Sunlight slanted into the classroom, casting scattered flecks of light over Ren Jun.
His fingertips tapped the lectern, his metal cuff links making a crisp clink, and the whispered conversations ebbed away like the tide.
His gaze swept over the twenty-five students in the class as he announced, "According to the latest news, the National Soul Master Class Competition will officially begin in three days. The venue will be the Great Soul Arena at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy!"
As Ren Jun finished speaking, waves of discussion instantly rose through the classroom again.
Everyone felt both excitement and apprehension about this competition, which they had first heard about last semester.
"Quiet!"
Ren Jun struck the desk with his pointer, producing a sharp crack.
Only after the classroom fell silent again did Ren Jun continue, "We already discussed the competition format and the reorganization of the experimental Soul Master class afterward last semester, so I won't go over them again."
"What I want to say now is that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is the strongest academy in the Sun Moon Empire. The fact that you are now students in its Soul Master class proves that you are outstanding-far more outstanding than many others your age!"
Since the Soul Master class had been established, this was the first time Ren Jun had praised its students so directly.
"However..."
At this point, Ren Jun abruptly changed tack. "Although the other academies aren't as strong as you overall, they have no shortage of geniuses among them, so you mustn't let your guard down during the competition!"
"I won't set any targets for your final results. I have only one requirement: do your best!"
Faced with these eight- and nine-year-old children, Ren Jun didn't want to put too much pressure on them.
As for ultimate victory, Ren Jun naturally wanted it.
The reason he hadn't demanded it was that, in his eyes, whether he said anything or not, the team that won in the end would definitely come from their class.
At that thought, Ren Jun glanced toward a seat by the windows on the right.
Noticing his teacher's gaze, Kong Xuan smiled and nodded, both a response and a promise.
That was right. Ren Jun's information came from Kong Xuan.
He didn't believe anyone could contend with Kong Xuan in a competition for this age group.
As long as Kong Xuan was there, their class had already secured first place!
Although the Soul Master Class Competition bore the title "National," the establishment of Soul Master classes had, after all, only just begun.
Taking Kong Xuan's class as an example, there were only twenty-five students in the entire class.
Compared with the tens of thousands of students at an academy like the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, they were merely a grain in the vast ocean.
So over the past few days, apart from the Soul Master class students, the academy's Soul Engineers had seemed entirely unconcerned about the event.
However, the competition hadn't really affected the four members of Kong Xuan's team. They continued cultivating according to their established plans every day.
It wasn't until the day before the competition that Xu Wei mysteriously gathered the four of them together.
The sun sank in the west. Beneath the thousand-year-old tree on the academy's eastern side, four figures sat on the gnarled roots extending outward from its base.
Xu Wei leaned forward, swept his gaze over the other three, and said, "Through my investigations over this period, I've gathered some information about our opponents in the competition."
Kong Xuan and the other two exchanged glances. Only now did they learn why Xu Wei had gathered them here.
It wouldn't have been strange for any of the three of them to say something like that, but coming from Xu Wei, it somehow didn't sound very credible.
After all, Xu Wei was only a commoner, while the other three all had illustrious backgrounds and many channels for obtaining information.
Kong Xuan looked at Xu Wei and asked, "Where did you get this information?"
Although it was only a simple question, Xu Wei could already see disbelief in their eyes.
He didn't mind, however. Standing up, he smiled and said, "You all know I'm popular in class. I only had to ask around."
Xu Wei really wasn't making things up about being popular in class. He had high emotional intelligence, and anyone who spent time with him would feel comfortable.
Xu Wei continued, "But most of the information I got came from Bi Jin."
At that, Kong Xuan and the others found it somewhat more convincing.
Bi Jin came from Sun Moon nobility with a lineage stretching back hundreds of years. It was perfectly normal for him to be able to uncover some information.
Seeing their expressions turn serious, Xu Wei continued, "There really are some difficult opponents among the people we'll be facing this time. There are even several Two-Ring opponents."
"Ji Yun from the Tianhai Advanced Soul Engineer Academy. Martial Soul: Shadow Moon Scythe."
"Gu Wenyu from the Dongyang Advanced Soul Engineer Academy. Martial Soul: Soul Suppression Codex."
"Yuan Qingshuang from the Liuyun Advanced Soul Engineer Academy. Martial Soul: Black Ice Phoenix."
Kong Ling exclaimed, "Black Ice Phoenix? That's a top-tier Beast Martial Soul!"
They had never even heard of Martial Souls like the Shadow Moon Scythe and Soul Suppression Codex, so they didn't yet know whether they were powerful.
Still, anyone who could become a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster at this age presumably had considerable Innate Soul Power and great talent for cultivation.
Naturally, the Martial Souls of geniuses like these couldn't be too poor either.
As Kong Ling spoke, she also looked toward Xu Tianyi beside her.
Of them, only Xu Tianyi had a Beast Martial Soul, and his was likewise a top-tier one, a dragon.
Noticing Kong Ling's gaze, Xu Tianyi said calmly, "If we were at the same level, she wouldn't be a match for me."
Well, it turned out Xu Tianyi thought they were comparing her to him.
Hearing that he hadn't made any sweeping boasts about definitely being stronger, Kong Xuan gave a gratified smile.
It seemed that a semester of reforming Xu Tianyi had been quite successful. He was no longer as arrogant and conceited as he had been when school first started.
Xu Wei glanced at Xu Tianyi. "Brother Xu, your Soul Power is already at rank twenty too. Hurry up and get a Soul Ring! Then our team will have another Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster. Even if Brother Xuan doesn't make a move, we'll definitely be able to claim the final victory!"
Over these days since school started, they had already gained a thorough understanding of one another's circumstances.
Kong Ling had just obtained her second Soul Ring, and her Soul Power was now at rank twenty-two.
Xu Tianyi's Soul Power had also reached rank twenty during the break, but he hadn't obtained a Soul Ring to break through and become a Soul Grandmaster.
Xu Wei's Soul Power had only just reached rank nineteen. He still needed to cultivate for some time before he could reach rank twenty and obtain a Soul Ring.
Meanwhile, Kong Xuan's Soul Power had already reached rank twenty-five, which wasn't slow considering that he hadn't been pursuing cultivation speed.
Xu Tianyi glanced at Kong Xuan and Kong Ling before finally resting his gaze on Xu Wei, who had raised the question.
His expression was calm, his tone firm. "My plan is to obtain a Thousand-Year Soul Ring for my second Soul Ring. My physical strength is still a little short, so I need to wait a while longer."
With Kong Xuan as their safety net, their team would definitely make it to the end.
Xu Tianyi could also distinguish what mattered more from what mattered less, so he wasn't in a hurry to obtain a Soul Ring. His own strength took priority in everything.
Hearing this, Xu Wei smacked his lips and said nothing more. He had already realized that what he'd just said was wrong.
He then stopped dwelling on the subject and resumed sharing the information he had gathered.
"The last Soul Grandmaster is Shui Ling from the Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy, but I don't know what her Martial Soul is."