Chapter 8: The Cafeteria, First Meeting with Yu Xiaogang
"Sister Xiao Wu, Tang San, and Lin Mo…"
Wang Sheng's call pulled Lin Mo's thoughts back to reality. "It's almost lunchtime. Do you guys want to come with me?"
"No thanks." Tang San shook his head gently. "I brought some dry rations. I'll just eat those."
His family was dirt poor. The little money Tang Hao earned from occasionally forging ironware was almost always spent on alcohol. To avoid going hungry, Tang San could only bring a few coarse pancakes he had prepared in advance.
"Does eating at the cafeteria cost Spirit Coins?" Xiao Wu asked curiously, blinking her large, watery eyes.
Lin Mo smiled and nodded. "Alright then. I'll trouble you to lead the way. It's a good chance for me to get familiar with the academy."
Tang San and Xiao Wu's reactions were clearly beyond Wang Sheng's expectations.
But he quickly understood why. These 2 new "bosses" were strong, yet their pockets were empty.
No, it would be more accurate to say they were penniless.
Wang Sheng hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "Then let's go. This meal is on me. I'll cover your food for the next 2 days as well. Tang San, Sister Xiao Wu, and Lin Mo, let's go together."
"From today on, we're all roommates in the same dorm. If anything, you can just treat me back once you have money in the future!"
"I'm fine." Lin Mo shook his head. "I still have some money for food."
Long before he arrived, the village chief had prepared some money for him. It was not much, but it was enough to cover his meals for half a month.
Lin Mo was a child adopted by the village chief, and he was also the only child from Emperor Village in recent years to possess Spirit Power.
Even if his Martial Soul seemed to be a Waste Martial Soul, there was still hope for him to become a Spirit Master.
Hearing Lin Mo's words, Wang Sheng gave him a grateful look. If he had to support the meal expenses of 4 people at once, it would be a heavy burden.
After all, he had not become a Spirit Master yet. As a work study student, the stipend he received was the same as newcomers like Lin Mo and the others.
After that, Xiao Wu agreed readily. Tang San hesitated for a moment, then also chose to agree.
Just as Wang Sheng said, at most, he could simply treat him back later when he had money.
The academy cafeteria.
Surrounded by the other work study students, the group of 12 arrived at the academy cafeteria.
The cafeteria was inside the teaching building and was divided into 2 floors. The prices on the second floor were much higher than those on the first.
As expected, another quarrel broke out between the work study students and the other students.
As the new "boss" of the work study students, Xiao Wu naturally stepped forward and began arguing with Xiao Chenyu's group on their behalf.
In the end, the argument died down.
Inside the cafeteria, the most both sides could do was trade verbal barbs like this.
If they actually came to blows, the academy would not let them off easily.
Lin Mo followed the group and silently lined up for food.
During that time, he encountered another familiar face, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, the one known as "Invincible in Theory."
Meanwhile, because Wang Sheng spoke too bluntly, Tang San, who had just taken Yu Xiaogang as his teacher, became greatly displeased.
He flatly refused Wang Sheng's kindness, returned to the dorm alone, drank plain water, and gnawed on coarse pancakes.
After eating, he went to a corner of the cafeteria to wait for Yu Xiaogang.
Lin Mo watched all of this quietly, perfectly playing the role of a spectator. He had no intention of stepping forward at all.
Whether it was Tang San or Yu Xiaogang, it was better to stay as far away from them as possible.
Both were existences he could not afford to provoke right now.
Behind Tang San stood Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao.
And Yu Xiaogang was even more outrageous. Behind him stood the current Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong.
Yu Xiaogang carried immense weight in Bibi Dong's heart.
It could be said that while Yu Xiaogang's strength was nothing special, his ability to live off women was impressive. Both Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong were utterly devoted to him.
One could only say it truly lived up to being the Continent of Romance.
Until he had enough strength, it was best not to provoke either of them.
After finishing his meal, Lin Mo was in no hurry to return to the dorm.
After saying goodbye to the others, he wandered around the academy alone.
He familiarized himself with the environment in advance, mainly the classrooms, and the area assigned for them to clean, the garden on the south side of the playground.
This was where he would be living for a long time. It was better to get acquainted early.
This walk also led Lin Mo to an unexpected discovery.
Nuoding Academy had a back mountain. It was not very large, but it was secluded, making it a good spot.
Although he did not plan to attach Spirit Rings to his second Martial Soul ahead of time, he still needed to research a cultivation method for it.
Lin Mo was confident his second Martial Soul was hidden well, and that even if he used it in front of most people, the chance of discovery was extremely low.
But the chance was not zero.
And it just so happened that Tang San had a terrifying "street loafer" like Clear Sky Douluo following behind him.
That meant that if Lin Mo wanted to study his second Martial Soul, it was best to avoid the father and son duo of Tang San and Tang Hao.
The back mountain perfectly solved his urgent problem.
Half a year later.
Lin Mo had finally grown completely accustomed to his studies and life at Nuoding Academy. His days were full and steady.
In the mornings, they studied theory in the classroom. The afternoons were for independent cultivation.
The 2 theory classes in the morning consisted of cultural knowledge and Spirit related knowledge.
However, although the first class was said to teach cultural knowledge, for 6-year-old children like them, it was mostly about learning how to read and write.
Long before Lin Mo awakened his Innate Wisdom, he had already begun learning the Douluo Continent's script on his own.
With the foundation of 3 lifetimes of experience, and with the village chief being one of the few educated people in the village, it did not take Lin Mo long to master most of the Douluo script.
After passing the academy's tests, he was exempted from cultural knowledge classes and even gained the chance to borrow books from the academy library.
The content taught in the Spirit classes was even simpler.
They were taught how to cultivate using the elementary Spirit Power Calm Mind method issued by the academy, along with some basic knowledge about Spirit Masters and Spirit Beasts.
However, the elementary Spirit Power Calm Mind method he had longed for left Lin Mo somewhat disappointed after he switched to it.
His Spirit Power cultivation did become a bit faster than the crude circulation route he had figured out himself, but not by much.
It fell far short of his expectations.
Aside from that, a small interlude occurred.
The students led by Xiao Chenyu clashed with the work study students again, but before Xiao Wu could even act, Xiao Chenyu lost directly to Tang San, who had returned after obtaining his first Spirit Ring.