Nonsense!

"Furthermore."

A hint of a smile flashed in Jing Hongchen's eyes.

"I, Jing Hongchen, have always believed in trusting those I employ and employing those I trust. Since his background has been thoroughly investigated, what is there to worry about?"

Elder Ma nodded, but he still couldn't help but say:

"But the investment of resources is, after all, no small amount..."

"Resources?"

Jing Hongchen continued, cutting Elder Ma off.

"What do you think Ye Luochen lacks the most?"

Elder Ma was stunned for a moment and shook his head.

Jing Hongchen said slowly:

"It is not resources, nor is it teachers. What he lacks most is recognition."

"According to my investigation, this child hasn't received anything good during his years at Shrek."

"No status, no attention, no rewards, and not even a fair chance to prove himself."

"Otherwise, why would he leave his homeland and travel thousands of miles to our Sun Moon Empire?"

Hearing this, Elder Ma became thoughtful.

Jing Hongchen continued:

"A person's greatest disappointment often stems not from poverty, but from their efforts going unrequited."

"And Ye Luochen is precisely that kind of person."

"He has talent and is willing to work hard, yet he was repeatedly excluded by the core of Shrek and failed to receive the rewards he deserved."

"Since that is the case, we shall give it to him. Whatever he lacks, we will provide."

"Resources, status, access rights, recognition, training qualifications..."

"We will give him everything."

Jing Hongchen turned around, a faint smile on his face.

"As long as he feels that his efforts in Mingde Hall can be rewarded, that this place is worth staying in, that he develops a sense of belonging, and that he can truly see himself as one of Mingde Hall and be truly used by us."

"Then what do these investments even amount to?"

After leaving Mingde Hall.

Ye Luochen did not return directly to his dormitory, but instead looked down at the silver badge in his hand.

Since his access rights had been upgraded, there was naturally no reason not to use them.

Relying on the badge, he passed through several metal gates, the areas along the way gradually becoming unfamiliar.

Until the final heavy metal door slowly opened, the scene before him suddenly widened.

Even though Ye Luochen had already been in Mingde Hall for half a month and his horizons had been broadened significantly, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks at the sight before him.

What met his eyes was an experimental hall many times larger than the previous ones.

Dozens of experimental benches were arranged neatly.

Various large-scale soul guidance devices that he had never seen before were placed within.

There were soul guidance shields shimmering with various lusters standing quietly.

There were silver-white aircraft hovering in mid-air.

He could even see several giant soul guidance cannons over ten meters in length.

Just sitting there, they gave off an astonishing sense of oppression.

Ye Luochen's gaze swept across the hall.

Compared to the experimental area he had been in before, this place was simply too shocking.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"New here?"

Ye Luochen turned his head to look.

Not far away, a young man was putting down the blueprints in his hands and casting his gaze toward him.

Ye Luochen quickly said:

"Yes, Teacher. My name is Ye Luochen."

Hearing this, the young man raised an eyebrow and looked Ye Luochen up and down.

"So you're the little guy who went from zero to a Level 2 soul master in fifteen days?"

Ye Luochen nodded and said:

"Yes, Teacher."

However, to Ye Luochen's surprise, after receiving the affirmative reply, the other party did not say anything else to him, nor did he do anything.

He simply gave a faint "Oh."

Then, he lowered his head once more to look at the blueprints in his hands.

It was as if the topic had just come to an end.

Seeing this, Ye Luochen could only stand where he was.

Judging by his attire, it was clear that he was a teacher.

And being able to appear in this area meant that he was certainly a high-ranking teacher.

In this situation, if the other party didn't speak, he didn't know if he should leave or not.

The air grew inexplicably quiet.

After a long while, just as Ye Luochen could no longer hold back and was preparing to continue walking inside, the young man suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up.

"Wait, how did you get in? Let me see your authorization badge."

Ye Luochen was stunned, but he still handed over the silver badge he had just received.

The man took it casually and glanced down at it.

The next moment, his brows furrowed noticeably.

He flipped the badge over to look at it again, confirming he hadn't misread it, and then asked, "Who gave you this badge?"

"The Hall Master gave it to me."

Ye Luochen answered honestly.

Upon hearing this, the man was silent for a few seconds before spitting out two words:

"Absurd!"

Ye Luochen: "..."

Hearing the man before him dare to call the actions of the Mingde Hall Master absurd, Ye Luochen didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Yet the man seemed completely unaware of whom he had just criticized, continuing to frown as he said, "You are only a Level 2 Soul Engineer; why give you such high authorization?"

"Data from levels one to eight, rare metal quotas, internal research records—everything is open to you."

"Isn't this absurd!"

Listening to the man's words, the corners of Ye Luochen's mouth twitched slightly.

He really didn't dare to respond to that.

Fortunately, the other party didn't seem to expect an answer from him either; after complaining for a bit, he tossed the badge back.

"Fine, since it is the Hall Master's decision, there is nothing to be said."

After speaking, the man fixed his gaze on Ye Luochen once more.

"Since the authorization has been granted and you have been allowed in here, I will ask you a few questions."

Ye Luochen straightened his expression.

"Please go ahead, Teacher."

The man continued, "What is the typical energy loss rate of a Level 2 linked core array?"

Ye Luochen pondered for a moment.

"Between twelve and eighteen percent, with fluctuations depending on the materials and structure."

The man nodded and continued to ask, "If two amplification nodes are placed on the same power supply line simultaneously, what will happen?"

"Soul power conduction imbalance; if severe, it will lead to the collapse of the core array."

Hearing Ye Luochen's standard and accurate answer, a hint of surprise finally appeared in the man's eyes.

However, he still did not stop.

Then came the third question, the fourth question, the fifth question...

As the questions became more numerous, the content grew increasingly profound.

Regarding these questions, at first, Ye Luochen was able to answer them.

But as they went on, as the questions became more difficult, his response speed clearly began to slow down.

Finally, when the man asked the fifteenth question, Ye Luochen fell silent.

In fact, if not for the accumulation of knowledge he gained during his half-month in Mingde Hall, along with the special attention from four Level 7 soul engineers and two Level 8 soul engineers, Ye Luochen would have been unable to answer long ago.

This was because these questions had already far exceeded the scope of what a normal Level 2 soul engineer could possibly encounter.

Seeing that Ye Luochen could no longer continue to answer, the man finally stopped his questioning.

The experimental area fell silent once again.

Only a moment later, the man suddenly nodded, his tone becoming slightly softer.

"Not bad. It seems the Hall Master hasn't completely lost his mind."