Heaven Dou Royal Academy (III)

"Lin Chen, twelve years old, level thirty-five Soul Elder."

"Xiao Wu, twelve years old, level thirty-three Soul Elder."

The pen in Teacher Liu's hand paused. He looked up and pushed his glasses up, his tone tinged with displeasure. "Students, no joking on your enrollment forms. Twelve-year-old Soul Elders? In all the years since Heaven Dou Academy was founded, it has never produced such a genius. Fill in your actual levels of Soul Power. There's no need to inflate them."

As he saw it, reaching the twenties as a Soul Grandmaster at twelve was already enough to be considered a genius.

A Soul Elder? That was sheer fantasy.

Lin Chen did not bother arguing. He said calmly, "If you don't believe us, Teacher, you can test us."

Teacher Liu frowned, got up, and took a Soul Power testing crystal ball from a cabinet. He set it on the desk. "Fine, let's test you. Come on, I'd like to see what you're really made of."

Lin Chen reached out and pressed his hand against the crystal ball.

Hum-

Dazzling purple light burst from the crystal ball, so bright it was impossible to keep one's eyes open. The numbers on its surface jumped wildly: 20, 25, 30... Finally, they settled firmly on "35."

Teacher Liu's eyes went round as saucers, and his mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg. The pen in his hand clattered to the floor.

"Th... thirty-five?! He really is a Soul Elder?!"

He jerked his head up and stared fixedly at Lin Chen, his voice trembling. "You... release your Martial Soul. Let me see!"

With a thought from Lin Chen, a hazy gray, ancient-looking bead appeared in the palm of his right hand.

Three Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath his feet-purple, purple, black!

Two deep purple Soul Rings floated above a still darker black one. The three rings circulated in turn, radiating a suffocating pressure.

The black Soul Ring in particular, though its color lay somewhere between deep purple and inky black, gave off Soul Power fluctuations that surpassed a thousand years and unquestionably belonged to the ten-thousand-year level.

Teacher Liu's legs went weak, and he collapsed into his chair, his glasses sliding down to the tip of his nose.

"Purple? Huh?... Purple and black?! A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring?! Thousand-year first and second Soul Rings, and a ten-thousand-year Third Soul Ring?! How is that possible?!"

His voice had completely changed pitch, like a rooster being strangled.

He had taught at Heaven Dou Royal Academy for twenty years and seen countless geniuses, but the youth before him had utterly overturned his understanding of Soul Master cultivation.

What genius? This was a monster! Never mind Heaven Dou Royal Academy; even across the entire continent, it would be hard to find a second one!

"Y-you wait here! I... I'll go get the Education Committee members!" Teacher Liu was incoherent. He scrambled and stumbled out of the academic affairs office, forgetting even to close the door.

Xiao Wu burst out laughing. "Brother Lin Chen, look how badly you scared him."

"That's normal." Lin Chen put away his Soul Rings and said calmly, "After all, these results really are beyond an ordinary person's understanding."

Before long, a rapid patter of footsteps approached.

Three elderly men in luxurious robes strode in. At their head was Meng Shenji, the foremost of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's three Education Committee members.

Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin followed him, both powerful Soul Douluo.

"Where is he? Where is young friend Lin Chen?" Meng Shenji's voice boomed, his gaze eager.

His gaze sharpened when he saw Lin Chen standing in the room. With his cultivation as a level eighty-three Soul Douluo, he saw through Lin Chen's Soul Power foundation at a glance-a genuine level thirty-five Soul Elder, with an unusually solid foundation and Soul Power far purer than that of his peers.

What startled him even more was the faint, almost imperceptible sense of danger he felt from the youth. Hidden beneath that calm exterior was a sharpness that seemed capable of suppressing everything and cutting through anything.

"This junior, Lin Chen, greets the three committee members." Lin Chen bowed slightly, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Good! Good! Good!" Meng Shenji said the word three times in succession, his face full of excitement. "A twelve-year-old Soul Elder, with a thousand-year First Soul Ring and a ten-thousand-year Third Soul Ring! I've lived my whole life, and this is the first time I've seen anything like it! It's the academy's good fortune that a genius like you has come to Heaven Dou Academy!"

Bai Baoshan stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly. "No wonder Deacon Sun took the trouble to write a letter recommending him. He's a peerless prodigy! His talent is a notch above even the Spirit Hall Golden Generation's!"

Zhi Lin's gaze fell on Xiao Wu beside him, and he paused briefly. "Is this young lady also level thirty-three?"

Xiao Wu did as he asked and released her Martial Soul and Soul Rings. Three Soul Rings-yellow, purple, purple-rose around her, and the phantom image of a Soft Bone Rabbit appeared behind her. Her level thirty-three Soul Power fluctuations were unmistakable.

The three committee members marveled once more.

One level thirty-five was astonishing enough, yet he had come with a level thirty-three genius girl, and both were only twelve. Heaven Dou Academy had truly stumbled upon treasure.

"Young friend Lin Chen," Meng Shenji said solemnly, "from today onward, you will be the academy's chief core disciple and receive the highest level of treatment. A private courtyard, an exclusive cultivation room, a monthly allowance of a hundred Gold Soul Coins, and free access to the cultivation technique pavilion. Whatever cultivation resources you need, just say the word. The academy will supply them to the fullest!"

He had already made up his mind to keep such a peerless genius at any cost. If Lin Chen could grow into a Titled Douluo someday, Heaven Dou Royal Academy might even be able to lock arms with Spirit Hall.

Lin Chen nodded slightly. "Thank you, sir."

Meng Shenji gave them a few more instructions, then personally arranged for someone to take them to their residence.

As he walked out of the academic affairs office, Lin Chen looked up in the direction of the imperial palace, the corners of his mouth curving almost imperceptibly.

He knew that, after he had caused such a stir, that person should have received word by now.

Xue Qinghe-or rather, Qian Renxue.

On the third day after enrollment, Heaven Dou Royal Academy held a welcome banquet for its new students in the reception hall.

The hall was ablaze with light, crystal lamps hanging like a river of stars. Long tables were laden with delicacies and fine wine, and the students moving about were all dressed in splendid clothes, their conversation and bearing thoroughly aristocratic.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was a gathering place for the children of nobles. Ordinary commoner Soul Masters could not even get a foot through the door, and every student admitted to the top class came from a prominent family.

When Lin Chen and Xiao Wu walked into the hall side by side, they instantly attracted quite a few gazes.

The two wore matching new-student uniforms. Though neatly styled, the fabric was nowhere near as luxurious as the brocade worn by the noble children.

Xiao Wu bounced along, curiously examining the furnishings in the hall. Lin Chen's expression remained calm, his bearing composed, without the slightest hint of discomfort.

"That's the commoner genius they say is level thirty-five at twelve?"

"He looks ordinary enough. Who knows what shady method he used to pile on those levels?"

"Even Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is only level thirty-four. How could some commoner's kid be stronger than Yu Tianheng?"

The whispers reached them in fits and starts. Xiao Wu wrinkled her nose, somewhat unhappy.

Lin Chen paid them no mind. He took two glasses of juice and handed one to her. "Ignore them. Let's eat."