Heaven Dou Royal Academy

Winter gave way to spring, and the new year began.

The grand gates of Heaven Dou Royal Academy were already crowded with people.

Today was the final review day for the academy's annual admissions, and the last chance for those with connections to "fill in the gaps."

The atmosphere in the Education Committee's meeting hall was somewhat tense.

Meng Shenji clutched the stacks of freshly delivered recommendation letters, each stamped with the private seals of various nobles and sects. His grizzled brows were drawn tightly together.

Beside him, Bai Baoshan still wore his usual genial smile, though a trace of impatience showed in his eyes. Zhi Lin, meanwhile, remained expressionless, his gaze cool.

"Do these nobles and sects really think Heaven Dou Royal Academy is a shelter? They dare stuff any Tom, Dick, or Harry in here!"

Meng Shenji stared at the stack of recommendation letters in his hands, his voice tight with suppressed anger.

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He slammed the letters down on the table. "What kind of rotten melons and cracked dates are these? One of them even has Blue Silver Grass as his Martial Soul and an Innate Soul Power of 0.5. Do they think the three of us old men are blind?"

Bai Baoshan gave a light cough. His round face still wore the same smile, but his tone held a note of helplessness. "Elder Meng, calm down. We still have to give these nobles some face. If we reject them outright, it won't look good."

"Hmph! We should give them face, of course, but we can't abandon the academy's rules!" Meng Shenji's gaze turned icy. "Starting this year, I intend to give these students who got in through the back door an additional test. The three of us will be the examiners."

"Oh, Elder Meng, you've finally decided to stand firm for once?" Zhi Lin's soft, effeminate voice carried a hint of encouragement. "Good for you, Elder Meng. I'm backing you. But when those nobles give you a hard time later, you'll have to keep your wits about you. Don't let us down."

Bai Baoshan, sitting beside them, rolled his eyes at their exchange.

You do this every year. You're not embarrassed, but I am!

Sighing, he picked up a recommendation letter from the table and opened it. The information inside made his expression change.

"Lan Yin, ten years old, Innate Full Soul Power, a level twenty-five Soul Grandmaster, and his weapon Martial Soul is the Gan Jiang and Mo Ye swords... This profile is almost too impressive!"

"Innate Full Soul Power?"

"A level twenty-five Soul Grandmaster at ten!"

Meng Shenji and Zhi Lin looked at Bai Baoshan in disbelief. Meng Shenji's expression darkened. "Old Bai, this isn't a very funny joke."

As far as he was concerned, a seed with Innate Full Soul Power wouldn't be handled with just some random recommendation letter.

"See for yourselves! This letter was jointly submitted by several nobles at the request of the Pavilion Master of Moonlight Pavilion!" Bai Baoshan said, handing the letter to Meng Shenji, who still looked displeased.

"Moonlight Pavilion? Would its Pavilion Master really do something like this?"

Meng Shenji frowned. Though the Pavilion Master, Tang Yuehua, was well known among the empire's aristocracy, she had no authority to recommend students.

He wanted to see what was so special about a student she'd gone to such lengths to send their way.

"Whether it's true or not, we'll know with a test. Since today is the review day, let him come in and take a Soul Power test, then show us his Martial Soul. That's the procedure." Zhi Lin's sinister voice rang out.

"If the information is accurate, it would be best to admit a genius like this to the academy. If any of it is false..."

A glint flashed in his eyes. "Then we'll have the perfect excuse to use this case of Moonlight Pavilion's 'false recommendation' to rein in those connections that are growing more and more brazen."

Meng Shenji took several deep breaths, calming himself. He stared at the recommendation letter in his hand, his expression settling into resolve.

"Zhi Lin is right. It's decided."

The three of them composed themselves, solemnly returned to their seats, and formally began the review.

Before long, the hall's doors opened, and a tall, upright young man in a simple moon-white robe stepped inside.

Faced with the invisible pressure exuded by the three Soul Douluo committee members, he calmly stepped forward and bowed.

"This student, Lan Yin, greets the three committee members."

His voice was clear, neither servile nor overbearing.

The three men fixed their sharp eyes on him.

