"Little Brother Chen, this dish tastes pretty good. Give it a try."
That evening, at a restaurant in Spirit City.
Luo Chen, Qian Renxue, Hu Liena, Wang Sheng, Yan, and Xie Yue were having their usual group meal.
During the meal, Qian Renxue, disguised as a boy, shed the Little Angel's shy, sweet demeanor and enthusiastically introduced Luo Chen to the restaurant's various delicacies, just like a real older brother.
"Uh..."
Luo Chen took a bite and found that it really did taste good. "Mm, delicious!"
Watching this, Wang Sheng felt a little sour inside.
He had always been the one looking after Luo Chen.
But ever since they arrived at Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong and Hu Liena had outright stolen his job.
Little Wang Sheng dared to be angry, but dared not speak!
"Haha, as long as you like it."
Qian Renxue had spent a long time gathering information for this very moment.
Based on what Luo Chen ordered at the Spirit Hall cafeteria every noon, she had analyzed his tastes, then sent someone to specifically investigate this well-known restaurant in Spirit City.
Judging by things now...
Qian Renxue: Heh, just what I'd expect of myself!
"Um..."
Hu Liena eyed the two suspiciously. She kept feeling that Qian Renxue was being far too enthusiastic toward Luo Chen. "Xiao Chen, try this too."
"Oh, thank you, Senior Sister."
"??"
Qian Renxue frowned slightly. She felt the little fox was copying her, but she had no proof.
At that moment, Qian Renxue's gaze collided with Hu Liena's.
A girl and a young man, but there was not the slightest hint of romance.
There were only fierce sparks!
Senior Tian Xue seems to have been getting closer and closer to Xiao Chen lately.
A few days earlier, the little fox had encountered something strange.
On one occasion, Hu Liena went to the Papal Palace to find Luo Chen and unexpectedly discovered a strand of blond hair on his clothes.
Oh no!
The little fox: Some strange woman has been near my Xiao Chen!
Her teacher Bibi Dong's hair was wine-red with a purplish tint, and Luo Chen's was black. Among the people Hu Liena knew, only Qian Renxue had blond hair.
However, Qian Renxue wore short hair in her male disguise, while that strand had been very long!
If it wasn't Tian Xue's, then this blond hair...
On top of that, Bibi Dong had recently been hinting to her, seemingly both deliberately and casually, to keep an eye on Luo Chen and not let anyone steal him away.
For a time, even Hu Liena could not help becoming vigilant.
Who exactly is it?
Hu Liena felt she had been keeping a good watch. Apart from every evening and his time in the library, she was almost always by Luo Chen's side.
Bibi Dong was there for the former, so there was nothing much to worry about.
As for the library, since Qian Renxue went along too, Hu Liena had specifically asked her about it.
And Qian Renxue certainly would not sell herself out.
Hehe.
After saying that, Qian Renxue expressed her disdain for Hu Liena.
The little fox fell short of her in talent, strength, status, and even the time she spent with Luo Chen.
Not to mention her understanding of Luo Chen, or the advantage of being the waterside pavilion that caught the moon first.
A mere Hu Liena can't compare to even a ten-thousandth of me!
That said, Qian Renxue still took Hu Liena seriously as a rival.
Thus, when Hu Liena asked her about the blond hair, Qian Renxue replied with utter composure, No, I've been by Little Brother Chen's side the whole time. I guarantee no other woman has been near him.
Yes, with her around, those gaudy hussies had absolutely no chance of approaching her Luo Chen.
In Qian Renxue's eyes, Luo Chen was simply too adorable, too kind, and too innocent.
Even when he was quietly reading in the library, he would always attract older girls who came over to strike up a conversation.
My Xiao Chen is kindhearted, pure as ice and spotless as jade.
These women must harbor ill intentions toward my Xiao Chen!
Qian Renxue was not trying to monopolize Luo Chen. She was merely protecting him, preventing people with malicious intentions from approaching him.
Though the enshrined and elders were powerful, they could not readily reveal themselves.
So at times like this, it fell to her, Qian Renxue!
Protecting Xiao Chen is this big sister's bounden duty!
Thinking this, the Little Angel realized she was still Tian Xue at the moment, so she gave a dry cough and continued enjoying the food.
"Um."
Yan quietly asked Wang Sheng, "What's going on here?"
"How would I know?"
Wang Sheng ate with gusto, venting his inner frustration through his food.
He had more or less realized that there was something off about this senior named Tian Xue. Very off.
Based on Wang Sheng's understanding of Luo Chen, he would not normally get so close to a strange boy like this.
Unless this Senior Tian Xue had a reason worth Luo Chen's trust, and...
He's not a boy at all.
After spending so long with Luo Chen, Wang Sheng was no longer the ignorant fellow he once was.
Heh, so that's how it is.
