"Wait... going by that, you are already a Level 3 Soul Engineer?!" Ning Cong's eye twitched wildly. This guy's talent was already on par with someone from ten thousand years ago; the only difference lay in their character.
He suddenly discovered a blind spot.
Just how terrifying was a guy who could create a Level 3 spirit tool on his first attempt at a test bench, using only a book with extremely simplified instructions? Not to mention that he was also a genius in cultivation.
"Pleasure working with you," Lu Cheng said with a smile.
"Pleasure..." Ning Cong's eyes gleamed.
In the blink of an eye, the new semester arrived.
Lu Cheng was assigned to New Class 1. The homeroom teacher was an elderly man with white hair who took a laid-back approach to teaching, barely worrying about anything other than his lessons. He did not have the fierce, menacing aura of Zhou Yi, which suited Lu Cheng just fine.
He did not need to be guided in the first place. After all, he was simply retracing the path he had already walked.
After revealing his talent for the Soul Tool Department in front of Ning Cong, he spent some time increasing his mental force and crafting low-level spirit tools to sell to his classmates. Fire-attribute rays and Level 2 and 3 milk bottles were quite popular.
The former was less popular, with most buyers being Soul Tool Department Disciples, but the Level 2 and 3 milk bottles were extremely hot sellers. After all, they were still something waiting to be fully exploited on the Original Continent. In the original story, a Level 4 milk bottle appeared at the Star Luo Auction House and was eventually bought by Huo Yuhao for twenty-five thousand gold coins. Its production process was not exactly a secret; He Caitou had stated bluntly that he knew how to make them too; it was just troublesome.
This also showed that the current continent did not reject support system spirit tools like milk bottles and that there was an urgent demand for them.
Relying on mass production of spirit tools, Lu Cheng accumulated his first batch of funds, earning nearly two hundred thousand gold coins in just three months. At the same time, he built up a good reputation among the new students, and even many senior Outer Academy Disciples began coming to him to commission custom spirit tools.
This was much more profitable than selling grilled fish.
Three months passed in a flash, ushering in the first wave of the New Student Assessment.
Lu Cheng's strength had also increased by two levels, reaching Level 26. What puzzled him slightly was that during these days, he had tried his best to reveal his talent, attempting to let the powerhouses of Shrek Academy notice him. However, every time Du Weilun saw him, he still acted extremely enthusiastic, yet Lu Cheng could clearly sense a hint of falseness hidden within his smile.
He did not believe this Martial Soul Department director had not mentioned this matter to Yan Shaozhe. Going to the Soul Tool Department building earlier had been a disguised form of stimulation and probing toward the Martial Soul Department, intended to give Yan Shaozhe a sense of urgency and force him to come out sooner.
But the result was contrary to his wishes.
Yan Shaozhe had never come to find him at all.
In that case, he would probably have to make a name for himself during the New Student Assessment, or if that really did not work, seek help from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School.
New Class 1.
An elderly man with snow-white hair and beard and a kind face walked into the classroom, looking at the many students with a smile.
"I am sure everyone is very clear about the grouping for the New Student Assessment. Teacher respects your wishes, but the prerequisite is that there must be one attack system and one control system. You cannot just do whatever you want. If there are only attack systems or only control system supports, it will lead to an imbalanced team. After a while, the class monitor will submit the list to me."
"Understood, teacher." A sturdy boy stood up and replied.
The old man smiled as he looked around, then leisurely left.
Shrek City.
In a hotel.
Lu Cheng lowered his head, sipping through a straw. The watermelon juice in his cup was gradually reaching the bottom, while opposite him, Ning Cong was enthusiastically planning their "championship" strategy.
"Old Lu, you are a long-range fighter; you can act as the control system and support system. I am a support system, and then Xue Linger is an attack system. We will be invincible and sweep through the Inner Court!"
Ning Cong could not hide his smile. To him, a Spirit Bone still had a certain appeal, especially one produced by Shrek Academy. When the time came, he would take one, and Lu Cheng would take one. As for Xue Linger, he would compensate her with funds...
This girl had been with him since she was little, so he could not treat her unfairly.
"Whatever the young master says, Linger will do," the girl dressed in a pale green long robe by his side said with a smile. Her eyes were fixed on Ning Cong.
Just like with Ning Tian and Wu Feng, core disciples of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School were all equipped with a disciple from a branch family or an affiliated sect, the requirement being that they were an attack system Soul Master with sufficient talent.
