"He didn't just slap together a few shells and make them look like real goods, did he?"
"I think that's possible!"
"..."
For a time, Su Luoheng's astonishing results caused an uproar in the Tenth Examination Zone. The students began discussing him with envy, jealousy, disdain, curiosity, contempt, and admiration. Some even made malicious speculations.
The entire Tenth Examination Zone had never been so lively.
"..."
"Teacher, can we start the inspection?"
Hearing the endless chatter around him, Su Luoheng frowned and reminded them. He didn't care what irrelevant people speculated, but having them prattle on beside him was irritating.
"Uh... sure."
Qin Cong came to his senses and immediately began the inspection.
White light once again enveloped the six Core Arrays.
This time, everyone—including Qin Cong—held their breath, anxiously awaiting the Core Arrays' test results. Would they really be just as Su Luoheng had claimed?
The seconds ticked by.
A minute had never felt so long.
At last, the white light slowly faded.
The information on the six Core Arrays appeared on the screen.
At that moment, every student held their breath, waiting for Qin Cong to announce the results.
"One Level 1 Core Array, quality... perfect! Of the five Level 2 Core Arrays, one is of average quality, two are high quality, and two are... perfect!"
"All six Core Arrays pass!"
"..."
As soon as Qin Cong finished speaking, everyone—including Qin Cong himself—froze.
The area fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
There really were five Level 2 Core Arrays and one Level 1 Core Array. Most importantly, two of the Level 2 Core Arrays were of perfect quality. Regardless of their quality, simply making six Core Arrays in six hours was beyond anything they could accomplish.
"..."
All eyes turned to Su Luoheng in unison.
The academy teachers were quite fast.
In less than two hours, they had ranked the second-year Soul Tool assessment results.
Naturally, Su Luoheng, who had made six Core Arrays, took first place. He had soundly beaten every other second-year competitor in quantity, level, and quality.
The rankings sparked plenty of discussion.
Naturally, the most talked-about student was Su Luoheng, who had taken first place. As word spread among the second-years, he was hailed as a genius!
But Su Luoheng didn't care about any of that.
The Soul Tool competition was over, but the Soul Master competition hadn't even started.
His plan was to claim first place in both, so as soon as the first competition ended, Su Luoheng returned to the lab to ask his teacher about the details of the Soul Master assessment.
The Soul Master combat competition tested, as its name suggested, a Soul Master's combat ability.
The assessment was a series of one-on-one matches.
The students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy were all skilled Soul Engineers, and Soul Tools were part of their strength, so they were naturally allowed to use them in battle.
However, to keep overly powerful Soul Tools from undermining the purpose of the competition, the academy had set a maximum Soul Tool level for each year. For example, first-years could use up to Level 2 Soul Tools, second-years up to Level 3 Soul Tools, and so on.
In addition, fixed-installation Soul Tools of any level were prohibited.
Chapter 74: Soul Master Assessment!
The next day, early in the morning.
Unlike the previous day's Soul Tool competition, which had begun simultaneously for every year, the Soul Master competition was split over two days according to the number of students in each year.
The first day was reserved for the largest groups: the first- and second-years.
The second day was for the remaining third-, fourth-, and fifth-years.
The competition was held at the Soul Guidance Trial Arena.
It was the largest building aboveground at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy and could hold ten thousand people. Located behind the Testing Zone and the teaching area, it contained a vast plaza surrounded by tier upon tier of seats that rose high above. It provided students with a venue for assessments, competitions, and experiments involving large Soul Tools.
Between the spectator seats and the central arena stood a linked defensive system made up of multiple Defensive Soul Tools.
The system showcased the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy's advanced Soul Tool technology. A single sufficiently powerful Soul Master could operate the entire system. Of course, "sufficiently powerful" meant a Level 8 Soul Engineer or higher.
The second-year competition was held on the morning of the first day.
Though it was still early, the Soul Guidance Trial Arena was already packed.
Fewer students had entered than in the previous day's Soul Engineer competition, but many more had come to watch. Compared with the dull process of making Soul Tools, Soul Master battles were far more entertaining. Students from both higher and lower years had come to watch.
Of course, admission cost one Gold Soul Coin.
But nearly all the academy's students were Soul Engineers, so the price of a ticket was a mere drop in the ocean to them.
The academy took the competition seriously. Jing Hongchen, head of Mingde Hall, student affairs director Lin Jiayi, and many of the academy's Level 8 Soul Engineers were in attendance.
They sat in the middle section of the stands, the best seats in the entire Soul Guidance Trial Arena.
Su Luoheng's teacher, Ran Yuming, was among them. His seat was near the front, even among the Level 8 Soul Engineers.
"Senior Brother, I thought you weren't interested in competitions like this. What brought you here this year?"
