Lu Cheng: This was a good thing.

Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy

The Trial Grounds.

The venue was packed with people, and it was extremely popular. Similar to the dueling area of the Shrek Academy, many disciples also liked to come here to duel and release the pent-up energy of young Soul Master.

"Boom..."

With the roar of a long-range Soul Cannon, Lu Cheng was standing leisurely in the center of the arena when a blazing beam of light surged from his shoulder and instantly landed in front of Ji Juechen. The latter's pupils shrank sharply, and he raised his sword to block, but his body also retreated.

The sword intent that had just been gathered was dispersed, and only after the force was dissipated could he barely stabilize his body.

But the distance between the two grew ever wider.

Just as Jing Hongchen said, the closer he got to Xuan Zi, the lower his chances of winning. But if the distance between them could be widened to a certain extent, even Xuan Zi, a Level 98 Super Douluo, would be helpless against him.

This is the core of the battle between Soul Engineer and Soul Master.

distance...

Unless the opponent's long-range offensive is extremely strong, it is a dimensional reduction attack for melee Battle Soul Master. Under the dense and powerful firepower suppression, you will be unable to raise your head, and then your Soul Power will be worn down until you are carried down.

Most Soul Engineer study how to maintain distance from Battle Soul Master while maximizing their damage output.

Now, Lu Cheng has delivered a truly impressive result.

With just a basic level 6 long-range Soul Cannon, which almost everyone has, Ji Juechen, the Sword Fanatic fanatic who was invincible among his peers in the Illustrious Virtue Hall, was forced to question his life. The seemingly casual shell traces accurately predicted Ji Juechen's direction of movement.

The stronger one is, the more terrified they become upon seeing it.

Such exaggerated predictive and perceptive abilities! If we were to actually encounter such a monster on the battlefield, we'd probably be instantly killed the moment it showed its face.

After all, the opponent is Level 7 Soul Engineer, and won't give you a chance to react.

Now, this so-called "competition" is seen by many as more of a show of skill; who knew that Soul Engineer could be played like this...

"I... admit defeat."

Ji Juechen remained calm, slowly raising his head. His handsome face was slightly pale as he spoke.

His Soul Power had been completely drained and even overdrawn. His thighs were trembling slightly, and the hand holding the longsword had lost its strength. He looked at Lu Cheng, who was still carefree, and felt a deep sense of powerlessness for the first time in his life. This guy was like a towering wall, without any weaknesses or vulnerabilities, unlike anyone he had ever met.

It's like... a perfectly hexagonal monster.

Even so, it has never revealed its true potential.

He had a vague premonition that the young man opposite him, who was smiling and whose appearance was comparable to his own, would be more violent than a volcanic eruption if he were to reveal his true fighting power, and he would be no match for him at all.

"..."

"Not bad, it has a slight sword-like shape."

Lu Cheng smiled, glanced at Ji Juechen, put the ordinary-looking long-range Soul Cannon into his storage ring, and left gracefully.

Only Ji Juechen remained, his face blank, repeatedly muttering four words to himself.

"It has a rough outline?"

"It has a rough outline..."

"Old Ji, are you alright?!" Jing Ziyan flashed a few times and landed in front of Ji Juechen, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a worried expression, and asked with concern.

Ji Juechen was still savoring what Lu Cheng had said. He was born with a "Trash Martial Soul" and his Innate Soul Power was only level three. However, he insisted on abandoning the power of traditional Soul Skill and cultivating combat skills on his own. He relied on his talent in swordsmanship and his ascetic methods day after day to forge a path that belonged to him alone.

Although he used to be uncompetitive and didn't care about other people's comments, whether it was insults or praise, it didn't concern him.

But today... Lu Cheng's words completely stunned him.

Is it merely a rough outline?

He had cultivated his sword intent for so many years, only to have it dismissed with a single, casual remark. Instead of anger, he felt bewilderment and confusion. Was his swordsmanship... his pursuit of the ultimate sword intent, wrong?

"Old Ji, don't listen to his nonsense. If you believe in your own path, then keep going." Jing Ziyan didn't know what Lu Cheng had said, but she knew that Ji Juechen was almost obsessed, so she quickly tried to comfort him.

"No, he's right."

For the first time, Ji Juechen's eyes showed confusion. "This path is becoming increasingly difficult, with no end in sight. It's all form and no substance. My sword intent seems like a surging river, endless and continuous, but in reality, it's vast yet empty... lacking in refinement and lethality..."

Seeing Ji Juechen's dazed and confused appearance, Jing Ziyan was speechless. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that although he was discouraged, at least he hadn't given up.

Many young students, when encountering peers who are even more monstrous than themselves, have had their Daoist hearts shattered and never recovered.

Since she met Ji Juechen, she had never seen this Sword Fanatic suffer a defeat at the hands of anyone. Even the disciples of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, whose combat strength was higher than his, found it difficult to gain any advantage from his fierce sword intent.

but...

Only this guy.

Jing Ziyan glanced at Lu Cheng's departing figure, her eyes filled with emotion. "These days, monsters keep popping up one after another."

"Don't cry, tell me slowly..."

Inside the dormitory.