Possessed by Conan, Wang Sheng declared that he had seen through everything, but he would not say a word.
Luo Chen could not possibly be unaware of Tian Xue's true identity.
Yet he had shown no reaction whatsoever.
Even Bibi Dong, the Supreme Pontiff herself, had tacitly allowed him to remain by Luo Chen's side.
From this, it was clear.
Wang Sheng glanced at Qian Renxue. This senior has some serious backing!
Not someone to provoke. Definitely not.
Wang Sheng only followed Luo Chen's instructions. Since Luo Chen had not hinted at anything, he would not meddle.
"But it really is strange."
Seeing that idiot Yan still running his mouth, Wang Sheng grabbed a soup dumpling and stuffed it straight into his mouth. "Just eat. It's not as if this is Xiao Chen's first day being this popular."
"Uh..."
Yan chewed the food in his mouth. "That's true."
Wang Sheng's actions pleased Qian Renxue greatly.
She had noticed Wang Sheng very early on.
Qian Renxue was deeply grateful for the help and care Wang Sheng had given Luo Chen, and his ability to read the situation pleased the Little Angel even more.
"By the way."
At that moment, Xie Yue spoke up. "It seems the academy is going to introduce an educational reform soon. Xiao Chen, do you know anything about it?"
Luo Chen was Bibi Dong's disciple.
Although Hu Liena was too, the little fox clearly did not seem all that bright.
As she was now, she was simply unqualified to get involved in administrative affairs like these.
Luo Chen, on the other hand, was a genius who could offer Bibi Dong advice, which was why Xie Yue felt certain he knew something.
"Oh, that."
Luo Chen did not hide it and said frankly, "I gave Teacher some suggestions."
A month had already passed since his last spar with Qian Renxue.
Over that month, Luo Chen had fully adapted to his life of moving between the academy, the library, and the Papal Palace, occasionally visiting the Worship Hall to help the seniors research Self-Created Soul Skills.
During that time, drawing on memories of his previous life and the current state of Spirit Hall Academy, Luo Chen had finally completed a preliminary reform of Spirit Hall's education.
Neither Bibi Dong nor Qian Daoliu put any obstacles in his way.
They had long since earmarked Luo Chen as Spirit Hall's next-generation successor and Qian Renxue's future partner.
Had they not been worried about Luo Chen encountering danger, both would have wanted to announce it to the world outright and grant him the title of Spirit Hall's Holy Son.
Fortunately, both retained their reason.
A Holy Son or whatever was merely an empty title.
They had already given Luo Chen the actual standing of a Holy Son and were also raising him as the next Supreme Pontiff.
After discussing it with Luo Chen, even he rejected the title of "Holy Son," saying there was no need.
Well, mainly because Luo Chen thought the title of Holy Son was far too flashy.
Besides, in all kinds of novels, Holy Son was often a title reserved for villains-the kind who easily got beaten up.
In Luo Chen's words, this title would lower their side's luck, so they were better off without it!
"Xiao Chen, y-you can already give advice to the Supreme Pontiff and the others?"
Yan stared at Luo Chen in astonishment. Even though he had long grown accustomed to Luo Chen's freakish abilities, he still found it unbelievable.
There was no helping it. Luo Chen was simply far, far ahead of them.
It was like they were still preparing for the academy's imperial examinations, while Luo Chen had already run off to the Elder Hall to chat and laugh with the higher-ups.
"Just a few insignificant suggestions."
Luo Chen smiled. "Teacher and the Great Enshrined thought they were good, so they plan to start trying them out with our year."
That said, in reality, matters were much simpler than he made them sound.
After reading Luo Chen's proposal for educational reform at Spirit Hall Academy, the two had directly used their own names to have the Papal Palace and the Worship Hall give him the green light across the board.
Throughout Spirit Hall, everyone who needed to cooperate would cooperate, and everything that needed changing would be changed.
In any case, it all came down to one sentence.
Both the Supreme Pontiff and the Great Enshrined had approved this reform plan.
If anyone had objections...
Hehe!
Did they know just how much weight the Papal Palace, the Elder Hall, and the Worship Hall carried when they joined forces?!
Especially that last one, the Worship Hall!
Everyone knew that the Worship Hall's seven enshrined had already retired behind the scenes and rarely made an appearance.
Nearly forty years had passed since Qian Xunji took office.
Aside from some older Soul Masters, many young Soul Masters did not even know Spirit Hall still had enshrined.
Yet these very Super Douluo had all stepped forward to back this reform, simply because of a word from Luo Chen.
"So, this reform?"
Xie Yue asked, "What areas does it cover, specifically?"
The youngsters were unaware of the terrifying forces behind it. They cared more about what their future academy life would become.
"The plan is to carry out a comprehensive overhaul for the students."
Luo Chen said, "But since we're only just getting started, we'll probably begin with physical training."
