The Powerful Reserve Lineup

"Hahahaha, speaking of which, I really owe it all to you."

Lin Yuan stepped forward and patted Ye Luochen on the shoulder with a smile.

"You are the star of Mingde Hall now, with countless eyes from the academy's upper echelons fixed on you. Because I was the one in charge of your entrance examination, the academy and the Hall Master have extended their favor to me as well, promoting me two ranks. Even this duty of leading the team has fallen to me."

Leading a team to an external competition sounded like a thankless chore.

Because the burden of the entire team rested on one person's shoulders, the teacher in charge had to worry about everything from food and lodging to every logistical arrangement.

However, anyone with even a little bit of insight would scramble for this job.

Because it was an all-expenses-paid business trip; tired as one might be, it was a truly lucrative gig.

When the whole team went out, they needed funding, right? They needed delegated authority, right? They needed subsidies, right?

There was plenty of room to maneuver in every single one of these aspects.

Not to mention that the team they were leading was for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Although it was only the reserve team, it still carried the name of the "Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy" in front of it.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was never short on money!

After this trip, as long as he put in a little effort, the gains would likely exceed what he could scrape together in the admissions office over several years.

How could Lin Yuan not be happy about that?

After some pleasantries, they returned to the main topic.

The seven students lined up in a row.

"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament will begin shortly. You, as members of the academy's reserve team, will be traveling to compete alongside the official team."

"Although, according to tradition, the reserve team usually goes just to get accustomed to the arena and broaden their horizons, and in most cases, they aren't needed on the field."

"But it's better to be safe than sorry. If the official team encounters any emergencies, you will need to step up."

Lin Yuan stood opposite the seven of them, his gaze sweeping over them as he spoke.

"Therefore, to deal with such contingencies, I need to be familiar with each of your specific strengths. Likewise, as teammates, you need to have some understanding of one another."

"So, starting from the left and moving to the right, let's have a detailed self-introduction."

None of those present had any objections to Lin Yuan's words.

Although none of them had truly participated in this tournament before, they all had a basic understanding of the competition format.

Individual matches, three-on-three, seven-on-seven...

The competition modes were extremely diverse.

Only by having a detailed grasp of every team member's situation could one make the optimal tactical arrangements.

Soon, the first member spoke up:

"My name is Mu Yan, nineteen years old, Power Attack System Battle Soul King, Level 5 Soul Engineer."

Next was the second:

"My name is Lu Chen, nineteen years old, Agility Attack System Battle Soul King, Level 5 Soul Engineer."

"My name is Jiang Yue, nineteen years old, Control System Battle Soul King, Level 5 Soul Engineer."

"My name is Zhou Xiaowan, nineteen years old, Agility Attack System Battle Soul King, Level 5 Soul Engineer."

The first four members introduced themselves in turn, and upon hearing this, Ye Luochen couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

The first four were actually all at the Soul King level, and they were all Level 5 Soul Engineers!

Although they were not young, having just hit the edge of the competition's age limit, this level of cultivation was absolutely formidable. In any other team, they would be more than enough to be starting members of an official squad.

Yet here, they were merely reserve team members!

And more importantly, for the next two, there was no need for introductions; Ye Luochen was already very clear about who they were.

Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen.

Two more Soul Kings who were also Level 5 Soul Engineers.

And they were only fifteen years old.

This meant that, unlike the previous reserve members whose ages were nearing the limit, the Hongchen siblings would still be eligible to compete in the next tournament.

By then, after another five years of growth, what level would their strength reach?

It seems the strength of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy is far, far greater than the outside world—especially the original Douluo Three Kingdoms—believes it to be...

This was the only thought currently occupying Ye Luochen's mind.

In the eyes of most people from the original three empires, the Sun Moon Empire's teams were essentially composed of members with weak martial souls who relied on shortcuts through soul tools, making it difficult for them to pose a threat to the teams of the original three empires.

Although the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, which had emerged in recent years, was somewhat stronger, it had merely traveled a bit further down the shortcut of soul tools.

No matter how far one traveled down a shortcut, it could never compare to the great path of "martial soul" cultivation that the original three empires had painstakingly followed.

The fact that Shrek had always stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid was the best proof of this.

In truth, Ye Luochen had felt the same way before.

But after nearly a month of contact, coupled with the self-introductions of the reserve members before him, his thoughts had completely changed.

As someone from Shrek, he was well aware that when it came to the path of soul tools, Shrek would likely not catch up to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy in another hundred years, let alone the other three empires.

Yet, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy seemed to have already caught up significantly on the path of martial souls.

The speed of progress and growth on both sides was simply not on the same level.

Under these circumstances, how much longer could the advantage that the original three empires had always firmly believed in be maintained?

Just as these thoughts surged through Ye Luochen's mind, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen finished their self-introductions, and it was his turn—the last one.

Clearing his throat, Ye Luochen spoke:

"Ye Luochen, fifteen years old, Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor, Level 3 Soul Engineer."

Hearing Ye Luochen's words, the four people in front all turned their heads slightly.

The name Ye Luochen was now considered thunderous within the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.

His feat of breaking through from zero to a Level 2 Soul Engineer within half a month of enrollment was known to almost everyone.

But only a few days had passed since then, and he had actually leveled up again to become a Level 3?

It was no wonder that even though his level was much lower than theirs, he could still enter the reserve team.

Such talent was truly terrifying.

It was only reasonable that the academy valued him so highly.

However, unlike the others whose attention was focused on the Level 3 Soul Engineer title Ye Luochen had just attained, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were more concerned with the term "Soul Ancestor" that Ye Luochen had used.

Because the two of them had just experienced the failed Soul Hunting Operation with Ye Luochen a few days ago, they knew that Ye Luochen had not yet obtained his Fourth Soul Ring.

And if one had not obtained a Fourth Soul Ring, even if their soul power level had reached forty, they could not be called a Soul Ancestor.

This was a universally recognized rule in the soul master world; it was impossible for Ye Luochen not to know this.

Yet, he had still used the term Soul Ancestor.

That meant that during the few days the siblings had been recuperating, Ye Luochen had successfully absorbed his Fourth Soul Ring.

Thinking of this, Meng Hongchen immediately turned her head toward Ye Luochen and asked curiously:

"Can you show me your Fourth Soul Ring?"