Whetstone, Clear Sky Sect

At the top-floor attic of Mingde Hall,

A white-haired man wearing a monocle sat before a workbench. His eyes carried the weight of countless years, yet he looked no older than a youth in his twenties or thirties, always wearing a gentle smile.

He was Jing Hóngchén, Hall Master of Mingde Hall and Dean of Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy.

"Jiayi, what brings you here?"

"I have a battle recording that I hope Hall Master will take a look at."

Lin Jiayi, the vice dean, placed a crystal-like Soul Tool on the table. After injecting Soul Power into it, a blue recording screen materialized in midair.

The recording showed the sparring match between Zi Yao and Wang Dong.

"Interesting. It has been a long time since I last saw such a pure battle between Martial Soul Masters."

Jing Hóngchén said with a faint smile.

At first, he had assumed it was merely a spar between two Soul Elders. But as the pace of the battle steadily quickened, his expression gradually turned solemn and his eyes narrowed slightly.

The recording ended when Zi Yao pressed the Blue Silver Overlord Spear against Wang Dong's throat.

Jing Hóngchén fell into deep thought, clasping his hands together on the table.

Wang Dong's Light Goddess Butterfly was already extremely powerful, possessing first-rate mobility and destructive power.

Yet Zi Yao was undoubtedly even more monstrous.

At Level Thirty-one, the combat strength he had displayed alone was already at the level of a Soul King. He might even have more trump cards up his sleeve.

"Hall Master, that White-Haired Youth is Zi Yao, the top-ranked student in this year's assessment. The pink-and-blue-haired youth is Wang Dong, who came in second."

Lin Jiayi put away the recording Soul Tool and spoke gravely.

Neither of them had used Soul Tools, yet they had already reached such a level.

Once they became Soul Engineers, the boost to their combat strength would be even more terrifying.

"Those two who rejected our Black Card training?"

Jing Hóngchén looked up and pressed for confirmation.

"That's right. Neither of them seemed to care much about the Black Card. They appear to have extraordinary backgrounds." Lin Jiayi said solemnly.

Jing Hóngchén nodded lightly.

"The Sun Moon Empire's Soul Masters have always been less gifted than those of the other Three Great Empires. Whether it is the Light Goddess Butterfly or the Blue Silver Emperor, neither could possibly belong to a native of the Sun Moon Empire."

That was right.

He had mistaken Zi Yao's Martial Soul for the Blue Silver Emperor. After all, the Blue Silver Overlord Spear had once been renowned throughout the continent, so finding records of it was not difficult.

"Could they have been sent by Shrek?" Lin Jiayi asked tentatively.

"Shrek? No, no, no. Jiayi, you do not understand. Shrek, like the Three Great Empires, believes that traditional Soul Masters are superior to Soul Engineers. Until we use Soul Tools to beat some sense into them, they will never wake up."

Jing Hóngchén sneered.

Soul Tools advanced with each passing day, while progress in the Martial Soul Master system was painfully slow.

That was the charm of research.

Ten Thousand Years Ago,

Using human armies to wear down a Titled Douluo to death would have sounded like a joke.

But now, a well-equipped Soul Engineer battle regiment was already fully capable of achieving such a result.

More than three thousand years ago,

Had Shrek not produced a miraculous champion, an Ultimate Douluo with an Extreme Attribute, who rallied all the top experts of the Three Great Empires to attack the Sun Moon Empire together,

The other Three Great Empires would likely have long since been unified by the Sun Moon Empire, and Douluo Continent would have become Sun Moon Continent.

"Then those two children..."

"It is nothing. No matter what their intentions are, all secrets concerning the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineers are kept within Mingde Hall. Just train them as ordinary students."

Jing Hóngchén said with a faint smile, then added with interest, "Besides, do you not think their arrival is a good thing? Only by putting a catfish among sardines will the sardines struggle to swim."

"These favored children cannot find opponents within the academy. It is time to find them a whetstone."

Lin Jiayi understood Jing Hóngchén's meaning and frowned.

"But Xiao'er and Meng'er have already broken through to the Soul King realm. Wouldn't that..."

"Then wait until the end of this term."

Jing Hóngchén waved his hand.

"If anything happens during the match, we will stop it immediately."

"Yes."

Lin Jiayi lowered his head slightly in acknowledgment.

Elsewhere,

Zi Yao and Wang Dong walked down the street.

"Hey, is your Martial Soul the Blue Silver Emperor? What is your relationship with that Sea God from Ten Thousand Years Ago? Could you be the current Tang Sect Master?"

Wang Dong followed behind him like a little tagalong, firing off question after question.

"First, my name is not 'hey.' It is Zi Yao."

Zi Yao said flatly.

"Second, who said that having a Blue Silver Emperor means I must be related to the Sea God? Has the Blue Silver Emperor become his exclusive possession or something?"

"That is not what I meant. It is just that in the past ten thousand years, he has been the only Blue Silver Emperor Soul Master."

Wang Dong said awkwardly, not knowing why she had suddenly become so interested in this matter.

Suddenly,

Zi Yao's First Soul Ring lit up, and an incomparably gentle female voice rang out within his Sea of Consciousness.

"Master, this child possesses the purest imperial Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline."

"I know. Go back to resting."

Zi Yao replied.

If your senses were a little sharper, you would know that her bloodline contains more than just the Blue Silver Emperor. There is also the Soft Bone Rabbit, human blood, and the Butterfly God. She has enough bloodlines in her body to fill a mahjong table.

"Oh, right. My name is Wang Dong. Nice to meet you."

Wang Dong said warmly, her voice softening.

Not nice to meet you at all...

Zi Yao grumbled inwardly.

Buddha Ancestor Tang was probably watching him from the heavens right now. After all, Douluo Continent was a plane under his jurisdiction.

He just wondered what his parents would think if they saw this.

Still, they would probably approve of this match with both hands and feet. Before he had even been born, they had always treated Tang Wutong as their daughter.

If he could bring Tang Wutong home, they would probably see it as gaining another daughter.

As for Buddha Ancestor Tang's intentions, Zi Yao understood them perfectly well.

Trying to tie me down?

Heh, what a foolish dream. Only that dim-witted child Huo Yuhao would fall for your tricks.

They arrived at the academy cafeteria.

As an academy funded by the Empire, Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy offered the very best in every regard.

As long as one had money, one could even buy precious cultivation-enhancing ingredients here, such as processed hundred-year Savage Beef or hundred-year Ice Silkworm.

Zi Yao and Wang Dong went to the recharge counter together, each depositing ten thousand Gold Soul Coins as temporary spending money.

The attendant at the recharge counter looked as if he had seen a ghost. He had apparently never seen anyone deposit ten thousand Gold Soul Coins onto an Electronic Card before, and thought that these two youths must be scions of some great Nobles.

The two went to the serving counter and each ordered a Top-tier Meal before sitting down in the waiting area.

"Hey, Zi Yao, just what faction do you come from?"

While eating, Wang Dong could not hold back any longer and continued asking.

Zi Yao's identity was definitely not simple. He spent lavishly, and at the same age, he was even stronger than her, the Young Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect.

"Before asking someone else, should you not introduce yourself first?"

Zi Yao took a bite of Braised Beef and asked indifferently.

Wang Dong seemed to think that made sense. Seeing no one around, she secretly leaned close to Zi Yao's ear and whispered, "Have you heard of the Clear Sky Sect? I am actually the Young Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect."