Star Luo City?

Star Luo City?

Huo Yuhao had heard an introduction to the Jingyang Mountain Range on his very first day of school. It was said to be one of the largest habitats for soul beasts in the Sun Moon Empire, home to many metal-attribute soul beasts, making it a truly suitable choice for Xiao Hongchen.

Although Huo Yuhao had never been to the Jingyang Mountain Range, Chi Qiu had mentioned that the scale of this place was inferior to the Star Dou Great Forest, and she suggested that when Huo Yuhao needed a soul ring, it would be better to return to Star Dou.

Huo Yuhao understood her reasoning, but he couldn't run that far every single time. He figured he would have to find a few of his soul rings within this Jingyang Mountain Range.

"I didn't expect Brother Xiao and Senior Sister Meng to have already reached level 50. Alright, see you in half a month."

During these fifteen days, Huo Yuhao could be described as working around the clock.

First was the unified soul engineer examination at the end of the month. In addition to preparing for his own written test, he also took on the task of tutoring Chi Qiu. Wang Dong's examination format was somewhat different, so there wasn't much Huo Yuhao could help with.

Chi Qiu was starting from absolute zero in learning human mechanical knowledge. Huo Yuhao was a talent-based learner; many concepts formed a system in his mind without needing to be organized, but he had never explained them to others, so guiding her turned out to be exceptionally difficult.

On the day of the examination, Jing Hongchen kept his promise and came to observe them. This terrified the other students in the same exam room as Huo Yuhao; after all, this was a unified exam, and Huo Yuhao wasn't the only one there. Many people's hands began to tremble as they held their soul tools. Who could have imagined that the academy's dean and the master of Mingde Hall would personally visit the exam room?

Furthermore, some people had prepared cheat sheets for core arrays, but now they had no chance to look at them.

When he finished his product and handed it in for grading, Huo Yuhao gathered his courage and struck up a conversation with Jing Hongchen: "Dean, didn't you accompany Brother Xiao and the others to hunt for their soul rings?"

"Sigh..." Electrolux let out a heavy sigh, "This child."

"Do you not intend to say anything?" Electrolux asked.

Chi Qiu also reacted, gently touching his arm: "Is there a problem?"

"None." Jing Hongchen sighed, "Under normal circumstances, I would go, but I have been busy with official business lately and it is inconvenient to leave the academy. Coming to watch your exam today was already me squeezing time out of a very busy schedule."

"Star Luo City?" Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned.

Originally, the Sun Moon Empire didn't know about this situation, but unfortunately, Xi Xi had fallen within their borders, which allowed them to obtain the intelligence.

He had been a bit busy these past few days, to the point that he hadn't checked the specific notifications for the tournament. He hadn't expected that they were actually going to Star Luo City.

"Important students... could it be..." Huo Yuhao had a guess in his heart.

Jing Hongchen nodded solemnly: "A few days ago, the Shrek team was protected by a powerhouse above the Title Douluo level, yet their important students still suffered casualties. How could we feel at ease with this? Strong protection is a must, and our level 8 soul engineers will not be as careless as that Douluo."

"There is a little bit." Wang Dong said candidly, "But it's not a big problem."

"That's good. I was worried about this, but now I can rest easy."

"It's said to be a badge specifically for core array designers who don't manufacture the outer shells." Wang Dong explained, "I heard them say that Mingde Hall is also supporting this profession, seemingly with the goal of bringing soul tool production into a more extensive assembly line. I don't really understand the specifics."

Not long after Huo Yuhao handed in his work and successfully obtained his Level 2 Soul Engineer badge, Chi Qiu and Wang Dong also secured their Level 1 Soul Engineer badges. Both Chi Qiu's and Huo Yuhao's badges featured the sun and moon as the base with stars denoting the level, but Wang Dong's badge was in the style of a hexagram array.

"Then our chances of winning the championship this year are very high." Huo Yuhao said, though his tone was a bit low, "But even if we win, we won't be defeating a complete Shrek team. The value of the victory will be questioned, right?"

