Lu Cheng, Cheng Lu; a chance encounter with Meng Hongchen; the entrance assessment (combined chapter)

Mingdu.

The core of the Sun Moon Empire, the most dazzling and radiant place.

Lu Cheng, dressed in a black outfit, gazed at the bustling metropolis. The streets were teeming with pedestrians and vendors. However, compared to Shrek and Heavenly Soul City, the Soul Guidance Technology here was clearly more advanced and utilized at a much higher rate.

Winter heating, summer cooling, streetlights, and passing vehicles are all related to Soul Tool.

However, something strange is that the entire core of the Sun Moon Empire seems to have converged on Mingdu. The personnel and weapons mobilized by the Brilliant Duke, the border duke of the Sun Moon Empire, who was mentioned in the original work, were all backward Soul Master, or even ordinary soldiers and archers.

In other words, apart from Mingdu, the development level of Soul Tool in most other regions of the Sun Moon Empire was comparable to that of the original three continental kingdoms.

To know the whole leopard by looking at a part of it.

In Lu Cheng's eyes, the development of the entire Sun Moon Empire was abnormally distorted. It drained the resources of all other cities and continuously supplied them to Mingdu, concentrating its efforts on the development of Mingdu and firmly controlling forces such as Illustrious Virtue Hall in the hands of the Mingdu royal family.

The so-called rebellion of the illustrious Grand Duke in the original work was nothing but a joke. The capital city had four major Beast Soul Guidance Legions, as well as the most mysterious Royal Soul Tool Legion, but in order to suppress the rebellion, they didn't send any of their trump cards. Instead, they sent only an inconspicuous legion, which easily suppressed the rebellion...

This clearly demonstrates the vast disparity in power between the two sides.

Under such circumstances, it was natural to cause dissatisfaction among many powerful dukes. As "military governors" in various regions, they held military power, financial power, and personnel transfer authority. How could they be willing to Mingdu excluded by the Ming capital? Therefore, the conflict between the two sides inevitably reached a level that was difficult for ordinary people to understand.

It's like a powder keg, ready to ignite at any moment.

"So, senior, you said... you're from a village under the jurisdiction of Baike City in Oslo Province?"

The main gate of the Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy.

Several large characters were posted.

Admissions Office.

A boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in a black and white school uniform, flipped through the letter of introduction in his hand, then looked up and sized up Lu Cheng, his expression somewhat surprised.

In recent years, students from other provinces have enrolled in the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, but their numbers are not large, accounting for only 20-30% of the total, not to mention these prodigies who are directly "recommended" to the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

"Eighteen years old... Level 65 Soul Emperor? Level 7 Soul Engineer..."

Especially when he saw the strength section at the end, the disciple's hand trembled slightly, and he looked at Lu Cheng as if he were a monster. This information would probably earn him a place among the monstrous seniors of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, right?

It's worth noting that Ma Rulong, the captain who participated in the previous competition and won the first championship for the Sun Moon Empire, was slightly inferior.

Lu Cheng revealed a warm smile, seemingly echoing what the young man was thinking.

In any other world, he probably wouldn't have faked it so crudely, but this is Douluo Continent... a world where countries don't even have the most basic espionage or intelligence agencies, and information is all based on guesswork.

Jing Hongchen will most likely investigate his background, but it's unlikely he'll find out too thoroughly. The identity he forged was mentally manipulated by the local city lord, who personally stamped it on his person; it can withstand scrutiny.

Unless the old man doesn't trust it and goes to Baike City himself.

Of course, this face is also fake; he learned Wang Dong'er's disguise technique and looks slightly more mature.

"So it's Senior Cheng Lu, I've heard so much about you." After repeatedly confirming that the seal was genuine, the young man became enthusiastic. It's always good to have a good relationship with a prodigy of this caliber.

Compared to the Soul Master system, Soul Tool place greater emphasis on the inheritance of predecessors, since learning is essential. The assistance of stronger individuals is also crucial. For example, a casual guidance from a high-level Soul Engineer can greatly benefit a lower-level Soul Master, even helping them break through limitations. Not to mention, once these geniuses Illustrious Virtue Hall, they will essentially occupy various corners of the Empire's heavy equipment and control important laboratories. Whether it's the procurement of rare metals or the allocation of research projects, they have the final say.

In short, cultivating good relationships with these gifted senior students is entirely beneficial.

"Would you like me to take you to the assessment?" The young man's smile held a hint of ingratiation.

"I'll take him."

A voice came from the side, soft and sweet, clearly belonging to a sweet girl. Lu Cheng's expression was somewhat strange... Meng Hongchen, with flowing silver hair, was wearing a Illustrious Virtue Hall Academy uniform. He had only seen her on the field not long ago, not to mention the Simulation Device.

She probably didn't recognize me, right?

