The morning cafeteria was noisy, and the air was filled with the aroma of roasted Spirit Beast meat.
Lu Ren sat in a corner, burying his head in the mountain of plates before him.
His appetite had always been staggering; a high-intensity physical body required a massive amount of energy to sustain, and this breakfast portion was enough to feed three ordinary students.
After a few mouthfuls of Spirit Beast meat, warm energy spread from his stomach to his limbs, making his whole body feel cozy.
The grade of ingredients here wasn’t much lower than those at Shrek Academy, and the nutritional balance was even more refined.
Discussions around him never ceased.
“That’s him, the one with the seventy-eight-win streak yesterday.”
“I heard even Ji Juechen lost; he shattered Ji Juechen’s sword with a single punch.”
Lu Ren turned a deaf ear, focusing intently on the steak on his plate.
The girls’ gazes were particularly intense; they crowded together in small groups at adjacent tables, whispering and occasionally letting out stifled laughter.
Someone plucked up the courage to sit next to him with their tray, chattering about something.
Lu Ren didn’t even look up; his chopsticks didn’t stop, and he only gave an occasional nod as a response.
Those girls weren’t annoyed either; they just sat by him, as if simply being close was enough.
After all, Lu Ren was handsome and powerful, practically an ideal partner for the opposite sex.
Several girls sat near him with their trays, chattering away and casting glances in his direction from time to time.
Someone plucked up the courage to strike up a conversation but was pulled back by the person next to them, who whispered, “He’s eating.”
He ignored them, letting those voices drift past his ears.
“May I sit here?”
A clear voice rang out, carrying a hint of cautious probing.
Lu Ren looked up.
Meng Hongchen stood opposite him, her silver ponytail draped over her shoulder, her large watery blue eyes looking at him.
Swept by his gaze, her cheeks instantly flushed red, and she subconsciously reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Is…
is it not allowed?”
“Be my guest.” Lu Ren looked back down and continued eating.
Meng Hongchen felt a surge of joy and sat in the seat next to him.
This scene caused the surrounding chatter to drop instantly; many girls looked jealous but were wary of her status—she was the Hall Master’s granddaughter, a bona fide wealthy and powerful beauty.
Thus, they were only brave enough to be angry in silence, constantly stealing glances at them.
Meng Hongchen’s fingertips lightly pinched the edge of her tray, her cheeks still tinged with a faint blush.
She watched Lu Ren, who was focused on his meal and remained completely unruffled throughout, her curiosity growing.
The crushing victory on the stage yesterday, along with the seventy-eight-win streak, was enough to prove that Lu Ren’s current strength was definitely the greatest among those under twenty at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
Even her grandfather held him in high regard.
This youth hid too many secrets.
After all, what kind of Four-Ring Soul Ancestor could easily defeat even a Six-Ring Spirit Emperor?
From beginning to end, she had never seen Lu Ren go all out.
After a moment’s hesitation, Meng Hongchen spoke softly:
“My brother was quite offensive yesterday, acting too arrogant.
I apologize to you on his behalf.”
“It’s fine.” Lu Ren didn’t even look up, chewing on the tender steak.
Simple and cold, without any extra emotion.
Meng Hongchen was stunned for a moment, bit her lip, and gathered her courage again:
“Your power is very special.
It’s neither the Soul Power of an ordinary Spirit Master nor the spirit tool attacks we’re familiar with.
Even Teacher Xuan Ziwen couldn’t figure it out.
What exactly is your Spirit?”
The students eavesdropping nearby instantly pricked up their ears.
Only then did Lu Ren slowly raise his eyes, his gaze calmly sweeping over her exquisite face:
“It’s just some ordinary foundation, not worth mentioning.”
Perfunctory yet airtight.
Meng Hongchen tactfully stopped asking and changed the subject:
“Grandfather asked me to tell you that he values you highly.
Plus, the entire academy has increased security now.
I heard someone from Shrek’s side is targeting you, so you must be extra careful.”
“If anything happens, remember to contact me…” She paused, her voice trailing off, “Uh, my grandfather.”
These words were indeed sincere.
Lu Ren’s movements paused for a moment before he continued eating:
“I understand.
Thank you very much for the warning; it’s very useful to me.”
Seeing him remain calm and composed, as if he wouldn’t flinch even if the sky fell, Meng Hongchen’s admiration grew.
