Enrollment Test [Please Recommend, Invest, and Collect!] / A Special Elder [Please Recommend, Invest, and Collect!]

The carriage sped toward the military camp on the outskirts of Ming Capital.

Su Luoheng returned to the hotel.

The only thing he wanted now was to get back to his room and enjoy a good, long sleep.

Who could have imagined so many complications would arise?

Thinking of the young man he had just crossed paths with, he figured he must hold a fairly high position in Ming Capital. Otherwise, the City Guard would never have treated him with such deference or changed their decision at a single word from him.

Still, none of that had anything to do with him.

To Su Luoheng, he was merely a passerby he had chanced upon in the vast sea of people.

They were unlikely to cross paths again.

That said, today had been quite a fruitful day.

If he could fully master all those core arrays he had analyzed, it would be a considerable improvement for him.

But the first thing he needed to prepare for was the entrance examination.

After returning to his hotel room, Su Luoheng began meditating.

With his current strength, he had no trouble passing the entrance test. Still, this concerned his future, so he couldn't afford to be careless. He needed to get himself into peak condition.

The night passed in a flash.

Before he knew it, the next day had arrived. Su Luoheng got up early for the entrance examination. After a full night's rest, his energy had recovered, and his rosy little face showed no sign of the previous day's ordeal.

After finishing the hotel's complimentary breakfast,

Su Luoheng left the hotel and headed straight for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

According to Uncle Wang, the academy's admissions began at eight in the morning.

There was still more than an hour to go. The two places were less than two kilometers apart, so he had plenty of time.

When he passed the spot where the accident had happened the night before, both sides of the street had already been restored to their usual neatness. The vendors went about their business as usual, and there was no sign of the damage caused by the Silver-Patterned Horse. The Sun Moon Empire's efficiency was clearly no ordinary thing.

A quarter of an hour later,

Su Luoheng was once again outside the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

By now, the academy gates were already surrounded by a packed crowd.

Seeing the bustling throng didn't surprise Su Luoheng. After all, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy's reputation spoke for itself.

The heavy iron gates had yet to open, but a small crowd had already gathered outside. Among them, most adults had brought along children around ten years old, all there to take the entrance examination.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy held the same standing in the Sun Moon Empire as Shrek Academy did in the Heaven Soul, Douling, and Star Luo Empires. Countless Soul Masters flocked to it.

Su Luoheng found a teahouse and waited.

The academy judged applicants by their abilities, not by how early they arrived. He wasn't in any hurry, so why squeeze through the crowd?

As he waited,

the customers at the next table began discussing the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. Uncle Wang had given him a rough explanation on the way here, but the locals of the Sun Moon Empire surely knew much more.

Curious, Su Luoheng listened in.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had been established by the Sun Moon Empire's government. It was unquestionably the foremost academy in the empire.

Its resources and teaching staff far surpassed those of any other academy.

And above it stood Mingde Hall.

It gathered the Sun Moon Empire's most outstanding Soul Engineers and was unquestionably a sacred place for Soul Engineers.

Unlike the class-placement system on the Douluo Continent, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy did not use age as its standard. Aside from the requirements that applicants have at least ten levels of Soul Power and be no older than twelve, age did not determine their grade once they entered the academy.

Here, if you could reach the standard of a Level 1 Soul Engineer, you could pass the examination and skip first year to continue your studies in second year. Those who reached the standard of a Level 2 Soul Engineer could take the third-year assessment. The same system applied thereafter: passing the assessment meant advancing to the next year, while failing meant repeating the year.

There was also a time limit for the assessments.

If a student failed to pass the Level 3 Soul Engineer assessment by the age of eighteen, the academy would expel them, leaving them to fend for themselves. On the other hand, if they met this requirement, they could remain at the academy until at least the age of twenty-five.

The academy had six years in total.

First year focused on basic Soul Engineer training and was aimed at most newly enrolled students, who had never worked with Soul Tools before. Second year was for Level 1 Soul Engineers, third year for Level 2 Soul Engineers, and so on, all the way up to sixth year.

Since the academy used a promotion system, the number of students varied greatly from year to year.

Once you advanced to sixth year and became a Level 5 Soul Engineer, you no longer belonged to a class. Instead, a personal mentor would guide your training and studies. If you passed the Mingde Hall assessment before the age of twenty-five, you could remain at the academy indefinitely.

Enrollment Test [Please Recommend, Invest, and Collect!]

It was no exaggeration to say that any student who graduated from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy would be welcomed wherever they chose to go.

Moreover, the Sun Moon Empire had built its standing on Soul Guidance Technology, and its students enjoyed all sorts of preferential policies and subsidies at the academy. Pills were provided free of charge to help them break through in Soul Power, each student received a set amount of free metal every month, and new students were given financial assistance, among a host of other benefits. Whether noble-born or common, no talent for Soul Engineering would go unnoticed!

For this reason, every year during admissions, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was packed with people.

Among them were plenty who had failed to meet the requirements but hoped to sneak through, as well as those who had been turned away in the previous days. Some had failed the bone-age test, while others lacked the required Soul Power. Though their chances of passing were slim, they couldn't bear to leave before the final moment.

For ordinary people, simply entering the Sun Moon Soul Master Academy could change their lives, even if they didn't manage to graduate!

How many people would turn down an opportunity like that?

This continued right up until the admissions period ended. Every parent wanted their child to join the academy.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy held its admissions every year around the autumnal equinox. Day and night were equal then, which harmonized with the Sun Moon Empire's belief in the union of yin and yang and was considered auspicious for the nation's fortunes. The other day when the Sun and Moon reached balance was the spring equinox. At that time, the academy's sixth-year students held a competition, and the outstanding ones were selected to continue their studies at Mingde Hall.

