"Senior, are you familiar with the team our academy is sending to the All-Continent Soul Fighting Tournament?"
He naturally wanted to join the academy team so he could compete in the next Soul Master Tournament. He needed to make his intentions clear early.
He had happened to see the Hongchen siblings today. Those two had surely already become reserve team members.
"Junior, do you want to compete in the Soul Fighting Tournament?"
Ju Zi was surprised.
"It's not easy to represent the academy in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament. You have to become a Level 5 Soul Engineer."
"Still, with your Soul Ring Configuration and age, you can join the reserve team and prepare for the tournament after next.
"Our Royal Academy team has always set its sights on Shrek Academy. The Shrek Team has always been formidable. Every team they field is made up entirely of Soul Kings, and sometimes even includes a Spirit Emperor. They're very strong."
Becoming a starter was difficult, but there was no problem with being a reserve.
As far as she knew, the dean's grandson and granddaughter were on the reserve team, preparing for the All-Continent Soul Fighting Tournament after next.
"The reserve team works for me, too."
Yang Hao wasn't picky about that. As long as he could compete, that was enough. Reserve team members could become starters, too—like the ones on Shrek's side.
"Teacher Ma is in charge of the academy team, and the captain is Ma Rulong. He's very strong..."
Ju Zi quietly shared what she knew. She had been keeping an eye on this.
One of her duties at the academy was to scout talent for the Crown Prince. Naturally, anyone who made the team and represented the academy in the All-Continent Soul Fighting Tournament was among the best.
And this junior was a key talent that both she and the Crown Prince had their eyes on. On top of that, they had a partnership, so he was one of their own. There was no need to keep this information from him.
Yang Hao listened attentively and committed the details about those people to memory.
There wasn't much to say about this year's starting lineup. Their Martial Souls were fairly ordinary, without any particularly powerful top-tier ones.
That was one of the Sun Moon Empire's defining traits. Its Martial Souls were far inferior overall to those on Douluo Continent, which was also a major reason why its strongest experts were outclassed by those on the continent.
But the Sun Moon Empire focused on the Soul Engineer system. Their strength came from Soul Tools, while Martial Souls and Soul Skills were secondary.
However, Soul Tools and a Soul Master's power complemented each other. If someone's Martial Soul and Soul Skills were too weak, it would inevitably hinder the Soul Tool's performance and might even become a liability.
So even though Soul Engineers were generally stronger than Soul Masters of the same rank early on, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy team still lost every time they faced the Shrek Team.
If he joined the reserve team, he would have to build a team with powerful Martial Souls and Soul Skills. Powerful Soul Tools were a must, too.
As that great man had said, you had to grasp both ends and make both strong.
At present, the academy's reserve team consisted of the Hongchen siblings. They were the only confirmed members so far; the rest were still being evaluated.
The main reason was that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had so many students. Even with age restrictions, there were still plenty to choose from.
Besides, students entered the academy at twelve. After only a few years, it was difficult to fully reveal their talent and potential, so they needed enough time to observe and screen candidates.
After all, the empire's royal family and the academy's honor were at stake. They had to pick the very best.
"With you joining the team, Junior, our academy is sure to win this time and finally break its losing streak against Shrek."
Ju Zi had great confidence in him and truly hoped he would win.
The next All-Continent Soul Fighting Tournament would be held in the Star Luo Empire. According to the information she had received, the previous tournament's Shrek reserve team had included the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao's eldest son, who had also been their captain. This time, he would surely be captain of Shrek's starting team.
She had a deep-seated grudge against the White Tiger Duke, and she didn't want Dai Hao's eldest son to win on Shrek's behalf.
"I think our academy should be able to win this time."
Yang Hao thought their odds were excellent. The main reason was that their Holy Spirit Cult honorary elder, Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi, was incredibly helpful. In the original storyline, he had gotten this year's starting team members killed or crippled, leaving only three fit to fight and slashing their strength considerably.
Now, Yang Hao had also whisked Ma Xiaotao away, costing them another top fighter.
Meanwhile, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had the Soul Armor technology he'd provided, which was enough to raise their strength by a whole level, especially their defense.
With one side weakened and the other strengthened, even if Huo Yuhao could cheat his way to victory, he would still lose. Besides, Yang Hao was a cheater himself.
After chatting with Ju Zi for a while, Yang Hao focused on his books until late into the night, then finally returned to his dormitory.
He spread out his spiritual power to isolate the area, then unfurled the Blue Silver Domain on his Chaos Eight Wings. Raising a hand, he condensed a clump of fire-attributed Soul Power. Around the outside, a halo was forming as it absorbed and burned the power of the Blue Silver Domain.
"It's almost done."
Yang Hao smiled broadly as he looked at the halo.
It was the Fire Domain he was developing—or rather, its embryonic form—using the Blue Silver Domain and the principle of Five Elements Mutual Generation.
The Blue Silver Domain could be considered wood-attributed. After all, Blue Silver Grass was a plant, so its domain could be viewed as a Wood Domain.
