Three months later, Mo Bai and his group embarked on their journey to Nottingham City.
"The dean of Notting Academy is said to be a Soul Master whose cultivation has reached the Soul Sect level. He is one of the most important figures in the entire Notting City. When you get to the academy, you must listen to the dean and the teachers. Otherwise, when the teachers punish you, no one will be able to save you."
The village chief gave Mo Bai and the other two many instructions on things to pay attention to.
"Yes, Grandpa Village Chief, this is the third time you've said that." Unable to bear the old village chief's nagging any longer, Mo Bai replied somewhat impatiently.
"When we get to the city, I'll take you to buy bedding first, and then we'll go to Notting College," the village chief instructed.
"I brought my own bedding, so I don't need to buy any more." Mo Bai pointed to his animal skin bedding.
The other two children were quite happy to hear about getting bedding.
"The village provides every student who goes to the Soul Master Academy with a brand-new set of bedding and daily necessities. This is a rule set by the whole village, and you are no exception," the village chief said solemnly.
Seeing the village elder's serious expression, Mo Bai said nothing more.
At noon, the village chief finally brought Mo Bai and the other two, who had all the necessary supplies, to Notting Academy.
The village chief parked the carriage, took two jugs of Baihua wine, and walked to the gatehouse, calling out, "Young men, I am the village chief of Baihua Village. Today, I've brought the children of our village to enroll in school." He calmly placed the wine jugs on the table inside the gatehouse window.
The gatekeeper recognized the visitor and quickly came forward. "It's Village Chief Li! Three more children from Hundred Flowers Village have acquired soul power this year? Congratulations!" His face was full of smiles.
Hearing the doorman flatter him, the village chief was also a little proud, "It's all thanks to the children's hard work. I've also benefited from the children's success in being able to come to Notting College every year."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the gatekeeper let the village elder lead Mo Bai and the other two into the academy.
"What good fortune has Baihua Village had? They seem to produce children with soul power every year!" A younger gatekeeper grumbled as he watched the village elder go inside.
"It seems that Hundred Flowers Village will become one of the most powerful forces in Notting City in the future," the older gatekeeper remarked with emotion.
It wasn't until he entered the academy that Mo Bai realized it was much larger than he had imagined. A junior soul master academy, its area was no smaller than any university on Earth.
The village chief drove the three of them around the academy, finally stopping in front of a magnificent building. Then, the village chief tried to lift a wine barrel from the car, but failed on his first attempt.
Seeing this, Mo Bai quickly took two steps, and with a little effort, he hoisted the wine barrel, which was as tall as himself, onto his shoulder. "Where are we going?" Mo Bai asked, his expression as usual.
The village chief and the other two children were startled, but seeing that Mo Bai was neither red-faced nor out of breath, they immediately led the way, knocked on the door of a room, and only opened the door and went in after the person inside gave permission.
"Hello, teacher. I am the village chief of Baihua Village, and I have brought the children to enroll in school." The old village chief took out the Spirit Hall certificate issued by Su Yuntao and respectfully addressed an elderly teacher.
"It's you! Another child from your village has successfully gained soul power this year." Putting the certificate aside, the teacher looked behind the village chief and noticed that Mo Bai was carrying a wine barrel weighing over 100 pounds. Seeing that Mo Bai's expression was normal, he was also very shocked.
"Child, put the wine barrel there first," the teacher said, pointing to a spot. "These three are the children from your Hundred Flowers Village who possess soul power this year," the teacher asked the village chief.
"right"
"What's his name?" The teacher asked, pointing to Mo Bai as he picked up the certificate.
"My name is Mo Bai," Mo Bai said before the village chief could answer.
Upon hearing Mo Bai introduce himself and seeing the certificate in his hand, the teacher was clearly puzzled. "Blood Martial Soul, and extraordinary strength, how could his innate soul power only be half a level?" "What a pity," the teacher sighed softly, as if he had thought of something.
"Li Kang and Li Mei enrolled as regular students, while Mo Bai enrolled as a work-study student. However, there are still a few days before the start of the new semester. These kids can stay here for now. You know where the dormitories are, so just take them there."
The teacher didn't waste any time chatting; he explained everything that needed to be explained and then let them leave.
After settling in, Mo Bai and the village elder returned to the office building.
The village elder knocked on the door of the dean's office.
"Come in," a middle-aged man's voice called out, and the village elder led Mo Bai inside.
"Xiao Bai, put the wine here," the village elder turned around and bowed again, "Your Excellency, Dean."
At this moment, the dean said in a calm tone, "Is this the person from Hundred Flowers Village who will become a Soul Master this year?" The dean of Notting Academy was a middle-aged man in his fifties. He was also a little surprised to see Mo Bai carrying a wine barrel, but he did not show it.
