Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy

Sun Moon Empire

Ming Capital

As the city with the most advanced soul engineering technology on the continent, Ming Capital's streets were packed with people today, bustling with exceptional liveliness.

Today was not any traditional festival, however, but the day when the Sun Moon Empire's foremost institution—the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy—admitted its new students.

Early in the morning, the academy's grand gates were already crowded with parents who had brought their children to register.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's hard admission requirement was obtaining one's first soul ring before the age of twelve. Unlike Shrek Academy, which "only admitted monsters," it not only required applicants to reach rank fifteen before twelve, but even more absurdly demanded a so-called "recommendation letter from the lord of the main city."

On the Douluo Continent, soul masters were already a privileged class above ordinary people. On top of Shrek's harsh talent screening, it added another filter of power.

How much backroom dealing and exchange of benefits took place among the great noble families was self-evident.

Of course, the Sun Moon Empire was not truly absolutely equal either.

For example, while the ordinary commoners were still standing in long lines beneath the blazing sun, two lavishly dressed young men stepped down from an exquisitely decorated soul engineering carriage. Without even glancing at the new student reception room outside, they headed directly toward another area within the academy.

"Brother Shaojie, don't we need to line up over there?" a youth who looked like a lackey asked with a fawning grin. The tall young man called Shaojie curled his lips into a mocking smile. "Wang Yuan, think about it yourself. We have imperial blood—do we need to squeeze in with those commoners outside?"

Wang Shaojie led Wang Yuan with practiced familiarity into an extravagantly furnished VIP lounge.

Six or seven exceptionally dressed young men and women sat scattered throughout the room. Among these already highborn second-generation heirs, a pair of siblings stood out especially.

The young man reclined on a soft sofa with his eyes closed, a faint trace of arrogance showing in his expression. The young woman, meanwhile, had an exceedingly rare head of wine-red hair and idly played with her nails.

The moment Wang Shaojie entered and saw the siblings, his eyes lit up. He hurriedly put on an enthusiastic, ingratiating smile and led Wang Yuan briskly over.

"You two must be Hall Master Jing's son and daughter. I have long admired your names."

Wang Shaojie inclined slightly, his tone familiar. "I am Wang Shaojie, of the imperial Wang Clan. I have long heard of your brilliance, and seeing you today proves that your reputations are well deserved. I hope you will look after me more in the academy from now on."

He had not specifically come to attend new student registration today because he had nothing better to do and wanted to accompany his clansman Wang Yuan. He had heard from his elders that Jing Hongchen, the renowned master of Illustrious Virtue Hall, would be bringing his only grandson and granddaughter to enroll today.

Wang Shaojie had always harbored a wishful scheme: if he could use this opportunity to befriend the siblings, or even win Meng Hongchen's hand through his own means, then their branch of the imperial family would gain Illustrious Virtue Hall's enormous support completely.

Yet reality gave him a harsh blow.

Hearing the commotion, the young man on the sofa merely lifted his eyelids slightly and gave him an indifferent glance before closing his eyes again, too lazy to spare him even a word.

The wine-red-haired girl did pause what she was doing and offer an awkward yet polite smile. "Hello, I'm Meng Hongchen. This is my brother, Xiao Hongchen." After saying that, she naturally turned away and ignored him again.

The smile on Wang Shaojie's face instantly froze. He stood there in utter embarrassment, unable to advance or retreat. The Hongchen siblings' cold, distant attitude made anger flare in his heart, but because of Illustrious Virtue Hall behind them—a force even the emperor had to treat with deference—he could only grit his teeth and force down his rage.

Just as Wang Shaojie adjusted his expression and prepared to shamelessly strike up another conversation, Meng Hongchen suddenly raised her head sharply, a strange gleam bursting from her eyes.

Wang Shaojie's heart leaped with joy. He thought she had finally been moved by his sincerity and was just about to straighten his back when he realized Meng Hongchen was not looking at him at all. Her gaze had passed over his shoulder and fixed directly on the two people who had just entered.

One was male, and one was female. The girl had dazzling golden hair and a beauty like that of a celestial maiden. Her sacred, aloof temperament instantly eclipsed everyone present.

Wang Shaojie considered himself a member of the imperial family and had seen countless women, yet he had never encountered such a peerless beauty. For a moment, he was left staring blankly.

The young man beside her was even more distinctive. He had white hair like fresh snow, clear and profound ruby eyes, and a faint, easygoing smile at the corners of his lips. His entire being radiated a unique charm of calm, natural poise.

