Ye Luochen raised his head and saw several people standing ahead, all dressed in teachers' uniforms.
Facing their questions, Lin Yuan spoke calmly.
"Failed? Of course he didn't fail."
"There he is, the kid behind me. I brought him into the academy to have a look."
At his words, all their gazes immediately fell upon Ye Luochen.
Their eyes were filled with curiosity.
After all, receiving a personal escort from a Level 7 Soul Engineer was an extraordinary privilege.
"Director Lin, could this be the young master of some influential family? Why not introduce him to us?"
Hearing them, Lin Yuan gave them a bland glance before speaking.
"What are you thinking? I personally oversaw his assessment. He isn't some half-baked fool who got in through the back door."
"And let me give you a reminder: don't get any ideas about this child."
"I intend to personally report him to Mingde Hall."
The moment those words came out, the teachers were all stunned.
Mingde Hall?!
They looked at Ye Luochen once more, but their expressions had completely changed from before.
Because everyone at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy knew what that name represented.
Mingde Hall.
It was the academy's true core!
Everyone who could enter it was among the most exceptional Soul Engineer geniuses!
Yet Lin Yuan was actually planning to personally send a freshman who had just enrolled to Mingde Hall?
What was going on?
Upon hearing Lin Yuan's words, Ye Luochen was also slightly taken aback.
The heart that had remained utterly calm throughout the journey could not help but ripple now.
Although he was not from the Sun Moon Empire, he had heard the name Mingde Hall while at Shrek.
He knew a little about it as well.
Rumor had it that at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, it was a sacred existence comparable to Shrek's Sea God Pavilion.
Thinking of this, Ye Luochen could not help feeling dazed, as though it were unreal.
After all, at Shrek—
All he had ever heard was, "An ordinary martial soul will always be an ordinary martial soul."
Even when his strength was clearly sufficient, he had not even been permitted to join the Shrek Seven Devils' reserve team.
Yet here, because of his earlier performance—
Lin Yuan actually wanted to bring him into Mingde Hall, a place as sacred as the Sea God Pavilion?
The difference in treatment, one buried underground and the other high in the heavens—
Made it difficult for Ye Luochen to believe for a moment.
Just as Ye Luochen's mind drifted slightly, the teachers finally could not hold back any longer.
One of them spoke first.
"Director Lin, are you serious?"
"You truly intend to directly report a freshman who just enrolled to Mingde Hall?"
Another could not help asking as well.
"Mingde Hall has always been strict in recruiting members. Even senior students with mature Soul Tool skills must undergo layer after layer of review."
"What exactly did this child do to make you value him so highly?"
Hearing them, Lin Yuan merely glanced at them.
Then he spoke calmly.
"What did he do?"
"Nothing much. He merely succeeded in engraving a Level 1 Core Array on his first contact with a Soul Tool."
Lin Yuan's voice was calm, but to the others, it was like a thunderclap exploding in their ears.
"What?!"
Several teachers cried out almost simultaneously.
His first contact with a Soul Tool?
And he successfully engraved a Level 1 Core Array in one go?
Was this a joke?!
That was core array engraving!
Even if it was only Level 1, it was absolutely not something someone with no foundation could accomplish!
One teacher could not help asking.
"Director Lin, are you sure you aren't joking?"
Lin Yuan immediately sneered.
"Do I look like I have the leisure to joke about something like this?"
"And not only did this kid succeed, he did not make even a single mistake throughout the entire process."
At those words, they fell completely silent.
When they looked at Ye Luochen again, their gazes had utterly changed.
If they had merely been shocked by the words "Mingde Hall" earlier—
Then now, they truly realized just how absurd the boy before them was.
Yet Lin Yuan seemed to feel that it was still not enough and continued.
"Also, his martial soul has an extremely high compatibility with Soul Tool engraving knives. It could be called one of the martial souls most suited to Soul Tools that I have seen in all my years."
"Coupled with that astonishing spiritual control..."
At this point, even Lin Yuan could not help pausing slightly.
Then he slowly spoke a sentence.
"I even think this child was born for Soul Tools."
Hearing this, the teachers exchanged looks, their eyes full of shock.
Because they knew far too well just how high Lin Yuan's evaluation was.
As a Level 7 Soul Engineer who had been renowned within the academy for many years—
How sharp was Lin Yuan's eye?
For him to say such words, Ye Luochen was definitely far beyond merely "not bad."
He was a true top-tier genius!
For a moment, when they looked at Ye Luochen again—
Their gazes became faintly fervent.
One teacher even could not help stepping forward several paces.
"Child, release your martial soul and let me see it."
Ye Luochen hesitated slightly, but he still raised his right hand.
The next moment, faint Soul Power flowed, and a pitch-black short blade slowly appeared.
The instant the martial soul appeared, the pupils of the teachers all contracted slightly.
It was too similar.
Whether in shape, length, or sharpness—
The little blade before them was extremely close to a true Soul Tool engraving knife!
Furthermore, they all knew very well that because a martial soul was linked to its owner's soul—
Its degree of precise control would inevitably far surpass that of a Soul Tool engraving knife!
One of them could not help sighing.
"No wonder Director Lin said that. This is practically a natural-born Soul Engineer seedling."
Another directly released his spiritual power and extended his perception toward Ye Luochen.
A moment later, he repeatedly marveled as well.
"Both his spiritual power and Soul Power are almost perfectly restrained, without the slightest leakage."
"This level of control, tsk tsk tsk..."
As both a Soul Master and a Soul Engineer, he clearly understood that this kind of control was not something talent alone could achieve.
It had to be the result of countless rounds of tempering, forged through sheer effort.
Thinking of this—
The way they looked at Ye Luochen gained several more layers of complexity.
His talent was astonishing, and he was also willing to work hard at training.
People like this were the most terrifying.
Meanwhile, Ye Luochen stood where he was.
Listening to the shocked exclamations and praise around him, he felt as though it were all unreal.
Because during his years at Shrek, no matter how hard he worked or how desperately he struggled—
The first things others noticed—
Were always "ordinary martial soul" and "innate Level 4 Soul Power."
As if those labels were everything he was.
But now—
These teachers of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy were shocked by his abilities and regarded him like some kind of monster?
For the first time, Ye Luochen suddenly had a feeling.
Perhaps...
He was not as Shrek had described him.
Mediocre. Ordinary?
Before you continue