"Oh, brother, on duty again today?"
As he passed by the gate, Lin Jin greeted the guard warmly.
Hou Wei looked a little surprised when he heard the familiar voice.
Then, noticing Lin Jin leading an old horse, a smile spread across his face.
He joked, "Haven't seen you in a while. What have you been up to?"
Just as he finished speaking, he caught sight of Shen Xin, who was seated on the horse.
Raising an eyebrow, he teased, "And who's this little one? So cute."
"Hey, don't joke around. She's my student."
Lin Jin's tone turned serious as he noticed the shifting expressions of those around them.
This was the border of the Heaven Dou Empire, a place where the illegal trade of people—an unspeakable and detested crime—still lingered in the shadows.
Traffickers, if caught, were burned alive on the spot.
The guard in front of him, Hou Wei, was someone Lin Jin had met when he first arrived in Blackstone City.
A warm and helpful man, Hou Wei's guidance back then had saved him considerable trouble.
Over time, especially during his frequent visits while preparing for the Academy, they'd grown familiar with each other.
"Student? Wait—you're a teacher now?" Hou Wei looked at him skeptically.
"Not exactly. I'm a spirit master." Lin Jin grinned, but Hou Wei's expression only grew more doubtful, as if saying, Yeah, right.
Quit messing with me.
"I'm also a tutor at the Spirit Master Academy. Not bad, huh?"
Hou Wei replied with a half-hearted,
"Sure, sure," then turned to Shen Xin with a more serious expression.
"Is he really your tutor?"
Shen Xin nodded quickly.
Lin Jin frowned, clearly displeased.
"Brother, you don't trust me at all. Just wait until one of your kids applies to Spirit Master Academy—then we'll see who's laughing."
Hou Wei gave him a deadpan look, still unconvinced.
"When that day comes, I'll be begging you for help, huh?"
"You said it!"
"I said it."
"Remember that!" Lin Jin stomped off, feeling somewhat wronged.
'Can't they see the clear aura of a Dean radiating off me? Do I need to unleash my martial spirit and first spirit skill just to prove it?'
"Shen Xin, don't I look like a dean to you?"
"Definitely!" Shen Xin replied without hesitation.
After all, she'd never actually seen the dean of a Spirit Master Academy. For all she knew, maybe they were this quirky.
Lin Jin nodded, satisfied.
Just inside the gate, there was a designated area for stabling horses. Lin Jin approached the person in charge.
The stablekeeper glanced at the old horse, which was panting heavily and clearly exhausted.
A strained, apologetic smile spread across his face.
"I'm sorry, sir... we can't accept your horse here."
"Why not?" Lin Jin's eyes narrowed. Was this guy trying to cause trouble?
The man looked uneasy.
"Your horse seems... very old and frail. After such intense exertion, I'm afraid..."
He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. It was clear he didn't want the responsibility if the horse were to die in his care.
Lin Jin understood immediately. The man was worried he'd be blamed for the horse's death and possibly charged for compensation.
And while the concern was understandable, did Lin Jin really look like someone who'd try to scam a stable over an old horse?
"Fine. Don't give me a number tag. I'll handle the deposit later. Is that acceptable?"
The stablekeeper blinked in surprise, then hesitantly asked, "Really?"
"How much could an old horse possibly be worth? I doubt you'd risk your reputation over it."
"Well, if you say so." Lin Jin nodded, seemingly satisfied.
Of course, he didn't say what he was really thinking: If this guy dares to mess with my horse, I won't let him off easily!
"Let's go."
After stabling the old horse, Lin Jin led Shen Xin slowly toward Spirit Hall.
Although Blackstone City wasn't a main capital, its strategic location gave it importance.
Because of that, Spirit Hall here was an official subsidiary hall, overseen by a Spirit Emperor—one of significant authority.
Upon reaching the hall, Lin Jin explained their purpose to the guard, and they were allowed entry.
The interior of Spirit Hall exuded opulence befitting the most powerful organization on the continent.
Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead, a golden dome loomed above, and sunlight filtered softly through stained glass windows, casting the room in a surreal, colorful haze.
"I can smell the rotten stench of capitalism." Lin Jin muttered under his breath.
"The corruption of evil... I sure did miss this." (T/N: Pure Nostalgia)
Just past the entrance was a wide hall with a reception counter straight ahead.
Several corridors branched off to either side, disappearing into unknown chambers.
A female spirit master in standard Spirit Hall uniform greeted them with a courteous smile as they approached the counter.
"Hello. How can I help you?"
"This child just broke through to Spirit Master rank. We're here to register her."
"Understood. Please take the second corridor on the left—the room at the very end."
Lin Jin nodded in thanks and led Shen Xin down the indicated passage.
The corridor was narrow and quiet, lit by soft lanterns lining the walls.
As they neared the final room, the sound of loud, rhythmic snoring greeted them.
Upon entering, they saw a young spirit master slumped over a desk, fast asleep, completely unaware of their presence.
"Hey! Brother, wake up! Time to earn that paycheck!" Lin Jin rapped on the table, amused.
Is working at Hall really this relaxed?
"Ah—whuh... huh? Sorry!"
The young man jolted upright, blinking sleepily as he wiped away the trail of drool from the corner of his mouth.
"My bad, my bad. People rarely show up to register these days. Sometimes we go days without seeing anyone, so I got a little lazy."
He scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled.
Lin Jin narrowed his eyes, and a flicker of light passed through them. In his mind, the youth's details appeared automatically.
[Spirit Elder]
[Spiril Hall]
[Martial Spirit: Qingping Gourd]
[Spirit Power: Level 39]
"Level 39, huh? Not bad at all," Lin Jin murmured.
Unfortunately, the spirit master caught that.
"Huh? What did you say?"
He was rummaging through a cabinet behind him, searching for the crystal ball used to measure spirit power.
He glanced back at Lin Jin with a puzzled look.
"You must've misheard."
"Hmm..."
The youth gave him a suspicious look before turning back to his search.
"Aha! Found it!"
He turned around triumphantly, holding the glowing crystal ball in his hands.
After eyeing the pair, he asked,
"Alright, which one of you is registering?"