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Three days have flown by in a flash.
This time, in the bedroom, Tang Qi placed the last piece of clothing into the wooden chest in front of him, securing the lid with a lock, and then picked up a beautifully crafted envelope laid on the adjacent bed, which held an admission notice—this was what Tang Qi had been waiting for these three days.
The notice was made of a kind of paper that felt cool to the touch, bordered with intricate designs, and topped with an emblem: a Holy Sword entwined with thorns, embodying a noble and holy aura.
In the middle section, it read:
Dear Tang Qi, after evaluation, we believe you are an honest, good young man, fully meeting our requirements for Thorns Apprentices. You have been admitted to Saint Thorn High School. Please report to Saint Thorn High School between May 3rd to 9th of the year 102 of the Divine Eagle Calendar.
The last line was the school motto:
May you don the thorns, may you ultimately cut through the thorns.
If one were to only look at this motto, they might think it was a high school run by the church.
Indeed, Saint Thorn High School was just that a century ago. However, with the decline of the church's influence, today's Saint Thorn High School is more like a noble high school, renowned in Secret Phoenix State for its exceptionally high educational quality and excellent ethos, and is also one of Messer City's calling cards to the outside world.
As for whether it's authentic? That doesn't matter to him; he's only interested in the school's background.
The second small favor Tang Qi asked of Mr. Ronald was this.
The original host was exactly fifteen years old, just the right age for high school.
Had the original host's parents not met with accidents and passed away, with the Tang Family's wealth and connections, they could have barely managed to send Tang Qi to Saint Thorn.
Sadly, the now alone Tang Qi, even if he wanted to find connections, would probably be ignored by others.
Of course, he could also choose the "normal route," such as getting in through grades and test scores.
But the former host let him down with his Asian heritage, being a complete academic slacker, forcing Tang Qi to abandon this path.
With Mr. Ronald's intervention, everything was different.
And the reason Tang Qi insisted on entering Saint Thorn High School was, of course, not because he coveted the name of a noble student. Aside from indeed needing a place to study and understand the new world, it was more to avoid the vengeance of the Samra family.
According to Old Morgan's diary, anyone from their family, as soon as they approached Saint Thorn High School, would rapidly weaken, even becoming more frail than the average person.
This was something even Samra could not be exempt from. The Old Witch speculated that this was due to the remnants of the church's power within Saint Thorn High School, a significant force, that without even engaging in battle, the mere aura emitted was enough to suppress the evil of Black Witchcraft.
With this intel, it would be foolish for Tang Qi not to take advantage of it.
Stuffing the notice into his chest pocket, he hoisted the wooden chest, and Tang Qi locked up all the rooms in the villa, along with securing the iron gate thoroughly. Finally, he glanced back at the now completely deserted "home," turned away with a calm expression, and left without any lingering attachment.
Living the life of a rich second-generation with a hefty inheritance and without anyone to answer to might sound wonderful.
But sadly, that was not what Tang Qi wanted.
If he hadn't experienced Extraordinary Power, perhaps Tang Qi could have comfortably enjoyed it.
But now, everything was different.
Holding the wooden chest, Tang Qi walked leisurely out of the villa's tree-lined path; his image, however, was somewhat different from when he had just been reborn—quality black trousers, a blue linen shirt that looked somewhat formal, a short coat, with black hair and black eyes, he appeared delicate and youthful.
One cannot help but admire, the original host possessed good looks and great affinity.
So to disguise it somewhat, Tang Qi found and wore a pair of black-framed glasses in the villa, finally making himself less conspicuous.
The area where the Tang Family lived was a community called "Rocky," with a tranquil environment inhabited by people with considerable wealth, most of whom had their own Transportation.
However, there were clearly also many children, so along the central tree-lined boulevard of the villa district, there was also public transportation service.
At this moment, a pale yellow bus arrived in front of Tang Qi.
After boarding, Tang Qi didn't interact with anyone; he directly moved towards an empty seat.
The public buses here were free of charge, likely factored into the villa association fees, so there were no fare collectors, and Tang Qi didn't need to call for stops as his destination was, for sure, a scheduled stop.
Indeed, as soon as he sat down, Tang Qi realized that the destination of everyone else on the bus was probably the same as his.
The bus was mostly filled with students.
About the same age as Tang Qi, there were also one or two who looked older, but unlike Tang Qi, they were all dressed in uniform-like attire, similar to the noble school uniform he had imagined, except that on the chest, all bore the same emblem.
The same Holy Sword Thorns Badge that was on his notice.
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Perhaps because Tang Qi was not wearing a school uniform, all the students on the bus glanced at him, looked indifferently, and then turned away. The friendlier ones smiled, but no bullies appeared to harass him out of the blue.
