When the hour ended, Fu Nuosi and Xi Weiwei handed their points to Jin Bao and hurried off. White Shadow, however, stayed crouched on the ground until Jin Bao tapped her shoulder. When she lifted her head, her eyes looked lifeless.
"You can go," Jin Bao said with a smile.
White Shadow stared at that smiling face, shuffled backward, trembling and shaking her head while tears streamed down her cheeks.
Jin Bao scooped her up in one arm and glanced at Yuan Shan. "Looks like today's a bust. Try finding another teammate; we'll regroup here tomorrow."
Yuan Shan gave a weak laugh. "Well… I think I'll pass. I don't really know anyone here, so I'll be off!"
The methods Jin Bao had just shown, that ever-present smile, made Yuan Shan's scalp tingle. If Jin Bao hit him with the same force that had shattered the shield earlier, could he even survive it?
Worst of all, Jin Bao had kept smiling the whole time—harmless as a lamb.
Now, in hindsight, that smile looked downright devilish.
Jin Bao carried White Shadow to the infirmary. When the teacher on duty saw her state, he shook his head.
Clearly, the girl had been traumatized. In theory a good night's sleep should help, but judging by her condition, no one could be sure.
"The doctor who's experienced with this isn't on shift yet. Bring her back in a couple of days," the teacher said, releasing a healing Spirit Ability.
Checking her student card for her dorm, Jin Bao carried her there and tucked her into bed.
Back in his own room, Jin Bao wondered whether what he'd done was right.
White Shadow had, in a sense, wronged him, yet she'd never meant real harm. Had he gone too far?
What if she never recovered?
He tried to Cultivate but couldn't settle his mind.
Three days later he took her to the doctor again.
Only after the physician's Spirit Ability did White Shadow's gaze at Jin Bao shift.
"Jin Bao, I… I'm sorry. I was wrong, really wrong…" She knelt on the bed, sobbing.
"Young man, whatever happened between you two, look at her—she's in no state for more stress," the doctor warned after the treatment.
Jin Bao stroked her hair. "All right, you're forgiven. It's over. From now on we're just classmates."
White Shadow nodded through her tears. Jin Bao turned to the doctor. "Let her rest here a while longer. I'll be going."
Whether Fu Nuosi or Yuan Shan spread the tale, soon even on the training grounds every freshman looked at Jin Bao with fear. Unwittingly he'd become the new students' very own Devil King.
Still, some sought him as a sparring partner—second-years recently returned, their spirit power near rank thirty, many already Spirit Elders.
Against their Third Soul Skills Jin Bao had to pour eighty percent of his spirit power into a shield just to block.
Against Agility Attack System Soul Masters, he had to focus every nerve to track their movements.
Yet to them he was the perfect training partner, and in the latter half of the month he earned a tidy pile of points.
In the blink of an eye a month passed and the academy officially opened.
When Jin Bao stepped into the control system classroom, every student fell silent.
He smiled. "Hello, classmates." Spotting an empty seat, he walked over.
Before he could sit, the students nearby edged away.
He kept smiling but sighed inwardly: Looks like my image won't change anytime soon.
Classes at Spirit Hall Academy differed from Elementary Spirit Master Academy: few general subjects, many combat-theory lectures.
For control system students, lessons covered their role in a team and how to respond in various scenarios.
More time, however, was devoted to Cultivation and group drills. Quiet days flew by; another month was gone.
One evening after finishing his Cultivation, Jin Bao saw the instructor beckon from the doorway.
He stepped outside. "Teacher, you need me?" Besides their cultivation mentor stood two other teachers—and Muluofu, the senior who had helped him during the entrance test.
"Greetings, teachers. Senior Mu," Jin Bao said.
"Jin Bao, what rank are you now?" one teacher asked.
"Twenty-eight, sir."
"Fast progress. Good. You know there's a chance this term to test into the Inner Academy. Muluofu recommended you, and I've reviewed your record. Excellent, but I spotted a problem." The middle teacher smiled.
"You don't seem close to your classmates."
Jin Bao chuckled. "Before term started I clashed with a classmate. My solution was… excessive, leaving a bad impression."
"Excessive is putting it mildly. My students still shiver at your name; anything resembling your Spirit makes them flinch," the teacher said, turning to his colleague.
"Putting such a student on a team—will that harm his partners?"
"Teacher Kubala, our Inner Academy test always selects the best. Whether future teammates can get along with Jin Bao is our job. We can't discard a talented child—that would be a huge loss to Spirit Hall," Teacher Finuo replied.
"Finuo, I merely raised the point. If you think him outstanding, transfer him to the candidate class now and let him train with the others."
Finuo glanced at Kubala, then at Jin Bao. "Your potential merits my nomination, but to join the candidate class you must reach rank thirty by year's end."
"Think you can do it?"