The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy stood in the northeast of Mingdu.
There was a hexagonal tract of land there, vast enough to rival a medium-sized city.
This was the territory belonging to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
When Xuan Ziwen arrived at the academy gates with Kong Xuan and Kong Ling, someone was already waiting there.
Whether it was Xuan Ziwen, a Level 7 Soul Engineer at such a young age, or Kong Xuan and Kong Ling, two geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power, they all warranted a personal welcome from the academy.
Kong Xuan looked at the two men approaching them. One was somewhat portly but looked relatively young, so he probably was not the dean, Jing Hongchen.
The other was tall, and metallic sounds accompanied his footsteps as he walked. He was probably the teacher from Shrek Academy whom Grandpa had mentioned.
As Kong Xuan sized up Ren Jun opposite him, Ren Jun was also observing Kong Xuan, the genius he had been thinking about so much.
There did indeed appear to be no signs of drug use, and his Soul Power was so condensed that it hardly seemed to belong to a Soul Grandmaster.
Moreover, Kong Xuan wore a calm expression, giving an impression of composure beyond his years.
What drew Ren Jun's attention most, however, was Kong Xuan's eyes.
Despite his Soul Douluo cultivation, Ren Jun actually felt an invisible pressure when he stared into Kong Xuan's eyes.
Kong Xuan's pupils were a reddish gold, as though cast from molten gold.
As a result, even when Kong Xuan did nothing at all, he could not help exuding a sense of majesty.
His pupils had originally been black, but after he fused with the "Joy of Seeing," this change had occurred early the next morning.
At their first meeting today, Ren Jun was extremely satisfied with Kong Xuan. Kong Xuan fully matched his understanding of a genius.
After the introductions, Kong Xuan learned that the fat man was actually the academy's director of studies, Lin Jiayi, a character who had also appeared in the original novel.
Led by Lin Jiayi, the group entered the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Along the way, Lin Jiayi acted as their guide, introducing various aspects of the academy and giving Kong Xuan a preliminary understanding of it.
The academy occupied an enormous area, but it was mainly divided into three zones: the teaching zone, the dormitory zone, and the experimental zone.
Of these, the experimental zone was the largest, occupying more than two-thirds of the entire academy.
No wonder the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tools were so advanced. They really were willing to spend money on research.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had only six grades, and these were determined not by age but by Soul Engineer level.
In other words, no matter how young someone was, they could advance from first grade to second grade as long as they became a Level 2 Soul Engineer.
This also amply demonstrated the academy's pragmatic approach: everything was based on ability.
Lin Jiayi suddenly turned his gaze toward Kong Xuan and Kong Ling. "The newly established Soul Master class isn't part of the original teaching system, so its dormitory and teaching buildings have both been set up separately."
Before long, the group reached their first destination. Two new buildings had been constructed between the dormitory buildings and the teaching buildings.
Lin Jiayi pointed to the building on the left. "This is the teaching building for the Soul Master class. It has everything, including classrooms, cultivation rooms, physical assessment rooms, and pressure rooms."
Then he pointed to the building on the right. "This is the student dormitory. There are very few students at present. The first floor is the boys' dormitory, and the second floor is the girls' dormitory."
With that, two metal cards appeared in Lin Jiayi's hand, and he handed them to Kong Xuan and Kong Ling.
"These are your dormitory keys. Let me take you to see where you'll be staying."
Kong Xuan did not accept Lin Jiayi's suggestion outright. "Teacher Lin, we can go to our rooms by ourselves from here."
From their earlier conversation, Kong Xuan knew that Lin Jiayi still had to take Xuan Ziwen to the experimental zone later.
They had already escorted the siblings to the foot of the dormitory building. There was really no need for Lin Jiayi to accompany them just to go upstairs.
"Well..."
Lin Jiayi paused at his words, then turned his gaze toward Xuan Ziwen beside him.
Xuan Ziwen smiled. "Director Lin, let's do as they say. They're not three- or four-year-old children anymore."
