The Owner

"Student... Summon your Spirit Soul."

Awkwardly standing there, Chen Hai replied to the man that he did not have one yet... "Sorry, I can't... I don't have a Spirit Soul yet..."

Letting go of Chen Hai's hand, he started to tap the desk while his face contorted into different expressions. "Summon your Martial Soul then."

Knowing that he'll have to see how bad his Martial Soul was now, Chen Hai embarrassedly summoned his Martial Soul to the elder.

Looking at the illusionary white dusk which floated down from above the little boy's head, the elder told him a new answer while masking a trace of pity. "Sorry, I can't let you pass. You'll have to go with the normal group."

Hearing the answer of the man, Ms. Biyu at the side lashed out to the elder for how cruel he can be. He had already told Chen Hai one thing, but then he takes away everything the next! "How can you do that!! You're breaking the rules!! You said it yourself that he's level ten, but you are not putting him into the battle academy group!?"

Knowing that situation seemed really unjust, he began to explain so that the kid and teacher will know why he did not pass. "Actually, you are indeed right, he is level ten, and normally he would pass to the next group."

Chen Hai standing in front of it could no longer hold it in. He worked so hard for these three months, he had such a cruel life already, and now when he had already achieved his hope, it was crushed like shredded cabbage! "But what!??... But what!!?..."

No longer masking the pity he hid, he turned to look towards the little man, knowing how unfair the world can be sometimes. "Our country's laws on the education system are very strict, and we don't allow anyone to break them whatsoever. Our laws state that one must be at least level ten in order to qualify for any battle academy, but there are exceptions."

This time managing to hold in his anger, Chen Hai waited for the man to continue his speech. Ms. Biyu on the other hand could not, and asked him in a low pitch for him to carry on with his words. "Keep... speaking..."

"You are level ten indeed, but at the same time you aren't. The reason why I called you back was because I noticed something was special when I scanned you briefly the first time. I'm pretty sure you noticed this yourself, but your Soul Power... Well- it's leaking, isn't it?..."

Stopping his tapping, he put a hand to his chin, stroking some of his white beard which stuck out. "Your situation is exceedingly rare, and this is why I can't let you pass. You're indeed a Spirit Condensator today, but did you know people can actually drop ranks and levels? The reason why your Soul Power keeps leaking is because you can't become the next rank, in a couple of days or hours you would return to your old level, making you level nine."

Chen Hai stayed quiet as what he said might be true, his Soul Power was indeed leaking still, just like before when he tried to break through, but Biyu Cuifen on the other hand asked the old man why he was like this. "Why will he become level nine again?"

Turning to look at the teacher, the man continued to explain. "It's actually pretty simple, but I also don't blame you for not knowing as the situation is almost non existent. It's actually only by coincidence that I know of this situation myself. The reason your student is leaking Soul Power still is because he doesn't have a Spirit Soul. I'm guessing that you gave him something break through because you thought he was experiencing a bottleneck while there was any time left for this examination right?"

Again with pity, he looked towards the kid below him with a touch of sadness. "I'm sorry youngling, but I can't let you pass. You are level ten right now, but you will soon become level nine again... Each time you reach a rank, one must bind with a Spirit Soul. Although it makes things easier, one of the true reasons that it makes cultivating easier is one simple truth. Without a Spirit Soul one can't pass into the next rank. The only reason why you are level ten right now is because you gained a lot of Soul Power and stimulation from whatever cultivation resource that you had taken. Only with a Spirit Soul can you upgrade in ranks, so I am sorry, but you do not pass."

Knowing that the situation will quickly devolve into something he does not want to see, he said his leave in order to go towards the group of students which held the next required tests he must host.

Biyu Cuifen stood behind with Chen Hai, while Jie Meili stood at the distance with some worry as she noticed it did not go as they had hoped. She did not know what to say, and before she could say anything, Chen Hai muttered out a sentence to her from his broken heart.

"I'm sorry... I guess I wasted all your money... I'll never be able to pay you back at this rate..."

Watching him start to rain teardrops, she came closer to hug him in order to help console him of this tragedy. Tapping his head while she stuck it close to her stomach, she really did feel that Chen Hai was always very unlucky throughout his life, almost as if bad luck had plagued him since he was a kid.