Nana served tea and water, dressed in a black outfit that perfectly accentuated her graceful figure, standing charmingly to the side. However, the protagonist today was not her, but Miss Meng Hongchen, who stood before her master.

Lu Cheng gently embraced Meng Hongchen, his eyes calm.

"Waaah... Grandpa, Grandpa was taken away by the royal family. He was imprisoned this morning, and our house was ransacked. All the valuables were taken away, nothing was left. I heard this might also affect my brother..." Meng Hongchen sobbed softly.

She was terrified; she never expected the Sun Moon Empire to react so violently.

Her grandfather was imprisoned, and if she hadn't pulled some strings, she wouldn't have been able to get out of the interrogation room so quickly.

"..."

Lu Cheng was slightly taken aback, his eye twitching. As expected of the old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire... This cold-blooded method of discarding someone after they've served their purpose seems quite normal now.

He originally thought that the Sun Moon Empire would gradually put Jing Hongchen in shackles and deal with him slowly and coldly. After all, Jing Hongchen was a high-ranking official who had made great contributions to the empire. Even his grandson had been sent to the Shrek Academy as a hostage. But he never expected that... the Sun Moon Emperor would be so ruthless and decisive, putting him in prison as soon as he said he would.

Not to mention ransacking their homes... they left them absolutely no way out.

Xu Jiangliu, the head of the Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineer Legion, has been actively recruiting researchers from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

It clearly states that the royal family wants Illustrious Virtue Hall, and no other force is allowed to touch it. However, if the royal family were to swallow Illustrious Virtue Hall, it would mean that Illustrious Virtue Hall might cease to exist in the future and be gradually divided up by various forces.

In the future, forces like Illustrious Virtue Hall will no longer exist; instead, they will be replaced by... legions that combine combat, scientific research, and medicine.

In a way, this could be considered a "small" internal struggle within the Sun Moon Empire.

After all, the royal family's power is mainly concentrated in the army, and they can't get involved in the academic factions. Illustrious Virtue Hall was managed by Kong Deming and later became an impenetrable block by Jing Hongchen, so they couldn't even engage in the business of reselling rare metals.

Now, many legions backed by princes of the Sun Moon Imperial Family family have surged in like sharks that have smelled blood.

Xu Jiangliu, however, ate the most and got the fattest, his mouth dripping with oil.

But ultimately...

This is a good thing.

Only in this way can Jing Hongchen be completely disillusioned and see clearly just how cold-blooded and ruthless the Xu Clan he serves truly is. Once they lose their usefulness, they will be cruelly abandoned without a trace of warmth.

However, we'll have to wait a little longer.

When Jing Hongchen could no longer tolerate it.

A prison break.

That's right. Under his command is the Body Sect, a rebellious and treacherous bandit group. Now, their blades are gleaming. The reason they sent everyone away earlier was merely to deceive the Sun Moon Empire. They plan to launch a surprise attack and break them out of prison, leaving the old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire completely dumbfounded.

He was quite looking forward to the day when he could step on the old emperor of the Sun Moon and announce the resurgence of the Body Sect.

"Don't worry, A Xiao... cough cough, I've already sent someone to Shrek. As for Hall Master Jing, the old emperor won't touch him, at least not now. His master, Kong Deming, is a pillar of the empire, and his authority remains."

Lu Cheng reassured him, but there were still some things he didn't say.

Kong Deming is indeed very strong, and his authority is equally high, but the problem is that this teacher is very... indecisive, and even somewhat submissive in his own eyes.

For the sake of the Sun Moon Empire, he was willing to abandon many things and constantly make concessions and retreats. The old emperor was too good at manipulating people's hearts. Even if the old emperor took the opportunity to kill Jing Hongchen, Kong Deming would only be angry for a moment, and that would be it. He did not want the Sun Moon Empire to be disturbed, not even in the slightest.

Well, today a message was sent by carrier pigeon that Du Busi and his gang had brazenly abducted Xiao Hongchen from the Shrek Academy. His Du Busi poison had caused Mu En's hair to turn even whiter, leaving him no choice but to watch helplessly as Xiao Hongchen laughed and left in a carefree manner.

After leaving their mark on the mainland, they gave the illusion that the Body Sect of the Sun Moon Empire had returned to the Heavenly Soul Empire. They also arranged for the placement of valuable rare metals and countless Soul Tool they had plundered. Furthermore, they brought along the six titled elders of the Body Sect, as well as many second-generation disciples of the Body Sect.

Currently, at least thirty people, all of whom are at least Soul Douluo -level experts from the Body Sect, are heading towards the core of the Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu.

This is a battle that will almost exhaust all resources. Not only will they have to demonstrate the ferocity of the Body Sect, but they will also have to step on the Sun Moon Empire, become famous throughout the continent, and launch a recruitment campaign.

"Really?" Meng Hongchen's eyes were blurry with tears, filled with entanglement and complexity.

She caused her grandfather to be imprisoned and put in danger. If her grandfather dies because of her, she will not live on alone.

"Um..."

Lu Cheng nodded earnestly.

"Don't feel guilty. Given the environment in which Hall Master Jing, it's cold and cruel to discard someone after they've served their purpose. Isn't it a good thing that he's gone?"

P. S.: There will be another chapter at 1 AM.