The young girl sitting opposite her appeared to be around the same age as Hu Liena, and her beauty was in no way inferior.
Her long black hair cascaded down her shoulders, and she wore a white dress embroidered with several blue cloud patterns. She gave off an aura of extreme gentleness, unlike Hu Liena's lively and mischievous temperament.
Hearing Hu Liena's outburst, the girl looked puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "Nana, who is this Ling Xiao you're talking about?"
"Yu'er, you should have heard about it from your elders. This year, there are two freshmen in the academy who possess Innate Full Soul Power. One is me, and the other is Ling Xiao."
Her bright eyes blinked as the little girl named Yu'er looked thoughtful.
"Mmm, I heard my father mention it before. So his name is Ling Xiao. Nana, how did you two meet?"
"How did we meet?"
Hu Liena tilted her head, her eyes twinkling as she recalled their first encounter—how she had released her soul skill to instant-kill Ling Xiao and teased him mercilessly.
A smile crept onto her face as she began telling her roommate about that day.
By the end of the story, both little girls were laughing out loud. After a few laughs, Yu'er's face flushed red. Feeling that laughing so loudly was unseemly, she covered her mouth and tried her best to stop.
"Alright, Nana, stop laughing. Since that's the case, you could go find him this afternoon to tell him. I remember hearing he's an orphan adopted by a Spirit Hall, not someone from one of the Great Clans within the Hall."
"Unlike you, who was taken as a disciple by the Pope, it's best if he doesn't miss out on these benefits from Spirit Hall Academy."
Hu Liena thought about it for a moment but eventually dismissed the idea.
"I'm not going. If no one tells him, I'll wait a few more days before informing him myself."
"That guy Ling Xiao is as simple-minded as a fool. When I took him to collect his student supplies, I checked his class list. After I told him, he didn't even bother to ask which class I was in. And here I was, treating him as my first friend before school even started!"
"I think I'll just wait until the first day of school when we run into each other in class to tell him."
As evening approached, Ling Xiao remained in a state of meditation within the dormitory.
Although cultivation was dry and tedious, the process of accumulating soul power bit by bit gave him a sense of accomplishment—it made him feel that he was truly becoming stronger.
Suddenly, a sound came from outside the door, as if someone had arrived. Ling Xiao opened his eyes, ending his session. Just as he stood up, the dormitory door swung open.
A boy walked in clutching a pile of supplies, with a tattered small cloth bag slung over his back. Upon entering and seeing Ling Xiao, the boy looked surprised. He paused, then gave a somewhat restrained nod and offered a greeting.
"Hello, my name is Xu Yu. I'm glad to be sharing a room with you."
"Hello, I'm Ling Xiao."
Sensing the boy's unease, Ling Xiao flashed a friendly smile to show his goodwill and returned the greeting.
Ling Xiao sized him up.
He wasn't exceptionally handsome, but his features were upright.
His skin was slightly dark, and his blue cloth clothes were made of the same material Ling Xiao had worn back at the orphanage—the most common fabric worn by commoners. However, there were no patches, and the fabric didn't look washed-out; it seemed to be a newly made outfit.
It looks like his background is similar to mine—not very well off, Ling Xiao thought.
He stepped forward and proactively helped Xu Yu tidy up, earning a string of grateful thanks from the boy. Eventually, the gratitude became so frequent it made Ling Xiao a bit uncomfortable. Once everything was settled, the two pulled their chairs closer and began to chat.
Through their conversation, Ling Xiao learned a bit about Xu Yu. Unlike Ling Xiao, who was directly adopted by Spirit Hall, Xu Yu was not an orphan. He came from a small city near Suotuo City called Black Forest City.
His parents ran a small business there and were both ordinary people.
The Spirit Hall Branches regularly performed free Martial Soul awakenings for local commoner children. When Xu Yu's parents sent him this time, the result exceeded their wildest expectations. He had an Innate Soul Power of Rank 8—a complete genius.
Naturally, he received an invitation from Spirit Hall. For the Xu family, who hadn't produced a soul master for generations, Xu Yu's awakening of such high-tier talent made his parents ecstatic. There was no way they would refuse.
Given the Xu family's situation, they could barely afford to put Xu Yu through a Junior Soul Master Academy; after that, he would have been on his own. An Advanced Academy was out of the question.
While joining one would preserve his freedom to choose his own path later, it would also make it difficult for him to develop smoothly. It would be a massive waste of his talent. Thus, he chose to join Spirit Hall.
With his talent, he would receive excellent cultivation at Spirit Hall Academy. After officially joining Spirit Hall, he could use his efforts to go further on the path of a soul master and earn plenty of money to send back home.
He might even find his other half while serving Spirit Hall—after all, Spirit Hall had plenty of female soul masters.
"Xu Yu, what is your Martial Soul? Can I see it?" Ling Xiao asked curiously.
"Sure."
Xu Yu had a good impression of his roommate.
He stood up, and a golden light emanated from his right palm. Suddenly, a metallic scepter appeared in his hand. The scepter was dazzling gold and extremely luxurious, standing over a head taller than Xu Yu.
The top was shaped like a fork or a pair of scissors, yet it didn't feel like a weapon; it looked incredibly noble.
"This is...?"
The appearance of the scepter Martial Soul was so eye-catching that Ling Xiao couldn't help but feel surprised. Although he knew Xu Yu's Innate Soul Power was high, he hadn't expected the Martial Soul itself to be so outstanding.
Furthermore, for some reason, he felt a flicker of familiarity toward Xu Yu, as if he had some vague memory of him. The moment the Martial Soul appeared, that feeling became even more pronounced.
Standing the scepter upright, Xu Yu seemed to gain a surge of confidence from his Martial Soul. Even though he was still dressed in ordinary clothes, his every movement now carried a hint of nobility.
Looking at the scepter, he spoke with a firm tone: "My Martial Soul is called the Golden Scepter. It is a Support System Martial Soul, and a high-tier one at that."
Golden Scepter! Support System, Xu Yu... Hearing the name and making the connection, Ling Xiao finally remembered.
In the future, during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament of Hu Liena's generation, didn't the Spirit Hall Academy's official team have a Soul Ancestor rank Support System soul master?
His Martial Soul was exactly this type of dazzling golden scepter. He was highly skilled; in that specific tournament, his support capabilities were likely second only to Ning Rongrong.