Sighing a breadth of melancholic emotions, she stood still as she waited for Chen Hai's blue tears to dry up.

. . .

Niu Peng stood alone in the yard of the children's home. A group of small kids and the owner stood crowded around the fat little man, giving him words of celebratory cheers and sentences of grief for his successful departure to a good battle academy.

Niu Peng thanked all of them with different words, and remenensed about the different events that had transpired between all of them, but it was time for the big family to separate and depart.

Standing still in the grass, he still had not spotted Chen Hai... He overheard what had happened earlier in the later tests from some students, but he wished that he could at least see him off...

But the owner had already reserved a ticket for him to go to the required city, and enough spirit stones for the long journey. If he waited too long and missed the caravan, he would waste a lot of time, and more importantly the money which the place barely had.

The battle academy he decided to join was very far away from here, and he had to traverse the continent for a while to reach there. If he did not leave now, he might never be able to join a school again...

Having complicated feelings, he said his goodbyes to the group that was like his family, and turned towards the horizon.

"Niu Peng!!", Chen Hai came rushing out from the storage area of the building, holding a bamboo basket covered with cloth. Handing it over to his friend, he also hugged him and said his last farewells.

"I might be a jerk at times, but I can't possibly let you leave without giving you anything right?", making sure he grabbed the basket, he told him what was inside. "I made your favorite Yaki Rice Balls alright? I also packed plenty of extra seasoning for you to sprinkle on your food in the future. It'll last for a while, but don't waste it all at once ok!?"

Finally giving a true smile, Niu Peng gave Chen Hai another bear hug as he said his goodbyes. "No matter how far we are separated, or how different we become in the future, I will always be your friend ok? Just remember that, and if you ever need any help, I'll be the first to be there... I'll bring you back some good gifts if I can come back during the holidays alright?... Just remember though, we will always be friends... and you will always be my big brother..."

His eyes becoming watery, but managing not to cry, he carried the oversized basket as he made his way down the road, towards his future destination.

Chen Hai stood isolated from the crowd as the rest loudly gave their final goodbyes. His face expressed different things, and could not settle on one expression, but he remembered those last words within his heart, and would mark it for an eternity.

. . .

At dusk, Chen Hai had already went to bed early, falling into a deep sleep. As the night was beckoning, and the sun turned scarlet, Biyu Cuifen and the owner stood in front of a corner at the children's home.

"Elder...", waving his hand, the old owner handed her a carefully wrapped package towards her. "You can take him to get one, he hasn't had one after all these years after all. Also, while your at it do me a favor and hand this to my old friend.

"Who is it?"

"You'll know when you get there, just ask around for the crazy Soul Master in that city. Hopefully he can accept my request and teach that unlucky kid of mine."

As a teacher, she still somewhat declined as she did not know who he was mentioning. "Isn't better for him just to go to a normal school though? At least he has a guaranteed future if he attends one. No offense, but will that man of yours give a better future to him?"

Nodding his head towards her, he didn't elaborate anymore to her. "I've already packed his things, you just need to take him in the morning. He'll probably decline as he thinks he already troubled you enough, but just ignore what he says and forcibly take him with you if its needed. Honestly after hearing what you said, I really think that boy is destined for great things, its just the circumstances are always so unfavorable to him..."

Deciding to agree with the old man, she accepted his request. "Ok, I'll bring Chen Hai out tomorrow, but if I need to stop at that city, it'll probably take longer than the spare time I have. If you want me to do that, you're going to need to teach my class for a while once the new school year starts. Knowing you, you're more than qualified to teach them anyways..."

After the both of them conscented on the same terms, Biyu Cuifen took her leave. The old owner went into his bedroom. Going to the shelf in his room, he reached out towards an antique picture frame covered in dust.

Wiping off the old debris, a shiny exterior made its way into his eyes, showing the expensive white material that made the outside of the body. Inside the framework was a picture neatly laid inside.

A small group of teenagers were huddled around an adult as they stood in front of a big hall waiting for the camera to take the picture.

Matching the smiles of the people in the picture, he reminisced about his faded memories of when he was younger. "It has been a while now huh... I wonder how all of you are doing now... Hopefully you are living the lives that you wanted..."