"There are two other children, but they can't help, so we didn't let them come," the village chief replied respectfully, then took out Mo Bai's certificate, "This is the child's certificate."
The dean looked at the certificate, shook his head, and said, "Cultivate diligently. Even if you can't become a great Soul Master in the future, you can still live a comfortable life."
Upon seeing the proof, the dean understood the village chief's intention, but innate soul power is directly related to a soul master's talent, and can almost be said to be entirely determined by fate, so how could he possibly resolve it?
This is the only kind of mild encouragement we can offer.
Upon hearing this, the village chief's expression darkened, but he still composed himself and said, "Your Excellency, the children in our village have received a great deal of care at the academy, and we really don't know how to express our gratitude. In the past two years, we have made some money by brewing wine, so the villagers would like to donate two percent of the profits to Notting College."
The dean was clearly confused by what the village elder had said.
Over the years, he had seen many parents give gifts to teachers in order to get their children to receive special attention, but this was the first time he had seen someone donate money directly to the college.
Since this was the first time they had encountered such a situation, the dean did not agree rashly. Instead, he said, "The students are all ambitious and have already paid their tuition fees. The village chief does not need to do this."
"The students are ambitious, and their tuition fees are all paid to the Empire. Our donation is to thank Notting Academy and its teachers," the village chief explained in order to get the dean's approval.
"The academy's funding comes from the Empire. If we accept donations from Hundred Flowers Village, how will we explain this to the Empire?"
Unlike other primary soul master academies in Notting City, Notting Academy is an imperial institution that trains talent for the empire.
"Our donation is merely to express our gratitude; we have absolutely no other intentions," the village elder said somewhat anxiously. It would be troublesome if the dean misunderstood that Hundred Flowers Village wanted to interfere in the academy's affairs.
Seeing the village chief's panic, the dean was speechless. Your Hundred Flowers Village doesn't even have a single first-ring Soul Master. Don't even mention donating two percent, even if you donate twenty percent, you wouldn't be qualified to affect the academy. What he was really worried about was the empire's accountability.
At this moment, Mo Bai stepped forward and said, "Dean, Notting Academy is established by the Empire and is also the only academy in Notting City that accepts work-study students. Our Hundred Flowers Village used to be as poor and backward as the hometowns of those work-study students. Now that Hundred Flowers Village is rich, we also want to help other poor people. So we donated to the academy not only to thank the teachers of the academy, but also to help those work-study students through the academy so that they can grow and succeed better."
Hearing what Mo Bai said, the dean pondered for a long time, "Alas, it is rare for Baihua Village to have such kindness. On behalf of the teachers in need and those work-study students, I thank Baihua Village."
The dean expressed his gratitude, which was considered an acceptance of the donation. Mo Bai and his companion did not linger and then took their leave.
"That kid is quite smart," the dean remarked with some emotion.
As the dean, he could certainly refuse Baihua Village's donation on behalf of the college, but Mo Bai's connection of the donation with helping work-study students made it impossible for him to refuse.
After reaching an agreement with Notting Academy, the village chief and Mo Bai headed straight for the Martial Soul Hall in Notting City.
Originally, the village chief planned to go to the Spirit Hall and the City Lord's Mansion alone. The reason he brought Mo Bai to see the Dean was mainly to have the Dean examine Mo Bai's innate soul power. However, after what just happened, the village chief felt that he was not confident going to the Spirit Hall and the City Lord's Mansion alone, so he brought Mo Bai along.
Mo Bai had always wanted to see the Spirit Hall and the City Lord's Mansion, so he naturally came along.
Because the Spirit Hall orders Hundred Flowers Wine every year when the new wine is released, and the village chief personally delivers it to their door each time, the gatekeeper did not stop the two. After entering the Spirit Hall, the two met Su Yuntao.
Master Yuntao
"I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. Please follow me."
Without wasting words, Su Yuntao led the two directly to the chief's office. "Chief, these two are from Baihua Village, and this child is the one I mentioned before."
The head of the Spirit Hall in Notting City was a robust man who looked to be about fifty years old. After listening to Su Yuntao's introduction, he took out a spirit power testing crystal and asked Mo Bai to step forward to test his spirit power. The result was naturally as expected.
"It is indeed strange. Logically speaking, the more important the human body tissue the spirit is, the higher the spirit quality. Given the importance of blood, one's innate spirit power should not be only half a level." Looking at Mo Bai, the person in charge was also puzzled. "If one's innate spirit power can reach level five, one can go directly to the Spirit Hall's primary spirit master academy."