Seeing that the reserve team was in place, Elder Ma immediately called out to Huo Yuhao, who had been acting as the reserve team captain during this period: "Bring them over. We are leaving immediately. We will first go to the Jingyang Mountain Range to pick up Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and another team leader, then head straight for Star Luo City."

In his Sea of Consciousness, a gray halo was soothing the waves caused by his turbulent emotions. That Nameless Seal was also flashing with a faint, elusive golden light.

"Thank you for your high regard." Huo Yuhao replied immediately.

Jing Hongchen seemed to have the intention to continue the conversation: "I heard from Xiao that you have already reached level 28. After this tournament ends and you return, let the academy take you to find a suitable soul ring. That friend of yours, Chi Qiu, is she also about to reach the fourth ring?"

This topic was a bit dangerous, so Huo Yuhao quickly brushed it off: "Qiu'er lived in the Star Dou Great Forest when she was young, and she only goes there to obtain soul rings. It is very inconvenient for people from our academy to go there, so there is no need for the academy to help her."

The team leader who was currently lecturing Ma Rulong was none other than Elder Ma. The young teacher standing beside him was Yu Rufeng. Teacher Yu had been specially approved to lead the team, with his main task being to analyze the abilities of the opposing soul masters.

"Ma Rulong." The old man's voice was deep, "If you don't bring back the championship this time, you should worry about your position in Mingde Hall."

Once these matters were settled, the day of departure arrived.

The teacher leading the team was a tall, imposing old man with a fierce reputation. When Huo Yuhao arrived at the school gate at the agreed time, he saw him speaking with the student among the main team members who looked seventy percent like him.

Afterward, Huo Yuhao stayed up late for a few more days to make some progress on the research project Xuan Ziwen had assigned him, which at least satisfied Xuan Ziwen. Then, he successfully requested leave and returned to his dormitory to meditate and cultivate for a few days. Through his efforts, his cultivation also crossed the level 29 threshold.

At this moment, if anyone else's divine sense had reached the level of Electrolux and the Nameless Seal, they would have seen Electrolux quietly watching the Nameless Seal. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress were still only spiritual consciousnesses, so they felt nothing.

Huo Yuhao opened his mouth: "A level 8 or higher soul engineer... Dean, is it necessary to send someone that powerful?"

"Yes, it is for their main team members." Jing Hongchen confirmed his thought.

Over these past few days, Huo Yuhao had also gotten to know the main team members. This Captain Ma Rulong was indeed powerful, and his use of soul tools was fluid and natural. In order to learn from him, Huo Yuhao had specifically set aside time to watch the main team's sparring sessions.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. "No problem." He said, word by word, "I am representing the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy in the competition; I have no other thoughts beyond that."

Their reserve team hadn't sparred with the main team many times, likely because Xiao Hongchen and Ma Rulong didn't get along very well.

"Even so, the academy must ensure your safety. In this way, we will have a soul engineer of level 8 or higher provide remote protection, and have her carry a signal flare when she acts."

"That is inevitable, but as long as we can break Shrek's winning streak, it can be considered a pretty good result." Jing Hongchen patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder in a soothing manner, "Don't think too much. There are plenty of ways to boost morale; just perform well."

"Yes." The young man named Ma Rulong nodded with a similarly serious expression.

Huo Yuhao nodded: "It seems the world of soul tools is even broader than we thought. We have only touched the tip of the iceberg. Do you have a headache?"

That seal flickered once and then dimmed, showing a clear tendency to avoid the topic.

"Thank you, Dean. I will definitely work hard."

...the place he had heard mentioned countless times in the Duke's Mansion.

"You and this child are already different." Elder Yi said meaningfully, "It seems that in this matter, you don't feel you can help him."

The seal remained quiet for a long time before flickering slightly again. No one heard what it said, but Electrolux heard it clearly. The voice brushed across Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, leaving behind a sensation like a gentle breeze.

It said: "I'm sorry, Teacher."