It was evening, and the sky was awash with red clouds.
The palace was ablaze with light.
The palace's master wore a well-tailored white robe. He looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His clothes were plain, and his eyes shone brightly. Though he was not especially handsome, he possessed the authority expected of a man in power. His dark skin glowed with health.
At that moment, he sat at his desk, studying a book.
The palace's decor was magnificent yet retained an air of antiquity. Most of the furnishings bore the Eight-Clawed Fire Dragon motif, proclaiming that the palace's master was no ordinary person.
Just then, an elderly man with a slightly stooped figure suddenly appeared in the room without a sound.
Though he wore the ordinary clothes of a servant and had a gaunt frame, his slightly clouded eyes still gleamed with a piercing intensity that struck fear into the heart.
Hearing him, the young man in white set down his book and raised his eyes to look at the newcomer.
"Your Highness."
The old man approached, bowed, and spoke respectfully.
The young man in white gave a slight nod and asked in an even tone, "What is it?"
"The operation in the Jingyang Mountain Range failed."
The old man came before him and bowed his head. "Our people have sent word that the assassination failed. Xu Jinyu has now returned to the Heng Prince Mansion."
"It failed?" The young man in white raised an eyebrow, visibly surprised.
"Yes, Your Highness."
The old man nodded and explained, "The people we sent are still searching the Jingyang Mountain Range. This news just came from the agent we planted in the Heng Prince Mansion."
"Heh, it seems my cousin is no simple man..."
The young man in white murmured under his breath.
He had specifically sent five Soul Emperors and three Soul Saints, while Xu Jinyu had only two Soul Saints and one Soul Emperor.
And they still hadn't managed to keep him in the Jingyang Mountain Range?
At the thought, the young man's eyes gradually darkened. A faint smile curled his lips, playful and inscrutable...
The old man stood silently to one side, waiting for his instructions.
After a long while, the young man in white finally spoke. "How is my cousin doing now?"
"We don't know yet. The agent rushed here in a hurry."
After a pause, the old man asked, "Your Highness, what should we do now? Should we send more people to assassinate Xu Jinyu?"
"No need."
The young man in white shook his head slightly and said calmly, "The assassination failed, so Xu Jinyu will certainly tighten his defenses. There's no chance of finding an opportunity like that again. Sending more assassins would only risk exposing our identities."
The old man nodded in agreement.
"And one more thing..."
A chill flashed through the young man's eyes. "Make sure everyone involved in this operation keeps their mouths shut."
The old man gave a slight nod.
"Understood."
"Right. Make up some false information to point the blame toward Third Brother."
The young man in white lowered his eyes as if something had occurred to him. A faint smile touched his lips as he murmured, "I remember those two have some kind of grudge between them. This will be a good chance to see how much influence the Heng Prince Mansion still has at court."
"Understood."
The old man nodded, then asked, "Your Highness, what should we do about the agent in the Heng Prince Mansion? According to the report from the covert guards, that fellow has some information on us. If it gets out, it could cause trouble."
"Oh, that's interesting."
The young man in white's lips curled slightly, and interest flickered in his eyes. "Then leave him be for now. He might come in handy someday."
"Yes."
The old man immediately accepted the order and withdrew, not daring to delay for even a moment.
Watching the old man leave,
the young man in white gazed out the window. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he murmured, "Xu Jinyu... my dear cousin... why can't you just lie down and die?"
"..."
"Forget it. I'll let you live a little longer. The Old Prince won't be around for much longer anyway."
As if he had thought of something, the smile on the young man's face grew gentler.
The four Hand of National Protection Soul Engineer Legions, the throne of the Sun Moon Empire, and everything else in the Sun Moon Empire would be his—and his alone.
No one would ever take them from him.
Brothers, friends, enemies—anyone who stood in his way would perish!
Apart from the strongest, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion, the Sun Moon Empire's four other top forces were the Imperial Dragon, Dreadclaw, Fire Phoenix, and Evil Lord Hand of National Protection Soul Engineer Legions.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion was under the direct command of the emperor. No prince was permitted to interfere with it.
That left only the four Soul Engineer Legions for him to fight over, and they carried enormous weight in the struggle for the throne.
The Heng Prince Mansion had never offended him.
But a man is innocent of a crime until he possesses a treasure.
And the Dreadclaw Soul Master Legion was that treasure.
The Heng Prince Mansion was already in decline, and no longer had the strength to hold onto the legion.
