Classmates!

As the first rays of morning light once again spread over Mingdu, the sprawling city gradually came to life.

Sun Moon Royal Academy.

It was a cluster of hexagonal silver-white buildings over thirty meters tall, their flowing walls brimming with a sense of technology.

It was the time of year when new students enrolled at Sun Moon Royal Academy. Everywhere he looked, young teenagers in the prime of their youth came and went.

"What a familiar yet unfamiliar sight." Xu Tianyang looked at the scene before him and could not help feeling emotional.

Sun Moon Royal Academy had been established with funding from the Sun Moon Royal Family. It was the Sun Moon Empire's foremost institution, and every student admitted here possessed Innate Soul Power of no less than rank six.

The academy was divided into the Junior Academy and the Intermediate Academy, each of which had two major departments: Soul Masters and Soul Engineers. The Junior Academy taught for three years, while the Intermediate Academy taught for six.

There were several ways to advance to the Intermediate Academy. The simplest was to become a Soul Grandmaster or pass the Level Two Soul Engineer assessment. Some Soul Masters with Martial Souls that possessed special abilities could also receive special approval from the academy to enter the Intermediate Academy.

Of course, Xu Tianyang knew that above the Intermediate Academy was an Advanced Academy. Like Shrek's Inner Court, it was filled with the empire's elite talents.

Its purpose was to cultivate the empire's finest Soul Masters and Soul Engineers.

After absorbing his First Soul Ring, Xu Tianyang's Soul Power Level smoothly broke through to level thirteen, and he gained an exceptional soul skill.

Then, after Xu Yunxiao and Mu Mengyu made their decision, Xu Tianyang successfully enrolled in Sun Moon Royal Academy. It was not only to let him make friends and broaden his horizons, but also because the Sun Moon Empire was about to launch a war of unification against the Moonflower Empire. As the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire and commander of the Fire Phoenix Soul Tool Regiment, Xu Yunxiao and Mu Mengyu had no time to accompany Xu Tianyang. Compared to the palace grounds, the academy was more suitable for his growth.

Freshman Class One.

When Xu Tianyang entered the classroom, quite a few little kids were already chatting with one another. There were around fifteen or sixteen of them, and the entire classroom buzzed with noise.

"My Martial Soul is the Gale Sword, and my Innate Soul Power is rank seven. The future number one Sword Saint of the Sun Moon Empire will definitely be me. That means I'm the strongest in the class right now."

"My Innate Soul Power is rank seven too. My Martial Soul is the Ironclad Bear. Weapon Martial Souls can't compare to Beast Martial Souls. I'm the strongest one in class."

"Bullshit! Weapon Martial Souls are stronger. You big stupid bear are too slow—you can't hit me at all."

"Beast Martial Souls are stronger..."

Listening to the quarrel beside him, Xu Tianyang saw a skinny boy chasing after a chubby boy, throwing the classroom into complete chaos. Most of the students were showing off their Martial Souls, each with their own characteristics. Without exception, everyone in Class One had talent above rank seven Innate Soul Power.

Xu Tianyang smiled faintly. It was good to have energy. They were all talents of the Sun Moon Empire—the more, the better. He casually walked to a seat near the back, sat down, and quietly waited for the teacher to arrive.

"Hm? What an icy aura!"

Just as class was about to begin, Xu Tianyang's sharp senses detected a bone-chilling cold, making him frown slightly as he turned toward the door.

The next second, a blue figure entered his sight. She was a girl dressed in a fitted white outfit, wearing a blue-and-white cap. Long blue hair cascaded from beneath the cap and fell down her back. Her blue eyes and porcelain-doll-like cheeks made her seem like a doll herself.

However, when Xu Tianyang saw the coldness in her eyes, he felt that she was likely not as harmless as she appeared.

With the girl's arrival, the classroom also fell silent. Everyone stared blankly toward the door. Everyone loved beauty, and although most of them were still little brats, people on Douluo Continent matured early.

Ignoring everyone's gazes, the little girl walked expressionlessly to the back and sat down only two seats away from Xu Tianyang.

Xu Tianyang glanced at her in confusion. He did not know whether it was an illusion, but he seemed to have felt her gaze fall on him several times.

One of life's three great illusions?

"Hello, classmate. My name is Wang Yan. My Innate Soul Power is rank seven. What's your name? Where do you live..." Wang Yan was the chubby boy with the Ironclad Bear Martial Soul. In no time at all, he had run over to fawn over her.

Xu Tianyang could only marvel. At such a young age, Wang Yan already understood that one had to start looking for a wife early. Truly worthy of Love Continent.

"...#"

"Get lost!"

Apparently annoyed by Wang Yan's rambling, the little girl frowned and fixed him with an icy stare before coldly spitting out the words without a trace of emotion.

"You..." Rejected, Wang Yan's face immediately darkened. Just as he was about to lose his temper, the temperature in the classroom suddenly plummeted.

Terrifying cold air erupted from the blue figure's body. Several diamond-shaped ice spikes as thick as a baby's arm instantly formed and shot toward Wang Yan's chest in the blink of an eye.

"An Ice Attribute Martial Soul? Such powerful control. That fluctuation—she has already become a Soul Master!"

