After answering Xiao Yan's questions, Wang Chengyuan led him aboard the bionic feather wings.
Once aboard, Wang Chengyuan first placed his identity token in the control slot, then injected Soul Power into the bionic feather wings.
Buzz!
With a faint vibration, the metal feather blades on either side of the bionic wings unfolded one after another, producing a fine metallic scraping sound.
The next moment, an upward thrust came from beneath the aircraft.
Soon, an upward thrust came from beneath the bionic feather wings. Standing atop them, Xiao Yan felt his body sink slightly as his view rose higher and higher.
High in the sky, the wind howled.
The metal wings on either side constantly adjusted their angles automatically in response to the flight, maintaining stability.
Along the way, Wang Chengyuan took the initiative to ask Xiao Yan about himself.
When he learned that Xiao Yan was only twelve years old yet already had the strength of a Soul Ancestor, he was utterly shocked.
Why would such a genius come all the way to the science empire to study Soul Tools? Why not go to Shrek Academy instead?
He did not voice these questions, however. With the intention of giving such a gifted student favorable treatment, he already had some plans in mind.
Thanks to the flight, a journey that would have taken seven or eight days was shortened to less than three hours.
An enormous city gradually appeared on the distant horizon. Large clusters of orderly buildings surrounded the city, and farther away, several metal towers rose straight into the clouds.
They occasionally encountered Flying Soul Tools streaking through the sky, each headed in a different direction.
Compared with the Star Luo Empire, technology here was more advanced, and it had already developed its own transportation and information systems.
Xiao Yan gazed at the city below, his eyes gradually lighting up.
Wang Chengyuan pointed ahead and suddenly said, "That's Mingdu, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire. The Royal Academy is in the southern part of Mingdu. We're not far away now."
"Welcome to the Sun Moon Royal Academy. As an exchange student from the Star Luo Empire, you'll spend four years studying here."
"I've been looking forward to it for a long time." Xiao Yan nodded slightly.
As they drew closer, the magnificent Royal Academy came into Xiao Yan's view.
The academy occupied a vast area, with a tall metal wall encircling its perimeter. Numerous ingenious, oddly shaped Soul Tool devices were mounted along the wall.
They stopped at the main gate, since flying over the academy was forbidden. Looking in through the gate, they could see buildings of vastly different styles.
Most striking of all, however, were the metal towers that soared into the clouds deep within the academy.
Red light flashed from the tops of the towers from time to time, and Xiao Yan sensed a very peculiar fluctuation of Soul Power coming from them.
Sun Moon Royal Academy.
"What do you think? Is it different from the Sun Moon Royal Academy you imagined?" Wang Chengyuan asked with a smile.
"It's even more magnificent than I imagined," Xiao Yan answered truthfully.
These arrangements were clearly not merely a display of the academy's wealth; they also symbolized the strength of the entire nation.
Soul Tools had become part of every corner of the Sun Moon Empire.
"Is that so?" Wang Chengyuan nodded.
"Actually, the greatest difference between the Sun Moon Royal Academy and the traditional Soul Master Academies of other empires lies in how we regard a Soul Master's talent. Talent is very important, but we place equal value on talent for studying and researching Soul Tools."
"Even if your Martial Soul isn't strong enough, that won't be a problem as long as you have a talent for researching Soul Tools, because you can find everything you want here."
Soon after Wang Chengyuan finished speaking, the staff on the ground came to receive them.
While the bionic feather wings were taken away for inspection and maintenance, Wang Chengyuan led Xiao Yan into the academy.
After entering, Xiao Yan found the academy bustling with activity.
Tall trees stood in neat rows along both sides of the road, and students walked past in groups of three or five.
Farther away stood an open-air training ground, from which came bursts of rumbling.
"Would you like to take a look?"
Wang Chengyuan had noticed that Xiao Yan's attention seemed to be on the open-air training ground.
"I'll go another time when I have the chance." Xiao Yan shook his head.
"All right, then I'll take you to complete your enrollment first." Wang Chengyuan smiled faintly, his appreciation deepening.
Knowing how to distinguish priorities showed that Xiao Yan had a clear understanding of himself and his plans.
Soon, Wang Chengyuan brought Xiao Yan to a lavish office building.
With an instructor like Wang Chengyuan handling the arrangements, the process went quickly. Registration and verification took little time, and Xiao Yan's exchange-student information was entered into the academy's information system.
Since Xiao Yan was a summoner from the Star Luo Empire's Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, the Sun Moon Royal Academy had arranged his accommodations long ago.
Once the formalities were complete, Wang Chengyuan obtained an accommodation certificate and took Xiao Yan to the student residential area.
After the formalities were complete, Wang Chengyuan handed Xiao Yan an accommodation card and led him toward the student residential area.
"Exchange students' accommodations are much the same as those of ordinary students, but the area where exchange students live is relatively quiet, and it's also convenient to get to and from the teaching buildings."
As Wang Chengyuan led Xiao Yan along, he told him about the academy's buildings.
"The academy has dining halls, training grounds, and fully equipped cultivation rooms. As for the Soul Tool laboratories, different areas have different access restrictions. You can enter and leave the ordinary teaching areas freely, but you need a teacher's permission to enter areas containing precision instruments and high-grade Soul Tools."
"The academy has three dining halls, eight training grounds, and more than a hundred fully equipped cultivation rooms. The Soul Tool laboratory areas have access restrictions, though. You can enter and leave the ordinary teaching buildings freely, but you need a teacher's permission to enter areas containing precision instruments and high-grade Soul Tools."
Xiao Yan nodded, committing the information to memory.
Soon, Wang Chengyuan brought Xiao Yan to a seven-story building.
The building had a simple exterior and stood amid plentiful trees in quiet surroundings. It was not far from the main teaching area, yet removed from the noise of the training grounds.
"Your room is on the third floor. You can go up on your own; I won't accompany you. Just swipe your card to get in."
"All right. Sorry for the trouble, Teacher."
Xiao Yan nodded and thanked Teacher Wang Chengyuan.
"If there's nothing else, go upstairs and rest. Tomorrow, I'll have a student show you around the academy, and then I'll arrange for you to learn about the relevant courses."
"Sorry for the trouble, Teacher Wang."
"It's my duty. Now that you've come to the academy, it's my job as a teacher to make proper arrangements for your studies and daily life."
Wang Chengyuan waved a hand, then reminded him before leaving, "Oh, right. Most of the experimental areas in the academy are off-limits. If you're very interested, you can come to me for permission."
"All right, I understand."
Having received Xiao Yan's answer, Wang Chengyuan turned and left.
Xiao Yan swiped his card and entered the dormitory building alone.
His dorm room was number 308. After inserting his card and entering, he could see the room's layout at a glance from the doorway.
There was a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and an area set aside for meditation and cultivation. The window faced a road inside the academy, with the teaching buildings visible in the distance.
There was a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and an inner room set aside for meditation and cultivation.
Xiao Yan then walked inside and went to the window. It faced a road inside the academy, and he could see the teaching buildings not far away.
The surroundings were not luxurious, but he had come to study and naturally had no finicky demands. Besides, he had a room to himself, which was quite good.
"I've finally arrived at the Royal Academy."
The next stage would be to begin learning about Soul Tools.
Xiao Yan did not dwell on his feelings. He took out his luggage and arranged everything in the dorm room.
During nearly two months of travel, he had not neglected his Soul Power cultivation. He had reached the peak of level forty-seven and would be able to break through in another ten days to half a month.
Over the past seven or eight months, Xiao Yan had used Bone Spirit Cold Flame to dissolve thirty-eight percent of the curse in the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife.
The process was simply too slow.