Kong Deming

Upon hearing Xu Tianran's words, Li Qingming froze for a moment.

He turned to look at the Crown Prince of the Star Luo Empire. Seeing the calmness in the other's eyes, he fell silent for a while before nodding.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness. I, Li Qingming, will certainly not disappoint it."

Li Qingming spoke earnestly, but Xu Tianran merely gave him a calm glance before turning toward the elderly man beside him.

"Senior Kong."

Xu Tianran said only those three words. The aged elder beside him looked at Li Qingming and let out a long sigh.

"Your talent is indeed not bad. You have three rings at such a young age, and your martial soul is an ultimate martial soul as well. You truly are quite impressive."

"This old man happens to be short one student. From now on, you'll be my student. Come conduct research with me."

The old man spoke casually as he rose to his feet, his aged eyes sweeping over Li Qingming.

Seeing the confusion in Li Qingming's gaze, the old man fell silent for a second.

"Oh, that's right. This old man forgot to introduce himself."

"This old man is called Kong Deming. I am the Chief Worshiper of the Sun Moon Empire's Worship Hall, and the first tenth-rank soul engineer of this era."

Kong Deming spoke casually, yet his status and background were top-tier no matter where they were placed.

One had to know that although Ye Xishui and the others would later possess tenth-rank soul tools,

and even Huo Yuhao would later be able to develop tenth-rank soul tools,

at this stage, tenth-rank soul tools had indeed been created by this old man.

His position throughout the entire Sun Moon Empire far exceeded anyone's imagination.

Li Qingming knew this, so when he heard that Xu Tianran wanted him to take this old man as his master, he was genuinely somewhat surprised.

Seeing Li Qingming's astonished expression, Kong Deming merely smiled.

"There's no need for apprenticeship tea. The student I speak of is different from the master-disciple relationships you have. You'll merely study alongside this old man."

"This old man will arrange a special slot for you. When the time comes, you can also attend the academic courses at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy."

As Kong Deming spoke, he stood up and cupped his fists toward Xu Tianran.

Though Xu Tianran remained seated, he returned the gesture to the old man.

As the old man turned and left, Li Qingming paused for a second. In the end, he gave Xu Tianran a deep look before following Kong Deming out.

As the old and young pair descended the stairs, Kong Deming turned his head and assessed Li Qingming.

Although Li Qingming's martial soul was powerful, he was not actually well suited to researching soul engineering technology.

But since Xu Tianran had asked him to accept the boy as a disciple, he accepted him.

In any case, one or two more disciples made no difference to him.

"Since this old man has accepted you as a disciple, I naturally won't cheat you."

"As long as you study and work properly, you won't lack prospects in the future."

The old man coughed as he spoke, then led Li Qingming farther toward the rear of the Sun Moon Imperial Academy.

As they walked, Kong Deming asked about Li Qingming's circumstances. Li Qingming's answers were naturally flawless, since this was something he was quite skilled at.

Listening to Li Qingming's replies, Kong Deming merely glanced at him. He did not expose him, nor did he say anything.

The two went deep into an enormous research institute. It was seven or eight times the size of the previous one, filled with all manner of high-tech soul engineering equipment.

Compared to where Xu Tianran had been earlier, this looked like a truly complete research institute with formidable research capabilities.

Looking at the institute, the old man coughed and led Li Qingming inside.

The moment they entered, they ran into a middle-aged man. He wore a white lab coat, looked somewhat disheveled, and had glasses on his face.

Upon seeing Kong Deming, he hurriedly lowered his head in greeting.

"Teacher."

"Why are you always so flustered?"

"Oh, right, it's good that you're here."

"Let me introduce you. This is my newly accepted disciple, and also your youngest junior brother, Li Qingming."

"This is your senior brother, Xuan Ziwen. He'll take you to the academy to handle your enrollment documents. This old man has other matters to attend to."

As Kong Deming spoke, he raised a hand. A token appeared in his palm, and he tossed it directly to Xuan Ziwen.

Xuan Ziwen froze for a moment, catching the token before glancing at Li Qingming in confusion.

He had actually come to speak with Kong Deming about experimental research, but after looking at Li Qingming, he hesitated for a second without showing any dissatisfaction.

"Alright, Teacher. I'll take Junior Brother over right now."

As Xuan Ziwen spoke, he scratched his head and then looked at Li Qingming.

Li Qingming cupped his fists toward this senior brother.

Naturally, he had heard of Xuan Ziwen.

In the Sun Moon Empire's Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, Xuan Ziwen's status was not actually very high.

He had constantly been sidelined by Jing Hongchen, yet after going to the Tang Sect, he became a key figure for cultivation and the first person there to become a ninth-rank soul engineer.

Whether in terms of potential or every other aspect, he was outstanding. Especially in soul engineering technology research, he was absolutely a top-tier talent.

After Kong Deming finished speaking, he gave Li Qingming a few more instructions before taking his leave first.

Clearly, Kong Deming was unwilling to personally teach Li Qingming. Or rather, he did not think much of a student with no talent for soul engineering technology.

To ordinary soul masters, the Fallen Angel martial soul ultimately represented evil, and many soul masters looked down on such a martial soul.

This martial soul was too evil—or rather, too dark—and many people were deeply prejudiced against it.

And when it came to soul engineering technology, Li Qingming possessed no talent whatsoever.

At this thought, Li Qingming himself could not help twitching slightly.

Clearly, he had already been sidelined. Or rather, he truly was not favored here.

Of course, this did not matter to him for now. He had already become Xu Tianran's subordinate, and he would not lack resources in the future.

As long as he could display his strength, or reveal sufficient talent, Xu Tianran definitely would not cultivate him merely as a subordinate.

Thinking this, Li Qingming said nothing and followed Xuan Ziwen outside.

Along the way, Xuan Ziwen kept explaining things to him. Most were related to soul engineering technology, but even more concerned the academy itself.

Through this, Li Qingming gained a deeper understanding.

He did not know much about the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, but it was somewhat similar to Shrek.

It also had classes and the like, except the scope of academic research here was much broader.

As long as one wanted to learn, one could study in various places.

One could learn all kinds of cultural schools of thought and knowledge.

Of course, the academy was currently on break as well.

After Li Qingming arrived, he followed Xuan Ziwen to the Academic Affairs Office. Once he received a new student ID, he was assigned his own private dormitory.

After arranging the dormitory, Li Qingming declined Xuan Ziwen's offer to continue showing him around the academy.

After all, this senior brother was clearly very busy. Though he might be willing to show him around, it would only waste his time and would not make him think more favorably of Li Qingming.

So Li Qingming took the initiative to refuse almost immediately.

Shrek's dormitories were completely incomparable to the ones here. This place was absurdly good: not only were the rooms single occupancy, but facilities such as lighting and showers were practically all provided.