The instant she attacked, Xu Tianyang sensed her Soul Power Fluctuation. She was clearly at the Soul Master realm. He had not expected that, apart from himself, there was another Soul Master in the class.

Seeing Wang Yan's feet encased in a layer of Ice Crystal, as though he had been frightened silly and could only watch the ice spikes fly toward him, Xu Tianyang had no intention of saving him. At most, this attack would cause some superficial pain. It was nothing serious.

Besides, the Level Four Defensive Soul Tool on Wang Yan's wrist was not just for show. This attack could not harm Wang Yan in the slightest.

"If you want to spar, go to the Soul Fighting Arena. Fighting is prohibited in the classroom."

A gentle voice rang out. Xu Tianyang felt a wave of Soul Power sweep past, and in an instant, the cold air filling the classroom vanished completely. Even the ice spikes flying toward Wang Yan turned into mist and dispersed.

Turning around, he saw a beautiful figure standing at the door, her gentle gaze sweeping over the students in the classroom.

With the danger gone, Wang Yan recalled his performance just now, and his little face flushed bright red. The other students also came back to their senses, looking fearfully toward the seemingly harmless figure at the back of the classroom.

Although they knew that their Soul Tools would protect them and that she could not truly hurt them, those enormous ice spikes would definitely hurt when they came crashing down!

With the teacher's arrival, the classroom quickly quieted down. She slowly walked up to the podium and said, "Hello, everyone. I am Lin Ximeng, the homeroom teacher of Class One. Over the next three years, I will teach you some fundamental knowledge about Soul Masters and Soul Engineers. Now, let's begin with introductions. Tell us your name, Martial Soul, and Innate Soul Power level."

In the end, Class One had only nineteen students, so the introductions ended quickly. Most of the class possessed rank seven Innate Soul Power—fifteen in total. There were also two with rank eight, and one with rank nine: the blue-haired little girl who had arrived last, Xu Nianshuang.

Her Martial Soul was the exceedingly rare ice element, and she had already broken through to Soul Master, with twelve levels of Soul Power.

Last was Xu Tianyang, with his Innate Full Soul Power. When everyone heard Xu Tianyang's Soul Power Level, a wave of gasps immediately broke out. Even Lin Ximeng could not help showing surprise and envy.

Lin Ximeng quickly regained her composure and smiled. "Today is your first day of class. First, I'll tell you about the academy's basic situation and the classifications of Martial Souls."

"First of all, Martial Souls are divided into two main categories: Weapon Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls. There are also some special Martial Souls, such as Xu Nianshuang's Elemental Martial Soul. Whether Martial Souls or Soul Masters, they each have many further subcategories..."

Aside from students like Xu Tianyang, whose families had their own inheritances, there were also many Commoner Soul Masters from all over the country. No one had taught them this basic knowledge, so they could only learn it after coming to the academy.

After listening for a while, Xu Tianyang immersed himself in studying his newly acquired soul skill, preparing to see whether it had any other potential applications.

The day's lessons soon ended. As he walked out of the teaching building and looked at the excited students after school, Xu Tianyang smiled as well. Sure enough, no matter what world they were in, students all shared the same longing for school to end.

"Your Highness..."

"Zui Hongchen, don't call me Your Highness at school."

Two figures approached Xu Tianyang. Before they could even bow, Xu Tianyang stopped them.

They were the two rank-eight Innate Soul Power geniuses from Class One, and they were also acquaintances of Xu Tianyang.

Zui Hongchen was the most outstanding genius of this generation of the Hongchen Family. Like Xiao Hongchen, his Martial Soul was the Three-legged Golden Toad. His greatest talent was not his Martial Soul aptitude, but his aptitude for Soul Tools. Before even awakening his Martial Soul, he had already mastered the theoretical knowledge of Level One Soul Tools. Now, he was studying the knowledge of Level Two Soul Tools.

Huang Xiuwen came from an old-established Soul Master family of the Sun Moon Empire, one that held considerable influence within the empire. His inherited Martial Soul was the Purple Lightning Wyrm, and he was also the Huang Family's finest disciple of this generation.

"Then what should we call you?"

"Since we're classmates, you can call me Boss Xu or Brother Tianyang." Xu Tianyang looked at the two and spoke gently. They would be the foundation of his future faction, so he had to cultivate them properly.

"Boss Xu!" Zui Hongchen and Huang Xiuwen exchanged a glance before calling out in unison.

Xu Tianyang nodded. At that moment, Xu Nianshuang walked past the three of them.

Seeing this, Xu Tianyang turned and asked, "Which family does Xu Nianshuang belong to? Why haven't I heard of her?"

He had kept an eye on every notable family in the Sun Moon Empire, yet in his memories, there was no Xu family that inherited an ice element Martial Soul.

Zui Hongchen and Huang Xiuwen exchanged glances and shook their heads. "We haven't heard of her either. She should be from a remote region."

Xu Tianyang nodded and did not pay it any mind. He turned to Zui Hongchen and asked, "Zui Hongchen, how is the Spiritual Metal Forging project I mentioned last time coming along?"

Zui Hongchen's Martial Soul was the Three-legged Golden Toad, and his talent was metal control. If anyone was best suited to researching metal patterns, it was undoubtedly him.