Got the Guts to Face Hao Head-On!

Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy

Inside the classroom of Freshman Class One, Lin Jiayi stood at the podium, explaining the situation to the students below.

"Today, our class is welcoming four new students." Lin Jiayi gestured toward the four beside him. "Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, Ye Chenxing, and Ye Xue. These four students encountered a sudden attack while hunting for soul rings a few days ago, causing them to miss yesterday's standard freshman registration and examination. However, after a comprehensive assessment by the academy's higher-ups, it was decided that they would be placed directly into our Class One."

The class assignments at Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy differed from those at Shrek Academy. They were determined strictly by examination results—the more outstanding the student, the higher the class ranking.

Although the four had missed yesterday's registration and class placement examination due to the attack and their soul ring hunt, that was naturally not a problem for Jing Hongchen. With a wave of his hand, he placed them directly into the best Class One.

As for why Qian Renxue, who had originally been staying at home, had not reported on time—this Angel God, who in her previous life had only received one-on-one tutoring from Limit Douluo, had no experience with ordinary schooling. Ah Yin, the maid at home, had also grown up wildly and lacked common sense, ultimately causing the delay.

The profession of soul masters was never lacking in handsome men and beautiful women, and the Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, which gathered the Sun Moon Empire's finest talents, was even more so. Yet even among this already exceptional crowd, the four standing on the podium were the most eye-catching.

Below the podium, the eleven- and twelve-year-old boys and girls had already begun whispering among themselves.

"They're all way too good-looking."

"That white-haired boy is exactly my type."

"Didn't you say yesterday that you liked upperclassmen?"

"The red-haired one is even more handsome. He's got that bad-boy charm."

"Forget it. That's the headmaster's biological grandson, Xiao Hongchen."

The girls whispered among themselves. The boys were not quite so exaggerated out loud, but their gazes repeatedly swept over Qian Renxue and Meng Hongchen, unable to hide the amazement in their eyes.

The four gave brief introductions. Just as they were about to take their seats, a discordant voice suddenly rang out.

"Teacher. We were assigned to Class One only after passing strict entrance examinations. What gives those four the right to transfer directly into our class?"

The speaker was a boy wearing a black hooded jacket over his white school uniform. Lin Jiayi raised his brow slightly. The boy had a gloomy air about him, but he was certainly a thorny one who dared to stand out.

"These four students fully meet Class One's standards in talent." Lin Jiayi's tone allowed no doubt. "The academy's rules are absolutely fair. If Wang Jiahao has any objections, you may submit formal feedback to the academy."

Wang Jiahao gave a cold snort. Submit feedback to the academy? He had heard clearly just now that the red-haired boy leading the group was the headmaster's biological grandson. Was he supposed to report the headmaster's grandson for abusing his privilege?

Who in this hall dares accuse this official?

He had been born in a remote region of the Sun Moon Empire, but both his Martial Soul and Soul Tool talent were exceptional. Otherwise, he could never have entered Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy from such a small place.

The contradiction between his inferiority over his origins and his pride in his talent made him both withdrawn and fond of showing off. He always liked using exaggerated behavior to deliberately cultivate some so-called "mysteriousness."

The moment the four transfer students appeared, the eyes of over half the girls in class had been drawn to that white-haired youth. In Wang Jiahao's wildly inflated self-image, those admiring gazes should have belonged to him! Jealousy gnawed at him, making him target the four without hesitation.

Got the guts to face Hao head-on!

Wang Jiahao suddenly straightened up. Only then did everyone notice that he was also wearing a black mask. His black outerwear swelled without any wind, and that black outfit and mask were actually his Martial Soul! It was an extremely rare spatial-type Martial Soul, capable of storing items and releasing them from any location on the clothing. As the Martial Soul of a Soul Engineer, it was undoubtedly excellent.

He stared directly at the podium, his challenge undisguised. "Class One values strength, not background. Since you had the privilege of skipping the examination, you should at least show us why you deserve to sit here!"

Before Ye Chenxing could react, Xiao Hongchen's face darkened first. He stopped walking, frowned deeply, and strode straight toward Wang Jiahao.

Though he had been thoroughly put in his place before Ye Chenxing, the pride at the core of this young master of Illustrious Virtue Hall had not changed in the slightest. How could he tolerate such provocation from someone else?

Watching this rumored young prince approach step by step, Wang Jiahao felt somewhat uneasy. But then he thought of how rare a genius he was himself. Why should he lower his head? To preserve his dignity before the female students, he forced himself to remain calm and glared back.

The two stood face-to-face, staring each other down for quite a while.

Just as the class could not figure out whether they were about to fight or do something else, Xiao Hongchen spoke.

"You doubt our strength?"

Wang Jiahao actually regretted provoking him somewhat by then, but things had reached this point. He could only brace himself and grit out, "So what if I do?"

