Legendary Soul Art

"Were you even attacked before?" Number One questioned curiously as he observed Leon\'s bracelets. They were clearly defensive Artifacts that would activate once Leon was attacked.

"Of course, many times. I always managed to either run away or simply surrendered like earlier. You can always replace your Storage Ring but you can\'t replace your life so why risk it?" Leon replied with a shrug. "One time someone was determined to kill me but my wife\'s blessing saved me in time."

"Now I\'m even more interested to meet her," Number One commented while looking at the changing scenery ahead. "Hopefully she likes us and won\'t kick us out right away."

The Winged Soul City was actually much bigger if one were to count all the adjusting homes that were built around the shoreline of a gigantic lake. Not everyone could live on the main floating islands as it was limited to high-ranked Soul Artists and the members of the Winged Soul Academy.

That discrimination forced the beginner Soul Artists to settle down in the nearest land in the hope of one day making it to the top. The shoreline eventually turned into a mega city that seemed to have more residents than the main city.

"Don\'t worry, I will tell my wife about your sincerity and she will definitely repay your kindness," Leon assured cheerfully. "We live on the Southern Island if you want to come over right away."

"We will take you up on that offer," Number One agreed without hesitation. His meeting with the Board was nothing compared to improving the quality of his Soul Energy.

The whole group was led by Headmaster Blake and they slowly raised their altitude while crossing the border of the lake. Number One immediately felt as if he was hit by an invisible barrier and he soon understood what happened. The whole lake seemed to be monitored and one had to be approved by the patrolling guards to enter the floating city.

"The Winged Soul Academy became much stricter after one of the Auction Houses got destroyed," Leon pointed out as he withdrew a small token from the pocket in his shirt. "Only registered people can enter the city. If I were to lose it, I would have trouble returning home."

"Did they ever stop you for having white Soul Wings?" Number One wondered out loud and he hit the bullseye.

"It happens every day since I moved to the Winged Soul City," Leon replied with an eye roll. "The people can\'t seem to accept that a White Talent like me has Soul Wings. Last week they even tried to take my token away but my wife came to my rescue. I have never seen the guards this scared. It was hilarious to see the change on their faces after knowing who they dealt with."

Number One wasn\'t even surprised as Soul Talent shaming was always present. Even the Selection Academy had many who disdained him at the start and he had to prove himself to shut them up. He was almost sure the same situation would repeat when he entered the main Academy.

In fact, Number One didn\'t need to wait for long to experience the discrimination firsthand. After Headmaster Blake handled all the procedures, the Academy Guards began handing out special attachments to their Student Badges which would grant them access to the Winged Soul Academy island.

When it was Number One\'s turn, the guards looked at his wings with a frown and looked at each other with a knowing smile. They even whispered something to each other which caused them to chuckle.

Number One decided to deal with it right away but Luna was the first to take the shot. She snatched the token from the guard\'s hand and suggested coldly, "How about you say it louder so we can all laugh?"

"Excuse me?" the guard replied while taken aback. "It was nothing, just a joke."

The change in his expression towards Luna was completely different compared to Number One. He was gazing at her respectfully which irked her even further. "Let us hear it then. It\'s good to have some entertainment after such a long travel."

"It was really nothing Miss. I apologize if we offended you," the guard acknowledged with a slight nod and tried to continue distributing the tokens. He was only a Green Talent so he couldn\'t compare to Luna in status.

Too bad, the guards messed with the wrong women.

"Are you deaf?" Nami asked while staring daggers at the guards. "She asked you to tell us the joke. Were you laughing at us? Is this the reason you are not willing to say it?"

The guard paled when a Black Talent stepped in and he looked back to his friends for help. "I really wasn\'t! It was just an inside joke between us, right? Can you all confirm?"

The two other guards didn\'t hesitate to nod, "Yes, yes. We often guess who of the new recruits will be the first to drop out of the Academy. It\'s just jokes."

Headmaster Blake was gazing in their direction after noticing the commotion but the girls were only getting started. Number One had to step in before they went too far and called out with a smile, "Babe, it\'s okay. It\'s not a big deal. They obviously didn\'t hear about us so they can only judge us from our looks."

The Academy Guards raised their eyebrows at his words as they watched to see which girl would respond to his call and their eyes widened when both of them looked back. The blond beauty flew back into Number One\'s arms while recalling her wings and Luna joined them right after.

"Can we have our tokens?" Number One questioned while holding the two strongest beauties in his arms and embracing them intimately.

The shocked look on the guards\' faces was a clear example of why it was a bad idea to judge the book by its cover.