I Think Yan Shaozhe Is Also a Fool!

After all of Ye Luochen's attributes had been thoroughly examined, Lin Yuan dropped another bombshell on everyone.

Earlier, without ever having come into contact with Soul Tools, Ye Luochen had successfully engraved a first-grade Soul Tool core formation on his very first attempt.

This news undoubtedly set off another wave of excitement in the hall.

As instructors of Mingde Hall, everyone present understood all too well what this meant.

An exceptionally powerful talent for Soul Tools!

No one doubted the truth of this claim, because there was simply no need to.

As a veteran seventh-grade Soul Engineer of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, if Ye Luochen had not been a blank slate in Soul Tools and already possessed some foundation—

There was no way he could have hidden it from Lin Yuan's eyes.

After learning this, Elder Ma smiled so broadly that he could not close his mouth.

Perfect.

Simply perfect.

He was practically a born Soul Engineer.

How could such a perfect prospect have wandered the mundane world for so many years before they finally found him?

With that thought, Elder Ma looked at Ye Luochen again and asked gently,

"Child, where did you study before? And why have you only come to enroll at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy now?"

As Elder Ma's voice fell, the other teachers all turned their gazes toward Ye Luochen.

Lin Yuan was no exception.

Although he had been responsible for Ye Luochen's initial assessment, he truly did not know Ye Luochen's specific background.

He only knew that Ye Luochen possessed a Recommendation Badge given to him by Xuan Wu.

Presumably, the two had met before.

Faced with Elder Ma's question, Ye Luochen fell silent for a moment.

Then he slowly let out a sigh.

"Ah..."

Elder Ma's brows rose slightly at the sight.

That reaction made it seem like there was a story behind this.

After that soft sigh, Ye Luochen finally spoke slowly.

"I am not from the Sun Moon Empire."

Elder Ma, Lin Yuan, and the other teachers were not particularly surprised by this.

It was perfectly normal.

If Ye Luochen had been a native of the Sun Moon Empire yet had somehow remained outside the notice of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy all this time—

That would have been truly strange.

"I was born in the Star Luo Empire. My parents died when I was young, and I grew up on aid from the village. It was not until I awakened my martial soul at the age of six that I gained the qualifications to cultivate."

Ye Luochen recounted his past bit by bit.

"In order not to disappoint the village's support and expectations, I cultivated desperately. Step by step, I tested my way from the village into the town, then from the town into the county, and finally into the city."

Listening to Ye Luochen's words, everyone present showed looks of emotion.

Who would have thought he was such an inspiring child?

But what came next sent everyone on an emotional roller coaster.

"After entering the Soul Master Academy in the city, I gained the city lord's favor.

With a letter of recommendation from him, I went to Shrek Academy and was successfully admitted."

What did he mean, he had entered Shrek Academy?

If he was already in Shrek Academy, why had he come to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?

Everyone in the hall looked confused.

Although they were reluctant to admit it, in terms of overall strength, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was certainly inferior to Shrek Academy.

Especially since Ye Luochen had displayed extraordinary talent in Soul Tools.

Yet all the information also proved that he had clearly performed exceptionally in the path of a Soul Master.

If he studied martial souls at Shrek, his future achievements would almost certainly be immeasurable.

Under such circumstances, why would he travel tens of thousands of miles from Shrek Academy to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?

It simply made no sense!

Ye Luochen continued slowly,

"At Shrek, I cultivated desperately just as I had before. I wanted, as before, to earn rewards through hard work."

The instructors could not help nodding.

After entering the continent's universally recognized sacred land for Soul Masters, he had not become arrogant or complacent. To still hold such thoughts showed that his temperament was quite good.

"But I discovered that things did not seem to be as I had imagined."

"Was I not hardworking enough? No. I worked harder than any other student at Shrek. I shed sweat they could not imagine."

"Was I not strong enough? No. Though I would not say I had no rivals, my strength was absolutely among the very best among students of my generation."

"I possessed competitiveness that others did not, yet I was denied a place among the core disciples and the Shrek Seven Devils."

"I possessed competitiveness that others lacked, yet I failed again and again in the most critical competitions."

As he said this, an intense look of disappointment surfaced uncontrollably on Ye Luochen's face.

The instructors beside him all looked puzzled.

Why?

They had just seen with their own eyes how astonishing Ye Luochen's attributes were, and they understood that he had not exaggerated.

Such credentials would have stood out even at Shrek.

There was no reason for him to have ended up in such a position.

"I thought I had not done enough, but it was not until the night the Seven Devils were announced that I learned the true reason."

"Why?" Lin Yuan could not help interrupting.

As he spoke, Ye Luochen slowly raised his hand, and the Dark Iron Blade appeared.

"Because of it."

"Because my martial soul is merely an unremarkable Dark Iron Blade."

"Because my Innate Soul Power is only rank four."

"Someone with an ordinary martial soul like mine is not qualified to become the most dazzling existence."

"No matter how hard I work, an ordinary martial soul is still only an ordinary martial soul..."

Before Ye Luochen could continue, Lin Yuan cursed from the side,

"What the hell kind of bullshit is that? Which brainless idiot said it? I'll go curse him out for you!"

"Yan Shaozhe, the dean of Shrek's Martial Soul Department, said it himself in public."

Lin Yuan: "..."

"Heh, so what if he's the dean of the Martial Soul Department? I think Yan Shaozhe is also a fool!"

"How could he say something so laughable when you cultivated to rank thirty-eight by the age of fifteen with only rank-four Innate Soul Power?"

Elder Ma sneered.

"Hard work is useless?"

"Absurd!"

"If martial souls determined everything as he claimed, then why would Soul Engineers have appeared?"

"If innate talent determined everything as he claimed, then why could Soul Tools grant ordinary people the power to kill Soul Masters?"

"From the days when humanity ate raw meat and drank blood to the present, from the weakest race to one of the continent's strongest, we have never relied on mere talent."

"We relied on tens of thousands of years of effort!"

"Martial souls are only tools. People are the true foundation!"

From Ye Luochen's words, Elder Ma had already guessed why he had come to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.

So he continued,

"Child, do not worry. Nothing so absurd will ever happen at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy."

"Here, regardless of your background, as long as you are willing to work hard and are outstanding enough, you will never be buried."

"What is yours, no one can take away!"

"If anyone in the academy dares say a single word of objection, or spouts bullshit about hard work being useless, Mingde Hall will never let them off!"