Enrollment [Please Recommend, Invest, and Collect!] / Elder Ran Arrives! [Please Recommend, Invest, and Collect!]

The familiar structure of the Soul Tool surfaced in his mind.

"Level 3 Ice Array, Level 3 Soul Power Circulation Array, Level 3 Enhancement Array, and Level 3 Reinforcement Array..." Su Luoheng spoke the names of the Core Arrays one by one.

With every name he uttered, the old man's expression changed. Every array he named was exactly right.

"..."

"There are two more arrays I haven't seen before, but if you need me to, I can draw them for you." Su Luoheng withdrew his spiritual power, casually wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked calmly at the old man.

Analyzing a Level 3 sword-type Soul Tool consumed a great deal of his Soul Power, especially since this sword was rather unusual.

"No need."

His answers so far had already proven his ability. There was no need to verify one or two more arrays.

The old man took a deep breath, then looked at Su Luoheng with burning enthusiasm. "Young man, your Soul Skill is practically tailor-made for Soul Engineers!"

"Thank you for the praise, sir."

Su Luoheng smiled modestly. He had achieved his goal.

He had already decided to demonstrate the unique ability of his Soul Skill when he joined Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

Talent was certainly important if one wanted to grow stronger, but that also depended on an organization's cultivation and the resources it provided.

And if he wanted the academy to focus on developing him, he naturally had to show them his potential. His mother had once assessed his First Soul Skill from a Soul Engineer's perspective, bluntly stating that with Analysis alone, even if all his later Soul Skills were useless, he would still receive the academy's focused support.

Her words had been somewhat exaggerated, but there was no denying how powerful a Soul Skill that could analyze weapons was. At Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, his First Soul Skill was his best calling card. So, from the moment he chose the academy, he had never intended to hide it.

Now, it seemed to have worked rather well.

It was just a pity for this teacher...

Looking at the old man, still caught in shock, Su Luoheng felt a little guilty.

He tentatively called out, "Sir?"

"Kid, congratulations. You've passed both the Soul Engineer and Soul Master tests."

The old man took a deep breath and suppressed his excitement before handing Su Luoheng a Sun Moon Badge. "From this moment on, you're a new student at Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. This is our academy badge, and it also serves as proof of admission. Take it to the back; someone there will help you complete the enrollment process."

"Thank you, sir."

Su Luoheng nodded in thanks and accepted the badge.

At the same time, the old man waved his hand, and the barrier enclosing the space vanished. The candidates behind them saw only Su Luoheng accepting the badge that signified he had passed. Amid a host of envious looks, he pinned it to his chest.

"All right, kid, hurry on back and register." The old man smiled kindly, leaving the candidates behind him dumbfounded and questioning everything they knew.

One was all smiles, while the other never cracked a grin.

Was this what favoritism looked like?

"Oh, right, kid. Tell me your name."

"This junior is Su Luoheng."

Su Luoheng answered, then suddenly remembered the Soul Tool he was still holding.

"Sir, your Soul Tool."

He had to say, this was definitely the sword-type Level 3 Soul Tool with the most Core Arrays he had ever seen! An ordinary Level 3 Soul Tool needed around ten Core Arrays to function, but this one had a full seventeen. It was almost on par with a Level 4 Soul Tool.

Just as he was about to return it to the old man, the other man waved him off.

"Keep it. Although this Ice Cold Sword is a Level 3 Soul Tool, I modified several of its arrays. Its combat power is no weaker than a Level 4 Soul Tool. Consider it a reward for your performance."

"Su Luoheng, right?"

"Senior, I—"

Su Luoheng looked a little surprised. Level 3 Soul Tools had a broad market, and one of this quality would cost at least three thousand Gold Soul Coins. He was just giving it away like that?

"All right, hurry along. I still have work to do. Who's next?"

The old man impatiently waved him away and resumed conducting the tests.

"Thank you, Senior."

Seeing this, Su Luoheng bowed in gratitude.

As he turned to leave, the old man also turned away. His deep eyes followed Su Luoheng's retreating figure, and a triumphant smile flashed in them. He murmured, "Su Luoheng... Young man, I never give my things away for nothing. It won't be long before we meet again."

