One month later, within the Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu.
Lu Ren stood at the street corner with his hands in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the magnificent complex of buildings diagonally opposite.
This was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
Many people were entering and exiting the main gate, mostly students wearing uniform attire, with an occasional adult who looked like a teacher.
The guards at the gate were lax, but Lu Ren knew that sneaking in wouldn’t be that simple.
He withdrew his gaze and pulled up the System interface.
[Host: Lu Ren]
[Soul Power Rank: Level 44]
[spirit ring configuration: Purple, Purple, Black, Black]
[Current Cursed Techniques: Malevolent Shrine, Blood Manipulation…]
“Level 44,” Lu Ren muttered.
“Only one level up in a month, that’s too slow.
Is there something wrong with me?”
Over this past month, he had spent a large sum of money, pulled strings, and bought routes, finally managing to trek all the way from Shrek City to Mingdu.
The journey was long; gaining one level was already quite good.
But the problem was that as his Rank got higher, his Cultivate speed became slower and slower, completely incomparable to the speed of the first year when he shot straight to Level 40.
Lu Ren could vaguely feel that this should be related to Cursed Energy.
His method of Cultivate was inherently a parallel of Soul Power and Cursed Energy, with the two influencing each other.
Now that his Soul Power Rank was higher, the amount of Cursed Energy required was also greater, and the growth of Cursed Energy relied on negative emotions.
Although the amount of Cursed Energy was fixed at birth and could not be grown through Acquired means, that was in the World of Jujutsu Sorcerers.
After coming to the Douluo Continent, the Fusion of Cursed Energy and Soul Power seemed to have broken this restriction.
Cursed Energy and Soul Power fused together, turning into a brand new power and achieving evolution.
Now, even Lu Ren was very curious: when Cursed Energy and Soul Power combined, what kind of effect would it eventually become?
Lu Ren looked up at Mingdu in front of him.
This city was, on the surface, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire—bustling, noisy, and full of traffic.
But Lu Ren knew that in the shadows, this was the headquarters of the Evil Soul Master organization, the Holy Spirit Cult.
In other words, the thing this place lacked the least was negative emotions.
He closed his eyes and sensed for a moment.
Sure enough.
The concentration of Cursed Energy in the air far exceeded that of the Star Dou Great Forest and Shrek City.
In those dark corners, the fear, resentment, greed, and jealousy of countless people were continuously spawning Cursed Energy, pervading the sky over the entire city.
In other words, these things were also the Cultivate method that Evil Soul Masters relied on, but compared to Jujutsu Sorcerers, it was far worse—after all, Jujutsu Sorcerers didn’t rely on eating people or similar things to Cultivate.
Lu Ren looked back at the academy gate.
How to get in was a problem.
Sign up directly?
He was an unregistered person, without identification, without a recommendation letter, and couldn’t even produce the basic qualifications for admission.
Use strength to break in?
It wasn’t impossible, but it was easy to cause big trouble.
Lu Ren thought for a moment and soon had an idea.
What was the Sun Moon Empire lacking the most right now?
It was powerful Spirit Masters.
In the original work, after Xu Tianran ascended the throne, in order to consolidate imperial power, he did not hesitate to recruit Evil Soul Masters to join the fold.
The reason was simple: although the Sun Moon Empire had advanced spirit tools, the number of top-tier Spirit Masters was far inferior to the three original nations of the Douluo Continent.
As long as he had sufficient strength and demonstrated enough value, the Sun Moon Empire would definitely open its doors to welcome him.
The only problem was: how to accurately convey this value to the people who could make decisions.
Just as Lu Ren was thinking, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a figure.
From inside the academy gate, a tall and sturdy young man was walking out.
That person was over two meters tall, with a tiger’s back and a bear’s waist, and dark skin.
In the Sun Moon Empire, dark skin was a symbol of nobility.
With short brown hair, eyes that were bright and spirited, and bulging muscles that stretched his uniform taut.
At a glance, he was not an ordinary student.
Lu Ren’s eyes lit up, he stepped forward quickly and blocked the person’s path.
The sturdy young man paused, looked down at the boy who had popped out of nowhere in front of him, frowned, and his tone was full of impatience:
“Where did this beggar come from?