With their keen perception, they could naturally tell that the boy's aura was steady and his Soul Power restrained. His foundations seemed quite solid; he didn't look like someone who had built himself up entirely on medicinal supplements.

But that did nothing to dispel their doubts.

"Lan Yin, is it?" Meng Shenji asked coolly. "Several nobles jointly recommended you for admission. Your file says you're ten years old, your Martial Soul is the Gan Jiang and Mo Ye swords, you have Innate Full Soul Power, and your Soul Power is now level twenty-five?"

"Yes," Tang Yin replied.

"Test your Soul Power first." Meng Shenji pointed at the Soul Power testing crystal ball in the middle of the hall. His instruction was concise, without any unnecessary words.

Tang Yin nodded and took a few steps forward, stopping in front of the crystal ball.

"Vmmm—"

Lan Yin's Soul Power flowed into the crystal ball.

The ball first shone with a gentle white light, then quickly blazed brighter.

"Level twenty-five! His Soul Power is solid and abundant, and his foundations are deep!" Bai Baoshan exclaimed.

There was no faking this Soul Power fluctuation. It had unquestionably come from actual cultivation, and it far surpassed that of others at the same level!

Joy flickered across Zhi Lin's face as well.

"Ahem!" Meng Shenji cleared his throat, suppressing his excitement. His expression grew much kinder.

"Lan Yin, summon your Martial Soul!"

"Gan Jiang! Mo Ye!"

Tang Yin raised both hands slightly. Three inches above his palms, a long weapon and a short one appeared, one over each hand.

With Tang Yuehua's connections having completely resolved any concerns about his identity, there was no need to keep anything else hidden aside from his Twin Martial Souls.

Tang Yin's thoughts stirred, and Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath his feet.

The first was yellow, a Hundred-Year Soul Ring of pure color.

When the second Soul Ring rose—

Vmmm!

A rich, deep, pale-purple glow instantly filled half the hall!

"A... a Thousand-Year Soul Ring for his second?!" Zhi Lin's voice changed pitch. He could no longer maintain his cool, effeminate composure.

Meng Shenji and Bai Baoshan were even more dumbfounded. They stared fixedly at the purple Soul Ring revolving around Tang Yin, as if they'd seen a ghost.

A Sword Martial Soul with Innate Full Soul Power, a level twenty-five Soul Grandmaster at ten years old—those things were astonishing, but the continent had no shortage of geniuses like that. They were surprised, but not enough to lose their composure.

But... a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his second?!

This shattered all common sense in the Soul Master World! It was theoretically "impossible"!

Yet the purple Soul Ring before their eyes, though pale and only just over the thousand-year threshold, gave off a solid energy fluctuation... it was unmistakably a genuine Thousand-Year Soul Ring! It was no illusion or disguise!

What kind of monster was this boy called Lan Yin? How had he done it?!

The hall fell deathly silent, broken only by the three committee members' heavy breathing.

Tang Yin calmly withdrew his Martial Soul and Soul Rings, then bowed again. "This student has finished his demonstration."

Meng Shenji slowly sank back into his chair, his fingers turning faintly white from gripping it so tightly.

Moonlight Pavilion hadn't sent them some "student with connections." They'd sent them a peerless prodigy capable of overturning everything they knew!

Bai Baoshan wiped at his forehead, though there wasn't a bead of sweat there, and gave a dry chuckle. "Heh... good, good. As expected... heroes emerge in youth."

Zhi Lin's gaze shifted, uncertainty and suspicion flickering in his eyes, but there was more than either of those—a burning excitement at having discovered a treasure.

"Lan Yin..." Meng Shenji began slowly, his voice still somewhat hoarse. "We understand your situation. Heaven Dou Royal Academy welcomes you."

He paused and looked over the class assignment list, his gaze finally settling on Heaven-Supreme Class One. He added, "For now, you'll have to settle for joining Heaven-Supreme Class One. The current homeroom teacher is a young man named Qin Ming. He's only twenty-six, yet already a level fifty-two Soul King."

Qin Ming?

Tang Yin was slightly taken aback at the familiar name.

What a coincidence. Qin Ming had invited him to Heaven Dou Royal Academy a few months ago. He hadn't expected that he'd now been assigned to Qin Ming's class.

It really was a small world!