Mu En's voice gradually grew low.
"In the field of soul tool technology."
"We have fallen far, far behind the Sun Moon Empire."
As soon as he said this, the expressions of quite a few elders in the Sea God Pavilion changed slightly, especially those from the Martial Soul Department.
They all looked somewhat uncomfortable, because they knew Mu En was speaking the truth.
How could they not know that the Sun Moon Empire's development over the past few years had reached a frightening pace? But what could they do?
Unable to develop soul tools or keep pace, they could only go all in on martial souls. As long as they nurtured peerless geniuses, there was still hope for everything.
But how rare were peerless geniuses? At the very least, they had not cultivated a single one in the past century.
Seeing everyone lower their heads in silence, Mu En could not help sighing before continuing, "There is nothing shameful about admitting that you have fallen behind."
"What is frightening is knowing you have fallen behind, yet still believing yourself the best in the world."
That single remark made quite a few people feel ashamed.
Then, Mu En's gaze fell upon Qian Duoduo and Yan Shaozhe.
"Duoduo, Shaozhe."
The two rose at the same time and cupped their hands toward Mu En. "Teacher."
Mu En said slowly, "The Soul Guidance Department will select five students who are the most outstanding and promising in soul tool research."
"The Martial Soul Department will select another five elite disciples."
"They will form this exchange student team."
"And go to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy for study and exchange."
When he spoke the words "study and exchange," Mu En deliberately emphasized them.
"Remember."
"The purpose of this trip is not to compete or fight."
"Nor is it to flaunt Shrek's sense of superiority."
"It is to learn."
"To learn the techniques, concepts, and experience in which the Sun Moon Empire surpasses us."
Qian Duoduo looked solemn, though his heart stirred with excitement. The academy was finally going to value the Soul Guidance Department!
"Yes!"
Mu En nodded faintly, then shifted his gaze to Yan Shaozhe.
"The Martial Soul Department disciples have only one duty."
"To protect them."
"To ensure that the Soul Guidance Department students can study without concern."
"If anyone dares cause trouble, block it for them."
"But do not provoke trouble yourselves."
"And do not ruin the academy's broader plans over a momentary fit of temper."
Yan Shaozhe nodded solemnly.
"This disciple understands. Please rest assured, Teacher."
Mu En leaned back into his chair and slowly closed his eyes in weariness.
Yet his final words made everyone's hearts tremble.
"Remember."
"This time, it is not about who teaches whom."
"It is about who can set aside their pride and learn more useful things."
"If we can bring back the Sun Moon Empire's most advanced soul tool technology."
"That would be more valuable than winning a hundred soul fighting matches."
With Mu En's final decision, the matter was settled. Compared with the somewhat rigid Shrek, the Sun Moon Empire seemed far more open-minded.
Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, Third Laboratory.
This was Xuan Ziwen's private laboratory, as well as the place where he normally taught students and conducted research.
And Xu Tianyao had officially begun studying soul tool courses.
He had never imagined that becoming a qualified Soul Engineer could be so difficult.
Setting everything else aside, the basic theoretical knowledge alone was vast beyond measure.
From precise Soul Power control to foundational soul tool theory, rune analysis, materials science, and more.
It truly gave Xu Tianyao a headache, but fortunately, with Xuan Ziwen's explanations and guidance, his studies yielded twice the result with half the effort.
And today, he had officially met Xuan Ziwen's other students: Ju Zi, Keke, and the others.
Xu Tianyao was rather curious about Ju Zi. Likewise, Ju Zi, who had yet to encounter Xu Tianran, was equally curious about Xu Tianyao.
Thus, each harboring their own thoughts, they became senior sister and junior brother.
Since Xuan Ziwen did not have much time to spare, many of the foundational lessons were taught and explained by Ju Zi and Keke.
As time passed, they became familiar with one another, and Xu Tianyao could clearly sense the difference between his two senior sisters.
Ju Zi was the kind of shrewd, intelligent girl who grasped many things with just a hint. Being around her was very comfortable.
Keke, meanwhile, was the very image of a college student, clear-eyed yet brimming with innocence and foolishness.
Aside from flirting with Meng Hongchen and bickering with Xiao Hongchen, Xu Tianyao devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.
Ever since condensing the Sun-Moon Soul Core, he had truly experienced firsthand just how terrifying the thing was.
Cultivating Twin Martial Souls simultaneously was already faster than ordinary soul masters' cultivation and produced higher-quality Soul Power. Now, with the Soul Core cultivating alongside them, it achieved an effect where one plus one was greater than two.
In just a few months, with winter nearly arriving, he had finally broken through to Soul Elder before turning eight.
Yet after breaking through to Soul Elder, choosing his soul ring became difficult.
Why was it difficult?
His first soul ring was a thousand-year Red Sun Golden Crow, and his second was the five-thousand-year Blazing Lion King raised in the Royal Forest.
For his third soul ring, they had no options left. Soul beasts were already scarce and of poor quality in the Sun Moon Empire, and high-quality thousand-year soul beasts suited to the Sunlight Martial Soul were even harder to find.
Xu Tianyao himself was also unwilling to continue absorbing a thousand-year soul ring for his third ring.
He had absorbed thousand-year soul rings for his first two rings. It would simply be absurd if his third soul ring were not ten thousand years.
Not to mention that high-quality ten-thousand-year fire-attributed soul beasts were extremely difficult to find.
Even the ten-thousand-year age limit itself, along with the spiritual shock brought by a ten-thousand-year soul ring, gave Xu Tianyao quite a headache.
After thinking it over repeatedly and recalling every plotline in his mind.
He quickly came up with two possible directions.
One of them was the God Sealing Platform.
In his previous life, the Snow Empress had sensed that she could not survive her next heavenly tribulation, so she ultimately chose to transform into human form and recultivate, hoping to seek a chance at survival through another path.
Yet at the very moment when she was weakest and most incapable of resistance, she was discovered by a Level-9 Soul Engineer and forcibly sealed into the God Sealing Platform.
At first glance, it seemed to be nothing more than a coincidence.
But when Xu Tianyao carefully reconsidered the entire matter, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
A coincidence?
How could there be so many coincidences in this world?
A Level-9 Soul Engineer entered the innermost core region of the Far North for no reason.
He happened to encounter a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul beast transforming into human form to recultivate.
And he happened to carry a Level-Nine Soul Tool specifically designed to restrain soul beasts—the God Sealing Platform.
With this string of coincidences piled together so tightly, it could no longer be coincidence. It was clearly a deliberate arrangement.
How cautious was the Snow Empress? How powerful was she!
If she decided to transform into human form and recultivate, she would certainly choose an absolutely hidden, absolutely safe location. She would not even let any soul beast know her whereabouts.
Under such circumstances, how could an outsider possibly find her so precisely?
Unless that person had been searching for the Snow Empress from the very beginning.
Perhaps they had even long since grasped her movements.
At that thought, Xu Tianyao's gaze gradually deepened.
To verify his conjecture, he had specifically asked Kong Deming, Xu Tianran, and Jing Hongchen.
The answers he received were surprisingly consistent.
Among the Sun Moon Empire's current Level-9 Soul Engineers, none possessed a special Soul Tool similar to the God Sealing Platform.
There was not even a manufacturing record for it. That made things clear.
Because this kind of Soul Tool was too unusual.
It not only required a large amount of rare resources, but also an extremely vast research team working together to complete it.
It was definitely not something a Level-9 Soul Engineer could secretly make alone in a laboratory.
Before you continue