Time ticked by, one second at a time.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted.

The teahouse fell silent, and everyone turned to look at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

"It's starting!"

"With so many children, how many of them will pass?"

"..."

When sunlight fell upon the Golden Sun Silver Moon emblem, encircled by golden and silver patterns on the two gates, the heavy doors of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy slowly swung open. Nearly a thousand young boys and girls poured inside, led by their parents. Su Luoheng had already left the teahouse and entered the academy with the crowd.

Once they passed through the gates, a dignified voice rang out, carrying clearly to every student.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. At this academy, ability and talent determine whether you qualify. It makes no difference whether you are royalty, nobility, or commoners."

"Our entrance examination is divided into a preliminary test and a second-round test."

"Anyone with at least ten levels of Soul Power who is under twelve years old may pass the preliminary test."

"The second-round test has two parts. The first focuses on Martial Soul cultivation and includes tests of Soul Skill usage, Soul Power strength, combat ability, physical fitness, and more. The second focuses on Soul Engineer ability and includes tests of core-array comprehension and basic Soul Tool theory. Anyone with talent in either area may study at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy."

"Admissions are now officially open. I wish you all success in joining the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. A short, stout, middle-aged man in formal attire, who appeared to be in his forties, stood on the raised platform. He looked unremarkable, but on the right side of his chest he wore a badge bearing the Sun and Moon, with eight stars set above it. This clearly marked him as a Level 8 Soul Engineer and a Soul Master affiliated with Mingde Hall!

Even in the deeply established Sun Moon Empire, a Level 8 Soul Engineer held a prestigious position.

That one of them had come in person to preside over the admissions ceremony demonstrated both the academy's profound resources and the importance it attached to admissions.

The academy was every bit as impressive as the renowned Shrek Academy.

(Original setting: An ordinary Soul Engineer's badge was an aqua-blue, eight-pointed star set with diamonds. The number of diamonds indicated the Soul Engineer's level. Soul Engineers from Mingde Hall, however, wore badges with the Sun and Moon as a background and stars floating above them.)

After delivering his speech, the Level 8 Soul Engineer left the stage.

Soon, the other staff members arrived.

Under their guidance, the crowd was divided into more than ten lines, and the disorderly plaza finally became orderly.

Su Luoheng followed one of the lines and was led to a large metal instrument.

The instrument stood nearly two meters tall.

Its outer frame formed an arch like a doorway, with enough room for an adult to stand in the middle. A crystal column ran down the front, and a circular platform sat on the ground before it.

A member of the academy's staff stood beside every instrument to supervise.

The students were fascinated by the unfamiliar Soul Tools. They stared at them curiously and whispered among themselves.

"Children, settle down."

Once all the children had lined up, a teacher stepped forward and raised a hand to quiet them.

When everyone had calmed down, he spoke. "The instrument before you is the Soul Guidance Physical Examination Instrument developed by our academy. It will measure your bone age and Soul Power for the preliminary test. Please line up and come forward one by one. Only those who light up the green light will pass and be allowed to proceed to the next test."

"Applicants, please line up in an orderly fashion and wait your turn."

As soon as he finished speaking, the first boy stepped onto the Soul Guidance Physical Examination Instrument.

With countless eyes fixed on him from below, his thin body trembled slightly. It was hard to tell whether he was nervous or excited.

"Don't be nervous, child. You don't need to do anything. Just relax. A beam of light will soon pass over you. The whole process won't hurt you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the teacher walked to the other side of the Soul Guidance Tester. A faint white light shone in his palm, and he pressed it against a palm-shaped hollow on the side.

"Relax. We're starting."

As the teacher spoke, everyone felt a powerful wave of Soul Power burst from him. It was strongest around his arm, where a white glow could clearly be seen flickering. Then a white light lit up at the top of the Soul Guidance Physical Examination Instrument. It spread out in a fan shape, covering an area of about one square meter, and slowly descended from above.

The boy shrouded in white light squeezed his eyes shut, his eyelashes quivering.

He was only eleven or twelve years old. How could he keep from getting nervous while standing before so many people?

Fortunately, the white light appeared and vanished quickly. The test was over in five seconds.

Two seconds later, a string of data appeared on a screen on the side, while the base lit up green.

The teacher in charge of recording gave a slight nod. "Bone age: eleven. Soul Power: ten. You pass. Take your examination results sheet and proceed to the second-round test."

A Special Elder [Please Recommend, Invest, and Collect!]

"Th-thank you, teacher!"

The boy stared blankly for a moment before finally coming to his senses. He eagerly took the results sheet and walked off, overjoyed.

"Next."

"..."

"Nine levels of Soul Power. Failed."

"Over the age limit. Failed."

"..."

One boy after another stepped onto the Soul Guidance Tester, but their reactions afterward were completely different. Those who passed went happily to the next test, while those who failed could only leave the academy with their heads hanging.

Every flash of red or green from the Soul Guidance Tester determined a boy's future.

Each test took about half a minute.

After roughly half an hour, it was finally Su Luoheng's turn.

Once the academy teacher activated the Soul Guidance Tester, a beam of white light completely enveloped him. Before long, a string of data appeared, and the base lit up green.

"Hmm, passed. Age: nine. Soul Power... Soul Power is at level seventeen?!"

"Nine years old, level seventeen?!"

The testing teacher couldn't help rubbing his eyes. He looked again at the tender-faced boy in front of him, and his previously calm expression instantly turned to shock.

Nine years old, with seventeen levels of Soul Power!

Even at Shrek Academy, a talent like this was rarely seen, right?

The scene fell completely silent. The other boys waiting nearby couldn't help looking over in shock.

Su Luoheng was the one who broke the silence.

"Teacher, may I get down now?"