Star Luo City

Lin Yun saw through the Sun Moon Empire's intentions, but he had no desire to call them out.

Having just transmigrated, he had immediately faced the death of his original body's parents and nearly been executed by Shrek Academy on suspicion of being an Evil Soul Master.

Afterward, he had studied at Shrek Academy, where merely surviving each day was an exhausting struggle.

He felt no sense of belonging to any of the four great empires.

With the mindset of a transmigrator who had arrived intact, he figured these four empires could fight all they wanted; in this era, as long as a Limit Douluo didn't want to die, no one could kill them.

Lin Yun made up his mind to simply use every resource and method available to arm himself.

As for the rest of the imperial conflicts, as long as they didn't bother him directly, he would pretend they didn't exist.

While Lin Yun was calculating these things in his mind, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were sitting across from him, their gazes fixed on him.

Ma Rulong had already advised Xiao Hongchen that taking a slight loss in his dealings with Lin Yun was acceptable, and he should try his best not to go looking for trouble.

But Xiao Hongchen still felt resentful; the losses he had suffered at Lin Yun's hands over the past few days were more than he had suffered in the previous five years.

If Lin Yun knew what Xiao Hongchen was thinking, he would have looked genuinely innocent—it was truly rare to find a wealthy young master with such a simple mind.

Xiao Hongchen was full of grievances, but the journey itself had been quite smooth.

After all, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy didn't have such grand ideals; they wouldn't go off hunting Evil Soul Masters halfway through a trip.

Lin Yun was actually curious about the performance of the strongest Soul King, the Death God, in this timeline.

After all, in this timeline, some of the feats of the Death God Soul King had already been snatched up by the Blood Blade Douluo ahead of schedule.

And at this very moment, the least impressive Death God was being chased around like a spinning top.

On the afternoon of the second day, the aircraft carrying the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy team landed on the outskirts of Star Luo City.

After landing, the team leader instructed both squads to prepare themselves, tidy up their slightly disheveled clothes, and enter Star Luo City through the exclusive entrance prepared by the Star Luo Empire.

The two squads, along with the accompanying teachers and logistics personnel like chefs, marched into Star Luo City in a grand procession of nearly thirty people.

Once the team entered the city, their style of dress, which was starkly different from the locals of Star Luo City, naturally attracted significant attention.

The Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire were at extreme odds, and the Star Luo Empire, in particular, had even used public opinion to launch attacks against the Sun Moon Empire.

Therefore, when the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy team arrived, they naturally encountered plenty of nitpicking and gossip.

Xiao Hongchen was disdainful at first, but as the insults grew increasingly biting, he couldn't help but turn back, ready to lose his temper.

Lin Yun was quick-witted and agile, reaching out to pull him back into the formation.

"If you don't want to screw us over, and you don't want to screw your sister over, don't bicker over these trivial matters."

"Don't you see the Star Luo Empire guards lining the streets? The moment you lay a hand on them, you'll be hauled off the next second."

"Even though we have high immunity, that only applies to public criminal law. In the process of them dragging you inside, they could kick you twice, punch you twice, and slap you twice, and you'd have nowhere to seek justice."

Xiao Hongchen gradually suppressed the anger in his heart and patted Lin Yun's arm, signaling that he understood.

"A bunch of gossiping fools. By the way, what's that smell on your hand?"

Lin Yun looked at his own hand and chuckled.

"Oh, I just finished having diarrhea and didn't wash my hands."

Xiao Hongchen: "Ugh!"

Lin Yun walked forward, stifling a laugh, and the rest of the journey passed without further incident.

Upon arriving at the hotel prepared by the Star Luo Empire for the contestants, they registered at the lobby.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was the runner-up team of the previous All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Although they weren't the champions, they still held relevant privileges and were assigned to the top-floor rooms alongside the previous champions, Shrek Academy.

They occupied half the rooms on that floor, and not only did everyone have a single room, but they were also equipped with an exclusive dining hall and a dedicated combat conference room.

Clearly, despite the conflict between the two nations, the Star Luo Empire recognized the commercial value of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy team when it came to such profitable ventures.

And they gave that commercial value sufficient respect.

It was a completely different style from the commoners blinded by public opinion.

Lin Yun even discovered some small details not mentioned in the original story.

For instance, some of the young female service staff in the hotel were quite interested in the male students of the main team.

Ma Rulong had just broken free from such an entanglement, and when he returned to the combat conference room, he still carried the scent of women's perfume.

Lin Yun couldn't help but tease him.

"Not bad, Captain Ma. You've only been in Star Luo for a few hours, and you've already had a romantic encounter."

Ma Rulong tightened his face and said, "Keep pushing it, and I'll kick you to the second floor. Tell me, you're from the Star Luo Empire—are all you Star Luo people this bold?"

Lin Yun smiled and replied, "Whether they're bold or not depends on who they're dealing with. If it's someone with high commercial value, what you just encountered doesn't even count as bold."

Ma Rulong couldn't help but slap the table and said, "If that wasn't unbridled, then the truly unbridled kind would have sucked me dry into a husk, wouldn't it?"

Lin Yun chuckled and replied.

"If it were truly unbridled, you wouldn't even be able to get up right now."

Ma Rulong shuddered instantly, and at this moment, the team leader tapped the tabletop in front of him.

"Alright, alright, both team captains, please settle down. The reason everyone has been gathered here is to commence our first pre-battle mobilization meeting."

"First of all, this meeting comes at a time when Shrek Academy is undergoing a generational shift, and new academies have appeared across the three original nations of the Douluo Continent, almost all of which have obtained qualification for this tournament through special channels."

"Judging solely by academy seniority, several of these teams actually do not meet the requirements."

"Therefore, our first-stage mission is to collect sufficient intelligence."

"The ideal scenario is that before the first few rounds of the official tournament begin, we will have grasped the latest situation regarding the majority of the academies."

"As for the intelligence work at this current stage, I would like to entrust it to the reserve team led by Captain Lin. What does Captain Lin think of this?"

The team leader's suggestion was not meant to be targeted; it was mainly because this intelligence-gathering task did not involve dangerous activities like silencing witnesses.

The main team members needed to rest and recuperate in preparation for the upcoming matches, and it was clear that this reserve team would not have many opportunities to take the stage during the first few rounds of the elimination tournament.

At the very least, they were not the first choice to compete, so they would have more free time than the main team members...