"Forget it. This child is mine."
Cheng Baiqing spoke with a genial smile.
"Come to think of it, I've never taken a disciple in all my life. He'll be my first and my last. If you dare fight me for him, boy, don't blame me for turning hostile."
"Hehe, how could I possibly compete with you for a disciple?"
Jing Hongchen readily yielded and hurried to reassure him.
In terms of strength, he was indeed stronger than this man.
But in the Sun Moon Empire, strength was only one part of the equation. Scientific research and academia were important too.
Cheng Baiqing ranked second only to Elder Kong in seniority within the Sun Moon Empire. He was a rank 92 Titled Douluo, but had devoted himself to research, becoming one of the empire's few Level 9 Soul Engineers.
When it came to talent in scientific research, Jing Hongchen couldn't catch up even if he whipped his horse to a gallop.
His work encompassed virtually all of the Sun Moon Empire's current cutting-edge research.
This included, but was not limited to, [Mecha soul guidance], [Soul Guidance Surveillance Core], [Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon], and so on.
Even Jing Hongchen frequently read the soul guidance books he compiled, the fundamental soul guidance theories he proposed, and his visions for its future, benefiting greatly from them.
Among the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineers, his name resounded like thunder.
His influence was terrifying, and his supporters were countless.
Even the countless high-ranking Soul Engineers on the front lines had mostly grown up reading the textbooks he compiled.
Even after entering Mingde Hall, or becoming high-ranking Soul Engineers themselves, they still couldn't get away from his books when researching their own projects.
In other words, this was someone Jing Hongchen truly couldn't afford to offend...
Even his own teacher, Kong Deming-the pillar that steadied the Sun Moon Empire like a needle anchoring the sea-treated him with unfailing courtesy.
This boy really was lucky.
Jing Hongchen couldn't help feeling envious.
To gain this man's recognition and have him openly declare his intent to take him as a disciple-the prestige alone would be an enormous windfall for the boy.
After this, the Throne Succession Struggle in the imperial capital would probably grow even more heated.
He, too, needed to give it some thought...
The Soul Tool testing arena.
The venue could hold nearly ten thousand people and was the largest building in the entire academy.
The seats rose in tiers around its circumference.
It was noon, and the weather was scorching.
Yet countless students of the Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy continued pouring in, a dark, dense mass making its way toward the seats.
Even when the seats were nearly full, the stream of people showed no sign of ending.
Many refused to leave even if they had to squeeze into the aisles.
There was no other reason: the new first-years' assessment would take place that afternoon.
And among the freshmen taking this assessment were two genius siblings, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
It wasn't merely because they held high status and were good-looking. The main attraction was Xiao Hongchen, the Soul Engineer hailed as a once-in-a-thousand-years genius.
What kind of dominance would he display this time?
"Cheng!"
Meng Hongchen's eyes curved into crescents as she looked at Xu Cheng beside Xiao Hongchen, filtering her older brother out completely.
It was as though only one person existed in her world.
"Meng..."
Xu Cheng smiled and nodded.
This little girl's obsession with good looks was indeed severe, yet she was strangely devoted.
In the original story, once she first met Wang Dong, her feelings had spiraled out of control. It wasn't as though there were no handsome guys who could rival Wang Dong, but she never gave them a second glance. She remained hopelessly devoted, utterly possessed by a lovestruck brain...
Xiao Hongchen's mouth twitched.
He moved his body between their lines of sight.
Braving his sister's furious gaze, he looked toward the arena as though nothing had happened.
"Hey, who do you think will be the last one standing in this assessment?"
Xu Cheng said nothing.
Seeing this, Xiao Hongchen clasped both hands behind his back.
He struck an airily elegant pose.
His voice brimmed with wistful feeling.
"Look at the horizon. Doesn't it resemble a Flood Dragon churning through the sky? Don't those clouds and mists look like a sign that it's about to emerge from the sea?"
Xu Cheng froze for a moment.