How could he not be tempted by such an outstanding young man?

"Sir, this is... this is my Martial Soul."

"Take this and go register in the back."

Coming back to himself, the old man gave it a cursory glance and tossed over a badge. The Martial Soul was passable, hovering right around the minimum standard, but he was in a good mood, so he let the boy pass.

"Thank you, sir!"

The nervous young man was overjoyed. He quickly took the badge and thanked him repeatedly.

Chapter 23: Enrollment [Please Recommend, Invest, and Collect!]

Meanwhile, Su Luoheng had completed his enrollment registration.

He had also received two uniforms, a student handbook, an academy map, a dormitory key, and an assortment of daily necessities. Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was never stingy when it came to student benefits.

A fourth-year student led Su Luoheng toward the new student dormitory area where he would be staying.

During the academy's enrollment period, any student who helped the academy could receive a daily allowance, so quite a few students volunteered to assist.

The senior assigned to guide Su Luoheng was named Zhen Reqing.

True to his name, he was very warm toward Su Luoheng and took great care to explain the academy as they walked.

"Junior, take out your map. I'll show you how to use it first."

Zhen Reqing joked, "Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy covers a huge area. If you get lost, you'll be in for quite a trek."

"Sure. Thank you, Senior Zhen."

Su Luoheng smiled, nodded, and took out the map the academy had given him.

It was called a map, but in fact it was a circular Soul Tool. It was enough to show how Soul Guidance Technology in the Sun Moon Empire was gradually changing every aspect of everyday life.

"Junior, see this button underneath the Map Device? Press it gently like this, and a Projection of our academy's map will appear in front of you."

As he spoke, Zhen Reqing demonstrated. Sure enough, an image appeared before them.

The hexagonal buildings of Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy appeared in the Projection before the two of them. The hexagon looked small on the map, but in reality, it was large enough to rival a medium-sized city. Many buildings dotted the academy grounds, but most of the area was open land.

"Our academy is divided into three main areas: the teaching area, the dormitory area, and the Testing Zone. The Testing Zone covers the most land. As you can see, two-thirds of the academy is assigned to it. Mingde Hall is in the middle. The teaching area is behind it and has twelve buildings. The dormitory area is behind the teaching area. There are quite a few facilities there for students..."

As Zhen Reqing explained, Su Luoheng tried turning on his own Map Device.

Compared to the detailed models and routes in the dormitory and teaching areas, the Testing Zone looked much rougher. It only showed the main roads, and more than half of the area was completely blank. Of course, there were buildings and routes there too, but ordinary students couldn't access them.

From what Senior Zhen had told him, the Map Devices were meant for students in years one through six.

As for Mingde Hall, even the academy's teachers had more advanced maps. He guessed they had access to some parts of Mingde Hall.

"..."

Su Luoheng studied a small red dot in the dormitory area and asked, "Senior Zhen, these two red dots are supposed to be me, right?"

Zhen Reqing nodded and explained, "That's right, Junior. This is exactly the Map Device feature I wanted to point out. As long as we're within the academy grounds, it can show us our location in real time. And if we drag the red dot to our destination, it can even plan a route."

Hearing that explanation, Su Luoheng understood at once!

It was just a simplified GPS navigation system. He knew this kind of thing all too well!

After trying it out a few times, Su Luoheng quickly mastered the Map Device.

After explaining the Map Device, Zhen Reqing brought up some information for new students.

"Enrollment lasts half a month at our academy, and there are three days left before it closes. Once that's over, they'll assign students to classes, and classes will start at the same time as they do for the other years. Judging by the numbers this year, there'll probably be nearly a thousand first-years. They'll have to split us into at least thirty classes."

Su Luoheng suddenly asked, "Senior Zhen, I heard from one of the teachers at enrollment that there's a new student assessment. When does it begin?"

"An assessment?"

Zhen Reqing paused, then slapped his forehead as he realized what Su Luoheng meant. "You mean the new student class-placement assessment, right? They'll arrange that for everyone after enrollment closes. They'll assign students to classes based on their results. In previous years, they've started with Class One and worked their way down. If a new student has exceptional talent and reaches Level 1 Soul Engineer, they can enroll directly in the second year."