He sighed softly, not dwelling on it too much; there are plenty of regrets in this world.
"You must be Village Chief Li from Hundred Flowers Village. My surname is Niu, and I'm the head of the Spirit Hall in Notting City," Chief Niu introduced himself.
"Greetings, Lord Steward," the village elder hurriedly bowed. He had been to the Spirit Hall several times, but had never seen this Lord Steward before. Mo Bai also stepped back behind the village elder and bowed in return.
"Village Chief Li, you're too kind. I've already heard from Yun Tao about Baihua Village's donation. We are very grateful for Baihua Village's support of the Spirit Hall."
Manager Niu said with a hint of sincerity, "Although I am too old to be promoted, with this achievement, my retirement benefits will at least be raised by one level."
"Although our donation isn't much, it's an honor to contribute to the Spirit Hall of Notting City." The village elder was very humble and respectful.
"The village chief is mistaken," said Manager Niu in a somewhat mysterious manner.
Seeing the village chief's confusion, he immediately explained, "In the past, in order to promote the rapid development of the Spirit Halls in various regions, Spirit City stipulated that each Spirit Hall should retain three-tenths of the local donations it received and hand them over to the government. This did indeed promote the rapid development of the Spirit Halls in various regions, but it also led to some branch halls in various regions bullying local forces. Therefore, in recent years, the Spirit Hall has reformed the system, changing the original policy of retaining three-tenths and handing over to the government, and all donations are now uniformly allocated by Spirit City. Now, if there are any donations, only the deacons in charge of the relevant specific affairs and the heads of the branch halls can earn more merit."
Su Yuntao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself, "Is this something I can tell outsiders?"
"The Spirit Hall truly cares about the people," the village chief said, feeling much more at ease after hearing the explanation from the person in charge.
For Hundred Flowers Village, the Spirit Hall is, after all, a legendary entity. Even though the Spirit Hall has declared that it will not interfere with the forces within the Empire, the village chief is still afraid that the Spirit Hall will secretly control Hundred Flowers Village.
After the village chief and the person in charge agreed on the specific details of the donation, the two of them took their leave.
...
After leaving the Spirit Hall, the village chief led Mo Bai straight to the city lord's mansion.
The city lord is appointed by the empire. Although the name sounds like the lord of a city, the actual nature of the position is similar to that of a local official on Earth.
Because they had delivered wine and paid taxes here before, the guards at the city lord's mansion did not stop the two.
Upon entering the city lord's mansion, the village chief asked the steward for an introduction. The steward, clearly experienced in this situation many times, not only did not refuse but also led the two to the city lord's study with practiced ease.
"In just over two years, Baihua Village is considered one of the latecomers among the many merchants in Notting City," the steward muttered to himself as he introduced the newcomers to the city lord.
"What do you want with me?" His tone carried a newfound authority.
Compared to the Dean of Notting Academy and the head of the Spirit Hall, the City Lord was much younger, appearing to be in his forties. His cultivation level was also lower than the Dean and the head of the Spirit Hall. Mo Bai judged that the City Lord's current level should be Soul Venerable, which was normal, since the City Lord was younger and had more authority than the Dean and the head of the Spirit Hall.
"Greetings, Lord City Lord," the village chief and Mo Bai bowed respectfully.
"Sir, as you know, our Hundred Flowers Village has made a lot of money from Hundred Flowers Wine in the past two years, and we have also paid our taxes on time," the village chief said somewhat nervously. After all, this was his first time meeting the city lord, unlike when he met Steward Niu, who was introduced by someone he knew.
The city lord nodded slightly. Hundred Flowers Village had indeed done a good job, paying taxes on time and voluntarily, which was rare even in Notting City.
"Although taxes have been paid, they are paid to the Empire. The village's development is entirely due to Notting City's relaxed and stable business environment. The villagers are extremely grateful to the lords of the city." Since it was the first time meeting the city lord, the village chief expressed his gratitude first.
The city lord smiled and said modestly, "It is our duty," but inwardly he was pleased, knowing that the gift-giving would be next.
Seeing that the city lord was in a good mood, the village chief felt relieved. "After discussion among the villagers, our Hundred Flowers Village would like to offer half of our profits as a token of gratitude to the city lord's mansion..."
Before the village chief could finish speaking, the city lord flew into a rage, "How dare you, Hundred Flowers Village, openly bribe me!" At the same time, his own Soul Venerable power erupted, and the village chief was so shocked that he staggered back several steps and almost fell over.
The steward standing to the side looked at the village chief in shock, "Bribing the city lord's mansion, is this an attempt to kill the city lord's mansion?"