Didn't something feel off here?
Xiao Hongchen swept his gaze over the new first-years, his expression utterly serene.
At last, he spoke again.
"Cheng, do you know who among the students of the Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy qualifies as a genius?"
Xu Cheng: "..."
When Xu Cheng didn't answer,
Xiao Hongchen continued with effortless flair, "Of all the students I see, only you and I deserve to be called geniuses!"
Xu Cheng: "..."
You're fucking discussing heroes over wine!
Fuck!
"Brother, you're still a little lacking. If you ask me, Cheng is the real genius." Meng Hongchen twisted the knife.
Seeing Xiao Hongchen's wounded expression, Xu Cheng smiled helplessly.
Nothing like real siblings.
"Heh, him? He deserves to be called a genius?"
A sinister voice drifted over.
Everyone frowned and turned toward it.
A boy, also wearing a first-year uniform, was staring at Xu Cheng with undisguised disdain.
He had dark skin, which was usually a mark of nobility in the Sun Moon Empire, short brown hair, and a burly build. His arms were folded across his chest, and several other first-year students clustered around him like lackeys.
"Wang Shaojie! Are you tired of being a first-year?!"
Meng Hongchen's beautiful eyes widened.
Poisonous mist rippled in her palm, as though she might slap it into his face at any moment.
Wang Shaojie's pupils instantly contracted.
His body honestly betrayed him, leaning back a little.
He couldn't afford to offend this Little Demoness. Her strength alone put her beyond almost everyone in the new first-year class, and her connections reached all the way to the heavens.
As the granddaughter of Mingde Hall's hall master, she was someone even his master, the Fourth Prince, had to treat courteously and dared not offend...
"Meng..."
Xu Cheng gently caught Meng Hongchen's raised wrist, his crimson eyes casting an indifferent glance at Wang Shaojie.
His voice was light and dismissive.
"Just a dog."
"You!!!"
Wang Shaojie ground his teeth, his eyes almost spitting fire.
As the saying went, the truth was the sharpest blade. Clearly, this blade had stabbed deep into Wang Shaojie's heart and twisted viciously.
Especially with that indifferent expression on Xu Cheng's face.
Silence was the greatest contempt.
In other words, the person opposite him didn't even regard him as human!
"Mm..."
Xu Cheng looked at the girl who had suddenly lowered her head, flushing red like a little steam engine.
He abruptly realized what was happening.
He released her snowy-white wrist.
"Xu Cheng! You fucking..."
Xiao Hongchen snapped angrily.
I'm here discussing the academy's grand affairs, and not only do you fucking refuse to play along, you even have time to flirt with my sister?!!
And that idiot from Class Two called Wang Shaojie.
He wanted nothing more than to pull out a Soul Cannon and blast him to death!
"Get lost!"
Xiao Hongchen radiated domineering fury.
"Hmph!"
Wang Shaojie didn't even dare leave a threat. He merely snorted, then slunk away.
Xu Cheng was his master's mortal enemy, so naturally he could provoke him. But these two... were better left alone.
"All right, come up and draw lots now! We'll determine your assessment opponents!"
Lin Jiayi presided from the platform, his voice ringing throughout the venue.
The first round.
It was an individual competition.
Unlike Shrek, which divided students into teams of three, the Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy split up the entire school's thousand-strong body of teachers and students, then paired them off for individual matches.
Soul Tools, after all, placed everyone on equal footing.
Apart from some students in the "Martial Soul Department,"
Most of the others fought using Soul Tools they had made themselves, relying far less on their martial souls.
Thus, there was none of Shrek's practice of classifying martial souls into offense, support, defense, and so on, then assigning everyone their respective roles so they could unleash their greatest power within a team.
Besides, even if someone lost,
The Sun Moon Empire would never act like Shrek Academy, immediately striking them from the rolls and expelling them.
There were other methods of evaluation. They wouldn't arbitrarily shut geniuses out...
Before you continue