As they walked out of the Illustrious Virtue Hall building, sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, scattering tiny flecks of light across the ground.
Meng Hongchen walked ahead, her silver ponytail swaying gently with her steps, while her hands unconsciously twisted the hem of her skirt.
The blush on her cheeks had yet to fade completely, and her grandfather's words, "stay together twenty-four hours a day," kept echoing in her mind.
The thought made her heart race and even threw her steps into disarray.
Every so often, she glanced up at Lu Ren beside her, then quickly lowered her gaze, afraid he might notice something.
Lu Ren glanced at her.
The sight of a girl with romance budding in her heart was hardly unpleasant, though perhaps this counted as part of the experience of adolescence?
In all seriousness, having someone chattering away beside him actually lent these days a touch of authentic campus life.
He suddenly recalled his school days on Earth in his previous life and could not help shuddering, shaking his head repeatedly.
That place had been no different from a prison.
Meng Hongchen suddenly stopped and turned around, a hint of curiosity in her beautiful eyes:
"You don't seem worried at all? The Imperial Family Inspection Team isn't some ordinary faction. They've always been overbearing."
Lu Ren kept walking at an unhurried pace. "With you here, what do I have to worry about?"
The words sounded like a brush-off, yet they made Meng Hongchen's cheeks burn a little hotter.
She coughed lightly, trying hard to appear composed:
"I won't protect you forever. If a fight really breaks out, you'll have to do your part."
"Of course."
Lu Ren nodded, his gaze sweeping over the students passing along both sides of the corridor.
Their eyes still held awe and curiosity, occasionally mixed with a few veiled traces of hostility.
Most were probably Wang Shaojie's friends or followers.
The two were heading toward the Practical Soul Tool Department when a figure suddenly rushed around a corner, nearly colliding with Meng Hongchen.
"T-Teacher Xuan?" Meng Hongchen froze for a moment when she recognized him.
Xuan Ziwen looked as disheveled as ever, his hair like a bird's nest, his clothes wrinkled, and the dark circles beneath his eyes even deeper than yesterday.
His eyes, however, were frighteningly bright as he stared straight at Lu Ren.
"I'm looking for Lu Ren. Do you have a moment?"
Startled by his enthusiasm, Lu Ren instinctively took half a step back:
"Teacher Xuan, I'm not a Soul Engineer..."
He knew people like Xuan Ziwen all too well. When a genius whose obsession with Soul Tools ran bone-deep looked at someone like that, he had either discovered a new breakthrough in the field of Soul Tools or found a budding Soul Engineer with extraordinary talent.
Neither had anything to do with him.
"Of course I know you aren't." Xuan Ziwen waved a dismissive hand. "But pure Soul Masters are just as important to us. Otherwise, why would the academy establish the Practical Soul Tool Department?"
He paused, as though organizing his thoughts.
"The Practical Soul Tool Department is about letting Soul Masters strengthen themselves through Soul Tools."
"They don't make Soul Tools, but they can become proficient in using all kinds of them to improve their combat strength and ability to survive."
"This is the direction in which Soul Engineers and Soul Masters will develop together in the future. Making them and using them will eventually become two separate cultivation paths."
Lu Ren listened without interrupting.
"I observed your fighting style at close range." Xuan Ziwen's gaze grew focused. "That Invisible Slash of yours, and the Black Light that can distort space-neither of those is a Soul Skill, correct?"
Lu Ren did not deny it.
"Since they aren't Soul Skills, but techniques operating on the level of Soul Power, theoretically, they should be applicable to Soul Tools..." Xuan Ziwen grew more excited as he spoke, gesturing in the air.
"Teacher Xuan," Lu Ren interrupted calmly. "I understand what you mean, but unfortunately, that's almost impossible. My abilities can't be applied to Soul Tools."
"Why?"
"It has to do with my Martial Soul. It's extremely unusual. Without this Martial Soul, no one can do the same things."
The fire in Xuan Ziwen's eyes instantly went out.
He looked as though all his strength had been drained away. His shoulders slumped, and that faint air of a dead man returned:
"I see... I was getting ahead of myself."
Silence hung in the air for several seconds.
Looking at his dejected back, Lu Ren weighed things up. There could be no harm in building a good relationship with this genius, who was certain to become a Level 9 Soul Engineer someday.
"Anything is possible," he said, his tone a little gentler than usual. "Don't lose heart, Teacher Xuan. Although I can't help you with the Soul Tool side of things, I can at least help you test Soul Tools."
Xuan Ziwen spun around, his eyes lighting up again. "You mean that?"
An ominous feeling rose in Lu Ren's heart, but he nodded anyway.
"Don't worry." Xuan Ziwen chuckled and patted his shoulder. "You're a student. I have no reason to put you in danger. Whenever I ask you to test something, I'll make certain it's safe."