Yet at this crucial moment in the struggle for the throne, they were still wavering. That meant the Heng Prince Mansion was destined to become the first sacrifice in this all-out fight!
Even if he didn't make a move, his brothers would fight to seize it.
So why not strike first?
Time flew by.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had been especially lively these past few days.
This was an unusual time: the examination competition for every year at the academy would begin the day after tomorrow!
It was an annual event that lasted two days.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy held an examination competition every semester. Su Luoheng had skipped the third-year advancement exam because he was waiting for this competition.
There were quite a few students like him in his class.
They had also reached Level 2 Soul Engineer and were waiting for this competition.
After all, getting into the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy already required exceptional talent, and those assigned to Class One in each year were the cream of the crop.
Becoming a Level 2 Soul Engineer in a year was no difficult feat.
The reason they made this choice was the competition's rules.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy held separate examinations for each year. No matter what place a student earned, there was no penalty. As long as they performed well, they could even receive an award from the academy. And if their performance was outstanding enough, they might not even have to take the advancement exam; they could move straight up to the next year when the new term began.
With cultivation resources and rewards on offer, of course the students wanted to give it their all.
Encouraging the students was one of the academy's goals in holding the competition.
This was also the time when Mingde Hall began its own examinations, though its one-in-ten-thousand selection process was nowhere near as festive as the competition for the other five years.
The examination competition consisted of two events: a Soul Tool examination and a practical Soul Master combat examination.
The two events took place on the first and second days, respectively, so students could sign up for both.
A few years ago, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy only held the Soul Tool examination. But over the years, as the academy placed greater emphasis on Soul Master abilities, it had added the Soul Master examination as well.
As the homeroom teacher of Class One in the second year, Ran Yuming informed the class about the event.
The entire class immediately erupted with excitement.
But it had nothing to do with the master and his student. They had already returned to the laboratory.
"Teacher."
Su Luoheng rubbed his hands together and looked at Ran Yuming expectantly. "What will I get if I win first place?"
"Core student status."
"That's it..."
Su Luoheng looked a little disappointed.
It wasn't that the reward was bad. He was already a core student, so winning it wouldn't do him any good.
"What are you thinking, kid?"
Ran Yuming saw right through Su Luoheng's little scheme and smiled. "Don't worry. If you win first place, the academy will definitely give you some other reward. Our academy would never shortchange its students."
At that, Su Luoheng began to look forward to it.
The other students felt the same way.
Only strength could lead to a broader stage!
So students from the first through fourth years, in every class—even the newly enrolled students—were all preparing eagerly!
Time flew by.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the academy's examination competition arrived.
Early that morning, thousands of students gathered on the academy's training grounds. Excited smiles lit their faces as they eagerly awaited their turn.
They were the future of the Soul Engineer world!
"Everyone, please quiet down."
The instructor standing on the high platform was Jing Hongchen, the head of Mingde Hall.
Dressed in a golden robe emblazoned with the Sun Moon design, he stood before the students and teachers, his voice ringing out with authority. "The annual academy competition is about to begin. I hope you all achieve good results!"
"..."
After a series of impassioned speeches by the academy's leaders, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy's annual examination competition finally began!
The Soul Tool examination was held in the southern part of the Testing Zone.
To ensure the examination ran smoothly, the academy had set aside six large testing grounds for the competition, with designated areas for students from the first through fourth years.
As long as you had talent, you could receive training.
For outstanding students, this was the perfect stage to show what they could do.
"All first-year students..."
"All second-year students, please listen up. All second-year students, please listen up. Classes One through Five will take the examination in Testing Ground Four, and Classes Six through Ten in Testing Ground Five. Please pay attention to your testing-ground numbers. You have ten minutes left to enter. Anyone who arrives late will forfeit this examination."
"All third-year students..."
"..."
The loud announcements rang throughout the academy, their voices reaching every corner of the Testing Zone. The students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy followed the signs along the way and made their way in an orderly fashion to their respective examination areas.
Su Luoheng followed the second-year group to the fourth examination zone as well.
The examination grounds were laid out much like the one used for their advancement exams, but the overall space was more than five times larger. Every twenty worktables were partitioned off with screens. Each section was about the size of a classroom, and at a glance, there seemed to be more than ten sections, each marked with a number at the entrance.
Dividing the grounds into smaller examination zones made them easier to manage.
Su Luoheng was assigned to the Tenth Examination Zone, which was easy to find at the far right of the examination area.
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