Lu Cheng's eyes twitched. After all, logically speaking, as one of the female protagonists, she should also have a share of the Simulation Device's memories.

"Oh, it's Senior Sister Meng! Great!" The boy readily agreed, smiled at the two of them, and then went back to greeting the new students who were registering.

"Senior, come with me..." Meng Hongchen glanced at Lu Cheng, then strode straight into the gate of the Royal Soul Engineering Academy.

She had just attended an auction where her brother acquired a new Carving Knife, which he greatly admired. As a result, he had parted ways with her and gone to the laboratory. She, on the other hand, had originally planned to visit her grandfather, but she subconsciously glanced at this young man, and after just one glance, she could no longer look away.

"Have we... met somewhere before?" On the way, Meng Hongchen tilted her head and asked the question that had been on her mind.

The young man was merely handsome, but for some reason, he possessed a fatal attraction for her. A woman's intuition stirred within her, making her inexplicably flutter with excitement, and she longed to abandon all restraint and pounce on him...

"Junior Meng has been to Oslo Province?" Lu Cheng's eyes twitched, but he pretended to be surprised without batting an eye.

"No." Meng Hongchen shook her head.

"Perhaps it's because my appearance resembles someone that my Junior Meng knows," Lu Cheng said with a smile.

"Hmm... looking at it this way, they really do look alike." Meng Hongchen pressed her snow-white fingers against her red lips, sized up Lu Cheng, and smiled with her eyes curving into crescent shapes.

However, a hint of disappointment clearly flashed in his eyes.

No wonder she had such a good impression of him; it turned out that his appearance bore a slight resemblance to her junior uncle.

They said no more after that, and the two made their way to the assessment area.

To the Illustrious Virtue Hall, a letter of recommendation alone is not enough. Whether Lu Cheng is Soul Emperor or Level 7 Soul Engineer must be determined through rigorous testing, especially the latter. After all, the value of Soul Engineer in Mingdu is renowned, and the testing difficulty is extremely high. Many Soul Engineer from other provinces would drop one or two levels here.

"It's A Meng..." In the assessment area, several examiners all had kind expressions, and the one in the lead even spoke with a smile.

"Uncle Lin, this is a senior from another province who came to participate in the Illustrious Virtue Hall assessment." Meng Hongchen smiled sweetly, gave a brief introduction, then secretly gave Lu Cheng a thumbs-up before sitting down in the spectator seats.

Originally, she had planned to leave, but for some reason, she felt quite happy while spending time with this young man, so she decided to stay and see if the geniuses from other provinces would fail at the Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy.

"Your name is Cheng Lu?" Lin Jiayi flipped through the information sheet, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "An eighteen-year-old Level 7 Soul Engineer?"

Even if there's some exaggeration involved, an eighteen-year-old Level 6 Soul Engineer is already quite impressive. As long as the exaggeration isn't too excessive, Illustrious Virtue Hall will definitely allow him to pass the assessment.

"Yes." Lu Cheng nodded.

"In that case, let's begin." Lin Jiayi didn't waste any words and led Cheng Lu to a clean crafting table. "For the first assessment, you only need to carve a level 7...6 soul guidance array core. The higher the difficulty of the array core you carve, the higher your score will be."

"The core of a level seven formation?" Lu Cheng pondered for a moment, then flipped the blade in his hand, and a jade-green Carving Knife appeared in his grasp. Like a swimming dragon, it cleanly and neatly flipped across the metal.

He chose Heavy Silver, a versatile rare metal, rather than taking a risky approach to amaze everyone. Instead, he opted for stability, knowing that as long as he maintained his status as Level 7 Soul Engineer, he could Illustrious Virtue Hall and come into contact with Jing Hongchen, Xuan Ziwen, and others.

Under the carving of the Blade of Life, the Heavy Silver was as "flexible" as a piece of tofu, without the slightest resistance.

"Such speed, such a stable core..." Lin Jiayi exclaimed in amazement. An expert can see the skill in this mobile game. The proficiency of his brushstrokes is something that no novice can show. Only through countless refinements and practice can one achieve such skill.

"Uncle Lin, what level of Soul Engineer do you think he is?" Meng Hongchen quietly approached Lin Jiayi's side, her beautiful eyes sizing up Lu Cheng in the distance, and whispered.

"It's hard to say." Lin Jiayi smiled. "But judging from the smoothness of the process and the subtle fluctuations of Soul Power that the formation inadvertently reveals, it should be at least level six. As for the exact level, we'll find out when he polishes the soul-guided metal shell later."

"Oh..." Meng Hongchen stuck out her tongue. Her understanding of Soul Tool was very limited. The Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineering Academy was called the Soul Tool Department, but it also had a Soul Tool Operation Department, which was equivalent to the traditional Martial Soul Department. For example, Ghost Nana. They mainly learned how to operate Soul Tool more smoothly and how to better match them with their own Martial Soul, but they knew nothing about manufacturing Soul Tool.