Buzz—

A faint hum rippled through the classroom. Two yellow and one purple, three dazzling soul rings rose one after another beneath Xiao Hongchen's feet. The pressure of a Soul Elder instantly swept across the entire room.

Wang Jiahao's challenge was forcibly choked back in his throat by that pressure. The classroom, which had been somewhat noisy moments earlier, fell into deathly silence in an instant.

Eleven years old, with three rings.

Feeling the shocked and awestruck gazes around him, Xiao Hongchen suddenly felt an indescribable swell of emotion.

Right! This is it! This is the treatment I deserve!

The grievances and blows he had suffered these past few days at the hands of that freak Ye Chenxing had finally been balanced out by these normal people.

"No way, is this a joke? A Soul Elder? I heard Xiao Hongchen was a Soul Engineering genius."

"What do you know? He's a genius at everything!"

Listening to the whispers around him, Wang Jiahao's urge to retreat was growing stronger by the second. He had reached Rank Twenty-Five at twelve and had been praised as a "once-in-a-century" genius in his remote hometown. He had also ranked near the top in yesterday's class placement test, which had quickly inflated his ego. Only now, facing Xiao Hongchen directly, did he realize how foolish he had been.

He was indeed a genius, but Xiao Hongchen was a genius within an academy that gathered geniuses from across the entire empire!

Xiao Hongchen stepped forward, and Wang Jiahao instinctively took a step back.

"Do you still have any questions now, Wang Jiahao?"

Wang Jiahao was nearly crushed by that aura. He had wanted to admit defeat right then, but from the corner of his eye, he saw the boys' mocking looks and the girls' worshipful gazes toward Xiao Hongchen. His fierce pride made him grit his teeth, and in a desperate scramble, he suddenly pointed.

"What about him?! Why is he allowed to do it?!"

Following his pointing finger, everyone turned in unison toward the white-haired youth still standing on the podium, watching the show with a relaxed expression.

Xiao Hongchen froze for a moment, then the terrifying aura around him vanished instantly, and his expression became extremely strange.

He silently withdrew his soul rings, sighed, stepped forward, and heavily patted Wang Jiahao on the shoulder.

"I thought you were just a clown, but it turns out... you're a true warrior."

Wang Jiahao clearly did not catch the hidden meaning behind Xiao Hongchen's words. Seeing that no one was laughing at him anymore, he seemed to grasp at his last lifeline and urgently demanded, "You white-haired brat! Why didn't you take the class placement test? Don't tell me you're a Soul Elder too?!"

Meng Hongchen frowned and took half a step forward, about to speak, but Ye Chenxing raised a hand to stop her.

"I'm not a Soul Elder."

Wang Jiahao immediately became excited. "Then why can you enter Class One directly?!"

Lin Jiayi's expression darkened completely. He had thought this was merely youthful impulsiveness, but Wang Jiahao was being far too ungrateful. Just as he was about to rebuke him, he heard Ye Chenxing laugh softly.

"Teacher Lin, this student does have a point. I didn't take the class placement test, so how could I enter Class One for no reason?" Ye Chenxing wore a gentle smile. "How about this? Please arrange a temporary placement assessment for me. Pick someone from Class One as my opponent. If I can defeat them, then I'll count as qualified for Class One. Would that be acceptable?"

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the class, but deliberately did not land on Wang Jiahao.

"I just wonder which student from Class One would be willing to fight?"

"I will!"

How could Wang Jiahao fail to understand such an obvious invitation to battle? He immediately answered the challenge.

Lin Jiayi frowned slightly, his lips moving as he transmitted his voice to Ye Chenxing. "Your Highness, given your status, there is truly no need to lower yourself to his level."

"It's fine. I'd also like to have fewer problems in the future."

Seeing Ye Chenxing insist, Lin Jiayi could only nod in agreement. He cleared his throat and announced, "Very well. In that case, everyone take your seats and begin class. During the Soul Tool practical lesson before noon today, the two of you will go to the Soul Duel District for the assessment."

As the dean of students, Lin Jiayi possessed considerable authority. Adjusting and arranging a lesson or two was naturally no trouble for him, especially when it involved the Class One he personally taught.

Wang Jiahao returned to his seat resentfully. Ye Chenxing found an empty seat by the window at the back of the classroom.

Seeing Ye Chenxing sit down, Meng Hongchen's eyes lit up. Like a delighted rabbit, she bounced toward the seat beside him.

However, before she could get close, a blur flashed past. At a terrifying speed that left everyone dumbfounded, Qian Renxue got there first, pulled out the chair, and sat steadily beside Ye Chenxing with an expressionless face.

Meng Hongchen jumped in fright and stood frozen in place.

Isn't she only a Soul Grandmaster? How could she be so fast?!

...No, wait! The important thing is, why did she steal my seat?!

