Joining the Team

Ye Luochen slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He stood up slowly.

As his figure straightened, the aura that had been completely restrained began to climb step by step.

By the time he stood fully upright, an aura far more formidable than before erupted outward!

Yellow, yellow, purple, and black—four soul rings flashed into existence!

Looking at this fourth soul ring, as black as ink, and sensing his own aura, a smile finally appeared on Ye Luochen's face.

Just then, a round of applause sounded beside him, followed by the voice of Jing Hongchen:

"Congratulations on becoming the first student of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy to possess a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring."

Hearing this, Ye Luochen finally snapped back to reality. He quickly turned and bowed in gratitude:

"Many thanks to the Hall Master for your cultivation. Any achievement I have today is inseparable from the support of the academy and Mingde Hall!"

These were not merely polite words, but Ye Luochen's sincere thoughts.

Firstly, this Thorn Vine had been brought back for him by Jing Hongchen.

Otherwise, given his strength, even if he could have managed a lucky victory against a Thorn Vine with twelve thousand years of cultivation, he would have undoubtedly paid a heavy price.

Furthermore, thanks to the subsidies from Mingde Hall, he had faced no financial burdens. For the past half-month, he had consumed the most expensive medicinal meals every day.

Precious ingredients that he could only afford to eat occasionally by scrimping and saving were now being consumed like daily meals.

Nourished by these items, his physique had improved significantly compared to before.

Otherwise, even with his solid foundation, the absorption process would never have been so simple.

"Why thank me? Mingde Hall invests in you because it sees your value."

"If it were someone else, even if Mingde Hall were willing to invest, they might not be able to handle it."

"Everything still depends on one's own ability."

Jing Hongchen waved his hand with a smile.

"Enough. Since you now have your fourth soul ring and your cultivation has officially reached the Soul Ancestor level, it is time for you to be exposed to other things."

Hearing this, Ye Luochen nodded.

The boost a soul ring provided to one's strength was undoubtedly immense; in such a state, he could naturally begin to learn many new things.

However, Jing Hongchen's next words were vastly different from what he had expected.

"Ye Luochen, have you heard of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?"

Hm?

Ye Luochen was stunned for a moment.

He had assumed that the "new things" Jing Hongchen mentioned would be related to soul guidance devices.

He never expected the topic to suddenly shift to the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Though somewhat puzzled, Ye Luochen still nodded.

He had naturally heard of this competition.

Held every five years, it was the greatest event capable of igniting the enthusiasm of the entire continent!

It was a tournament known to everyone across the land.

Seeing Ye Luochen nod, Jing Hongchen continued:

"With your current cultivation, you are qualified to join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy team. How about it? Are you willing?"

Hearing Jing Hongchen's words, Ye Luochen was taken aback.

He was to join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy team?

Wasn't that a bit too rushed?

Yes, he was now a Soul Ancestor, and although his soul guidance technology had only passed the second-level exam, his actual skill was already at the third level or higher. His overall strength could certainly be considered quite impressive.

But surely the academy could find stronger students than him?

Seeing the confusion on Ye Luochen's face, Jing Hongchen explained:

"I am not asking you to join the official team directly; otherwise, even if I gave the order, it would be difficult to convince the others. You would be joining the reserve team first."

"Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen will also be joining the reserve team with you."

"Coming from Shrek, you should know very well that although this tournament includes numerous advanced soul master academies, only a few are truly competitive."

"More accurately, for these past years, it has always been Shrek and my Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy competing for the championship."

"However, it is a great pity that my Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy has never been able to overcome the mountain that is Shrek."

Ye Luochen was naturally aware of the situation Jing Hongchen described.

Ever since the Shrek Seven Devils of Tang San's generation emerged ten thousand years ago, the championship of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament had been firmly held by Shrek.

It had remained almost unchanged for ten thousand years.

It was only after the Sun Moon Empire appeared in the view of the original three kingdoms that the situation changed slightly.

Relying on soul guidance technology that the original three kingdoms had never encountered before, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Team shone brilliantly in the tournament, forcing a host of academies into a steady retreat.

They even threatened Shrek's dominance over the championship position for a time.

It was a pity, however, that it was merely a threat.

After several tournaments, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy ultimately failed to truly defeat Shrek.

Thinking of this, Ye Luochen finally faintly guessed why Jing Hongchen had proposed he join the Sun Moon team right after he finished absorbing his Fourth Soul Ring.

It must have been related to his own experiences at Shrek.

Sure enough, Jing Hongchen's next words immediately verified this conjecture.

"All these years, we have been researching why Shrek has been able to remain firmly in the championship position.

We studied their participating members, their martial souls, and their combat styles."

"But after all, we are thousands of miles away from Shrek, and our relationship is not harmonious, so the results have always been poor."

Jing Hongchen spoke slowly, then focused his gaze on Ye Luochen.

"But the situation is different now. You come from Shrek and know the situation there better than anyone.

If you can join the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy's team for this tournament, when we face Shrek again, we won't be like before, where we only intuitively understand the situation of their participating members once the battle begins."

Hearing this, Ye Luochen did not answer immediately.

As the person involved, he naturally knew that what Jing Hongchen said was true.

He knew all the official members and reserve members that Shrek was going to send to this tournament, because those people were still calling him senior brother and junior brother just a month ago.

He was also no stranger to their martial souls, strength, and various other circumstances.

There was not much time left before the start of the tournament, and according to Shrek's tradition, the probability of the participating members changing again was very small.

If they could obtain intelligence on these participating members in advance at this time, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy could arrange their troops and formulate strategies accordingly.

At that time, their winning percentage on the arena would inevitably see a significant increase.

But if he did this and leaked the intelligence, would it be appropriate?

Appropriate!

It was too appropriate!

Ye Luochen only thought for an instant before making his decision.