Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

We didn't get a single one in the past few years, so are we going to have to work for nothing again this year?

Until the eighth child.

She was a little girl with two pigtails, wearing a clean floral dress, and her eyes were big and round, like two black grapes.

She walked into the main room, curiously examining the six-pointed star array on the ground, then looked up at Cinderella, showing no shyness whatsoever.

“Stand in the middle,” Cinderella said.

The little girl stood obediently and closed her eyes. A golden light enveloped her body, and specks of light flowed into her.

This time, the Awakening Stone shone brighter than ever before.

Cinderella's brow twitched slightly.

"Stretch out your right hand."

The little girl did as she was told and stretched out her right hand. The light gathered in her palm and transformed into a fist-sized, pink peach, plump and juicy, looking so tempting that you would want to take a bite.

Weapon spirit: Peach.

Although it's not a combat-type martial soul, it's still a martial soul.

Cinderella handed her the blue crystal ball. "Put your hand on it."

The little girl placed her hand on the crystal ball. The crystal ball first emitted a faint light, and then the light gradually became brighter. Although it was far from dazzling, it did indeed become bright.

Innate soul power level one.

Cinderella retrieved the crystal ball and wrote "Martial Soul Peach, Innate Soul Power Level 1" after the little girl's name.

"Go on out." She smiled at the little girl.

The little girl ran out happily, and her parents' joyful shouts echoed from the yard.

The next few children, in succession, also lacked soul power.

Until the last one, a chubby little boy with thicker arms and legs than his peers, looked very strong.

He stood in the center of the six-pointed star array, a golden light curtain descended, and light points surged into his body.

A moment later, he stretched out his right hand, and a hoe materialized in his palm.

Hoe Martial Spirit.

Innate Soul Power Level 2.

Cinderella wrote down his name and martial spirit information, and then let him leave.

Of the dozens of children, only two possessed soul power, one at the first level of the Innate Realm and the other at the second level. Their martial souls were a peach and a hoe, respectively.

Not many, but better than in previous years.

Old Jack stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching the two children with spiritual power being surrounded by their parents, smiling and muttering, "Cultivate well, they will surely amount to something in the future."

His smile was one of relief, but a hint of worry lingered deep in his eyes.

Both children possess soul power, but there is only one spot available for work-study students.

According to the rules of Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy, each village has only one work-study student spot per year, with tuition waived and a living allowance provided.

The remaining one can only go through the self-funded student route.

The tuition fee wasn't expensive, but for a remote village like Holy Soul Village, it was still a considerable expense.

Old Jack sat on the stone bench at the entrance of the courtyard, stroking his well-worn cane, and sighed as he looked at the villagers who were celebrating in the distance.

Cinderella came out of the main room and knelt down beside him. "Grandpa Jack, are you thinking about the quota?"

Old Jack was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I can only send one." He sighed.

"The other one, their family can't afford it."

Cinderella thought for a moment and said, "Me."

“You don’t need to say anything.” Old Jack interrupted her, raised his head, and looked at her with his cloudy eyes, which held an undeniable stubbornness.

"Cindy, you've already helped us so much. We've already troubled you with the matter of awakening our martial souls. We can't let you worry about the quota anymore."

He paused, his tone softening slightly. "I'll go to the next village and ask if they have any children with soul power this year. If not, the spots are just sitting there empty, so I'll talk to them and see if we can buy them back."

Cinderella opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing the unwavering determination in old Jack's eyes, she swallowed the words back.

She knew old Jack's temperament. This old man was a proud man who would never ask for help if he could handle things himself.

“Alright then.” Cinderella stood up. “If you really can’t find a spot, then let me know.”

Old Jack nodded, neither agreeing nor refusing.

He stood up, leaning on his cane, and walked out of the courtyard. His pace was much faster than usual, as if he were racing against time.

Cinderella watched as old Jack's figure disappeared down the dirt road at the village entrance, then turned back to the main room and began packing her things for awakening.

As evening fell, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the entire village in a warm orange-red hue.

Cinderella sat under the old locust tree in the yard, holding a cup of tea in her hand, her gaze fixed on the dirt road at the entrance of the village.

Old Jack's figure appeared at the end of the dirt road.

He walked slowly, his back slightly hunched, but his steps were much lighter than when he left in the morning, as if he had unloaded some heavy burden.

Cinderella stood up and went to greet him. "Grandpa Jack, did you find a spot?"

Old Jack stopped in front of her, took a breath, then raised his hand and waved the neatly folded piece of paper in his hand. "Found it."

