First Meeting with Xu Tianran

As the two entered through the admissions office and arrived inside the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Li Qingming found the campus astonishingly vast.

So vast that even he found it somewhat alarming.

The two wound through countless turns, constantly making their way deeper inside.

Only after reaching an extremely secluded area did a massive standalone research institute appear before them.

The two entered.

Li Qingming was led upstairs by someone else.

A room door opened. Rather than a research institute, the place looked more like a luxurious private suite.

Several bottles of lavishly packaged red wine sat on the dining table.

Beside it stood a sofa upholstered in genuine leather.

At that moment, a young man sat quietly on the sofa.

He had long purple hair tied into a high ponytail.

His violet eyes looked down at Li Qingming, carrying a calm, natural composure, while an air of nobility radiated from him.

A young man stood beside him.

Dressed in black robes, he stood there silently without moving.

Li Qingming frowned slightly as he looked at him.

On the young man's other side sat an elderly man.

The old man appeared somewhat aged. The instant Li Qingming entered, his gaze swept back and forth over him.

However, the old man said nothing and likewise turned his attention toward the other young man.

"You are Li Qingming? You came from the Star Luo Empire?"

The young man spoke softly, his violet eyes resting silently upon him.

Under that gaze, Li Qingming fell silent for only a moment before nodding calmly.

"Yes, I am Li Qingming, and I come from the Star Luo Empire. I came here hoping to join the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."

Li Qingming spoke softly, but with complete sincerity.

This Fallen Clone not only possessed the Fallen Angel martial soul, but also the spatial power wielded by the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

Even if the two people before him were powerful, even if they were formidable Titled Douluo, Li Qingming could still find a way to escape as long as they lacked spatial sealing abilities.

Even if he could not escape, it did not matter if this body was killed.

After all, the core of this body was the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

Once this body was destroyed, Li Qingming could still fuse his spiritual power and everything else back into it as long as he found the core.

So rather than coming to join the Sun Moon Empire, this body had come to test the waters.

Hearing Li Qingming's words, the young man nodded calmly.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Xu Tianran. I am the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire, as well as a member of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."

After saying this, Xu Tianran looked calmly at Li Qingming.

Those violet eyes of his seemed to possess the power to see through everything, as though he wished to see what expression Li Qingming would reveal upon facing him, the Crown Prince.

Yet Li Qingming merely gave him a calm glance, his face showing little reaction.

It was as though he had not heard him at all.

Seeing how unruffled Li Qingming was, Xu Tianran went silent for a moment before continuing.

"You are only eleven this year, yet your Soul Power Level has already reached three rings, and you are very close to four. Your talent surprises me. I have seen many geniuses, but very few could reach your level at your age."

As Xu Tianran spoke, a purple dragon phantom emerged behind him.

An overwhelmingly terrifying aura of destruction abruptly surged from the dragon.

That destructive aura did not pause in the slightest as it pressed directly down upon Li Qingming.

Despite sensing that immense pressure, Li Qingming remained standing where he was.

Three pairs of wings abruptly spread from his back.

His Fallen Angel martial soul appeared, its entire body bound by purple chains.

A terrifyingly foul power emanated from it, spreading an ultimate force outward.

Xu Tianran's expression shifted from calmness to surprise, before finally becoming intrigued.

"Not bad. It is even an ultimate fallen attribute. Ultimate attributes are innately rare. In all my years, I have heard of very few people possessing one. Would you be willing to pledge loyalty to me?"

"If you pledge loyalty to me, I will cover all your cultivation resources. And what you need to do is actually very simple."

"You may continue studying at the Royal Soul Engineer Academy, but you must complete the tasks I assign you. Most of them will be assassination-type missions."

Xu Tianran looked at Li Qingming, his tone exceedingly casual.

There was still a considerable age gap between Li Qingming and him, so Li Qingming would not be of much help to him at present.

But as the child's strength continued to grow, there would come a day when he could help him.

And by then, Xu Tianran would most likely have ascended the throne. He would need several trustworthy people under his command.

Although he could not yet determine the identity of the youth before him, he could simply investigate it.

With the Sun Moon Empire's intelligence network, no matter what background this child had, it could easily be uncovered.

Under such circumstances, if a supreme genius possessing an ultimate attribute could pledge loyalty to him, the help he would bring in the future would be enormous.

Hearing Xu Tianran's words, Li Qingming was slightly startled.

He had not expected to encounter this Crown Prince the moment he arrived in the Sun Moon Empire, much less have the other party immediately seek to take him in as a subordinate.

However, Li Qingming's eyes flickered for only two seconds before he decisively agreed.

His purpose in coming here was merely to study at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and leave himself a backup plan.

A backup plan that could ensure his survival even after Shrek discovered him and had him executed.

Of course, he had another purpose as well: to find allies.

What he needed was power capable of resisting Tang San, and the premise of all that was for his own strength to be powerful enough.

And to become powerful, he needed vast resources—perhaps even an almost terrifyingly immense quantity of them.

Only sufficient accumulation of resources could ensure that his strength continued to rise.

Conveniently enough, Xu Tianran was an excellent ally.

Xu Tianran might not understand the God Realm or Tang San.

But if he wished to rule the entire Douluo Continent, he would need sufficiently powerful subordinates.

At that stage, as long as Li Qingming displayed enough talent, Xu Tianran would devote himself fully to nurturing him.

Naturally, Li Qingming would also help Xu Tianran realize his ambition of ruling the entire Douluo Continent.

Because he likewise needed Xu Tianran's ambition to help him obtain more resources, allowing him to gain the ability to contend with Tang San.

Although their ultimate goals differed somewhat, their current objectives were the same.

With that thought, Li Qingming paused for only a second before slightly bowing and clasping his fists.

"I am naturally willing to pledge loyalty to Your Highness."

His tone was calm and resolute.

The black-robed man beside them, who had not spoken from beginning to end, stepped forward.

A pale red pill appeared in his hand.

Seeing the pill, Li Qingming's mouth twitched slightly.

This method was nearly identical to Ye Qishui's, except Ye Qishui had used a Soul-Eating Pill, while he had no idea what kind of pill this was.

Still, once his strength had grown, such methods would no longer have any effect on him.

With that thought, Li Qingming prepared to take the pill.

Yet to his surprise, just as his hand was about to touch it, Xu Tianran's gentle yet utterly emotionless voice suddenly rang out.

"Stand down. He does not need to take that pill. If you employ someone, do not doubt them; if you doubt someone, do not employ them. Since you are willing to serve me, then I should offer you the most basic trust."