Meng Hongchen stomped her foot inwardly in anger, but there was nothing she could do. She could only sit down pitifully in the seat behind Ye Chenxing. She frantically comforted herself in her heart. It's fine, it's fine. They're siblings, so it's normal for them to sit together. Just like all siblings in the world, they're close and inseparable...

As she was thinking this, she glanced to the side and happened to see Xiao Hongchen pulling out the chair beside her and sitting down. This young master still wore that smug, irritatingly pleased expression of someone who had just successfully shown off.

Seeing her own brother's face, an inexplicable anger suddenly surged through Meng Hongchen. Without any warning, she lifted her foot and stomped viciously on the top of Xiao Hongchen's foot!

"Hiss—!"

Xiao Hongchen bared his teeth in pain and looked at his sister with a face full of question marks.

"???"

Ye Chenxing also found Qian Renxue's behavior somewhat unusual this time, but he did not think much of it.

As the class bell rang, Lin Jiayi officially began today's lesson.

As the dean of students at Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Lin Jiayi had not originally needed to teach on the front lines himself.

However, he had not attained his current position through connections or favoritism. He had earned it through his genuine strength as a Rank Eight Soul Engineer and his exceptional administrative and teaching abilities.

This time, Jing Hongchen had specifically arranged for him to serve as Class One's homeroom teacher, showing just how much thought he had put into it.

On one hand, this Class One used an unprecedented small-class system, with only half the number of students in an ordinary class. It gathered precious future talents of the empire such as Ye Chenxing and the Hongchen siblings, so they had to be watched over by someone absolutely trustworthy. On the other hand, under Elder Kong's direction, many of the empire's Rank Eight and Rank Nine Soul Engineers had been assigned to teach Class One. Looking across the entire academy, aside from a qualified Rank Eight Soul Engineer like Lin Jiayi, ordinary teachers would likely be ignored by those arrogant high-level Soul Engineers.

Yesterday had only been for enrollment procedures and testing. Today was the first real lesson. Naturally, the academies of Douluo Continent did not divide their subjects into the complicated categories of language, mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, and biology as Ye Chenxing's previous world, Azure Star, had. The curriculum here was extremely straightforward, with only two subjects: theory and practical training.

As the first theory class for new students, the Sun Moon Empire had an unchanging tradition of identity education. Its core purpose was simple: recount the empire's history and strengthen identification with the Sun Moon Empire.

Just as Ye Chenxing had expected, the lesson's contents were mostly identical to what he had read in the library over the past few days, making it somewhat dull.

However, the children born and raised in the Sun Moon Empire seemed very interested. Especially when Lin Jiayi shifted the topic to the earth-shaking war caused by the continental collision thousands of years ago, the atmosphere in the previously quiet classroom visibly began to stir.

After all, that was the deepest and most painful thorn buried in the hearts of the entire Sun Moon Empire for thousands of years.

Defeat, loss of territory, and even being forced to change the name of the continent where their ancestors had lived for generations from Sun Moon Continent to Douluo Continent. Though neither the students nor even the teacher present had personally experienced that history, it did not prevent them from resonating with it.

"Students," Lin Jiayi said as he looked around the room, throwing out a question at the right moment. "We remember history in order to better move toward the future. What do you think the Sun Moon Empire needs in order to defeat them completely now and wash away the humiliation of the past?"

"Soul Tools!" Most of the new students below the podium shouted excitedly in unison.

However, this time, Xiao Hongchen—the textbook Soul Engineer—did not respond. He silently looked toward the white-haired figure seated in front of him and grumbled inwardly.

What Soul Tools do we need? That monster alone is enough.

Lin Jiayi turned around, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote three bold, powerful words on the blackboard.

Soul Tools.

"Very good. Then can anyone tell me what Soul Tools truly are?"

The moment he finished speaking, Wang Jiahao raised his hand high as if struck by lightning. He already liked displaying himself before others, and after the embarrassment of being humiliated before the entire class earlier, he was now even more eager to prove himself again by answering a question.

Lin Jiayi nodded, signaling for him to answer.

Wang Jiahao stood up, held his head high, and spoke loudly. "Teacher, Soul Tools are the most powerful weapons of us Soul Engineers! It is precisely because Soul Tools exist that the Sun Moon Empire can remain far ahead in strength. As long as we continue developing more destructive Soul Tools, we will definitely be able to completely crush the original Three Douluo Kingdoms!"

Lin Jiayi nodded slightly. "Very spirited! And that is indeed an answer worthy of recognition."

Hearing the dean of students' affirmation, the students below could not help feeling stirred as well. That was right—the technological gap in Soul Tools was precisely what gave the Sun Moon Empire the confidence to look down upon the other three kingdoms.

In the common view of the Sun Moon Empire, the original Douluo three kingdoms were more like a group of apes, while they were the humans who knew how to use tools.

Wang Jiahao thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of being the center of attention. As he sat down, he deliberately turned around and raised his chin provocatively toward Ye Chenxing.