Plus Soul Tool Training

"Then I'll arrange accommodations for you first. Although you're a little over the age limit, you possessed two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings as your first and second Soul Rings.

"You truly qualified for special treatment, and you were qualified to join the Royal Soul Engineer Academy. But I couldn't make this decision alone. It had to go through the higher-ups, through meetings, and be discussed by most members before a decision could be made. After all, the Sun Moon Empire wasn't ruled by me alone."

Although Jing Hongchen said that on the surface, he had actually already made some guesses deep down. He simply didn't voice them.

At this moment, the master of Mingde Hall needed to keep Xiao Changge steady.

Xiao Changge also felt that there was nothing wrong with this.

After all, it was perfectly normal.

In the original work, the physiological lower limit for an ordinary Soul Master to absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was around Rank 20. Having a Ten-Thousand-Year first Soul Ring was already heaven-defying. Two Ten-Thousand-Year rings at Rank 29—this was no longer merely "genius," but an existence that defied the Soul Ring rules of Douluo Continent. As the master of Mingde Hall, the dean of the Royal Soul Engineer Academy, a ninth-rank Soul Engineer, and a Rank 94 Titled Douluo, Jing Hongchen would certainly be extremely shocked upon seeing someone like Xiao Changge.

Jing Hongchen himself had every right to directly admit him into the Royal Soul Engineer Academy—he was the dean, after all. But if he wanted this "national-fate-level sapling" to truly take root, enjoy Mingde Hall's resources, receive royal stipends, and avoid arousing suspicion from the elders and the Crown Prince, then he had to follow a complete "Mingdu upper-echelon process." If Jing Hongchen made the decision alone, it would instead cause trouble.

Moreover, this involved many parts of the Sun Moon Empire, various power structures, and even Jing Hongchen himself.

(1) The parts Jing Hongchen could decide on himself.

As the dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, he only needed to sign personally for ordinary enrollment, exceptional transfers, and apprentice qualifications on the periphery of Mingde Hall.

A fifteen-year-old Rank 29 Soul Grandmaster with two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings could be directly specially recruited as a dual-track student of both the Soul Guidance Department and the combat department.

He could be assigned a mimicry cultivation chamber and a quota of Soul Tool materials below the fourth rank,

and be placed under Xuan Ziwen or another eighth-rank Soul Engineer as an apprentice.

But the problem wasn't "admission." The problem was that "this person was too expensive":

Two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings meant absurd physical strength, Soul Power quality, and future Titled Douluo potential. Once it was confirmed that such a seedling wasn't a spy, he should be nurtured with treatment on the level of a Crown Prince, not as an ordinary specially recruited student. Jing Hongchen didn't dare claim all the credit, nor did he dare shoulder the blame alone if he ended up nurturing an enemy infiltrator.

(2) The Sun Moon Empire's higher-ups who had to be consulted, in order of priority.

1. Kong Deming, the Silvermoon Douluo, representative of the Hall of Worship and Council of Elders, and a peak ninth-rank Soul Engineer.

This was the first hurdle, and also the most crucial one.

After discovering the anomaly, Jing Hongchen's first step wouldn't be to seek out the emperor. Instead, he would first bring Xiao Changge to the Hall of Worship and let Kong Deming personally inspect him: the age of his Soul Rings, the nature of his Martial Soul, his body's endurance, whether he had any seals, or whether some Evil Soul Master had possessed a young boy's body.

Kong Deming's nod meant the endorsement of the empire's highest technical faction. After that, every procedure would receive the green light.

In the original work, Kong Deming saying, "This child concerns the fate of the nation," carried even more weight than an imperial decree.

Without Kong Deming's approval, this person wouldn't be allowed into Mingde Hall's core area. With Kong Deming's approval, even the Crown Prince wouldn't dare touch him carelessly.

(2) Crown Prince Xu Tianran, the actual heir apparent at the time and later emperor.

If Xiao Changge's identity was clean, then he was a strategic weapon who could become a future Super Douluo and possibly cultivate both Soul Tools and martial power. The Eastern Palace had to be informed and receive a share:

Jing Hongchen needed to report it proactively, preventing Xu Tianran from hearing rumors through other channels first—such as the Royal Inspection Team or aristocratic clans—and then turning around to suspect Jing Hongchen of secretly hoarding talent.

Points for discussion: whether to grant him the title of "young royal guest official," whether the Crown Prince's residence would be allowed to contact him regularly, and whether the Eastern Palace would provide part of his cultivation resources in exchange for establishing loyalty.

Xu Tianran was a calm, self-interested man. Upon seeing such a seedling, his first reaction would be to recruit him rather than reject him, though he would demand that Xiao Changge be marked by the Eastern Palace.

(3) The reigning emperor, Xu Tianchen or Xu Tianran's father, depending on the timeline.

If the timeline was before Xu Tianran ascended the throne, then the emperor had to be notified. If he had already ascended, then Xu Tianran himself would make the decision.

Jing Hongchen would need to submit a confidential memorial, clearly stating: "Potentially a Limit Douluo or suspected Twin Martial Souls, two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, no physiological damage, personally examined by Elder Kong."

He would request an imperial decree to determine the level of treatment, whether equal to a Crown Prince, above an ordinary prince, or as a guest official of the Hall of Worship.

If the emperor asked, "Could he be a hidden pawn planted by Shrek?" Jing Hongchen would use Kong Deming's appraisal to block the question.

So for a youth like Xiao Changge, although fifteen was indeed somewhat overage, there was nothing that could be done. Shrek had ruined him.

But the fact that he could regain his strength so quickly, absorb two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, and become a Rank 29 Soul Grandmaster was already remarkable. At the very least, in their eyes, he was already extremely formidable for someone with Innate Full Soul Power.

The legendary Innate Full Soul Power at Rank 20 was something only Qian Renxue, the Angel God from the legends of Douluo Continent, had supposedly possessed.

She was said to be a descendant of a god, but the people of the Sun Moon Empire didn't particularly believe it. After all, they had never seen Sea God Tang San or Angel God Qian Renxue with their own eyes. They had only heard the legends, and many people in the Sun Moon Empire believed those were merely stories fabricated out of thin air.

Or perhaps, in their view, those Soul Masters had simply been too powerful, reaching the level of Limit Douluo. As their tales spread over time, their images snowballed until they gradually became legends akin to gods.

"In any case, get some proper rest first. You must be tired after spending so much time getting here. I'll organize your information first. I hope you haven't deceived me."

"Don't worry. What I said was basically true."

It was indeed basically true, but some parts were still false. Changing certain details slightly made it sound plausible, and it didn't really count as lying.

And if the other party misunderstood something, that wasn't his responsibility either.

"It looks like you did the right thing this time. As long as you cultivate properly at the Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy, you'll definitely become much stronger. And there's also Soul Tool technology. I hope you can learn it—it'll help improve you.

"After all, there are times when you need external power to help yourself. You can't rely on yourself alone for everything. Alchemy is indeed excellent, and you're also learning my magic.

"But alchemy and magic alone can't help you take revenge.

"Of course, if you're unwilling, that's fine too."

"Teacher, I can work hard."

The Xiao Yan of the original work was an alchemy grandmaster and a peak expert. Now, he was cultivating magic, studying alchemy, and growing stronger all at once.

Now he also had to learn Soul Tool technology, but that was fine. In order to take revenge, it was nothing. In order to reclaim his lost dignity, in order to retaliate against Shrek, all of it was worth it. Enduring hardship to become stronger was worth it.