Jing Hongchen's Invitation

As the Snow Empress spoke, she produced a credential that was identical to Lin Yun's in every way, save for the signature.

Lin Yun looked at the credential in her hand and remarked, "You and the Ice Empress really have a knack for this."

The Snow Empress blinked and asked, "A knack for what?"

Lin Yun shrugged and said, "Forget it, forget it, it's nothing."

The Snow Empress muttered "baffling" under her breath, then turned to Lin Yun and asked, "Since this matter is settled, what are your plans?"

Lin Yun stretched his back and replied, "Plans? What plans could I have? The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament isn't far off now. I'll just spend this time preparing in peace and join the competition as part of the reserve team when the time comes."

The Snow Empress nodded and said to Lin Yun, "That works. I can also use this time to further refine my skills with Soul Tools. I've discovered that when we... when we combine our efforts with Soul Tools, the results are quite remarkable."

In her relaxed state, the Snow Empress had nearly let the words "we Soul Beasts" slip out.

Fortunately, being a high-level Soul Beast who had lived for so many years, she realized her mistake at the very last second and managed to swallow the word "beast."

Lin Yun didn't press the issue, choosing instead to quickly change the subject.

"For you, practicing with Soul Tools is indeed the best choice."

"After all, you don't need to cultivate deliberately; your Soul Power increases naturally."

Early the next morning, just as Lin Yun was preparing to head to the classroom, he saw a young man in white, his face covered by a mask, blocking his path.

Just as Lin Yun was about to ask who he was, the man raised a hand and said, "Hall Master Jing wants me to take you to see him. Come with me."

Lin Yun spread his bone wings and retorted, "You say 'come,' and I just go? Do you take me for a pushover?"

Ten minutes later, inside Jing Hongchen's office.

Jing Hongchen looked at the sack on the floor and asked the young man in white, "What is this?"

The young man in white replied helplessly, "This is the Lin Yun you asked me to invite."

Jing Hongchen immediately raised his hand and slapped him across the face.

"You idiot!"

"I told you to invite him, not to capture him! Are you deaf?"

The young man in white didn't get angry despite the slap; instead, he said aggrievedly, "It's not that I didn't follow your orders, but he tried to fight me right there in the dormitory area. I had no choice but to subdue him as quickly as possible."

"I only knocked him unconscious; I didn't cause any serious harm."

Just then, the sack ripped open with a pop.

Lin Yun stood up and said, "So it really was Hall Master Jing who invited me. Your method of 'inviting' people is certainly unique."

Jing Hongchen chuckled and said, "My subordinate is ignorant, and you're no better for insisting on fighting him."

Lin Yun straightened his face and retorted, "Are you kidding me? This guy didn't have a single credential. He just waved his hand and told me to follow him. How was I supposed to know if he was a spy or something?"

"Even though I'm not some big shot with a prestigious background, my life still has its uses. If I let just anyone drag me away with a single sentence, that would be a disaster."

Jing Hongchen glanced back at the young man in white, then waved his hand to dismiss him.

Lin Yun watched the young man leave before turning his gaze back to Jing Hongchen.

Jing Hongchen composed himself, stood up, and walked over to the sofa on the other side of the office.

"Please, sit, Student Lin."

Seeing Jing Hongchen act this way made Lin Yun feel a bit uneasy; after all, this man was known for his cunning, and it was impossible to predict what he was actually thinking.

Only after Jing Hongchen sat down did Lin Yun perch on the edge of the sofa.

Jing Hongchen reached out to grab the teapot and poured a cup for Lin Yun. Feeling completely uncomfortable, Lin Yun simply tapped the coffee table in front of him and said, "Look, Hall Master Jing, whether you want to kill me, punish me, or whatever else you have in mind, just give it to me straight."

"Stop torturing me here. You're a Titled Douluo, and you're pouring tea for a lowly Soul Ancestor like me. Are you doing this on purpose to mock me, or what?"

Jing Hongchen chuckled and replied, "You're being too distant. You are a student of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy now, which makes you a student of mine, Jing Hongchen."

"In this world, when a teacher pours a cup of tea for a student, how could that ever be considered mocking?"

Lin Yun looked at Jing Hongchen and said, "Then I'll just pretend nothing happened. Whatever you said, I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

This time, it was Jing Hongchen's turn to slam the table.

"Is my tea that easy to drink? Don't you dare spit it out; I'm watching you drink it."

Lin Yun set the teacup down and said, "That's more like it. If you have something to say, just say it directly. There's no need for all this empty posturing; it's exhausting. I can't play these mind games anyway—I'm just a martial brute."

"I don't understand those fancy, empty etiquettes."

Jing Hongchen took a sip of his tea and said, "I came to see you today, first of all, to ask you something. You've studied at Shrek Academy; have you ever heard of the Seed Project and the Ultimate Soldier Project?"

Lin Yun nodded and said, "I've heard of both projects, and I was even arguably a part of the former at one point."

"The Seed Project is how Shrek gathers geniuses of my age group through various means, though they don't study in the Outer Court or the Inner Court, but rather at another academy under Shrek's banner."

"The goal is to focus on rapid cultivation, keeping them in reserve for whenever the Sun Moon Empire decides to launch another offensive against the three original nations of the Douluo Continent."

"Because the top nobles of the three original nations rarely send their direct descendants to study there anymore."

"So, Shrek Academy has no real concept of the nobles' current strength, and this serves as a trump card."

"The Ultimate Soldier Project started much later than that one; it mainly focuses on the high-level integration of Soul Tools and Soul Masters, striving to reach a point on the battlefield where one person can defeat an entire army with the help of Soul Tools."

Jing Hongchen asked curiously, "You said you were a member of the Seed Project? But you studied at Shrek Academy."

Lin Yun smiled and said, "That's why I said 'arguably.' My Martial Soul has a dark attribute and was judged as an evil Martial Soul—what they call an Evil Soul Master—so I wasn't sent to that place for training. However, I held some of the same privileges as those people, such as being taken out individually for soul hunting at any time."

Jing Hongchen nodded, and Lin Yun, noticing a hint of worry in his expression, spoke up casually, "Anyway, Hall Master Jing, you don't go to the battlefield, so why do you care about these things? Aren't these things essentially just meant to serve the battlefield?"

Jing Hongchen replied, "The conclusion provided by our spies at Shrek Academy is that the original starting lineup for this year's Inner Court ran into some issues, so they have activated some members of the Seed Project to fill the gaps..."