And in the cycle of Five Elements Mutual Generation, wood gave birth to fire. So after acquiring the Blue Silver Domain, he had been trying to use it to develop the Fire Domain.
The power he'd absorbed from the Ice Fire Spring Water last time had given him considerable insight. This time, upgrading Tang Ya's Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul had deepened his understanding of the Blue Silver Domain.
Further developing the Blue Silver Domain would naturally help him develop the Fire Domain.
Ordinary Soul Masters' domains were generally based on their Martial Souls, so they required a certain Soul Power Level. Usually, a Soul Master had to reach the Soul Saint rank to have a chance of awakening one.
There were exceptions, though. Tang San, for example, had awakened one ahead of time through his Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, while Tang Yuehua possessed an Innate Domain.
Yang Hao's domain, however, was rooted in a Soul Bone—and not just any Soul Bone, but a super Soul Bone that had reached the million-year level. Naturally, it had no requirements or restrictions regarding his Soul Power Level.
Even so, creating a domain out of nothing was still difficult, and he was limited to elemental domains.
Elemental powers had an innate advantage when it came to domains, making them easier to develop.
Yang Hao had now used the Blue Silver Domain and the principle of Five Elements Mutual Generation to develop the Fire Domain's embryonic form. He only needed to push a little further to complete it.
And once he developed his first domain through his own abilities, he could use the exceptional comprehension granted by his Golden Finger to understand its mysteries. Combined with the principle of Five Elements Mutual Generation, he would be able to grasp and develop the subsequent domains far more easily and quickly.
That was why developing the Fire Domain was so crucial.
Chapter 61: Defeating the Hongchen Siblings Again
After a night of cultivation, Yang Hao went to Mingde Hall the next day.
His schedule at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was packed. He studied at Mingde Hall in the morning. During that time, Jing Hongchen would personally come over to guide him in crafting Soul Tools and discuss research into the deeper development of rare metals.
Yang Hao arranged his afternoons freely, though most of the time he spent reading in the library.
At night, he meditated and cultivated.
It was incredibly fulfilling!
Before he had even entered Mingde Hall, two figures stepped in his way. They were the Hongchen siblings, whom he had met briefly the day before.
"Little brother, you're here."
Before Xiao Hongchen could speak, Yang Hao greeted him with a smile.
At that "little brother," Xiao Hongchen's face darkened, while Meng Hongchen laughed without a care in the world, enjoying her brother's embarrassment.
"I..."
Xiao Hongchen was about to speak, but Yang Hao interrupted him with a serious, earnest expression.
"Call me boss!"
"You..."
"Call me boss!"
Xiao Hongchen's face darkened even further, but in the end, he still called him boss.
"Boss!"
"I want to challenge you again."
He was challenging him again, clearly still unconvinced by yesterday's loss.
"No problem!"
Yang Hao didn't refuse. He genuinely wanted to bring Xiao Hongchen over to his side.
Winning him over would be as good as winning over Jing Hongchen—and even Mingde Hall.
After all, Jing Hongchen supported Xu Tianran's ascension to the throne, but Xu Tianran later suppressed him. He was bound to harbor resentment.
Yang Hao could take advantage of that and win Jing Hongchen over, paving the way to seize the Sun Moon Empire.
"Come on, let's go to my training room."
He beckoned them to follow. Yang Hao now held a high position at both the academy and Mingde Hall, with a research room and training room of his own.
"Your training room is even bigger than mine."
Looking at the enormous training room, Xiao Hongchen couldn't help feeling a little jealous.
"It really is a lot bigger."
Meng Hongchen was also surprised. It showed just how much status Yang Hao had at the academy.
"I'm ready. Come on."
Yang Hao summoned his Holy Sword Martial Soul and signaled for them to begin.
"I won't let you catch me off guard again this time."
Xiao Hongchen promptly activated his Martial Soul and took out the many Soul Guidance Cannons he had made himself, ready to unleash a powerful attack. But just then, Yang Hao spoke up.
"You've already lost."
"Huh?"
Xiao Hongchen was baffled. How had he lost when they'd only just started?
"Look below your belt."
At Yang Hao's prompt, Xiao Hongchen looked down. At first, he didn't notice anything unusual, but when he examined it closely, he spotted a thin gray needle stuck in his zipper, pointing straight at his vital parts. He couldn't help trembling.
The needle then flew back along the ground and landed in Yang Hao's hand. That was how it had crept over and hit its target just now.
Yang Hao had taken out his Holy Sword Martial Soul only to distract Xiao Hongchen, drawing his attention to the sword so he would overlook everything else. After all, he'd been knocked unconscious by that very sword the day before.
It was a little tactical trick, and a very practical one.
"Can your Martial Soul control metal, too?"
Once he had recovered, Xiao Hongchen was full of curiosity.
Yesterday, he'd thought it was some kind of long-range sword-control Soul Skill, but today it was clear that Yang Hao was controlling metal, not his Martial Soul.
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