Chapter 24: Visiting Tiandou Royal Academy, Mo Hui’s Disappointment

"Let's head up the mountain. Although the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy doesn't allow outsiders, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan has close ties with the Heaven Dou imperial family, and many branch disciples of our clan study there. If we want to visit, we just need to say the word."

With those words, Ning Yuan led Mo Hui into the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. Along the way, at every stop, Ning Yuan explained the specific purpose of the facilities, leaving Mo Hui wide-eyed with amazement.

"Wait a moment!"

However, not long after they had entered the academy grounds, a voice called out to them from behind.

The two turned around to see a man in his thirties, dressed in simple clothing with an ordinary appearance, walking toward them. He asked, "You are not students of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. How did you get in?"

Seeing someone inquiring, Ning Yuan immediately replied, "Greetings, Teacher Qin. I am Ning Yuan, an outer disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."

Although Ning Yuan was not much younger than the man before him, he treated him with exceptional respect, for he had already recognized who he was. Ning Yuan was twenty-six years old but only possessed a soul power level of 36, while the man before him, though only four years his senior, had already reached level 56. The gap between them was more than just a single rank.

"You recognize me?" A hint of surprise flashed in Qin Ming's eyes. He had not expected the man before him to know his identity.

Ning Yuan smiled slightly. "Teacher Qin has attained the cultivation of a Soul King at only thirty years of age, and you are expected to break through to the rank of Soul Emperor in the next few years. Naturally, I would recognize such a genius."

"I see." Qin Ming nodded, then asked, "So, what brings you to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy?"

"It is not my business, but this young brother's," Ning Yuan said, shaking his head. He patted Mo Hui on the shoulder and added, "This young brother has come to Heaven Dou City to pursue his studies. He admires the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy deeply, so I brought him here to take a look around."

As he spoke, Ning Yuan gave Mo Hui a subtle wink.

"Greetings, Teacher Qin. My name is Mo Hui." Mo Hui understood immediately and greeted Qin Ming with a smile. He also remembered who Qin Ming was—a graduate of Shrek Academy, rumored to be the second youngest Soul Emperor, though many younger ones had appeared since.

"Little one, do you wish to join the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy?" Qin Ming looked Mo Hui over as he asked the question.

Mo Hui nodded. "I heard that the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy has the best conditions of any advanced soul master academy. With such excellent facilities and resources, the students studying here must have very fast cultivation speeds, right?"

"..."

Hearing this, Qin Ming rubbed his nose, feeling somewhat awkward. Mo Hui’s words had struck a sore point for the academy. While the conditions were indeed excellent, because most of the students were wealthy, spoiled youths who made no effort to cultivate, the overall quality of the academy—aside from a few exceptional individuals—was inferior to many ordinary advanced soul master academies.

"Ahem!" Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Ning Yuan coughed lightly. "Teacher Qin, we won't disturb you any further. I still need to take young brother Mo Hui to see the other parts of the campus."

With that, Ning Yuan prepared to lead Mo Hui away.

"Wait!" Just as they were about to leave, Qin Ming called out to them again. Seeing their puzzled expressions, he smiled slightly. "As it happens, I have some free time. Why don't I take this young brother on a tour of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy myself?"

"Uh... would that not be too much trouble?" Ning Yuan said with some hesitation.

"Not at all, not at all!" Qin Ming walked over to them and began to introduce the academy on his own accord.

Ning Yuan shrugged helplessly at Mo Hui, and the two followed Qin Ming as he moved forward. On the way, Qin Ming asked Mo Hui casually, "Little Mo Hui, what level are you at now?"

Although Ning Yuan said Mo Hui was here to study, Qin Ming didn't think he was looking to join the Imperial Academy—after all, Mo Hui was only ten years old. He assumed the boy was looking for an intermediate soul master academy in the city.

"Me? I just broke through to level 22 not long ago," Mo Hui replied without hesitation.

"What? You are already level 22?" Qin Ming was stunned, looking at Mo Hui in disbelief.

"Young brother Mo Hui is a genius, and his martial soul is quite unique—it is one of the rare external beast souls in the world," Ning Yuan added.

An external beast soul? Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately looked at Pidgey, who was perched on Mo Hui's shoulder. He had assumed it was just a common pet bird; he never expected it to be a martial soul.

"Brother Ning is too kind. It’s just that I’ve worked a bit harder than others. Compared to true geniuses, I still have a long way to go." Mo Hui was sincere. Even though he had slightly improved Pidgey’s meditation method, it still paled in comparison to the innate methods of true geniuses.

The reason Mo Hui could maintain a cultivation speed comparable to a genius could be summed up in one word: grind. He compensated for the gap in efficiency with sheer time, ensuring his level did not fall behind. However, he knew this strategy would only work in the early stages. The further he progressed, the more obvious the shackles of his martial soul would become, and it would grow increasingly difficult to keep pace with the geniuses.

But fortunately, his martial soul was Pidgey, and Pidgey was not stagnant. According to Mo Hui's calculations, by the time he absorbed his third, or at the latest fourth, soul ring, Pidgey would evolve into Pidgeotto. At that point, his cultivation speed would increase dramatically.

After hearing Mo Hui's soul power level, Qin Ming became significantly more enthusiastic. He showed Mo Hui nearly the entire academy, even taking him to the library, which gave Mo Hui a basic understanding of the institution. The conditions were indeed excellent, but Mo Hui felt something was missing. Especially regarding wind-attribute cultivation methods, even though he only saw the first level of the library, he could already gauge the standard of the academy—it was far weaker than he had imagined.

*Are my standards too high?* Mo Hui frowned as he walked out of the library. He wondered if it was his expectations or if the world's standard was simply this low.

After touring most of the accessible areas, the only place left was the soul fighting arena. Finally, Qin Ming took him to watch some sparring matches between the students. However, when Mo Hui saw the so-called soul fighting at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, his frown deepened.

Although he had known the level of the average student might be poor, the reality was worse than he had imagined. He even felt he could easily defeat most of the students who were below level 30. At that moment, Mo Hui realized a problem: the overall standard of the Douluo Continent might be far lower than he had ever anticipated.