He had a smile on his face, so much so that his eyes were squinted into slits.

“The neighboring village doesn’t have a single child with soul power this year. As soon as I mentioned that I wanted to buy their village’s spot, the village chief agreed without hesitation. The price is also fair, even cheaper than when we sold them back then.”

Cinderella took the paper, unfolded it, and glanced at it. The paper read, "We hereby agree to transfer the work-study student quota of this village to Holy Soul Village," and below it was the official seal of the neighboring village.

"How much did it cost?" Cinderella asked.

Old Jack waved his hand. "Not much, not much. The money we saved from selling quotas in our village before is more than enough to buy this quota."

Cinderella didn't ask any more questions.

"The quotas are sorted out, both children can go to school now." Old Jack sat down on a bamboo chair in the yard and let out a long sigh of relief.

"This year's hard work finally paid off."

……

Two days later, at dawn.

Before dawn, the playground of Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy was already packed with people.

There were more than twenty students, ranging in age from seven or eight to twelve or thirteen. The older ones stood in front and the younger ones stood behind, forming a crooked line.

Their faces showed excitement and nervousness; some were talking in hushed tones, some were checking their equipment, and some were secretly stuffing dry rations into their mouths.

Several teachers stood beside the line, counting the number of people and supplies.

Cinderella stood at the edge of the playground, leaning against an old locust tree, arms crossed, her gaze sweeping over the students.

There were about twenty students, ranging from level ten to level twenty, most of whom were Soul Masters aiming to obtain the first ring.

Taking so many students to hunt spirit beasts in the wild is indeed no easy task.

The academy's teachers are not of high enough rank and lack sufficient combat power. If they encounter a high-level soul beast, they simply cannot protect so many students.

The dean stood at the front of the line, his slightly plump figure casting a sturdy shadow in the morning light.

He was whispering something to several teachers, his expression showing a hint of tension that was barely perceptible.

The academy has led teams to hunt soul beasts in the wild before, but that was a long time ago.

Since the opening of the Soul Hunting Forest, the academy has been using the Soul Hunting Forest's facilities, which are safe, convenient, and worry-free.

Now, you can't enter the Soul Hunter Forest anymore; you can only go to the wild.

He was under a lot of pressure.

"Dean, everyone's here." A teacher walked over and reported in a low voice.

The dean nodded, walked to the front of the line, and cleared his throat.

"Class, today we're going to hunt spirit beasts in the border mountains. Follow my instructions the whole way; no running around or acting on your own. Anyone who disobeys will have their chance to obtain a spirit ring canceled."

The students responded in unison, "Yes!" Their loud voices echoing across the playground in the early morning.

The dean turned and nodded to Cinderella. "Let's go."

The group left the academy and headed south along the official road.

Notting City is located to the south of the Heaven Dou Empire, bordering the Star Luo Empire. A mountain range stretching for hundreds of miles lies between the two countries, which the locals call the Border Mountains.

The mountain range is not high, but it is densely forested and home to a wide variety of spirit beasts, ranging in age from ten to ten thousand years.

In the past, when relations between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire were tense, the border mountains served as a natural barrier between the two countries, and ordinary people and soul masters did not easily approach them.

Chapter 542 An Encounter

Now that the Star Luo Empire and the Anti-Soul Alliance are cooperating, the border mountains have become a relatively safe area, and Soul Masters often go there in groups to hunt for Soul Rings.

The outline of the border mountains finally came into view at dusk.

Starting from Nottingham, we traveled south along the official road for a whole day before finally reaching the edge of this mountain range that stretches for hundreds of miles.

The youngest students in the group were so tired that their legs were weak, but the excitement in their eyes did not diminish at all.

Cinderella walked at the front of the procession, side by side with the Dean.

She glanced at the distant mountain range, its color a dark green in the twilight, then looked at the students behind her, their faces flushed from the long journey, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Dean, let's end our journey here for today," she said, her voice soft but clear enough to reach the dean beside her.

"It's getting late, and it's not safe to go any further. Let's camp on the outskirts of the mountains for now and venture deeper tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing this, the dean nodded quickly.

He had wanted to suggest taking a break for a while, but seeing that Cinderella showed no sign of stopping, he hadn't dared to bring it up. Now that Cinderella had taken the initiative, he was naturally more than happy to do so.

"Alright, alright, let's camp here."

The dean turned around and waved to the teachers behind him, "Stop! Set up camp where you are! Don't go too far, and don't leave our sight!"