He paused, then changed the subject. "Are you a Spiritual System Soul Master?"
Lu Ren blinked. "No. My abilities don't have the slightest thing to do with the Spiritual System."
"But when I watched you fight, a great deal of Spiritual Power emerged every time you used an ability." Xuan Ziwen frowned. "My combat ability may be poor, but I'm still an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo. My perception at close range wouldn't be mistaken."
A great deal of... Spiritual Power?
Lu Ren froze.
Had he mistaken Cursed Energy for Spiritual Power?
"Even if you aren't a Spiritual System Soul Master, with such immense Spiritual Power, you're practically no different from one," Xuan Ziwen continued, a note of seriousness in his voice. "What the academy lacks most right now is Spiritual System Soul Masters. When the Spiritual System is used to control Soul Tools, one plus one is greater than two."
He took a metal badge from inside his clothes and handed it to Lu Ren.
"Come see me when you have time. I'll help test your abilities related to Spiritual Power."
Lu Ren accepted the badge and tucked it inside his clothes. "All right."
In this era, most people's use of Spiritual Power was still at a rudimentary stage. If Xuan Ziwen could help him develop his potential in that area...
"I'll be off, then." Xuan Ziwen waved and left, his steps much lighter than when he had arrived.
Meng Hongchen blinked, watching his back disappear around the corridor's corner, and could not help remarking, "Even Teacher Xuan likes you so much."
"He just discovered a few secrets about my Martial Soul," Lu Ren explained casually.
Meng Hongchen perked up and stepped closer. "Just what type is your Martial Soul?"
"Theoretically... it belongs to the Power Attack System." After a moment's thought, Lu Ren gave her the vaguest possible answer.
Meng Hongchen did not press him further and led him deeper into the academy. Various Soul Tool lighting fixtures were embedded in the walls on either side of the corridor, casting soft, even light.
"What kind of cultivation room do you want?" she asked. "Our cultivation rooms are every bit as good as Shrek's."
Lu Ren considered for a moment. "Something a little gloomy."
"Eww." Meng Hongchen drew out the sound, unable to resist commenting, "Don't tell me you're a darkness-type Evil Soul Master?"
"A darkness attribute doesn't necessarily make someone an Evil Soul Master," Lu Ren corrected her.
"That's true," Meng Hongchen conceded, her gaze circling his face. "But I can't see anything about you that has even the slightest connection to a darkness attribute."
Lu Ren smiled, his smile clean and bright, his features brimming with the clarity unique to university students, like sunlight crumbled into fragments, warm but not scorching.
Meng Hongchen stared blankly for an instant, then hurriedly looked away.
"All right, a gloomy cultivation room... That's a little demanding. I'll have to ask Grandpa first."
"Please do."
The request was approved with astonishing speed.
Jing Hongchen personally stepped in, clearing out a large vacant room opposite Lu Ren's dormitory and having it remodeled according to his requirements.
In less than half a day, a completely enclosed, dimly lit cultivation room was finished.
The walls were painted dark gray, and the floor was laid with light-absorbing matte stone. Only a few Soul Guidance Lamps on the ceiling gave off a faint yellow glow.
A slight chill permeated the air. The Heaven and Earth Energy here was especially dense, slowly gathering as though drawn by something.
Standing in the doorway, Lu Ren looked at this custom-made cultivation room and, for a moment, could not find words.
Dark, gloomy, untouched by daylight, yet brimming with dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.
Jing Hongchen had not only fulfilled all his requirements but had added something extra as well.
The energy concentration in this cultivation room was more than three times that of an ordinary cultivation room.
"This..." Lu Ren turned to look at Jing Hongchen, who stood nearby with his hands behind his back.
The corners of Jing Hongchen's mouth curved slightly, and a trace of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.
This brat had finally shown a look of surprise.
No matter how talented or mature he was, he was still only a fourteen-year-old child.
As long as someone was human, they would feel gratitude. If he offered the best treatment and kept Lu Ren's heart here, this investment would be worthwhile.
When the time came... heh heh.
He was already imagining Lu Ren representing the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and crushing Shrek, as well as the scene much further in the future, when Lu Ren would lead an army to war on behalf of the Sun Moon Empire and help them unite the entire continent.
"Focus on cultivating." Jing Hongchen raised a hand and patted Lu Ren's shoulder, neither too lightly nor too heavily. "You don't need to think about anything else."
Lu Ren quickly calmed down. Once he realized Jing Hongchen's intentions, he could not help marveling inwardly.
Clever. This move was truly clever.
Jing Hongchen was not merely giving him a cultivation room. He was telling him: Here, you're treated as one of our own. Here, there's a place for you. Here is somewhere worth staying.
Lu Ren looked up at Jing Hongchen and nodded earnestly:
"Yes, Hall Master."
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