This Xue Linger was Ning Cong's "protector."
"I have no objections. Winning the championship would naturally be best..." Lu Cheng laughed softly.
A year later, Huo Yuhao would join Shrek Academy, and two years later would be the All-Continent Soul Master Competition. Before that, he had to possess sufficiently powerful combat strength to squeeze into the reserve team. Not to mention saving Mother Jiang, he was determined to obtain the Spirit Bone prize after winning the championship, as it was a resource that could boost his combat strength.
"Tsk, too modest." Ning Cong's eyes were filled with emotion: "A Level 26 long-range archer plus a mental-type support system—you alone are worth two people. Even against the First Group, which is currently the most favored... I am confident we can win."
The First Group was the only one in the entire freshman year that had a Spirit Elder, and the other two were also mid-tier forces at Level 23 or 24. They were considered the favorites to win the championship by many teachers.
But for Ning Cong, he had truly witnessed Lu Cheng's strength.
With a Sun-Shooting Bow in hand and a top-tier fire-attribute Martial Soul, his combat strength was not inferior to that spirit elder's at all.
As long as Xue Linger could hold the line in the front, there would not be much of a problem.
Lu Cheng opened his palm, staring blankly at the jade hairpin in it.
He had not expected that a hairpin of the same style... would also be sold in Shrek City. He had hesitated for a long time before buying one. It had a bell on the back that would make a pleasant sound when shaken.
Clap~
Lu Cheng remained silent for a long time, then closed his palm and put the jade hairpin into his storage spirit tool ring. "Let us go to the training ground to practice our coordination and get familiar with the competition venue in advance."
"Xuan Zi, that martial soul is, after all, an eye, a body martial soul..." Yan Shaozhe said, his eyes filled with hesitation.
"Level 23, ten years old; his talent is decent." Xuan Zi, who was pouring wine into his mouth with one hand and gnawing on a chicken leg with the other, scratched his messy hair and said with a calm gaze, "But it is a pity... I have never heard of any top powerhouse from the Body Sect whose Martial Soul is an eye. Moreover, the true essence of a Body Martial Soul is mutation, a second Martial Soul awakening. If he cannot achieve that, it means this pair of eyes is useless..."
"If he were interested in going to the Soul Tool Department academy to become a Soul Engineer and study spirit tools with Qian Duoduo and the others, that would not be bad."
"Yes..." Yan Shaozhe pondered for a moment and nodded slightly.
He had originally been unable to hold back and intended to go and recruit him in advance, which was why he came to ask for Xuan Zi's opinion. But the latter's answer coincided with his own subconscious thoughts.
Reason was telling him that this was a genius and he would regret not recruiting him, but his emotions were constantly belittling Lu Cheng.
Now that he had sought "solace" from Xuan Zi, he nodded slightly and stopped overthinking.
And after Yan Shaozhe left, Xuan Zi touched his left eye; for some reason, his eyelid began to twitch wildly.
"Strange... why does my eye hurt whenever I see that kid?"
Sea God Island.
Yan Shaozhe looked at Ma Xiaotao, who was training like a madwoman, and sighed softly. Since her second martial soul awakening in a dream, this child had been like someone possessed, desperately trying to find that guy named Lu Cheng, as if it had become a heart demon.
If the Heart Demon was not broken, he feared there would be a big problem.
He raised his hand and shattered the phoenix's true form that was wantonly venting its rage on the shooting range. The flames around Ma Xiaotao stagnated, and the intense fire also withdrew into her body. She looked at Yan Shaozhe with a stunned expression.
"Master, you are here?"
"If you keep training like this, I fear you are going to train yourself into madness," Yan Shaozhe said helplessly. "Coincidentally, the Outer Academy is holding the New Student Assessment tomorrow. You should go and take a look on my behalf. I will count it as an Inner Court graduation mission for you, and it will also be a good way to relax."
"I..." Ma Xiaotao was reluctant and wanted to decline.
"By the way, there is a kid named Lu Cheng. You should go and take a look..." Yan Shaozhe quickly interrupted.
He had truly remembered that the kid was also named Lu Cheng.
"This, alright..." Ma Xiaotao nodded helplessly.
Over these past two years, the academy had found countless fake Lu Chengs to fool her, and from the initial excitement, thrill, and anger, she had now become somewhat numb.
Notes:
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