children similar to Yuhao, accompanied by their parents.
Nothing unexpected, as it was time for the new admission.
Two lines of people were stretched out before the gate. One was short with only three to four people, while the other had more than fifty people waiting.
Yun'er approached the last person in the longer line, a middle-aged man standing with a young child, and asked about the purpose of the different lines.
"This line is for Martial Soul Awakening," the man explained. Then pointed towards the shorter line. "That is for the children who have already awakened their martial soul. You can show the certificate and directly enter the academy."
Yun'er looked over, and she could see a guard checking the documents before allowing people to enter.
As for the longer line, another guard was collecting the money and directing the families toward a tent that was set up on the side.
"You'll need to pay one gold coin for awakening," The man reminded Yun'er. "Without it, there's no point lining up."
Yun'er nodded in understanding and thanked the man before lining up behind him.
Although Yuhao had already awakened. They had abandoned their old identities. It was best to create a new one by doing the martial soul awakening once again. Money was not an issue for them. They had this much money to spare.
An hour later, it was finally their turn.
Yun'er paid one gold coin fee, and they entered without any hassle.
A temporary platform had been erected within the grounds, and various instruments were arranged on top of it. The instructor explained the process. Yuhao was already aware of it, as it was the same as the one he had undergone before.
He placed his hand on the awakening crystal.
Yun'er watched him closely, her eyes fully focused on Yuhao. She had missed Yuhao's first awakening, and it was one of her regrets.
But the scene she anticipated did not appear.
Yuhao's eyes did not light up.
Instead, a faint chill seeped outward, cold air spreading around his body.
Yun'er blinked once, then again, as if doubting her own eyes.
'What is happening?'
Yun'er was surprised, and a lot of questions came to her mind. alas this was neither the right place nor time for them. She adjusted her expression and decided to ask Yuhao later about it.
After the awakening, it was an innate soul power test. The result was the same as before at level five. Only ten days had passed, and Yuhao's soul power was still at the same level.
Seeing the result, Yuhao was indifferent, but a look of joy appeared on the teacher's face.
His eyes were practically shining as if he had found a treasure.
'Another talented kid.' He thought*, 'The academy's luck is great for the second year in a row.'*
He looked at Yuhao, then at Yun'er as he cupped his fist.
"Greetings, Madam. I am Li Mo," he said. "May I know your names?"
Yuhao looked at the teacher and spoke calmly.
"Su Cheng."
"Su Qing'er, His mother," Yun'er added.
Li Mo nodded towards them, wrote the name on the certificate, and passed it over to Yun'er.
She lowered her eyes. The name Su Cheng was printed in bold letters along with an ice elemental martial soul and his innate soul power level of five.
Yuhao now possessed an entirely brand new identity.
The teacher handed his job to his assistant and led Yuhao and Yun'er inside. As they walked, he started explaining about the academy.
The junior division was divided into three grades, and each grade had multiple classes. The number of classes depended on how many students enrolled that year.
At the end of every year, students had to take a written and physical exam, and those who pass can advance to the next year, while those who failed had to repeat the year and pay extra tuition for that.
The final exams of each year were done in a similar format.
After three years of education, the students just need to show a little improvement in soul power, and they can graduate and move to the Intermediate Division.
Lin Mo explained everything with great enthusiasm. Yuhao understood why. An innate soul power of five might be unremarkable at a place like Shrek Academy, but here, in the outside world, it was still very rare.
Having a connection and a good relationship with a future Soul King was valuable for anyone.
He guided them through the halls till they reached the registration room.
There were no more tests. Once it's confirmed that a child has soul power, admission is pretty much guaranteed.
As for people who did not possess soul power, they could only leave disappointed. There is no place for them in the academy.
Inside, another staff member recorded Yuhao's information and asked for their details.
They did not have a permanent address, but teacher li helped them. He told them where they could go and provided a list of places where they could rent. The academy would update its records later.
"The yearly tuition fee is ten gold soul coins," the staff member said. "Non-refundable."
Yun'er took out her purse and paid without hesitation. The staff then handed over Yuhao's identity badge and other documents.
Hearing the fee amount, Yuhao was astonished.
Ten Gold Coins
For three years of junior education, it totals about thirty gold coins, not counting the accessories.
Everyone must understand that one gold coin was a middle-class family's monthly income, and they are only able to save some copper coins every month. So, even if this family saves for years, they might not be able to afford this kind of tuition.
'Unless one of the parents is already a soul master, it is really difficult to earn money so much money.' Yuhao concluded
'This is the plight of civilian-born children. They can't even enter an academy.'
A bitter taste rose in Yuhao's mouth. He realized why most of the civilian children don't go to any academy.
'They simply can't afford it.'
But the good thing was that the reverse was also True. If a child is born with high soul power in a civilian family, they change that family's fate.
'So what if the child can't go to the academy?They can still cultivate, albeit slowly, and become a soul master after many years.'
It's just a matter of time.
Yuhao glanced at Yun'er. His respect for her increased even further. His heart was really touched, thinking about the struggles his mother had gone through to nurture him and give him a good life.
After registration, the teacher li gave them a brief tour of the academy and showed them the facilities.
Yuhao's impression at the end was that soul masters really know how to do things in grand manner.
'It is just a junior academy. Was there really a need to build it so high and mighty?'
There was a very large training ground, a moderately sized library, and a fully functioning soul tool lab.
There was even a student dormitory and work study programs for poor students, even if it wasn't very effective.
"Our academy is the only one in nearby cities that has a soul tool lab. Even within the whole of Star Luo Empire, we are one of the best when it comes to soul engineering," teacher li said proudly.
From his tone, Yuhao could understand that he was most proud of this soul tool lab.
'No Wonder they charge such high fees,' he thought, 'This place must burn gold like nothing.'
'Even all the teachers look like soul masters. It must cost them a lot of money to hire them.'
Yuhao was quite satisfied with the facilities. The fee was at least justified.
They ate in the school cafeteria before the tour concluded. Teacher Li escorted them to the door, reminding them that the term would begin in ten days.
By the time they returned to the inn, it was already late evening. On their first day, they had achieved their goal in coming to this faraway place.
Once inside the room, Yun'er finally asked the doubt in her mind, "Your martial soul, why did it change?"
"It's an ability of my martial soul," Yuhao answered without hesitation. "I wanted to surprise you."
"My martial soul can help me create some small illusions. and I thought using this ability to disguise it would help us hide better."
Yun'er nodded, accepting this explanation.
But it wasn't the truth.
Yuhao had made it up. He couldn't tell her the real reason.
At the moment, when his hand touched the awakening crystal, Terra had intervened, creating an illusion that a cold mist was flowing around Yuhao.
As for why she had done so. She didn't explain.
Yuhao hadn't even had the chance to ask.
Still, the result suited them perfectly.
Who would ever suspect that this ice attribute martial soul child was Yuhao?
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