"Of course, that's pretty rare. There are only about thirty or forty like that in each cohort."

"Senior Zhen, when will the assessment start?"

"Don't worry about it, Junior. It won't start until all the new students have enrolled. The teachers will let you know when the time comes."

"..."

Zhen Reqing hadn't spent four years at the academy for nothing. He could answer almost all of Su Luoheng's questions in detail.

Their conversation had also taught Su Luoheng a lot.

For example, he learned about the new student assessment, the year-end assessment, the Soul Master Innovation Competition, and the many other competitions Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had created, all with generous prizes, to motivate its students.

As they chatted along the way, Su Luoheng came to understand the academy better.

As they talked, Zhen Reqing led Su Luoheng to the dormitory area. Everywhere he looked, there were tall buildings. At a rough count, the dormitory area had more than a dozen buildings, and even the shortest stood around forty meters tall. There were also several two-story villas, which looked incredibly luxurious just from the outside.

Soon, the two of them stopped in front of a tall building.

Zhen Reqing said, "Junior, this is your new student dormitory. While you're waiting for classes to begin, you can rest in your dorm or explore the campus and get familiar with it. Our academy has plenty of things you won't find elsewhere in the Sun Moon Empire. Just remember where this building is, so you don't get lost."

"Thank you, Senior Zhen. How are the dormitories assigned at our academy?"

"Students in years one through five all share rooms, two to a room. Whenever you advance to a new year, you'll change rooms, though you can choose to stay where you are. Once you become a Level 5 Soul Engineer, you'll be eligible to apply for a private dorm room. It's in one of those shorter buildings over there, which are only a little over twenty meters tall."

"As for..."

At this point, Zhen Reqing paused and looked enviously at the distant villa area.

"As for those dormitories over there, they're all reserved for students in Mingde Hall. I've heard every villa is carefully furnished and comes equipped with a full set of Soul Tools to aid cultivation. They say that one day of cultivation there is worth more than twice as much as a day outside."

From Zhen Reqing's tone, it was clear how much ordinary students yearned to join Mingde Hall.

"Mingde Hall..."

Su Luoheng looked toward the distant villas too, though his eyes were filled with determination. He would definitely make it into Mingde Hall—and for him, that wouldn't be the final destination.

Chapter 24: Elder Ran Arrives! [Please Recommend, Invest, and Collect!]

"All right, Junior, head back to your dorm. If you have any questions later, you can come find me. I'm in Room 703 on the fourth floor of Dormitory Building Four." Having brought the new student to his dormitory building, Zhen Reqing's job was done.

"Thank you, Senior."

Su Luoheng smiled gratefully, then turned and headed toward his room.

After watching Su Luoheng disappear through the dormitory entrance, Zhen Reqing gazed into the distance for a long while before finally looking away. He murmured, "I really wish I could get into Mingde Hall..."

Then he gave a self-deprecating smile. With his talent, it was only a dream.

For most Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy students, Mingde Hall was just as unattainable a dream. After all, eighty percent of Soul Engineers were eliminated on the way from Level 1 to Level 5, and that only earned them the chance to take Mingde Hall's entrance assessment.

Even among those who remained, only the best of the best could join Mingde Hall. Of the more than a thousand students who entered the academy together, only a handful would make it in.

For ordinary students with average talent, the odds were indeed slim. Joining Mingde Hall was little more than a distant, unattainable dream.

But even when people knew that, they still had dreams.

On the other side, Su Luoheng had already entered the dormitory building.

As Soul Tools developed rapidly in the Sun Moon Empire, the Soul Guidance Technology they represented was gradually shifting from military applications for Soul Masters to everyday life for ordinary people. The many tall buildings were one example. To make it easier to get between floors, the dormitory building was equipped with lift Soul Tools similar to the elevators from his previous life. They looked almost exactly alike, except one was powered by Soul Power and the other by electricity.

The lifts were easy to spot. As soon as he walked through the entrance, he saw five of them lined up.