Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Tang San followed him into the small house, which was sparsely furnished. One side was piled with brooms, buckets, and the like, while the other side had a table and several stools that looked like they could break at any moment.

Old Mao sat down on a stool, looking at Tang San, and said, "You should know where you are. Being able to work in the academy means the mayor has recognized you as a talent. So, while working here, you must abide by the rules. Abiding by the rules is not just for yourself but for everyone in our town. Although they are acting with some restraint toward us workers in the academy, if you provoke them, that will be your end. And it won't just be you who dies; you'll implicate everyone."

"Yes," Tang San agreed.

Old Mao said indifferently, "Remember, do not speak. When you work, act as if you are mute, always keep your head down, and do not look anywhere else that’s not your direct responsibility. Don't see, don't listen, don't speak. What you think and what you feel is none of my business, but what you do is. Most importantly, don't cause trouble for me or anyone else. If you can do this, you can keep working here; otherwise, you'll have to leave. I was reluctant to take a little naive child like you in. But the mayor assured me that you would be alright. For everybody’s sake, I hope you prove him right."

"Yes." Tang San felt rather odd as he listened to Old Mao's admonition. Having lived three lives and once been a God King, being lectured like this was indeed a peculiar experience. Of course, he wouldn't get angry with Old Mao; he understood the meaning behind the old man's words. Everything was for the sake of the human vassals in the academy's town. In a society like the Daemon Continent, the elder’s way of acting was not wrong; it was for the best.

"Let's go. I'll take you to where you'll be working. Starting today, you'll begin your work."

Immediately, Old Mao had him take up the tools and led him out of the house.

The main teaching building of Kali Academy was an imposing structure, over fifty meters tall, but it only had five floors. It was visible even from the academy town.

Kali Academy had over a thousand students, divided into six grades for teaching. The grades had no particular time limit, and students needed to pass the assessment of one grade to advance to the next and continue their cultivation. Assessments were held every six months. This meant that if your strength was sufficient, you could graduate in three years. But if you were not capable enough, you might never graduate. Thus, not all students could actually graduate from Kali Academy.

The open space in front of the main teaching building was vast and empty, with the ground made of smooth and flat stone. The stones were arranged into various patterns, with the most prominent being the crests of the ten strongest demon clans. There were no traces of the nymph tribes to be seen here.

Old Mao pointed out the area to be cleaned. "Remember, don't try to be clever here. No matter what your Demonic God Transformation is, do not use it while working. Just maintain your human form for cleaning. Work diligently. At noon, return to our side for lunch. Then, continue working in the afternoon. Generally speaking, cleaning is done twice daily. Apart from these two times, if you see any dirty spots, clean them immediately."

After finishing his instructions, Old Mao signaled Tang San to start.

Tang San began to sweep along the square's edge, with Old Mao watching from the side. Tang San understood he was being supervised to see if he could complete the work steadily.

He worked here not to earn money through labor but to meet Mei Gongzi. He swept at a steady pace, maintaining a consistent rhythm.

Old Mao watched for a while and was quite satisfied with Tang San's performance. At least from his behavior, it was evident that he was not an impatient child.

Half an hour later, Old Mao left. Tang San continued to sweep slowly on his own.

Although the work here was somewhat monotonous, for Tang San, boredom was trivial. What surprised him was the richness of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here, likely due to some array within Kali Academy that enhanced it. While sweeping, he quietly activated the Mysterious Heaven Technique, absorbing this spiritual energy to nourish his body.

He was in no hurry, and as he swept the yard slowly, he slowly cultivated.

His body had undergone significant changes since he consumed the Dragon Tendon Fruit. He was now deliberately tempering his body, unlike before when he made himself appear frail to conceal his true strength.

The entire morning passed in such sweeping. When Old Mao returned, he saw an almost spotless square and Tang San clearing away the swept-up debris.

"Time for lunch. How come it took you this long?" Old Mao looked at the boy before him in surprise.

Tang San wiped the slight sweat from his forehead and smiled. "I also cleaned up some fallen leaves and weeds in the shrubbery. It seemed to me like something that had to be done anyway, so I went ahead and did it."

"Alright, let's go eat," Old Mao responded.

The academy's meals were uniform, at least for the workers. Simple and plain food was the norm, something Tang San was accustomed to, undoubtedly much poorer than inside the academy. Before coming here, Zhang Haoxuan reminded him that he could bring his food, but Tang San chose not to. It would be too conspicuous and might look odd to his fellow workers.

Throughout the meal, neither Old Mao nor Tang San spoke. After eating, Tang San quietly cleaned up the utensils and found a quiet corner to sit and meditate.

After resting for about two hours, Tang San picked up his broom and cleaning tools again and returned to the main teaching building square to continue sweeping.

Old Mao seemed to approve of his quiet nature, watching him with softer eyes in the afternoon. Naturally, others had done this job before, and he was well aware that two hours of sweeping was usually enough, and even just an hour in the afternoon would suffice. So, the job was not very tiring.

But Tang San had swept for nearly four hours in the morning and only rested for two hours at noon before resuming, which made Old Mao think that this child was quite diligent.

Little did he know, Tang San only did it to spend more time on the square, hoping to see a particular person!

He hadn't seen her all morning. Students from the demon clans rarely appeared on this side of the main teaching building square, perhaps because this area was just for show. Occasionally, he could see a few students, but they were just passing by.

Tang San was not in a rush. Knowing that Mei Gongzi was studying here was enough; he was bound to encounter her eventually. No matter the academy's size, it was still an enclosed area and there were only so many places students could go to.

After a day of sweeping, the entire square felt completely fresh when Old Mao came to check in the evening.

There wasn't even a tiny stain on the ground; it was immaculate and tidy. The greenery around the square was neatly trimmed, giving a harmonious feel.

In his previous life, Tang San's leading martial spirit was the Blue Silver Grass, which later evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor, the emperor of all plants. He had a naturally strong affinity for plants. That was why he had chosen the Green Jade Vine as his sixth bloodline imprint—he was hoping that by enhancing it, he could gradually strengthen it and use some of his previous life's abilities. Those were the abilities he was most familiar with!

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