"We are not offering bribes, we simply want to thank the lords of the city lord's mansion and would like to donate some money to build up Notting City," the village chief hurriedly explained.
"Building Nottingham City, that sounds nice, but who can prove that you're donating money to build Nottingham City? How can you prove that this money will be used to build Nottingham City?" The city lord was still furious.
"This...this..."
Under the city lord's imposing presence, the village chief was too frightened to speak.
Mo Bai was somewhat taken aback. It was clear that the city lord was genuinely angry, not feigning it. What was going on? Douluo Continent was indeed a feudal society, so how could a city lord be truly angry about being bribed? This was impossible.
Although he hadn't figured it out yet, Mo Bai reacted quickly, "The city lord said he couldn't prove that the money was used to build Notting City, so why not let everyone in the city prove it together?"
The city lord was somewhat surprised to see that Mo Bai remained unmoved by his outburst. Now that Mo Bai spoke, the city lord slightly restrained his aura. Even with his Soul Venerable cultivation, it was very difficult for him to unleash that kind of power.
"The whole city testifies to this, that sounds nice. He just bribed the city lord's mansion, and I won't hold it against you. But don't think that just because you're a child, I'll treat you differently. If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll bring you to justice as well."
"Xiao Bai…" The village chief was worried that the city lord would really punish Mo Bai, but before he could finish speaking, Mo Bai stopped him.
"Lord of the city, if we set up the donated money as a city construction fund, regularly disclose the financial details to the whole city, and invite the most respected people in Notting City to form a free supervisory committee to monitor the use of the fund at all times, I wonder if that would count as having the whole city as witnesses?" Mo Bai said, feeling uneasy as he explained the method.
It's clear that the city lord has defined the donation to the city lord's mansion as bribery. Although they did intend to bribe at first, they now have to distinguish the nature of the donation from bribery, or they'll be in trouble today.
Upon hearing Mo Bai's method, the city lord was taken aback. This method might not be impossible.
As an imperial official, the city lord also wanted to achieve something so that he could advance in his career.
However, achieving results requires financial support. The funds allocated by the empire, after being skimmed off by layers of higher authorities, barely cover the city's operations by the time they reach Notting City. There are simply no extra funds to support its construction.
If a city development fund could be established, he would have spare money to develop infrastructure.
Under normal circumstances, given the city lord's age and talent in cultivation, becoming the city lord of Notting City would be his limit. However, if he has outstanding achievements, it is not impossible for him to advance further.
"Arrange for them to rest in the guest rooms first," the city lord instructed the steward standing to the side.
The more the city lord thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Although it was already dusk, he still summoned the officials of the city lord's mansion to discuss it.
......................
You can now download the complete English PDF of the story you're currently reading at my Patreon shop. I also have a wide variety of other books available there for you to explore!
I've just uploaded several new Adult (18+) Douluo fanfics. Feel free to head over and check them out. before checking out please be caution because most of the fanfictions contains incest, ntr rape loli like things.
Here are titles of recenlty uploaded Douluo adult fanfics on Patreon:
" Douluo Writing a Diary, Qian Renxue Was Ruined "
" Bibi Dong: Xiao Gang, You Will Understand Me, Right? (18+) "
" Douluo: Inheriting Destruction and Life, Supreme Blue Silver Grass "
" Douluo: I Actually Have a Tentacle Martial Soul (18+) "
" Douluo: Ye Xishui, the Nanny, Defeats the God King Tang San (18+) "
" Douluo: Infinite Evolution from Blue Silver Grass "
" Douluo: Plane Master (18+) "
" Douluo: Legend of the Divine Realm R18 Story — Original Sin of Desire (18+) "
" Douluo 2: Unrivaled Tang Sect R18 Story —The Snow Empress and the Holy Spirit Cult (18+) "
" Douluo Side Story: Xiao Wu is Manipulated by her Son-In-Law Huo Yuhao's Huge P*nis (18+) "
" Douluo: Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong's SM Training (18+) "
" Douluo: Cultivating Pure Flesh (18+) "
" Douluo: The Legend of the Madman (18+) "
" Lust Douluo: Xiao Wu's Final Consciousness R*forged into a D*ll After Being Captured by a Titled Douluo (18+) "
" Sl*t Douluo: Poor Ye Qing was brut*lly r@p#d to de@th (18+) "
" Douluo: Starting with Hypn0tic Time Stop Dual Martial Souls! (18+) "
" Douluo: Unlocking Bibi Dong's Hidden Side (18+) "
many more up to 310+ are available.
Your support means a lot—thanks in advance, legends!
Patreon.com/UIGOD
(End of Chapter)