"All right, then!" Lin Jiayi added a reminder. "Don't forget to be on time for class tomorrow morning!"
Watching the others walk away, Kong Xuan and Kong Ling stepped into the dormitory building.
The entire dormitory building was seven stories high, but according to Lin Jiayi's earlier introduction, only the first and second floors were currently open.
Compared with the bustle elsewhere in the academy, this newly built dormitory seemed rather quiet, perhaps because few students lived here.
Soul guidance patterns were inlaid into the walls, with faint blue energy vaguely flowing through the gaps.
The dormitory building had a simple layout and directional signs. The stairs were not far to the left of the first-floor lobby.
"Brother, I'll head upstairs first. Let's have dinner together tonight!"
Kong Ling walked lightly up the stairs to the second floor. She was no longer the girl who only knew how to hide behind her brother.
Kong Xuan glanced at the metal card in his hand. The "1006" written on it was probably his room number.
Looking at the sign overhead, Kong Xuan headed right.
The Soul Guidance Lamps above the corridor gave off a pure white, gentle light. After only a few steps, Kong Xuan stopped.
Looking at the number "1006" on the door, he raised the key in his hand and waved it over a disc-shaped crystal section on the door.
First came a soft beep, followed by the sound of the lock opening. It made Kong Xuan feel as though he were checking into a hotel in his previous life.
He pushed open the dormitory door, revealing a simple room with a distinctly technological feel.
The space was rectangular, a little over twenty square meters in size. The floor was laid with silver-gray metal panels bearing nonslip patterns, while the walls were made of a pale blue special material.
An octagonal environmental regulation device hung in the center of the ceiling, rotating slowly.
A single bed stood on either side, with a Soul-Gathering Array one and a half meters in diameter inscribed on the wall beside each bed.
Just as Kong Xuan was about to step into the dormitory, the door to the balcony directly opposite opened, and a figure appeared in his sight. His roommate had already arrived.
The boy also looked eight or nine years old and wore the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's uniform. He was somewhat thin and frail, but looked quite spirited.
He froze briefly at the sight of Kong Xuan. Although they were the same age, the bearing Kong Xuan exuded and his golden eyes both gave him a faint sense of pressure, making his breathing involuntarily grow a little heavier.
Kong Xuan entered the dormitory and spoke first. "Hello, my name is Kong Xuan."
"Ah... oh... hello, my name is Xu Wei."
Xu Wei came back to his senses, looking somewhat nervous.
Seeing signs that the bed on the left was occupied, Kong Xuan sat down on the right, then asked Xu Wei, "When did you come to register?"
Xu Wei returned to his own bedside and sat down, answering truthfully, "I've been studying at the Royal Soul Engineer Academy ever since I awakened my Martial Soul. I only moved here the day before yesterday."
As he spoke, he was also observing Kong Xuan.
Having just arrived to register, Kong Xuan wore his own clothes. Though they had no flashy decorations, the observant Xu Wei could tell that the fabric and workmanship were no ordinary matter, much like the clothes worn by the nobles he had seen at school before.
Xu Wei confirmed that Kong Xuan came from a distinguished background, while Kong Xuan also judged from his words that Xu Wei was probably of commoner birth.
Only Soul Masters of commoner birth who awakened powerful talents would be brought into the Soul Engineer academy for training.
Kong Xuan then said in a relaxed tone, "Then you must know the academy very well. I'll be counting on you to look after me here from now on."
Seeing the smile on Kong Xuan's face, Xu Wei felt much closer to him. He seemed somewhat different from the nobles he usually encountered, whose eyes sat atop their heads.
"Of course! I'm a know-it-all around the academy. If there's anything you don't know, just ask me!"
In an instant, Xu Wei seemed to return to his true nature and began boasting in front of Kong Xuan.
Yet his heartbeat, faster than usual, showed that his heart was still not quite calm when facing Kong Xuan.