Chapter 2: Arrival at Notting College

The next day, accompanied by the village chief of Jiangrong Village, Mo Hui set off in a carriage toward Nottingham City.

Jiangrong Village was not far from Nottingham City, and with the help of the carriage, they arrived by midday.

After a brief inspection, Mo Hui and the village chief entered Nottingham City. The carriage continued on until it reached the gates of Nottingham Academy.

"Xiaohui, I have some business to attend to, so I won’t be accompanying you further. With your uncle working at the academy, I believe you won’t face any troubles here. But if you ever need any help from the villagers, be sure to write to us," the village chief said.

After giving Mo Hui a few parting words in front of the academy gate, the chief hurried away, clearly occupied with urgent matters.

Mo Hui picked up the large bundles in front of him and prepared to enter the academy.

"Stop! What are you doing here, kid? This isn’t a place you can just walk into!" a young gatekeeper called out, swiftly blocking Mo Hui’s path.

Seeing the gatekeeper intercept him, Mo Hui frowned slightly, recalling the scene from the original story when Tang San was first barred from entering Nottingham Academy. This gatekeeper seemed to be the same obstinate one.

However, Mo Hui remained calm. He pulled out a certificate issued by Su Yuntao and handed it to the gatekeeper. "Hello, I’m a work-study student from Jiangrong Village this year. This is a certificate issued by the Spirit Hall."

The gatekeeper took the certificate, glanced over it, and muttered, "Mo Hui, mutated sparrow spirit, Bobo, innate third-level spirit power... A golden phoenix really did come from this grass nest."

An innate third-level spirit power wasn’t particularly high, but at Nottingham’s beginner spirit master academy, it was considered quite a remarkable talent, ensuring a smooth path to graduation as a spirit master.

"Where are your parents?" the gatekeeper asked further.

Usually, at this stage, new students’ parents would offer the gatekeeper some extra money, making his life more comfortable.

Clearly, he was angling for a bribe, Mo Hui thought with a flicker of insight.

Of course, Mo Hui had money. His parents left him a considerable inheritance when they passed away. Although he had spent much over the years, he still had about two gold spirit coins left.

Combined with five silver spirit coins contributed by the villagers, he carried a total of 2.5 gold spirit coins on him.

But if he gave the gatekeeper money, there was no guarantee the man wouldn’t grow arrogant, and Mo Hui’s funds were meant for cultivation and living expenses, not for bribing gatekeepers.

"My parents are no longer alive, but I have an uncle teaching at the academy. His name is Mo Hen," Mo Hui decided to mention the relative he had working inside.

Upon hearing the name Mo Hen, the gatekeeper’s expression changed immediately, his tone softening and becoming obsequious. "Oh, so you’re related to Teacher Mo. No wonder you have such outstanding talent."

The gatekeeper didn’t know how close Mo Hui actually was to Mo Hen, but even the slightest connection was enough for him not to take any chances. Any teacher at the academy was at least a level twenty spirit master, far beyond the gatekeeper’s standing.

"May I enter now?" Mo Hui asked.

"Of course, go ahead."

The gatekeeper returned the certificate and quickly stepped back to his post, his heart pounding. He had hoped for a little extra money but nearly offended someone important instead. From now on, he’d have to be more careful.

"Thank you," Mo Hui replied.

Tucking the certificate away, Mo Hui carried his belongings and followed the academy’s signs to the Registrar’s Office.

*Knock knock.*

After a simple knock, Mo Hui entered.

Inside was a teacher who looked to be in his sixties. He looked surprised to see Mo Hui enter.

"Young man, are you here to register?" the Registrar, Director Su, asked, eyeing the bundles outside the door.

He was puzzled; it was still over two months before the official enrollment of new students, so this was unusually early.

Mo Hui nodded and placed the certificate issued by Su Yuntao on Director Su’s desk. "Teacher, I’m a work-study student from Jiangrong Village this year. Could you please help me register?"

Director Su glanced at the certificate. Indeed, this was a newly awakened spirit master with innate third-level spirit power and decent talent.

Before he could say more, a man in his thirties with ordinary features and dark green hair walked in.

Upon seeing Mo Hui standing before the desk, the man’s expression flickered in surprise.

"Xiaohui, why did you come alone?" Mo Hen asked with a hint of delight.

Though he had already learned that Mo Hui had awakened with innate third-level spirit power, the official start of the academy was still over two months away. He had planned to take a few days off and visit his nephew, but now Mo Hui had come early on his own.

"Uncle Mo Hen, I want to cultivate and become a spirit master as soon as possible, so I came early," Mo Hui smiled and greeted him.

Mo Hen had been kind to him after his parents’ deaths; otherwise, Mo Hui wouldn’t have refused the Spirit Hall’s recruitment and come to Nottingham Academy.

He believed that at least during the spirit master phase, with Mo Hen’s help, his conditions wouldn’t be much worse than those inside the Spirit Hall’s academy.

"You’re a bit early," Mo Hen said with a helpless smile.

Hearing this, Mo Hen chuckled. Reporting three months early wasn’t exactly by the rules, and Mo Hui was technically supposed to wait.

But rules could be flexible as long as they didn’t cross the line.

Mo Hen then turned to Director Su. "Director Su, this boy is my nephew, Mo Hui. Xiaohui, go ahead and greet Director Su."

"Hello, Director Su! I’m Mo Hui," Mo Hui said politely.

Seeing this, Director Su swallowed his original objection. He had intended to send Mo Hui away for breaking protocol, but if this was Mo Hen’s nephew, allowing an early enrollment was a minor matter.

He changed his tone. "Haha, Xiaohui, it’s good to see you so eager."

After some cordial conversation, Mo Hui’s registration was completed.

Next, Mo Hen led Mo Hui to the work-study students’ dormitory. At that moment, the work-study students were cleaning the academy, so the dormitory was empty.

Mo Hen put down Mo Hui’s belongings and said, "Xiaohui, you’ll stay here for these three months. When the semester officially begins, I’ll help you transfer to regular student status."

But Mo Hui shook his head. "Uncle Mo Hen, being a work-study student isn’t bad. I don’t have to pay tuition."

Nottingham Academy’s tuition was one gold spirit coin per semester. For noble spirit master families, this was nothing, but for Mo Hui, it was a considerable sum. Naturally, waiving tuition was preferable.

After considering Mo Hui’s words, Mo Hen said, "Alright. If you change your mind, just tell me. As for the cleaning work, you don’t have to do it. It pays only ten copper spirit coins a day, and it’s not worth sacrificing your cultivation time."

The cleaning tasks for work-study students were usually overseen by Mo Hen. Most work-study students came from impoverished families, so the income was crucial to their survival.

But Mo Hui didn’t need the money. Mo Hen was a spirit master above level twenty and received ten gold spirit coins monthly from the Spirit Hall, plus his teacher’s salary. There was no way he’d let his nephew go hungry.

Moreover, Mo Hui showed obvious talent as a spirit master and might even surpass him one day.

"Thank you, Uncle," Mo Hui said.

Hearing this, Mo Hen nodded. Mo Hui had worried that the cleaning chores might be mandatory and interfere with his cultivation, but since Mo Hen said otherwise, he wouldn’t bother with them.

After all, with 2.5 gold spirit coins on hand, Mo Hui wasn’t truly poor. He believed he could break through to level ten before spending it all. Then, he would earn one gold spirit coin per month.