Star Luo City?

Huo Yuhao had heard about the Jingyang Mountain Range on his first day of school. It was said to be one of the largest gathering places for Soul Beasts in the Sun Moon Empire, home to many metal-element Soul Beasts. It was indeed a very suitable choice for Xiao Hongchen.

Although Huo Yuhao had never been to the Jingyang Mountain Range, Chi Qiu said it was smaller than the Star Dou Great Forest. She suggested that when Huo Yuhao needed a Soul Ring, he should go back to the Star Dou Great Forest to look for one.

Huo Yuhao understood some of her reasoning, but they couldn't make such a long trip every time. He would probably have to look for a few of his Soul Rings in the Jingyang Mountain Range, too.

"I didn't realize Big Brother Xiao and Senior Meng had both reached level fifty. All right, see you in half a month."

Huo Yuhao spent those two weeks rushing from one thing to the next.

First came the end-of-month Soul Engineer assessment. In addition to preparing for his own written exam, he took on the task of tutoring Chi Qiu. Wang Dong's assessment was a little different, so there wasn't much Huo Yuhao could do to help her.

Chi Qiu was starting from scratch when it came to human mechanical knowledge. Huo Yuhao was a naturally gifted student, and much of what he knew had organized itself in his mind without any effort. But he had never explained it to anyone before, so teaching it proved unexpectedly difficult.

On the day of the assessment, Jing Hongchen kept his promise and came to watch them take the exam. The other students in Huo Yuhao's exam hall were terrified. This was a unified exam, after all, and Huo Yuhao wasn't the only one in the room. Many students' hands began to shake as they assembled their Soul Tools. Who could have expected the academy dean and Hall Master of Mingde Hall to show up in person?

And some students had prepared cheat sheets for the Core Array. Now they couldn't even look at them.

After finishing his creation and turning it in to be graded, Huo Yuhao boldly struck up a conversation with Jing Hongchen. "Dean, didn't you go with Big Brother Xiao and the others to hunt for Soul Rings?"

"Alas..." Electrolux let out a heavy sigh. "That child."

"Don't you have anything to say?" Electrolux asked.

Chi Qiu also realized what was going on and lightly nudged his arm. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Jing Hongchen sighed. "Normally, I would go, but I've been busy with affairs lately and can't leave the academy. I had to carve out time from my packed schedule just to come watch your exam today."

"Star Luo City?" Huo Yuhao was taken aback.

The Sun Moon Empire hadn't known about the situation at first, but Xi Xi had fallen within its borders, which had given it access to the intelligence.

He'd been busy these past few days and hadn't read the detailed notice about the tournament. He hadn't expected them to be going to Star Luo City.

"Important students... Could it be..." Huo Yuhao guessed.

Jing Hongchen nodded solemnly. "A few days ago, Shrek's team had a Titled Douluo or stronger guarding them, and they still suffered casualties among their important students. How can we feel at ease? Strong protection is essential. Our Level 8 Soul Engineers won't be as careless as that Douluo."

"A little," Wang Dong answered honestly. "But it's not a big problem."

"That's good. I was worried about that, but now I can relax."

"I heard it's a badge designed specifically for Core Array designers who don't make outer casings," Wang Dong explained. "They said Mingde Hall is supporting this profession, too. The aim seems to be to bring Soul Tool production onto a wider assembly line. I don't really understand the details."

Not long after Huo Yuhao turned in his work and successfully earned his Level 2 Soul Engineer badge, Chi Qiu and Wang Dong also earned their Level 1 Soul Engineer badges. Chi Qiu's and Huo Yuhao's badges had a Sun Moon design as the base, with the number of stars indicating their levels. Wang Dong's badge, however, was shaped like a six-pointed star array.

"Then we have a very good chance of winning the championship this year," Huo Yuhao said, though his tone was somewhat downcast. "But even if we win, we won't have beaten the full Shrek team. People will question how much the victory is worth."

Seeing that the reserve team had arrived, Elder Ma immediately called out to Huo Yuhao, who had been acting as the reserve team captain. "Bring them over. We're leaving at once. First, we'll stop at the Jingyang Mountain Range to pick up Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and the other team leader, then head straight to Star Luo City."

In his Sea of Consciousness, a gray glow soothed the waves stirred up by his turbulent emotions. The Nameless Seal also gleamed with a faint, almost imperceptible golden light.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me," Huo Yuhao replied at once.

Jing Hongchen seemed willing to continue the conversation. "I heard from Xiao that you've reached level twenty-eight. When you return from the tournament, we'll have the academy take you to find a suitable Soul Ring. And your friend, Chi Qiu—isn't she about to get her fourth ring, too?"

The subject was a little dangerous. Huo Yuhao hurriedly brushed it aside. "Qiu'er lived in the Star Dou Great Forest when she was little, and she only goes there to get her Soul Rings. It's inconvenient for people from our academy to go there, so the academy doesn't need to help her."

The teacher currently lecturing Ma Rulong was Elder Ma. The young teacher standing beside him was Yu Rufeng. Teacher Yu had received special permission to join the team, and his main task was to analyze the opposing Soul Masters' abilities.

"Ma Rulong." The old man's voice was deep and stern. "If you don't win the championship this time, you'd better start worrying about your position in Mingde Hall."

Once all that was taken care of, it was time to leave.

The teacher leading the team was a tall, intimidating old man. When Huo Yuhao arrived at the academy gate at the agreed time, he saw the man talking to a student on the official team who looked remarkably like him.

After that, Huo Yuhao stayed up late for a few more nights, making progress on the projects Xuan Ziwen had assigned him. At least that was enough to satisfy Xuan Ziwen. Then he successfully got leave, returned to his dorm, and spent a few days meditating and cultivating. Through his efforts, his cultivation broke past the level twenty-nine threshold.

At that moment, if anyone else had a divine sense on the same level as Electrolux and the Nameless Seal, they would have seen Electrolux silently watching the seal. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Empress still had only spiritual consciousness, so they sensed nothing.

Huo Yuhao opened his mouth. "A Soul Engineer above Level 8... Dean, do we really need to send someone that powerful?"

"Yes, that's exactly who they are," Jing Hongchen confirmed.

Over the past few days, Huo Yuhao had also gotten to know the official team. Their captain, Ma Rulong, was indeed powerful, handling his Soul Tools with effortless precision. Huo Yuhao had made a point of setting aside time to watch the official team spar so he could learn from him.

The reserve team hadn't sparred with the official team much. It was probably because Xiao Hongchen and Ma Rulong didn't get along.

"Even so, the academy has to ensure your safety. Here's what we'll do: we'll have a Soul Engineer above Level 8 protect her from a distance, and she'll carry a signal flare whenever she goes out."

"Yes." The young man named Ma Rulong nodded solemnly as well.

Huo Yuhao nodded. "It seems the world of Soul Tools is even broader than we imagined. We've only seen the tip of the iceberg. Does your head hurt?"

The seal flickered once, then dimmed, as if trying to avoid the subject.

"Thank you, Dean. I'll do my best."

...the place he had heard so much about in the Duke's Mansion.

"You and this child aren't the same anymore," Elder Yi said meaningfully. "It seems that when it comes to this, you don't think you can help him."

The seal fell silent for a long time, then flickered faintly. No one heard what it said, but Electrolux heard it clearly. Its voice brushed across Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, leaving only a sensation like a passing breeze.

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