Luo Chen had wanted to complain about the physical training problem for ages.
Pure weighted running like Yu Xiaogang's was fine as one component.
But making the whole thing weighted running was a bit of a joke.
For physical conditioning, Luo Chen had incorporated some training methods from his previous life.
Not only had he drastically reduced weighted running, which would leave numerous hidden injuries, but he had also replaced it with various pieces of training equipment he had designed himself.
He had also incorporated some special forces training exercises he had seen, such as a five-hundred-meter obstacle course that required students to pass obstacles including stepping posts, trenches, low walls, high platforms, balance beams, high walls, and low wire entanglements in the shortest time possible.
There was also reaction training, such as having designated Soul Masters unleash ranged Soul Skills for the Soul Masters to block and dodge.
Of course, all these were merely external training and bodily conditioning.
For Soul Masters, the most important thing was always Soul Power, so a cultivation method that could raise their Soul Power quickly and steadily was crucial.
"I was originally going to give it to you a little later."
Previously, Luo Chen had discovered that the meditation methods on the Douluo Continent were extremely inefficient.
Even the finest top-tier meditation methods, or the meditation method passed down through the Qian Family, still had not escaped the limits of ordinary people's vision.
Qian Daoliu had no good solution to this either.
In his previous life, Luo Chen had read a post comparing the Soul Power and ages of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation from ten thousand years earlier with Shrek's new generation ten thousand years later.
It mentioned a female character named Ma Xiaotao, who had become a rank 67 Soul Emperor at just nineteen.
If Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan saw that talent and cultivation speed, they would probably withdraw into themselves on the spot.
Even Qian Renxue would probably have to shed tears in silence.
That's far too outrageous!
As Luo Chen saw it, there was no reason for such a vast disparity between the two sides.
Even if Soul Masters had developed better, more convenient cultivation methods over ten thousand years, there should not have been a gap of nearly sixteen ranks in Soul Power.
Not to mention that there was an entire major realm between them!
It was the Mysterious Heaven Skill!
Luo Chen had seen this very thing in the post.
Tang San had transmigrated to the Douluo Continent, bringing the Mysterious Heaven Skill with him and leaving behind the Tang Sect's legacy.
And many years later, the Tang Sect declined.
Given Shrek's relationship with the Tang Sect, there was no reason for them not to study the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Even if their ties to Sea God Tang San kept them from secretly learning it outright, they could adapt it!
They could use the Mysterious Heaven Skill as a template to develop various suitable Soul Power cultivation methods.
Compared with the era ten thousand years later, when all kinds of cultivation methods emerged in an endless stream, the current Soul Master World really was like a primitive age.
All anyone had at their disposal was a meditation method.
And Soul Masters who could reach the Soul Ancestor or Soul King realm before the age of twenty using a meditation method would still be geniuses among geniuses even ten thousand years later.
It wasn't talent they lacked, but the right era.
The Soul Masters of this era simply had no systematic cultivation methods.
Qian Daoliu took exceptionally good care of Luo Chen and had given him the Angel Clan's inherited meditation method very early on.
Such an act clearly meant he treated Luo Chen as his own grandson.
But this was also the limit of what Qian Daoliu could do.
If he could, he would naturally want to give his grandson and granddaughter the best.
Unfortunately, a prodigy like Tang Chen, who could create all kinds of Soul Skills himself, might not appear on the Douluo Continent even once in several thousand years.
Soon, however, Luo Chen gave Qian Daoliu an enormous surprise.
Luo Chen did not know martial cultivation methods like the Mysterious Heaven Skill, but he had Na'er's First Soul Skill.
He could use it to trace and analyze numerous Soul Skills.
"Take this book back with you and commit its contents to memory as soon as possible."
Luo Chen took several cultivation manuals out of his Storage Soul Tool and handed them out to Yan, Wang Sheng, Xie Yue, and the others one by one.
Of course, Hu Liena and Qian Renxue received copies too.
After spending more than twenty days, Luo Chen successfully created an unprecedented special cultivation method based on the Path of Starlight from the Second Soul Skill and the meditation methods native to the Douluo Continent.
Drawing on a concept from an anime he had watched in his previous life, Luo Chen named this cultivation method the "Simulation Star Creation Chart."
Of course, he was only borrowing the name.
In essence, this cultivation method could not actually manifest a new cosmology.
"Although this cultivation method bears the name of star creation, it is still essentially a type of meditation method, not some Soul Skill cultivation method."
"I created this cultivation method, and in theory, there shouldn't be any problems."
"But as for how it actually performs, all I can say is that it will definitely be far more effective than the original meditation method."
When creating the cultivation method, Luo Chen had prioritized safety and stability over efficiency and effectiveness.
Luo Chen placed particular importance on this.
He would never gamble with the lives of his friends and his own people.
(End of chapter)