Inside the registration hall, quite a few students were still staring fixedly at the Level 1 Core Array on the table, which was glowing brightly.
Their eyes were filled with disbelief.
No way, bro?
He succeeded just like that?
It was his first time handling a Soul Tool, yet he had actually managed to carve a Level 1 Core Array?
On the other side, Lin Yuan's breathing had grown hurried.
Because he understood better than these students what this meant.
Especially since he had watched the entire process just now—Ye Luochen had not made a single mistake!
Facing the strange looks suddenly directed at him, Ye Luochen merely frowned slightly.
He was somewhat confused.
"What is it?"
"Did something go wrong?"
The moment those words came out, everyone's expressions became extraordinarily vivid.
Especially the students lined up behind him, waiting to take the assessment.
Their faces were practically green.
What did he mean, did something go wrong?
Something was very wrong, all right!
One young man could not help but speak with a bitter smile.
"Brother... do you know what you just did?"
Ye Luochen paused slightly.
"I was just carving according to the blueprint."
"Is there a problem?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the students nearly broke down on the spot.
What did he mean, just carving according to the blueprint?
Another student beside him could not help speaking up as well:
"Normally, for someone touching a core array for the first time, forget successfully carving one. Being able to carve even a rough outline would already be a blessing."
"Just losing control of Soul Power is enough to make the array collapse dozens of times."
"Which of us hasn't trained bitterly for years before daring to take the entrance assessment?"
"Yet it was your first time touching a Soul Tool, and you succeeded right away?"
By the end, he was beginning to question his entire life.
Comparing people really could make a person furious.
Listening to the surrounding students, Ye Luochen gradually realized something.
What he had just done seemed... perhaps... not quite so ordinary?
But he did not feel particularly proud because of it.
He merely lowered his head and glanced at his palm, his expression somewhat dazed.
So this was what using a Soul Tool felt like.
Just then, Lin Yuan finally spoke again.
"It is not actually strange that Ye Luochen successfully carved a Level 1 Core Array."
As soon as he said this, everyone around them turned to look.
Lin Yuan's gaze fell upon the pitch-black short blade still in Ye Luochen's hand, and he slowly said:
"His martial soul is far too similar to a Soul Engineer's carving knife."
"One could even say that it is one of the martial souls most suited to Soul Tools that I have seen in all my years."
The hall immediately erupted into commotion.
One of the martial souls most suited to Soul Tools?
Wasn't that evaluation far too high?
But Lin Yuan did not stop.
"Moreover, what is truly terrifying is not his martial soul."
He looked at Ye Luochen again, his gaze growing increasingly serious.
"It is his mental control."
"Throughout the carving process just now, Ye Luochen's spiritual fluctuations remained stable without the slightest ripple."
"His Soul Power output was also almost entirely free of error."
"This level of control is simply not something a fifteen-year-old should possess, and that is the key to his success."
By this point, even Lin Yuan could not help but sound somewhat emotional.
Because only truly high-level Soul Engineers understood how important such an ability was.
The further one advanced along the path of Soul Tools, the more control mattered.
And the stability Ye Luochen had displayed just now even surpassed that of many official Soul Engineers.
Hearing this, the looks the surrounding students gave Ye Luochen changed once more.
Outsiders watched the spectacle, while experts saw the craft.
At first, they had merely been shocked that Ye Luochen could carve a Level 1 Core Array in one attempt despite never having touched one before.
Only after Lin Yuan's explanation did they begin to understand.
So there had been many factors involved.
Still, why did that somehow make it even more infuriating?!
Yet upon hearing Lin Yuan's words, Ye Luochen merely shook his head lightly.
"It was nothing special. I have simply experienced more than most over the years."
"To improve my strength, I have fallen into danger countless times."
"If I could not maintain absolute control over myself, I would probably have lost my life long ago."
Ye Luochen's voice was calm, but the previously noisy hall fell silent.
Quite a few expressions shifted slightly.
They could not truly understand what Ye Luochen had been through, but they could roughly sense from those few words alone.
What kind of path this young man before them had taken, step by step, to reach this day.
Lin Yuan, in particular, gave Ye Luochen a deep look, feeling even more emotional.
No wonder, no wonder this child had cultivated from Innate Soul Power Level 4 to Level 38 at fifteen.
Some things truly did not happen without reason.
With that thought, Lin Yuan no longer hesitated.
He raised a hand and swept the core array from the table into his storage Soul Tool.
Then he looked at Ye Luochen.
"Enough. We can talk about this later."
"Come with me."
Ye Luochen paused slightly.
"Where to?"
Lin Yuan's voice carried a trace of excitement he could barely suppress.
"Of course, to meet someone who can truly decide your future."
"A talent like you cannot be snatched up by someone else first."
After saying that, Lin Yuan turned and headed straight out of the registration hall.
Ye Luochen paused briefly before following him.
As the two of them left.
The entire registration hall exploded into an uproar.
"Holy shit! Is that for real?"
"It was his first time using a Soul Tool, and he successfully carved a Level 1 Core Array in one try?"
"What kind of monster is he?"
"The key is that he's only fifteen!"
"And his Innate Soul Power is only Level 4, even lower than mine! So why can't I do it? Sob..."
For a time, gasps of cold breath could be heard throughout the hall.
Even the teachers responsible for registration could no longer sit still.
Because they knew very well that today, the academy had likely gained someone extraordinary.
Elsewhere.
Ye Luochen followed Lin Yuan deeper into the academy.
The farther they went, the greater the astonishment in Ye Luochen's eyes became.
Because this place was even more breathtaking than what he had seen earlier on the streets of Ming Capital.
Rows of metal buildings stood along both sides of the road, Soul Tool light patterns constantly flowing across their surfaces.
Soul Tool vehicles continually sped down the roads, and some even floated above the ground as they moved.
"So this is what a nation should become as it progresses through history..."
Ye Luochen could not help but sigh.
After living in Shrek for so many years, he had nearly forgotten what technology was.
But everything before him now gave him the feeling of returning to Blue Star in his previous life.
An unconscious sense of belonging rose within him.
Just as he was lost in thought, a voice reached him and pulled Ye Luochen back to his senses.
"Director Lin?"
"Didn't you just go oversee the new student assessment? Why are you back at the academy already?"
"What, did the assessment fail?"
Before you continue