Putting the matter aside, Ling Xiao walked to where the Profound Sky Axe had landed. Exerting strength with his right hand, he pulled the axe from the ground.
A flash of blackish-red light flickered as he withdrew his Martial Soul into his body. He glanced at Yan and said, "Yan, I lost to you this time. However, the day will come when I definitely defeat you."
"Hmph, bring it on then." Yan maintained his arrogant demeanor, appearing as though he didn't take Ling Xiao to heart at all.
Ling Xiao shook his head, not letting the defeat get to him. After all, he had only recently awakened his Martial Soul and obtained his soul ring; the gap in their cultivation was significant, so losing was only natural.
"Ah, I almost forgot why I came here." Ling Xiao smacked his forehead.
He had been so preoccupied with the match against Yan that he nearly forgot his original purpose.
"Cough, cough!"
After a few light coughs, Ling Xiao said with a hint of embarrassment, "Uh, Big Brother Xie Yue, I just arrived at the academy today. What do I need to do first? I'm not sure where I should be going, and I don't even know where I'm staying yet."
"Haha," Xie Yue chuckled softly.
"I see. Nana had the exact same questions when she first arrived. First, you need to go to the Admissions Office to check your class and dormitory number. You'll also need to collect your school uniform, student badge, keys, and other items."
Seeing Ling Xiao still looking a bit troubled, Xie Yue pivoted.
"How about this? Nana has learned her way around the academy over the last few days. Let her take you to handle the paperwork!"
Turning to Hu Liena, Xie Yue smiled and said, "You take him there first. Yan and I still have some business to attend to."
Hu Liena agreed easily.
She had only taken a few steps with Ling Xiao when Xie Yue's voice rang out from behind them.
"Right, don't forget to take Ling Xiao to collect his monthly Soul Master benefits."
"I know!" Hearing her brother's reminder, Hu Liena waved her small arm to show she remembered.
Hu Liena led Ling Xiao out of the combat zone toward the Admissions Office. Looking at LingXiao—who was no longer injured but wore clothes that were now filthy and tattered—she put on a look of feigned disgust.
"See? If you had listened to me earlier, you wouldn't have been beaten, and your clothes wouldn't be torn and dirty like this."
"Haha."
Hearing Hu Liena's teasing, Ling Xiao couldn't help but laugh.
He didn't mind the state of his clothes; once they were ruined, they were ruined. Didn't he have a school uniform waiting for him anyway? Besides, as Xie Yue mentioned, he was now a Soul Master and could claim one Gold Soul Coin every month.
When he first arrived, he had learned a bit about the academy from Bishop Ralph. Studying, eating, and living at the academy didn't cost a dime, and there was no tuition. In this regard, Spirit Hall Academy was fundamentally different from other academies across the continent.
Other academies were dedicated to providing a learning environment for students. Upon graduation, students would leave to choose their own paths. While some might choose to stay as faculty, their numbers were limited.
Most would seek their own fortunes—either joining an Empire, seeking entry into a Great Sect, or returning to their own clans. Consequently, their tuition was high—at least high enough that ordinary commoners couldn't afford it.
In contrast, Spirit Hall Academy existed specifically to cultivate talent for Spirit Hall. Students graduating from here would join Spirit Hall directly. Therefore, while it was categorized as an Advanced Soul Master Academy, its nature was entirely different.
Generally speaking, daily living expenses at the academy weren't high. One Gold Soul Coin per month was more than enough, with plenty left over for clothes—provided one wasn't purchasing cultivation resources.
In fact, when Ling Xiao first discovered this, he was quite surprised. This policy of Spirit Hall Academy—and Spirit Hall as a whole—offered immense benefits and held a powerful attraction for commoners.
Ordinary commoners simply couldn't afford to attend a regular academy.
If a family produced a child with decent Martial Soul potential, sending them to Spirit Hall Academy was almost the best possible choice. Although the downside was a loss of freedom—as they were obligated to join Spirit Hall in the future—for an ordinary soul master.
Especially a commoner with no resources, joining Spirit Hall carried no real drawbacks other than the restricted freedom. Sometimes Ling Xiao even wondered if Spirit Hall's terrifying power stemmed from this unique model.
Combined with the Spirit Hall Branches scattered across the continent—which regularly performed Martial Soul awakenings for local commoners and scouted children with cultivation talent—Spirit Hall's strength was inevitable.
Not only was Spirit Hall's high-level combat power peak-tier, but their foundation of low-level soul masters was the greatest on the continent, far surpassing the Seven Sects and the two Great Empires.
The Empires weren't purely soul master organizations, so they were a separate matter; but even among the Seven Sects, their composition relied either on core clan lineage or using their prestige to attract outsiders.
Compared to Spirit Hall, those methods were far less costly, but also resulted in numbers that couldn't possibly compete. Spirit Hall was inclusive in its recruitment. As long as you had the talent to become a soul master and were willing to join, you were accepted.
Even if your talent was mediocre, you could become part of Spirit Hall's grassroots strength after training. Meanwhile, those geniuses born from commoners could become true powerhouses under Spirit Hall's heavy investment.
Other sects simply couldn't replicate this model.
They lacked the continent-wide manpower to perform awakenings for commoners or to proactively scout for young seedlings on such a massive scale. They relied more on their influence to attract free soul masters and waited for people to come to them.
Furthermore, the more powerful the sect, the higher the barrier to entry.
Clans like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan or the Elephant Armored Clan also established academies, but they were not like Spirit Hall Academy. Theirs were standard academies where they might send their own clan children for training.
While many graduates might eventually join the backing sect, it wasn't a guarantee, and the tuition fees alone filtered out a vast number of people.
Performing Martial Soul awakenings for commoners while simultaneously scouting for talent was both a service to the people and a boon to Spirit Hall's development.
After all, compared to those who joined Spirit Hall halfway through their lives, soul masters raised and cultivated by Spirit Hall from childhood were clearly more trustworthy.
Considering the eventual downfall of Spirit Hall, Tang San was indeed a major factor, but was it not also due to Spirit Hall's own strategic decisions?
In its later stages, Spirit Hall essentially offended the two Great Empires and half of the soul master world, becoming the enemy of nearly the entire continent.
Their frantic expansion and forced recruitment might have shown significant short-term results, but it led to a diluted, disorganized internal structure with declining cohesion—sowing the seeds for their ultimate destruction.
Seeing that Ling Xiao wasn't responding and was instead lost in thought with an occasional smirk, Hu Liena knit her brows, feeling a bit annoyed.
"Smiling and smiling... what's so funny?"
"Uh, sorry. I was just spacing out thinking about something." Ling Xiao felt a bit awkward.
He had accidentally ignored the girl beside him, and since she was currently his guide, he couldn't afford to offend her.
"Hehe, don't be mad. I apologize. As the disciple of the Pope, you should be the bigger person!" Ling Xiao said, sounding a bit wheedling.
While Ling Xiao focused his efforts on placating Hu Liena, on the other side, Yan and Xie Yue had already left the combat zone and were heading toward the cafeteria.
"Yan, what did you think of that match?" Xie Yue asked with interest.
"Hmph. Not bad. He's a bit stronger than I imagined,"
Yan replied coldly, glancing at Xie Yue.
He didn't seem particularly happy. Although he had won, the fact that he was forced to use his full strength during the final soul skill clash felt like a failure in his eyes.