So young, with heaven-defying talent, and a temperament so steady he didn’t seem like a youth.
No wonder her grandfather was willing to promise to secure a hundred-thousand-year soul bone for him.
“By the way, which department were you assigned to?” she finally asked the question she wanted to ask most.
“Practical Control Soul Tool Department.”
Lu Ren put down his tray.
Being in a group with Ji Juechen—he didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.
The two of them chatted idly, mostly with Meng Hongchen asking and Lu Ren giving brief responses.
After finishing the last piece of meat, he stood up.
“I’m leaving now.
Excuse me.”
“Um…
okay.” Meng Hongchen nodded, watching his back disappear through the cafeteria entrance.
Her face was flushed, and she looked down to poke at the food on her tray, her lips involuntarily curling upward.
As Lu Ren walked out of the cafeteria, he was thinking about something else.
Why did Meng Hongchen come to find him?
Thinking back to the original work where she was a fangirl of Wang Donger’s male disguise…
well, it wasn’t surprising; this girl was a pure face-con.
He had only walked a few steps when two people blocked his path.
Ji Juechen stood on the left, still in that taciturn manner, holding a new longsword in his hand—entirely silver-white, narrower and longer than the previous one.
On the right was a woman with ordinary looks, an ordinary figure, wearing an ordinary teacher’s uniform—the type that would disappear in a crowd.
She looked to be over twenty-five, but her eyes were startlingly bright.
“My name is Jing Ziyan.” She stared at Lu Ren, her tone carrying irrepressible excitement.
“I heard you defeated Ji Juechen yesterday?”
Yesterday, she had still been pondering over matters regarding spirit tools and hadn’t attended the competition as a spectator, so she didn’t know everything that had happened on the scene.
As a result, she saw Ji Juechen come to find her early this morning, saying someone had defeated him, which greatly surprised Jing Ziyan.
So, she and Ji Juechen sought out Lu Ren together first thing in the morning.
Lu Ren nodded.
Jing Ziyan’s eyes grew even brighter.
“There aren’t many people in the academy who can defeat Ji Juechen.
I want to challenge you!”
Hearing this, Lu Ren’s forehead was covered in black lines.
He suddenly remembered that this one was also a battle maniac.
This woman and Ji Juechen were practically carved from the same mold.
They were both beings born for the thrill of battle.
One could only say it was quite normal for the two of them to end up together later on.
“You are not my opponent.” He sighed, preparing to go around them.
Jing Ziyan shifted a step sideways, blocking him again:
“I know.
If you can beat Ji Juechen, you’re definitely no simple character.
What if Ji Juechen and I take you on together?”
Ji Juechen raised his eyes, his gaze burning:
“After yesterday’s battle, my Sword Intent has improved, and I’ve comprehended a new move.
I want to challenge you again.”
Lu Ren looked at the two of them.
They stood side by side, one silent as a stone, the other blazing like fire, but the same thing burned in their eyes.
That was the thirst for a stronger opponent.
“Fine.
Both of you, come at me together.”
Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen were both stunned for a moment, then reacted.
“You said it!” Jing Ziyan’s voice even changed pitch from excitement.
Both of them released their Spirits simultaneously.
Two yellow, two purple, and two black—six spirit rings rose from beneath their feet.
Jing Ziyan was once called a Genius Girl.
The reason she stopped at being a Rank 6 Soul Engineer was that she was too greedy; she dabbled in research for all categories of spirit tools and never settled on a single path.
Even so, she still entered Mingde Hall and held the reputation of being the Uncrowned Queen of Rank 6 spirit tools.
Her talent was clearly formidable.
Ji Juechen stood behind her, gripping his sword with both hands, his entire being covered in a faint layer of gray.
His aura completely vanished; standing there, he no longer seemed like a person but like a stone statue.
A intense sense of crisis emanated from that stone statue, piercing straight into Lu Ren’s Sea of Consciousness.
Lu Ren’s eyes narrowed.
This was actually…
a Domain?
Ji Juechen actually comprehended it this quickly?
Although it was only a rudimentary Domain and he had only touched the edges, Ji Juechen was indeed comprehending a Domain.
It seemed that yesterday’s punch had not only shattered his Sword Intent but also smashed open his bottleneck.