Beside Ran Yuming sat a young man who looked to be in his thirties. He had ordinary features and a mild expression, but his eyes were bright, and he looked quite spirited. A standard-issue Level 8 Soul Engineer badge from Mingde Hall was set into his chest.
To become a Level 8 Soul Engineer at such a young age was proof of his extraordinary skill.
"My disciple is competing. Of course I'd come and watch."
Ran Yuming smiled. "What about you, Ziwen? Surely you weren't too busy to come today?"
"I can't spend every day in the lab like she does."
A figure came to Xuan Ziwen's mind. He shook his head with a wry smile, then grew curious and asked, "Senior Brother, is the disciple you took on that one down there?"
Ran Yuming gave him a mysterious smile. "You'll find out in the finals~"
"Looks like you have a lot of confidence in this disciple of yours..." Xuan Ziwen grew even more curious. He turned his gaze toward the arena below, wondering which lucky student was Ran Yuming's disciple.
But he soon looked away.
There were simply too many competitors. He'd wait until a few rounds had eliminated some of them before trying to pick him out.
To make the competition easier to manage,
the arena had been divided into many small rings. This ensured that the matches on each ring wouldn't interfere with one another or disrupt the spectators' viewing experience.
About four hundred second-years had entered the competition.
To keep the matches orderly and efficient, the Soul Master competition was divided into eight groups.
Each group would first compete separately to choose its champion. Then the eight group champions would draw lots and face off in three more matches to determine the final winner.
After all, with so many second-years, a points-based competition would take too long.
A knockout tournament was already the fairest format they could use.
By the time the competitors arrived at the Soul Guidance Trial Arena, the groups had already been drawn up and posted on the noticeboard at the entrance. They could see the lists as soon as they entered.
Su Luoheng was assigned to Group Three.
Soon after he entered the arena, a teacher led him to the competition area.
Group Three's ring was on the southern side of the arena. After explaining the rules, the judge handed out a Defensive Soul Tool to each competitor.
The referee soon stepped onto the ring. Once he had announced the rules, the competition began.
"Su Luoheng."
"Qu Yu."
Su Luoheng sized up his first opponent: a dark-clad boy with a thin build and a dark complexion.
He looked like a true native of the Sun Moon Empire.
"Begin!"
As soon as the judge's voice fell, Qu Yu darted to the edge of the ring. He raised both arms, and with a metallic clang, two black cannon barrels appeared in his hands. He fired a rapid succession of Soul Tool beams at Su Luoheng.
Keeping his distance and attacking from range was standard Soul Engineer practice.
But Su Luoheng was ready. He bent his knees, shifted his body, and easily dodged the shots. At the same time, he lunged forward with his sword in his right hand, heading straight for his opponent's throat.
Qu Yu clearly hadn't expected Su Luoheng to be so fast!
It was already too late to retreat. He could only watch as the sword, carrying terrifying force, swept toward his neck.
"Vmmmm—"
Just then, a gentle white light flared.
If not for the Level 3 Defensive Soul Tool activating in time, that sword strike would have killed him.
"Ring Five, Group Three: Su Luoheng wins!"
After announcing the result, the judge recorded it in the file in his hands.
Su Luoheng would have to wait until the final match of Group Three ended before he fought again, so in this type of competition, the faster he defeated each opponent, the better.
Teacher Ran had specifically reminded him of this the day before, and he had kept it in mind.
Su Luoheng sat cross-legged at the side of the ring, resting and recovering his Soul Power. At the same time, he kept an eye on the other competitors in his group. Any of them could be his next opponent, and knowing himself and his enemy was the best way to prepare.
The battles on the rings continued.
Before long, the matches on Rings Four and Five ended in succession.
Then came Rings Six and Seven...
Soon, the battles on every ring had finished.
After the lots were drawn again, it was Su Luoheng's turn to compete.
Not knowing how strong his opponent was, Su Luoheng stuck to his strategy of ending things quickly. From the moment he stepped onto the ring to the moment the match ended, less than five minutes passed before he defeated his opponent.
Then came the third match, the fourth...
His opponents were all about the same strength, and Su Luoheng kept winning.
His Soul Power was being spent and replenished in turn, and so far he had used less than a tenth of it.
After about an hour, Group Three's ring finally reached its last qualifying match.
Su Luoheng had thought the final opponent would be tricky.
Chapter 75: Su Luoheng: I Thought He Was Hiding Something
But...
Reality left Su Luoheng completely dumbfounded.
His opponent was quick to enter the ring, but even quicker to leave it.
The moment the two clashed, a comical scene unfolded.
Su Luoheng had only thrown a probing kick, but the other guy lost control of his own momentum and flew out of the ring. The whole thing took less than a minute, setting a new group-stage record.
At the time, the muscles in his face twitched slightly.
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