Xu Tiance stretched his limbs rather lazily, only to find himself facing Ye Guyi's undisguised gaze.
After cultivating together in the same bed for so long, Ye Guyi had finally grown accustomed to it and was no longer so shy. Sometimes, when she woke up early, she would even keep watching him just as she was doing now.
He simply had no idea what was going through that little head of hers while she watched him.
Although the dormitories at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy were not coed, Xu Tiance held a special status. Moreover, he needed to blend his soul power with Ye Guyi's to accelerate their cultivation, so Jing Hongchen had made an exception and arranged a luxurious private room for him. They were also the only two people living on the entire floor, so there was no need to worry about anyone disturbing them.
As for Ju Zi, she had been assigned to the girls' dormitory and officially enrolled as a first-year student.
When that old rascal Jing Hongchen heard that he needed to live with Ye Guyi to blend their soul power, a distinctly surprised and faintly disappointed look had crossed his face. For all Xu Tiance knew, he had been planning to put him in the same dorm room as his grandson, Xiao Hongchen.
Although Xu Tiance had lived in a dormitory in his previous life and did not object to sharing a room with Xiao Hongchen, why would he live with a man who looked like a woman when he could live with Ye Guyi instead?
If saying it aloud had not risked earning him a beating from Jing Hongchen, he would even have asked him to arrange for Meng Hongchen to move into his luxurious private room as well.
"Let's go. Get ready, and we'll take a look around the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's experimental area. We didn't finish the tour yesterday, so we might as well see the rest today."
Ye Guyi nodded obediently at Xu Tiance's plans.
With Dean of Students Lin Jiayi leading the way, Xu Tiance and Ye Guyi soon arrived at a laboratory in the experimental area once again.
Lin Jiayi took an identification badge from inside his jacket and waved it in front of the door. A light flashed, and the doors slid apart to either side.
He turned back and gave Xu Tiance a fawning smile. "Your Highness, your token also grants you unrestricted access. Once you're familiar with the place, you can simply bring it along whenever you want to visit any area. Of course, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me."
As he spoke, Lin Jiayi bowed slightly and invited Xu Tiance to enter first.
"This is the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's Third Laboratory. The soul engineers who work here are all key members of Mingde Hall."
The laboratory was very large and divided into several smaller rooms. The most spacious area held all kinds of soul tools and assorted metal materials.
Xu Tiance also noticed a blue plaque by the entrance, listing every member of the Third Laboratory.
The second name on the list immediately caught his attention.
Level 8 Soul Engineer, Xuan Ziwen.
Xu Tiance narrowed his eyes slightly, immediately recalling who this man was.
Xuan Ziwen was one of the best Level 8 Soul Engineers and a key member of Mingde Hall, with an almost obsessive passion for soul tool research. At the same time, however, he was deeply opposed to researching soul tools designed as weapons of war. Precisely because of that, Huo Yuhao had lured him into the Tang Sect with just a few words, making him defect from Mingde Hall.
After joining the Tang Sect, Xuan Ziwen immediately became an important figure there. Whether it was the pill furnace used to refine the Universe Creation Pill or Huo Yuhao's Ice Ultimate War God Armor, Xuan Ziwen had provided considerable assistance.
What Xu Tiance found even more laughable was that Xuan Ziwen had betrayed Mingde Hall because he did not want to research soul tools designed as weapons of war, and Huo Yuhao had promised him the freedom to research any soul tools he wanted. Yet after joining the Tang Sect, he had still helped them research plenty of soul tools intended for warfare.
From the Tang Sect's perspective, Xuan Ziwen's contributions were undeniable. But from the perspective of Mingde Hall, or even the Sun Moon Empire, Xuan Ziwen was a turncoat.
Spare him the nonsense about science knowing no borders.
Xuan Ziwen had received extensive training from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and Mingde Hall to become a Level 8 Soul Engineer at such a young age. Yet the man had simply skipped off to the Tang Sect just like that. Calling him a turncoat was letting him off lightly.
Seeing Xu Tiance's gaze settle on Xuan Ziwen's name, Lin Jiayi immediately said, "Xuan Ziwen is a distinguished instructor at our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, as well as a research consultant for Mingde Hall. If you're interested in him, Your Highness, I can summon him right now."
Xu Tiance did not answer Lin Jiayi immediately, instead giving the matter serious thought.
Although Xuan Ziwen genuinely had considerable talent in the field of soul tools and was a highly responsible teacher, his... turncoat nature meant Xu Tiance could never entrust him with an important role.
Even without Huo Yuhao persuading him, he might still become disillusioned and stop serving the Sun Moon Empire once it launched a war.
But for now... without Xuan Ziwen having committed any serious wrongdoing, dealing with him would be difficult. After all, he was still working diligently at present. At most, Xu Tiance could sideline him and keep him away from core projects as much as possible.
Of course, having Du Busi secretly kill Xuan Ziwen was also an option.
Xu Tiance shook his head, his voice calm. "There's no need to summon him. I rarely see that surname, so I was just a little curious."
Despite those words, Lin Jiayi still caught something unusual in Xu Tiance's tone, and a thoughtful look surfaced in his eyes.
Just then, one of the small doors inside the laboratory slowly opened, and a figure emerged.
The man was rather thin and of perfectly average height. He looked utterly unremarkable, with nothing particularly memorable about him. The only thing that might leave an impression was his pair of eyes, which remained very bright despite looking somewhat tired.
Upon seeing Lin Jiayi, along with Xu Tiance and Ye Guyi standing beside him, the man visibly paused before quickly recovering. "Is this my new student?"
"You've misunderstood. He's only here to tour the laboratories in our experimental area, not to become your student."
Lin Jiayi gave a light chuckle, then immediately lowered his voice. "Your Highness, that is Xuan Ziwen."
Xu Tiance nodded lightly at that. His gaze lingered briefly on Xuan Ziwen before he turned and left the laboratory. Seeing this, Lin Jiayi said nothing more and immediately turned to close the laboratory doors behind them, leaving Xuan Ziwen standing there in mild bewilderment.
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