Tang Qi responded with a smile, perfectly portraying a shy and ordinary black-haired boy.
He took a seat in a corner of the bus, and the ride was uneventful. Soon the school bus reached its nearly sole stop—Thorns Street.
Following a group of students off the bus, the crowd surged towards the buildings at the end of the street.
In front was a square paved with white bricks, at the center of which stood a low, old-looking church without any luxurious flair, fitting well with the definition of the Holy Thorns Church, which advocates pain and suffering and does not seek extravagance.
The crowd split up in the square, with students heading towards another cluster of buildings at the far end, while the adults, who looked like teachers or staff, headed in the opposite direction.
Tang Qi observed for a moment and chose the direction opposite to that of the students.
Crossing the square, he entered a cluttered group of buildings, bustling with church staff.
Just as Tang Qi was about to arbitrarily stop someone to ask where the "student reception" was, an elderly man dressed in a priest's robe caught up from behind. Seeing Tang Qi turn around, he directly asked, "Child, is your name Tang Qi?"
"Yes, that's me!"
Tang Qi replied puzzledly.
Upon hearing the affirmative answer, the middle-aged priest sighed with relief and said, "I thought I missed you, luckily."
"Child, I have been entrusted by Mr. Ronald to assist you with your enrollment procedures. You can call me Pastor Benny, come with me."
After speaking, Pastor Benny turned and led Tang Qi towards a red low-rise building within the group.
Approaching, they indeed saw on the first floor of the low-rise building, the third office had a wooden door with a sign hanging on it, reading "Student Reception."
"Pastor Benny, thank you for your help."
After coming out of the reception, Tang Qi turned and bowed slightly to the priest, speaking very politely.
Without waiting for the priest to reply, as if suddenly remembering something, Tang Qi asked again, "Pastor Benny, is there accommodation available for rent within the campus? I plan to choose to board and undergo my three-year Thorny Trial. Due to my personality, I hope to find a quiet, individual room if possible. Do you have any recommendations?"
The so-called Trial Tang Qi mentioned naturally means studies.
But here, it is referred to as the Thorny Trial, at least the stern-looking, blonde old lady in charge of receiving newcomers said so.
Not sure if it's his natural disposition or because of Ronald's entrusting, Pastor Benny was very affable towards Tang Qi. Upon hearing the question, he replied with a faint smile, "Ah, a brave child indeed. Let me think, which area might still have rooms for rent?"
"At this time, there really aren't many options left."
"But you've asked the right person, I do remember a few places where you can find a room that meets your requirements."
"Mr. Priest, are there any other options? This place is quite nice already, but if there's something better, I can afford the extra rent."
Tang Qi walked down the steps of a detached small building, apologetically saying to Pastor Benny.
There was a room available for rent inside the small building. Although there was no need to share, the owner himself lived on the first floor. Although it already met Tang Qi's requirements compared to the previous rooms he had seen, Tang Qi still wanted to try his luck and find the one that best met his needs.
Because of Ronald's instructions, Pastor Benny was indeed very responsible. Hearing Tang Qi's request, he wasn't annoyed; he simply stroked his face, frowned in thought for a moment, then replied with some difficulty, "There is one place that meets your requirements, yet it's a bit special. It's very quiet being near the Ascetic Society, but every dawn is their Cultivation time, so it might be a bit Abnormal. If you can accept that..."
Halfway through what Pastor Benny was saying, Tang Qi's eyes had already lit up.
Not long after, deep within the Holy Thorn Campus, in a secluded corner.
Tang Qi was saying goodbye with a smile to two people. One was Pastor Benny, who had completed the reception task, and the other was a white-haired old man with a rosacea nose. Tang Qi had just reached a rental agreement with the old man and rented the old man's two-story building at a price that was quite expensive by conventional standards.
After politely saying farewell, Tang Qi did not look back at the small building, whose walls were covered with ivy and which looked quite exquisite. Instead, he looked toward a few buildings at the end of a tree-lined path across a small grove: a bell tower, several small buildings grouped together, and something like a small square resembling a training ground.
"Ascetic Society!"
After looking a few times and seeing nothing special, Tang Qi shook his head, murmuring to himself before turning back to the building.
Pushing open the half-closed door, the interior layout of the small building was immediately clear: a small and refined living room, a rest area, a washroom, and upstairs lay the bedroom and guest room. The furniture and all essentials were present, obviating the need for Tang Qi to make any additional preparations.
The homeowner had included a bookshelf of books in the bedroom without moving them.
Even though the rent Tang Qi paid was somewhat overpriced relative to these amenities, for Tang Qi, it obviously wasn't a big deal, given his particular needs.
Moreover, he'd just come into a considerable fortune.
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