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Early the next morning, all the students of Class 1, Grade 1, had gathered on the Spirit Ice Square, fully prepared for their journey.
After a strict body search by the teachers of Shrek Academy, all their belongings were confiscated, leaving their pockets emptier than their faces.
Bai Xu and Gu Yue exchanged a glance before parting ways. Instead of setting off immediately, Bai Xu headed toward the work-study dormitory. Pushing the door open, he woke up Na'er, who was in the midst of meditation, and said, "Let's go. Come with me for the final exam. Gu Yue must have already told you about it."
Na'er asked, "Doesn't the exam require us to go alone? Won't I fail if I'm with you? And aren't there teachers monitoring your movements right now?"
Bai Xu glanced briefly behind him and replied with a faint smile, "It doesn't matter. I'm not interested in grades. Besides, those proctors won't even intervene if our lives are in danger. Just treat them as if they don't exist."
"Oh, alright then. Let's go." Na'er also wanted to see the world outside, to experience it from Bai Xu's perspective—to understand how he viewed the vast sea of humanity.
"By the way, wear a mask and a hat," Bai Xu added.
Na'er was puzzled. "Why?"
"You're too beautiful. Drawing unnecessary attention isn't always a good thing."
"Fine."
Once they were properly dressed, the two prepared to leave. They walked out of the work-study dormitory one after the other—a scene that would have been unremarkable, had Xu Xiaoyan not still been lingering around the academy. Her plan to act cute and scam some money had fallen through, and she had intended to return to the dormitory to fetch something. Little did she expect to witness this!
Xu Xiaoyan stared at the mysterious girl following Bai Xu and couldn't help but mutter, "Who would've thought Bai Xu had a beauty hidden away? Isn't he rooming with Gu Yue? I should tell her…"
She instinctively reached for her waist but grasped nothing—her storage soul tool had been confiscated, and her soul communicator was inside it. It would be a while before she could see Gu Yue.
Na'er poked Bai Xu and asked, "But we don't have any money now, do we? How are we supposed to take the soul train?"
"Let's borrow some from passersby first. We'll head to the Spirit Pagoda headquarters—Gu Yue should already be there."
As he spoke, Bai Xu stood at a street corner, eyeing the pedestrians. "Hey, uncle! I'm a student from Shrek Academy, but I forgot my storage soul tool. Could you lend me 100 federal coins for a ride to the Spirit Pagoda?"
The middle-aged man studied Bai Xu's demeanor. His refined bearing made the man initially believe his story—especially since Bai Xu had come from the direction of Shrek Academy across the street.
Most importantly, 100 federal coins wasn't much to him.
"Sure, young man. But why don't you just go back to the academy to get it?" the man said while pulling out his wallet.
Bai Xu sighed. "Ah, it's because of the teachers. They're running final exams and confiscated our storage soul tools. No money, no ID—I have no choice but to borrow some for a taxi. Oh, and uncle, could you leave me your soul communicator number? I'll pay you back once the exams are over."
The man seemed to empathize. "The teachers there really are something else. My son studies there too, and the pressure is immense. They say it's way too strict."
"Yeah, it's a bit much."
"Here, 100 federal coins. Don't worry about the soul communicator—just focus on your exams. Good luck! I've got to go now."
The man, who seemed to have other matters to attend to, soon left.
"That was… surprisingly easy? I thought with your abilities, you'd just rob someone for a huge sum!" Na'er watched the cheerful man walk away, feeling as though she was seeing the world from an entirely new angle.
"Shrek Academy's motto 'If you don't dare to stir trouble, you're mediocre' does make robbery seem fitting, but… it doesn't align with my principles. Don't go looking for trouble, but don't shy away from it either. Let's go—we're heading to the Spirit Pagoda."
Bai Xu raised his hand and hailed a taxi.
The driver was quite talkative. "Wow, this is incredible! I've got a top student from Shrek Academy in my car. Just your aura alone is extraordinary. But why didn't you call your family to pick you up? Why take a taxi?"
Bai Xu didn't deny it. "Uncle, not every Shrek student comes from a powerful family. I'm actually in debt for several million—I'll have to pay it off after graduation."
The driver nodded, finding Bai Xu's tone refreshingly down-to-earth. "You're really different from those noble-born soul masters. Their families always send luxurious soul cars to pick them up—those elongated, extravagant ones. Even though you're in debt, once you graduate, paying it off won't be a problem. You probably spent it all on soul rings, right? These days, you can't get far as a soul master without money. Even the once freely accessible Star Dou Forest now charges an entrance fee—and it's ridiculously expensive."
Na'er listened quietly to their conversation, not saying a word, though her curious gaze lingered on Bai Xu's profile. Why is he so willing to lower himself to chat with an ordinary person? Even calling him 'uncle'?
She couldn't understand. Even her brother—no, her brother had never interacted with people like this.
The driver continued, "Life has improved these days. Even though most of the wealth is in the hands of soul masters, at least us common folk at the bottom of society get some subsidies. Things are better than before."
"Uncle, how much do you make a month driving a taxi?"
"Hmm… at best, a little over 10,000, sometimes just a few thousand federal coins. But this is Shrek City—living costs are high. It's still hard to save anything."
Behind her mask, Na'er's lips twitched. To them, 10,000 federal coins wasn't even pocket change—just spare money.
But she remembered her own humble beginnings. Back then, her brother had to work tirelessly in blacksmithing just to save up for her first soul spirit.
"There's no helping it. This world belongs to you soul masters. Small fry like us can't get involved—we just hope to live out our lives in peace."
The mood suddenly turned heavy. Na'er frowned, turning her gaze out the window.
The driver's words were painfully clear: the world was ruled by soul masters. Those without soul power had no voice, and no one cared about improving their lives—because everyone was too busy trying to become soul masters themselves.
Bai Xu didn't respond, also looking out the window. There was nothing he could do about their circumstances. In a world where power resided in the individual, conventional logic no longer applied.
He just felt a strange sense of familiarity. Every time he rode in a vehicle, it reminded him of his past life—a memory that hadn't faded but had instead grown sharper with his cultivation.
Sometimes, he even wondered: Could this all just be a dream?
In the end, everything was fleeting.
After a few minutes of silence, the driver changed the subject, and the two resumed chatting. Forty minutes passed quickly, and soon they arrived at the entrance of the Spirit Pagoda headquarters.
"We're here. Thanks, and goodbye!"
"Goodbye, soul master! It was an honor speaking with you. Today was the happiest day I've had since I started driving."
Na'er watched the taxi drive away and murmured, "The fate of small people… will never truly be in their own hands."
Bai Xu, however, smiled. "Small people have their own perseverance and joys. Our lives aren't any nobler than theirs—we're all just passing travelers in this world."
He hadn't offered any material help—just conversation, mostly listening.
Na'er stared at Bai Xu's back and whispered, "Passing travelers… Hah, true. Someone like me, with no future, has no right to look down on others from on high."