Four hours later, Rong Taotao and his companions finally arrived at the Songjiang Soul Martial University campus.
In the pitch-black night, faced with the brightly lit campus buildings, the trio who should have been overjoyed showed little emotion. They had been let down too many times along the way.
Indeed, there had been many towns on their journey. Most were built around a Soul Martial High School, forming a unique small-town model characteristic of the North, established with the nation's strong support.
Not all children were geniuses like Rong Taotao and the others.
Normal middle school graduates would enter a Soul Martial High School, where they would learn Soul Techniques, Soul Skills, and all the basic knowledge a Soul Martial Artist should have.
The high schools specializing in the Starfield Heart or the Heart of the Ocean were one thing; the land of Huaxia was relatively peaceful and could provide children with a good learning environment.
But the Soul Martial High Schools specializing in the Heart of the Snow Realm had to be built in the middle of these vast snowfields.
Because the farther north one went, the closer one got to the Snow Realm Vortexes on the border, and the denser the ice-attribute Soul Power became.
Therefore, while ensuring safety, the major Soul Martial High Schools had no choice but to build their schools as far north as possible to provide the children with richer Snow Realm Soul Power.
Along the way, after passing through several small towns, Rong Taotao and the others had experienced cycle after cycle of excitement and disappointment. They had grown numb to the sight of the town before them, until...
Yang Chunxi spoke up, "This is the campus of Songjiang Soul Martial University. This town was also built around the university. Many civilians live here, and the facilities are quite complete, providing the university students with a good living environment..."
Hearing this, the trio's spirits instantly lifted!
'Are we finally here!?'
Yang Chunxi slowed the horses and led the group forward along the wide main street.
To the trio's surprise, the main street here was wide and clean. The few high school towns they had passed through before had roads covered in snow, but "Pine Soul Academy Town" was spotless. It seemed that no matter the weather, the people guarding this place would clean it up immediately.
Coincidentally, the weather in Pine Soul Academy Town, which was supposed to be perennially overcast and filled with flurries, was actually decent today.
The wind was light, and they could even faintly see the outline of the moon through the layers of clouds in the sky.
Rong Taotao cupped his hands over his mouth, breathing warm air into them to soothe his frozen palms, while his eyes curiously scanned the neon-lit streets.
'Threepenny Profit Store? Li's Plump Wontons?'
'We Got Rice & Noodles, Dongxing Scalded Tripe...'
Rong Taotao was a bit dazed. As far as he could see, there were only shops and small restaurants. 'Just how many foodies does Songjiang Soul Martial University have?'
'Are there really this many stores just outside the campus?'
He had thought this would be a military-style town, since it was very close to the first wall in the north, but he never expected it to be no different from an ordinary town.
'Well, it just has a few more restaurants. It's got that college town vibe!'
'Huh? No, wait. College towns have lots of small restaurants, but they also have lots of small inns!'
'How come I haven't seen a single hotel...'
Yang Chunxi said, "Pine Soul Academy Town is also known as Tianzi City. With Songjiang Soul Martial University as the center, there are six streets in total, forming a grid pattern like the Chinese character for 'field' (田). You should be able to find anything you want here."
Before long, Yang Chunxi and the others arrived at the center of the grid and saw the very impressive university building.
Under the bright lights, on a huge stone in front of the school gate, was carved the name "Songjiang Soul Martial University" in large, gilded characters.
The calligraphy flowed with masterful grace, exuding an indescribable power and unrestrained spirit.
Rong Taotao watched, filled with admiration.
'If one day in the future, he could use a Heaven-piercing Halberd to write such words in the vast snow, this life would have been worth living.'
"Coach Yang!"
"Coach Yang!" A few students came out of the school's gatehouse and hurriedly greeted Yang Chunxi. They looked like upperclassmen.
As the upperclassmen opened the gate, their gazes inevitably drifted toward Rong Taotao and the others.
There's quite a difference between middle school graduates and high school graduates. At least in terms of bearing, a newly awakened kid is completely different from a high school student who has been a Soul Martial Artist for three years.
"Mm, carry on with your post." Yang Chunxi smiled and waved, leading the group onto the campus. "By the way, have Coach Zhang and the others returned?"
"They're back!" the student on duty replied. "Many of the coaches have returned, and they all brought back newly awakened students."
"Good." Yang Chunxi nodded lightly and gently squeezed the horse's belly with her legs, leading the trio further into the campus.
Rong Taotao looked around. Even from outside the gate, he had already seen the huge academic building directly opposite.
After entering the campus, he saw several "streets."
On the street to the left stood a few administrative buildings. Before Rong Taotao could finish observing them, the horse he was riding turned right, heading down the eastern street.
A dense pine forest ran along the campus wall. There weren't many types of trees here.
Along the way, Rong Taotao saw three interconnected buildings, linked by glass corridors. On one building, he saw the words "Library - Building C".
'Wow...'
'At least three library buildings. They must hide a lot of Soul Skill cultivation methods inside, right?'
In fact, what attracted Rong Taotao the most were the history books. He hoped that here, he could find historical materials that weren't in his middle school history books or documented online.
