The three-year deadline has arrived!

Three years later.

The top floor of the teaching building at the Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy.

This was the sixth-year students' territory. A year later, those with the ability would enter Mingde Hall for further study, while those with slightly weaker talent would enlist and head to the Sun Moon Empire's front lines to earn military merits.

"Cheng, there's an academy tournament this afternoon. Are you entering?"

Xiao Hongchen walked over, grinning.

"You're entering?"

Xu Cheng gave Xiao a surprised glance.

"If you enter, I'll enter," Xiao Hongchen said.

Xu Cheng: "..."

"Forget it. I still have an assignment to finish for my teacher. Not interested." Xu Cheng waved a hand.

"That project still isn't finished?" Xiao Hongchen leaned close to his ear, looking conspiratorial.

"No. Missile flight-path technology is a major undertaking, after all. Even within Mingde Hall, it's cutting-edge stuff. But at our current pace, we should be close." Xu Cheng smacked his lips.

Ever since the Holy Spirit Cult's brazen appearance three years ago, he had plunged into Mingde Hall's inner circle and quietly devoted himself to studying soul tool technology.

Missile technology had been proposed by Elder Cheng two years ago. With Jing Hongchen's support, the project had been successfully established, quickly approved by the higher-ups, and designated a top-secret program. Xu Cheng's teacher, Cheng Baiqing, personally took charge and began a series of experiments and studies.

But this was the Douluo Continent, where sensory-type Soul Masters were hardly rare, and beings like Mu En existed. A gravely injured Limit Douluo in the guttering twilight of his life would not, on his own, have warranted such attention. The problem was the Golden Tree behind him. In the original story, his ability to repel the Body Sect's powerful fighters with its support offered a glimpse of that might.

Of all the challenges, precision guidance had actually been solved first. Their current guidance technology allowed a missile launched from the Sun Moon Empire to reach any point on the continent, including remote Dou Ling and the Heaven Dou Empire's coastal borders. They could hit wherever they pointed.

Of course, [artificial intelligence] had been a tremendous help.

Even basic artificial intelligence could automatically identify mountains, hills, cities, and Shrek City once fed image data. Along the way, it could dispense with ground-based guidance corrections and automatically adjust its course.

But the hardest obstacle remaining was "information concealment."

For a massive missile, visual concealment had never been the difficult part. After all, by the time you spotted it, it was already at your doorstep.

The true priority was concealing the fluctuations of the Level 9 Soul Tool the missile carried.

Fortunately, Elder Cheng, the sea-calming pillar of the research world, was no empty name. In an extremely short time, he had found a solution, established a research direction, and led a group of Mingde Hall members in experiments day and night.

At their current pace, Xu Cheng estimated that missile technology would be fully mastered in another six months at most. Whether it would be unveiled, of course, depended on how Shrek Academy's people behaved at this year's All-Continent Soul Master Tournament.

If Chicken Leg Douluo really had no shame and used his strength to bully the Sun Moon Team, Xu Cheng would not mind launching a missile at Shrek Academy.

As for whether it would be a dud or an actual little mushroom cloud, that remained to be seen...

He had no goodwill toward the "protagonist squad," anyway.

If they couldn't win, they cheated. If they couldn't cheat, they stole. If they couldn't steal, they robbed people in broad daylight.

No wonder they were cut from the same cloth as that fellow carrying a fish fork up in the heavens.

They had come from the same school, after all.

"Hey, don't get so caught up in research that you forget to improve your cultivation." Seeing that Xu Cheng would not go, Xiao Hongchen lost interest too. What was the point of crushing weaklings without his [strongest rival] there?

Still, he kept nagging.

"Reaching Soul King and Level 6 Soul Engineer in three years isn't enough?"

Xu Cheng shot Xiao a sidelong look.

"If I remember right, you're still behind me in cultivation, aren't you? Hmm? A certain Level 5 Soul Engineer who only became a Soul King last month."

"Well, that's true, but aren't you aiming for the stars and the sea, heading to the Divine Realm, catching that dog Tang, and all that? Your current strength hardly seems enough. I'm just an utterly ordinary grandson of Mingde Hall's hall master, with no grand ambitions. All I need to do is coast along and wait to inherit Mingde Hall." Xiao Hongchen shrugged.

"Right, right. Strict with others, lenient with yourself, huh?"

Xu Cheng shook his head.

As they spoke, he gathered his things, stood, and headed out of the classroom.

The Sun Moon Imperial Academy.

It did not follow Shrek's strict system of advancing through grades in sequence.

Instead, ability determined placement. Whenever a student became a Level 2 Soul Engineer, they could skip from first year to second year, and the same applied to subsequent grades. Conversely, if they lacked the strength, they could remain in first year for their entire lives. Growing older earned them no special leniency.

Most of Xu Cheng's former classmates from Class One were now third- or fourth-year students.

Only these two "monsters" had been able to race all the way to sixth year.

Despite being sixth-years, they did not actually have a homeroom teacher. It was more like university: three or four classes a week, with most of their time spent on independent study.

There were so few sixth-year students that even the Martial Soul Department had been incorporated into this floor, in the classroom right beside theirs.

"So, does that mean you're ready for the All-Continent Soul Master Tournament in six months?"

Xiao Hongchen followed him.

"Ready anytime." Xu Cheng smiled.

Shrek Academy, are you ready to welcome your godfather?

Of course, before that, he still needed to visit the Star Dou Great Forest.

At that thought, delight flashed through Xu Cheng's eyes. Day N+1 of missing Tian Meng, and they would finally be running toward each other soon... Tian Meng had only become Huo Gua's Soul Ring because he had no choice. But if someone who completely outclassed Huo Gua in every respect suddenly appeared, wouldn't they be running toward each other willingly?

Oh, right. If I'm getting Tian Meng, adding Electrolux isn't too much to ask, is it?

If I'm getting Electrolux, adding Bingbing isn't too much to ask either, is it?

If I'm getting Bingbing...

In any case, Xu Cheng was determined to collect the Far North's entire family bucket. After all, free experience was free experience.

"..."

They walked out of the classroom.

Several girls approached them.

Each had her own charm. For Shi Xing, who had been secretly beaten up by quite a few girls yet remained "incorrigible," placing these girls at the top of the Sun Moon Empire's campus beauty rankings, that list represented his everything.

In his eyes, beauty was nothing more than art.

After he said that, even Xiao Hongchen, who had originally planned to secretly throw a sack over his head and beat him up, had been rather impressed and joined him for a smoke...

But that was a digression.

"Cheng, are you entering the academy tournament this afternoon?"

Meng Hongchen's eyes curved into crescents as she approached, ignoring her older brother at the same time.

"No. I'm planning to take advantage of the academy tournament to visit the Star Dou Forest." Xu Cheng chuckled and casually stroked her silky hair as though petting a cat. It felt wonderful beneath his hand, and he could hardly bear to stop...

It would have been even better without Xiao Hongchen, that human aimbot, constantly staring at him with those 24-karat pure-gold dog eyes.