After parting ways with Uncle Jack, Arthur and Jing Liu quickly found the academy map mentioned by the gatekeeper and realized just how vast the academy was—equivalent to half the size of Saint Village!
"Hmm, it seems the headmaster's office faces the central field of the academy. Let's head straight there to register!" Arthur said while examining the map.
"Alright! Let's go to the headmaster's office first so we can rest afterward in the part-time students' dormitory!" Jing Liu replied enthusiastically.
But before they could reach the headmaster's office, they were approached by a man dressed in black, appearing to be in his 30s, who seemed to be a teacher here.
"Hello, are you two here to register as part-time students?" the man asked.
"Yes, we were just heading there. Are you a teacher here? Could you guide us?" Jing Liu inquired curiously.
However, Arthur already knew who this person was—none other than the "World's Number One Theory Master," Yu Xiaogang! Though Arthur wasn't sure how much of his reputation was true, he had heard many unflattering depictions of him in his past world. In this world, ordinary spirit masters heavily relied on the absorption limits of spirit rings, so Arthur was somewhat skeptical about this so-called "Grandmaster." He decided to judge for himself whether to engage with him or not.
"No, I'm not a teacher here. But people here call me 'Grandmaster' or 'Master.' As for part-time student registration, it's no longer handled by the headmaster. It was transferred to the administrative staff under my supervision three months ago," Xiaogang explained politely.
"Ah, in that case, could you show us the way to the registration office?" Jing Liu asked.
"Of course! But first, can you show me the letters from the person who awakened your spirit souls?"
"Certainly. Here are mine and Jing Liu's," Arthur said, presenting the forged documents modified with a spirit-copying tool crafted by the dwarf master before their departure.
"Hmm... So your innate spirit power is level 7? That's quite good for an ordinary spirit master. But without proper guidance and careless spirit ring choices, you might not fully utilize the potential of your armor spirit," Xiaogang remarked calmly.
"Thank you, Master. But why only me? My older brother here also has innate spirit power at level 6!" Jing Liu protested, slightly annoyed.
"Oh, forgive me if my question was offensive. But I only mentor those with innate spirit power of level 7 or above to optimize my theories," Xiaogang replied.
Hearing this, Arthur—who already didn't have a favorable impression of Yu Xiaogang—liked him even less. Still, he understood that Xiaogang was simply obsessed with proving his theories. That didn't mean Arthur would outright oppose him, though.
"Then I'm sorry, but I can't accept your guidance unless my brother is included," Jing Liu stated firmly after catching Arthur's subtle eye signal.
"Hah? What a waste! Fine, the registration office is near the garden up ahead," Xiaogang sighed in disappointment.
"Understood, Master. We'll head there now," Arthur said as he and Jing Liu walked away.
"Hmm... What a shame. Without proper guidance, they'll probably only reach rank 50 or 60 at best," Xiaogang muttered to himself.
Indeed, the documents Arthur had shown were fabricated. They listed his "spirit soul" as "Wind Gauntlet" and Jing Liu's as "Ice Armor." There was a reason for this—Arthur could manipulate his energy into any form, so he described it as gauntlets. Meanwhile, Jing Liu could merge with Lumy, who could manifest as armor.
"How rude! Are we just going to let him walk away like that?!" Jing Liu fumed.
"No need to escalate things. The whole point of forging those documents was to avoid unnecessary attention so we can train in peace," Arthur reassured calmly.
Afterward, they located the registration office Xiaogang mentioned and successfully enrolled. They were assigned to Dormitory No. 7, designated for part-time students. Following the receptionist's directions, they finally arrived at the dormitory marked with a "7" on its plaque.
"Hello, is this Dormitory No. 7?" Arthur asked as he pushed open the door.
Upon entering, they were shocked to find the place in complete disarray—beds and chairs strewn about haphazardly!
"What?! This is where we're supposed to live?!" Jing Liu exclaimed, eyes wide.
"What happened here?! Even if we're part-time students, our dorm shouldn't look like this!" Arthur said.
"This was done by noble-born students who don't want us here!"
"What?! Who are you?! Show yourself! We're not afraid!" Jing Liu shouted, clenching his fists.
After a moment, the person who had spoken earlier emerged from behind the mess, followed by others, and approached Arthur and Jing Liu.
"Hi, we're last year's part-time students. Sorry you had to see this... but this is the reality. There's nothing we can do to fight back, even if we wanted to," one of them said dejectedly.
"What?! Why don't you fight back?! If this keeps up, they'll only get worse!" Arthur demanded.
"We can't... They have a level 12 spirit master from this year's batch who's being paid off. Even if we tried, we can't beat him!"
"Fine, then who's the strongest among you? Who's the leader?" Arthur asked.
"Leader?! What do you mean? We don't have one—our spirit powers are all about the same!"
Hearing this, Arthur realized that Dormitory No. 7 had no established hierarchy. He decided then and there to take charge and shape its traditions himself.
"Alright, then I'll lead you all to defeat those bullies! And if any of you can beat me, you can take this leader position from me!" Arthur declared confidently.
"What?! Why should we listen to you? What can you even do as our leader?!" challenged the largest guy in the group.
Instead of answering, Arthur acted—forming a hand from his energy, he swiftly rearranged the beds and chairs before lifting everyone into the air with ease!
"What?! What just happened?! Are we flying?!" one of them yelped in panic.
"Well?! Does anyone still dare to challenge me now?!" Arthur asked with a challenging smirk.
After witnessing Arthur effortlessly lift them all, they knew they stood no chance—if he could make them float, he could just as easily slam them into the ground!
"Alright! Tomorrow, we settle the score with those who keep messing with our dorm!" Jing Liu declared, to which everyone—including Arthur—nodded in agreement.
"LET'S GO!!!" they cheered in unison, ready for payback.
TO BE CONT