"Buzz..."

Lu Cheng remained calm and composed as he crafted the Level 7 Stationary Soul Cannon. Even though he didn't deliberately showcase any groundbreaking creations, he still attracted the attention of many examiners. After all, having gone through two Simulation, although he had lost his cultivation, his proficiency with Soul Tool remained. At this moment, when it came to theory and experience, he was truly on par with a master like Jing Hongchen.

The movements were efficient and concise, which was a unique pleasure in the eyes of many examiners.

This also drew continuous praise.

With a faint humming sound, Lu Cheng finally assembled the last piece of equipment. A dark black cannon appeared on the control panel, exuding a terrifying aura of Destruction. This was the Stationary Soul Cannon, the most powerful weapon among Soul Tool of the same level.

While not the most difficult to manufacture among its peers, it's still fairly standard, considering the need to ensure the separation of the shell from the launch tube, the detonation method, and the range and area of effect all require careful consideration.

"Level 7 Stationary Soul Cannon?" Lin Jiayi's eyes twitched.

He stroked the nearly 1.5-meter-long, dark cannon barrel in front of him, and with his peak Level 8 Soul Engineer's eyesight, he couldn't find the slightest flaw.

It's formulaic and lacks innovation, but every detail has been polished to an almost demanding degree. You have to know that even among Soul Tool of the same level and quality, there are differences in the power of each Soul Engineer. For example, the power of a Level 7 Soul Tool crafted by Level 7 Soul Engineer is inferior to that of a Level 9 Soul Engineer, and by a significant margin.

"You pass..." After a long silence, Lin Jiayi finally uttered three words, glancing at Lu Cheng with a complicated expression. Level 7 Soul Engineer, eighteen years old...

Tsk tsk tsk.

Illustrious Virtue Hall is bustling again!

"Uncle Lin, isn't there still an assessment to be conducted?" Meng Hongchen asked curiously.

"Ahem, it's alright. This child is exceptionally talented, at the level of Level 7 Soul Engineer. Why should we, as examiners, make things difficult for him?" Lin Jiayi stroked his beard and chuckled.

"Yes, yes..." The surrounding examiners nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll take him to the dormitory to register."

Seeing Meng Hongchen leave, Lin Jiayi finally breathed a sigh of relief. The second test required him to use the Soul Tool he had made in the first test and withstand it for one minute in the hands of one of the examiners.

But this is Level 7 Stationary Soul Cannon!!

Even they risk being injured, or even killed...

"What a promising talent! Fortunately, he's from my Sun Moon Empire," one of the examiners remarked.

"Yes, it's a pity his talent is so terrifying, otherwise I would have tried to take him on as a disciple."

Lin Jiayi, watching Lu Cheng and Meng Hongchen chat and laugh as they walked away, couldn't help but feel a hint of ambiguity in his eyes. He stroked his chin and said, "If I remember correctly, Miss A Meng hasn't been in a relationship before..."

On the other side.

Downstairs in the dormitory building.

Meng Hongchen smiled, her eyes crinkling, and waved to Lu Cheng from a distance. "You should rest first. I'm in the Illustrious Virtue Hall, in Professor Bai Chen's lab. See you again sometime!"

"..."

Lu Cheng smiled and waved back.

Turning around and stepping into the building, his heart pounded. This girl's sixth sense was terrifying. He seriously suspected that A Meng had discovered something, but given how love-struck she was, even if she had, she wouldn't have reported it.

"Call..."

He gently exhaled a breath of stale air.

Room 302, inside the dormitory.

The accommodations in the Sun Moon Empire were much more comfortable than those in Shrek. At least there were no double rooms, and the accommodations were clean, comfortable, and equipped with soul-guided lamps and soul-guided private bathrooms. This was in keeping with the original story, where the Sun Moon Empire conquered the original continent and quickly stabilized the areas it had traversed.

Once this comfortable lifestyle system is implemented, no ordinary person can refuse it.

Lying on the soft bed, Lu Cheng pondered the purpose of his trip.

The most important thing, of course, is to find talent, and Xuan Ziwen is the first target. Fortunately, it is said that after the Illustrious Virtue Hall, one can choose their own teacher. The information I just got from Meng Hongchen should be that it will be tomorrow...

"Xuan Ziwen has no reason to refuse me," Lu Cheng said thoughtfully.

"As for the method of inducing him... Tang Sect Hidden Weapons crafting blueprints, or constructing a blueprint for Battle Armor, given Xuan Ziwen's personality, he won't refuse my offer."

In that case, let's rest first.

We'll choose our mentors tomorrow.

I also want to meet up with Ju Zi and the others, as well as Ji Juechen, Nana, and my good apprentice Ye Guyi. I wonder if that girl has joined the Ordinary Alliance yet...