These two were Ye Chenxing and Qian Renxue, who had crossed thousands of miles to quietly arrive in the Sun Moon Empire.

"Brother! Brother! Stop pretending and look!" Meng Hongchen excitedly grabbed Xiao Hongchen's sleeve and shook it wildly. "That white-haired handsome guy... Oh my god, he's really so handsome!"

After being violently shaken by his sister, Xiao Hongchen opened his eyes helplessly. The instant he clearly saw the two at the entrance, he was slightly stunned as well. Their exceptional appearance and temperament were indeed unlike anything he had seen before.

However, unlike his sister, who was obsessed with looks, Xiao Hongchen's attention was not on that.

"Why have I never seen these two in Ming Capital's upper circles? Could they be outsiders?"

Compared to the Hongchen siblings' curiosity, Wang Shaojie, who had been left standing aside, was far less composed. Meng Hongchen, who had just treated him with such indifference, had immediately turned into a lovestruck fool over some pretty boy who had just walked in.

That enormous contrast gave Wang Shaojie's suppressed anger an outlet at once. He looked Ye Chenxing and Qian Renxue up and down and saw that neither wore any distinctive item that displayed a prominent Sun Moon Empire identity. His confidence immediately grew.

In this corner of Ming Capital, he had never encountered a peer whom he did not know yet could not afford to offend.

Wang Shaojie sneered and discreetly gave Wang Yuan behind him a look. As a qualified lackey, Wang Yuan immediately understood. He swaggered over and blocked Ye Chenxing and Qian Renxue's path.

"Hey, do you two know the rules?" Wang Yuan raised his chin and curled his lip. "This is the high-class registration area for our Sun Moon Empire's nobles. I've never seen people like you before. If you know what's good for you, get out now. This isn't a place for random nobodies like you!"

To his surprise, they did not even glance at him and walked straight toward the space behind him. Wang Yuan immediately felt humiliated. His gaze shifted, greedily sweeping over Qian Renxue's face, and he instantly put on a revolting lecherous expression.

"Wait! You there, your appearance clearly isn't that of a Sun Moon citizen. I suspect you're a spy from an enemy nation! If you get out now, I won't pursue the matter. As for the girl, she looks somewhat familiar. As an imperial family member, I have a duty to properly verify her identity!"

Ye Chenxing, who had ignored his shouting until then, suddenly stopped.

Sensing that Qian Renxue beside him was about to act, Ye Chenxing gently pressed a hand to her shoulder and held her behind him.

"What is your name?"

Seeing that the other party had stopped and even taken the initiative to ask his identity, Wang Yuan assumed he was afraid. Delighted, he smugly extended a thumb and arrogantly pointed at himself.

"Listen carefully! I am a member of the current imperial family, from the Wang branch! If you know what's good for you, kneel and kowtow to admit your mistake, then obediently hand this little beauty over. I'm in a good mood today, so perhaps I won't pursue your crimes!"

"Oh? The imperial Wang Clan?" Ye Chenxing raised his brows in feigned surprise, his tone sincere. "But from what I've heard, the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family... should be surnamed Xu, shouldn't it?"

The arrogance on Wang Yuan's face instantly froze, like a duck whose throat had suddenly been grabbed. "Y-you... what do you mean?"

A mocking curve formed at Ye Chenxing's lips. His voice was not loud, but every word struck straight at the heart.

"I mean, since when could a dog use its master's name to throw its weight around?"

"You're courting death!" Wang Yuan flew into a rage and swung his fist at Ye Chenxing.

Yet before his fist had even extended halfway, Qian Renxue, sheltered behind Ye Chenxing, tilted her head slightly.

Her golden eyes merely swept over him lightly, but her pressure crashed onto Wang Yuan's soul like a massive hammer.

Though Qian Renxue had lost her cultivation at this moment, the divine might she had accumulated over a hundred years was not something a mere soul master could withstand.

With a thud, Wang Yuan's legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground in terror. His face turned deathly pale as he gasped heavily, too frightened to utter a single word.

The noble youths who had been watching coldly from the sidelines immediately broke into restrained laughter.

The Wang Clan usually relied on its meager connections through marriage to tyrannize Ming Capital and suppress other nobles everywhere. Everyone had long held grievances against them. Seeing Wang Yuan publicly humiliated so thoroughly now, they felt immensely satisfied.

Seeing Wang Yuan make such a disgrace of himself, Wang Shaojie's face instantly darkened as though water could drip from it. This was not Wang Yuan's face being slapped—it was clearly his entire family being slapped in public!

Just as he was about to step forward and demand an explanation himself, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.