Illustrious Virtue Hall.
The most mysterious place in the Sun Moon Empire, and the pinnacle of Soul Tool technology.
Lu Ren followed Jing Hongchen through several tightly secured metal doors and entered a building utterly unlike the rest of the academy.
All manner of Soul Tools lined both sides of the corridor, from miniature communication devices to large offensive Soul Cannons, each giving off pure fluctuations of Soul Power. The air carried the scent of metal and energy, and the soft lighting conveyed a cold, technological feel.
Jing Hongchen's office was on the top floor.
The moment he entered, Lu Ren sensed how extraordinary this office was. Densely packed Soul Guidance Arrays were inlaid in the walls, and the shelves were filled with design drawings and ancient texts. Most striking of all was an enormous desk with an entire Soul Tool display embedded in its surface.
Jing Hongchen sat down first. His fingertip tapped the air, and a visible, transparent barrier instantly spread out, enveloping the entire office.
A soundproof barrier.
"Have a seat, young friend Lu Ren."
Lu Ren sat down calmly, his gaze steady as he looked at this leading powerhouse in the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineer field across from him.
Jing Hongchen interlaced his fingers on the desk, his piercing gaze fixed directly on Lu Ren, without the slightest attempt to beat around the bush.
"I'll get straight to the point. Fourteen years old, a rank forty-four Soul Ancestor, with a fifty-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring. Even the core geniuses of the Shrek Inner Court could only watch your dust from far behind."
He paused, his tone becoming meaningful.
"Shrek calls itself the sacred land of Soul Masters. It has always spared no expense to recruit top geniuses. Its treatment, resources, and legacies are all among the finest on the continent."
"Yet you passed up such an excellent destination and chose our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy instead. You even went so far as to cause a fight at our gates and force your way into enrollment..."
Jing Hongchen's gaze suddenly sharpened.
"I want to know why you had to choose our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, young friend. Could it be that you have quite a feud with Shrek?"
Lu Ren had already prepared his answer.
A faint sneer appeared on his face.
"I wouldn't call it a feud. I simply can't stand Shrek's hypocritical face, acting so high and mighty, as though it controls everything."
He leaned forward slightly, his tone calm yet thoroughly convincing.
"I have neither father nor mother and come from an unaffiliated cultivation background. I only gained my current strength after luckily encountering an opportunity in the Star Dou Great Forest."
"But while hunting soul beasts alone in the Star Dou Great Forest, I encountered Shrek Outer Court students who threw their weight around. They even tried to seize my Soul Ring and opportunity."
His eyes turned cold.
"That so-called sacred land of Soul Masters is nothing but a gathering place for bullies who prey on the weak. Even if they knelt and begged me to join, I wouldn't spare them a glance."
"And so, over this past year, I've been opposing the people of the Shrek Outer Court. I imagine they're searching everywhere for traces of me now, never expecting that I've fled to the Sun Moon Empire."
These words were half true and half false.
Being bullied by Shrek students was false, but robbing Shrek students was true.
As long as Jing Hongchen sent someone to investigate, he would certainly discover that there really was a mysterious boy in the Star Dou Great Forest who specifically robbed Shrek students.
That was enough.
Hearing this, Jing Hongchen's brows relaxed slightly.
Being bullied by Shrek was a perfectly reasonable explanation, but strangely, had Shrek's people not noticed his monstrous talent?
Had they actually not spared every expense to recruit him?
"Then, aside from wanting revenge on Shrek, do you have any other purpose in joining our academy?"
"Of course." Lu Ren spoke frankly. "I need top-quality cultivation resources and a safe cultivation environment, and Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is currently my only choice."
He paused, then laid out the bargaining chip that would most tempt Jing Hongchen.
"Besides, hasn't your Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy always been overshadowed by Shrek Academy in the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament?"
"With my help this time, perhaps I could help you win the championship, end Shrek's championship streak and dominance, and trample it underfoot. Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
Jing Hongchen frowned.
"Young man, you're very arrogant."
"Shrek Academy is anything but ordinary to have achieved its current standing."
"Your addition would certainly strengthen our team, but that isn't enough to guarantee a hundred-percent victory over Shrek Academy."
Lu Ren looked at Jing Hongchen and said gravely, "Then let's make a fair deal."
"If my joining you fails to help you trample Shrek underfoot, then from that day onward, I'll be yours. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do."
"If I help you win..." He paused. "I won't ask for anything else. I only want one thing."
"Go ahead."
Lu Ren spoke without hesitation.
"I want a hundred thousand year Soul Bone."
As his words fell, the entire office went silent for a moment.
Jing Hongchen's expression froze.
He wiped every expression from his face and stared coldly at Lu Ren, his gaze like a blade.
"So this is your main objective."
Lu Ren smiled without speaking, allowing that gaze to scrape over him.
"Choose something else." Jing Hongchen rejected him outright, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "As long as it isn't a hundred thousand year Soul Bone, I can give you even a Level 9 Soul Tool."
"But only a hundred thousand year Soul Bone would give me the greatest improvement."
Lu Ren spoke unhurriedly, as though stating a fact.
"Moreover, once the academy defeats Shrek fair and square in the continental Soul Master tournament and tramples Shrek Academy underfoot, the impact on the three original nations of the Douluo Continent will be enormous."
He leaned forward slightly, looking straight at Jing Hongchen.
"At the very least, it will let everyone polish their eyes and see clearly who truly stands first on the continent. In the future, the Sun Moon Empire will surely unite the continent."
These words moved Jing Hongchen somewhat.
They truly spoke straight to his heart.
Lu Ren continued, "If Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy wins the championship in this tournament and tramples Shrek underfoot, the academy and the Sun Moon Empire stand to gain so much."
He spread his hands, his tone even yet certain.
"All I want is a hundred thousand year Soul Bone. That isn't excessive, is it?"
Jing Hongchen stared at him for a long time.
"Do you think hundred thousand year Soul Bones are cabbages?" His voice grew cold. "Leaving aside whether we have the ability to hunt a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, even if we do, why do you think we should give you a hundred thousand year Soul Bone?"
"Plenty of people in the upper ranks would scramble for it, let alone the members of the imperial family."
Lu Ren did not back down.
"Because, powerful as your Soul Tools may be, you have to admit that powerful Soul Tools are most effective when used in conjunction with powerful Soul Masters."
He paused, his tone growing even more certain.
"In theory, if Illustrious Virtue Hall joined forces with Shrek Academy as allies, they would become the single strongest force on the Douluo Continent, without exception."
"But that is only theory."
He looked straight at Jing Hongchen.
"You lack powerful Soul Masters as allies, while my talent and aptitude guarantee that, in the future, I will become a Limit Douluo."
He spoke the most arrogant words in the plainest tone.
Rank ninety-nine, Limit Douluo.
The office was so quiet that the hum of operating Soul Tools could be heard.
Jing Hongchen's expression darkened.
He had taught for decades and seen countless geniuses, but this was the first who dared say something like "I will become a Limit Douluo" to his face.
Moreover, looking into those clear yet fathomless eyes, although he very much wanted to say something like, "The future is vague and uncertain, yet you dare try to fool me with such empty words"...
He actually found himself unable to refute him.
The passions he had forgotten in the depths of time, the ambitions and dreams he too had held in his youth, were gently stirred by just a few words from the boy before him.
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