Chapter 17 - Otherworldly Tang San's First Dark We

　　Tang San said, "There are beginners and intermediates, so there must also be advanced?" 　　Old Jack nodded, a few envious glints in his eyes, "You don't need to think about the advanced soul master academy, that's not something just anyone can get into. In our Heavenly Dipper Empire, there are only two Advanced Soul Master Academies in total, and the number of students enrolled each year adds up to less than a hundred. That is the cradle of the future. Any student who graduates from the Advanced Soul Master Academy, whether it's the country or the Martial Soul Hall, will rush to get them, and will directly be granted the title of Noble." 　　"Nobility? There are such good conditions." Tang San said in surprise. 　　Old Jack said, "That's of course. Soul masters are the noblest profession, and senior soul masters are even more so. That's all talent, so if we commoners want to rise to the top in one step, becoming a senior soul master is obviously the best shortcut, only, how many commoners from ordinary origins can have that good of a martial soul? Even if they do, without the assistance of a big family like that, it's still hard to graduate from the Senior Soul Master Academy, right?" 　　"Graduation exams are your own thing, why do you need someone else's assistance?" Tang San was a little confused. 　　Old Jack sighed and said, "This is the gap. The gap between the poor and the rich, the commoners and the nobles. The requirements for graduating from the Junior Soul Master Academy are simple, as long as the martial soul can reach level ten, obtain a soul ring under the leadership of the academy's teacher, and successfully advance to the Soul Master title. This was not difficult, as long as the children who possessed martial soul power at the time of awakening were able to do so. It is said that the ten levels of soul power for a Soul Scholar to ascend to Soul Master is the easiest to raise." 　　"But it's different when it comes to the Intermediate Soul Master Academy, in order to graduate from here, one's martial soul must reach level twenty, and obtain a second soul ring, and obtain the title of Grand Soul Master before they can do so. Level ten to level twenty is something that many soul masters are unable to reach in their entire lives. Moreover, after reaching level twenty, if one wanted to obtain a soul ring, they had to rely on their own strength to hunt and kill soul beasts to obtain a soul ring. That was extremely dangerous. If one comes from a noble family and is accompanied by a family warrior, the danger is naturally much less. Whereas soul masters from commoners like us have to rely on ourselves." 　　"The graduation conditions of the Advanced Soul Master Academy are even harsher, and can only be achieved by passing the bottleneck of the thirtieth level, obtaining the third soul ring, and rising from the title of Great Soul Master to the title of Soul Honored. It is said that level thirty is a threshold, cross it and you can be called a powerful soul master and a true noble, cross it and it can be difficult. Moreover, there seems to be some kind of restriction on obtaining a soul ring at the thirtieth level, specifically, you should learn it at the academy. Anyway, the number of students from those advanced soul master academies that can actually graduate seems to be less than a third." 　　Listening to Old Jack's words, Tang San had some basic impressions of the Douluo Continent's teachings for soul masters. 　　"Grandpa Jack, didn't you say that there are as many as ten soul master titles? It is only the cadets who graduate from the Advanced Soul Master Academy who are Soul Honored, so how do you obtain those titles at the back?" 　　Old Jack laughed bitterly, "How should I know. The titles that go beyond Soul Exalted are big shots, like the Soul Saint that came out of our village, who was directly supported by the state in the first place. I've heard people say that the cultivation of a soul master becomes more difficult and dangerous the further one goes, how many can truly reach a top-level existence like a Sealed Douluo? It can even be said that I'm not even sure if there are any such existences in our Heavenly Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire right now." 　　Old Jack also only had some simple understanding of soul masters, none of what he said was detailed, Tang San understood that with this knowledge, he himself could only slowly grope his way through the academy. Especially about soulbeasts, soul rings and things like that. 　　From Sacred Soul Village to Nordin City wasn't far, the two of them walked for half a day, and in the middle of the day, they simply ate some dry food, and in the afternoon, they could already see the city walls in the distance. 　　Although Nordin City wasn't considered a large city, because it was close to the border of the Heavenly Dou Empire, the city walls were built to be thick. Tang San and Old Jack accepted the same inspection as the passing pedestrians before entering the middle of Nordin City. 　　"Little San ah! Later, grandpa will send you to the academy and go back. You alone in the academy should listen to your teachers and never leave the academy without authorization. When the semester ends, Grandpa Jack will pick you up again. It'll be almost New Year's Eve then." 　　Tang San was after all leaving home for the first time, his heart was more or less flustered, subconsciously saying, "Grandpa Jack, are you leaving so soon?" 　　Old Jack smiled bitterly, "A hotel is not something us poor people can afford to live in. You must strive for success, when grandpa sees you next time, I hope that you have already become a soul master, in that case, all of us in Holy Soul Village will be proud of you." 　　Nordin Junior Soul Master Academy was located in the west of Nordin City, Old Jack inquired from passersby several times and finally brought Tang San here. 　　From afar, they could already see a tall archway, the archway was twenty meters wide and ten meters tall, all repaired from hard rock, underneath there were two iron grill gates, dark, Tang San could tell at a glance that it was made from fine fine iron. 　　Through the iron fence, one could see the winding path inside, a large road leading straight to the interior, both sides were filled with tall trees. 　　In the center of the archway, there were four big words, "Nordin Academy." 　　Just from the gate of the academy one could see how important the profession of soul master was in the Douluo Continent, and this was still just a junior soul master academy. 　　Old Jack had just walked to the front gate with Tang San, and was immediately stopped by the youth watching the gate, "What for? Is this a place where you country folk can come?" 　　Old Jack's dress was already considered polished in the Sacred Soul Village, but when it came to Notting City, he was completely country bumpkin-like, and the doorman's eyes looked at him with more or less disdain.