The journey had taken a full eight hours, and he had seen and heard plenty along the way, but Rong Taotao's biggest and most pleasant surprise was these three library buildings.
The group continued east and saw a huge paddock in the northeast corner of the campus.
Some Snow Night Shocks were strolling leisurely in the paddock, while in the huge stable building in the distance, rows upon rows of Snow Night Shocks stood at attention.
The deep, ocean-blue eyes of the Snow Night Shocks, which were profound in the daytime, now resembled deep blue stars in the pitch-black night, emitting a soul-stirring light.
Especially with a whole herd of Snow Night Shocks arranged in neat rows, the sight was particularly astonishing!
Rong Taotao belatedly realized what the "Shock" in Snow Night Shock meant.
'As the designated Lifebound Soul Beast of the northern Snow Burning Corps, when tens of thousands of Snow Burning Corps warriors charge on their steeds in the dead of night... just how astonishing would that sight be?'
Yang Chunxi dismounted in front of the paddock, and a few students guarding it immediately came forward.
Rong Taotao also scrambled off his horse, but his stiff body made him stumble.
For the last four hours of the journey, the Snow Night Shock had dutifully shielded him from the wind and frost, but even with such care, Rong Taotao's fragile body was still in a wretched state.
After the three of them retrieved their backpacks from their horses' sides, Yang Chunxi led the stumbling trio northward and said, "See that cluster of buildings up ahead?"
Rong Taotao: "Yeah."
Yang Chunxi: "Those are the student dormitories. I'll arrange your rooms first. Considering how tired you are from the journey, I'll have someone bring you food.
Tomorrow, you can rest on campus or look around a bit. Remember, don't leave the campus yet. I'll have someone send you your access passes later.
Keep your phones on. I'll notify you of the specific assessment time. The signal here is good. Mmm... very good. Just make sure your lines of communication are open."
Listening to Yang Chunxi's words, Rong Taotao quickly pulled his phone out of the side pocket of his backpack and immediately turned it on.
'Oho?'
'Not bad. The phone my sister-in-law gave me is really good quality. It didn't even die from the cold after all this time.'
Along the way, Rong Taotao had downloaded Weibo and started searching for the name "Gao Lingwei".
Looking at the search results, Rong Taotao's stiff, frozen fingers accidentally tapped the wrong thing, opening a news article. It was obviously about her winning third place in the National High School League a month ago.
"The Number One High School Student of the Outer Region, Peak Soul Warrior Gao Lingwei!"
"True gold fears no fire. Gao Lingwei, the much-doubted champion of the Outer Region's high school league, has finally led her team to third place in the National High School League!"
"A fledgling eagle spreads its wings, a long halberd tears the sky."
"What you see is not just a third-place finish, but a future..."
Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow slightly and turned to Sun Xingyu. "This Gao Lingwei you mentioned, why was she so 'much-doubted'?"
Sun Xingyu said, "During the competition, the media caught her arguing with a teammate over tactical arrangements. This happened right before a match while they were getting ready, so it was blown way out of proportion. She got a lot of hate for it back then.
Luckily, she led her team to third place afterward. Otherwise, she probably would've been crushed by public opinion and never recovered."
From the side, Li Ziyi's voice drifted over lightly, "Three years. We've been classmates for three years, and to think I still don't know you well enough."
Rong Taotao: "Huh?"
Li Ziyi snorted. "Between Xu Taiping's race issue and Gao Lingwei's looks, you really chose to search for the latter first."
"HAHAHAHA." Sun Xingyu was genuinely amused. Her clear, pleasant laughter made Rong Taotao's composure shatter once again.
'Damn it! Li Ziyi!'
'I'm exhausted from the journey today, so I'll let you off the hook for now. But tomorrow, I'm gonna shove your face in the snow and make you eat it!'
"So? What do you think? Did she catch your eye?" Sun Xingyu suppressed her laughter and peeked over at Rong Taotao's phone screen.
Rong Taotao tapped on Gao Lingwei's Weibo profile and casually opened her photo album...
'Whoa...'
'This girl!'
'She's so damn hot!!!'
Rong Taotao looked at Sun Xingyu in disbelief. "These pictures are photoshopped, right? Those long legs?"
"Uhh..." Sun Xingyu's smile vanished instantly. She pouted. "They're real. You'll know when you see her in person."
Rong Taotao nodded thoughtfully. 'So that's why Sun Xingyu is jealous of her.'
Rong Taotao put away his phone and clapped Sun Xingyu on the shoulder. "It's okay, you're younger than her. Don't be sad, you can still grow taller!"
"Hmph~" Sun Xingyu turned and leaned on Li Ziyi's shoulder, seeking comfort.
Rong Taotao: ???
'I was trying to comfort you with the best of intentions, and you have to torture me like this in return?'
In a flash of insight, Rong Taotao suddenly recognized a certain truth.
Which was...
'When he, Li Ziyi, and Sun Xingyu were walking together, they perfectly formed a classic trio, didn't they?'
'The happy couple... and the third wheel?'