Get lost if you have nothing to do, don’t block this young master’s path.”
Lu Ren smiled and said:
“This senior, could I trouble you to help invite the director of education out?
I want to join the academy, but I can’t find a way in.”
The sturdy young man was stunned for a moment, then sneered.
“Join the academy?”
He looked Lu Ren up and down, his eyes full of contempt.
“These days, any stray cat or dog wants to enter the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?
Do you think this is a charity house?”
He stepped forward, looking down at Lu Ren from a height:
“However, if you want me to help, fine, show some sincerity.”
“If this young master is in a good mood, perhaps I can help introduce you.”
Lu Ren understood.
This was asking for a bribe.
He smiled even more brightly:
“Alright, I will let you see my sincerity right now, senior.”
The next second, two purple and two black, four spirit rings rose from under his feet.
The dazzling light of the spirit rings shone brilliantly under the sunlight, and the passersby around instantly stopped in their tracks.
“What?!”
The sturdy young man’s eyes widened like copper bells, his mouth open wide enough to fit a fist.
The first spirit ring is Millennium level?
And the third spirit ring is directly Ten Thousand Year level?
What kind of Prodigy is this?
Even ten thousand years ago, someone of the level of Tang San from the original Douluo Continent couldn’t achieve such a spirit ring configuration, right?
Lu Ren didn’t give him time to react.
He took a step forward, his right fist smashing straight into the sturdy young man’s nose bridge.
Boom!
A dazzling black light burst out.
It was Black Flash again.
The sturdy young man’s nose bridge broke at the sound, blood splattered, and he stumbled back a few steps, sat on the ground on his butt, and screamed while clutching his nose.
Lu Ren withdrew his fist, looked down, and felt a bit helpless.
Why did Black Flash trigger again?
He just wanted to throw a casual punch to teach the other party a lesson, but it ended up being a critical hit for no reason.
Forget it, the effect is about the same anyway.
Judging by his Aura, the other party was at least a five-ring Spirit King, so he should be able to withstand this casual Black Flash punch.
“You!”
The sturdy young man clutched his bleeding nose, tears streaming down from the pain, but he was still clamoring:
“You dare to hit me?
Do you know who I am?
My name is Wang Shaojie, my cousin is the captain of the Imperial Inspection Team!
Just wait to be wanted by the whole city!”
Wang Shaojie?
Lu Ren was stunned, then remembered.
Isn’t this the unlucky guy who was beaten by Huo Yuhao in the original work?
A branch of the Sun Moon Empire’s imperial family, with some status, but not much.
His biggest backer is that cousin who is the captain of the Imperial Inspection Team.
What a coincidence.
Lu Ren walked up, grabbed Wang Shaojie by the collar, and lifted him up from the ground.
“Wang Shaojie, right?” He said with a smile, “I hit you because it’s you.”
Wang Shaojie’s screams came to an abrupt halt, and fear flashed in his eyes.
“Now, can you go and call the director of education over?”
Lu Ren’s tone was still gentle, but the force in his hand was gradually increasing.
“If you don’t call, I’ll beat you until you are willing to call.”
The collar choked Wang Shaojie so he couldn’t breathe, his face turning red.
A large crowd of onlookers had already gathered, and pointing and whispering rose one after another:
“Isn’t that Wang Shaojie?
Why did he get beaten up?”
“Who is that person?
His spirit ring configuration is too exaggerated, right?
The first spirit ring is Millennium level?”
“Two purple, two black!
A Spirit Ancestor over Level 40?
He looks even younger than Wang Shaojie, right?”
“When did such a Prodigy appear in Mingdu?”
Wang Shaojie was both painful and embarrassed, struggling to break free, but found that he couldn’t move at all.
The boy in front of him had ridiculously great strength; his physique, which he was proud of, was like a chick in the other’s hands.
What was even more terrifying was that look in his eyes.
Smiling, but the way he looked at him was like looking at an ant.
“I’ll call!
Can’t I just call?”
Wang Shaojie finally softened, his voice even carrying a crying tone.
“Let me go first, I’ll go call the director of education right now!”
Lu Ren let go.
Wang Shaojie stumbled back a few steps, clutching his still-bleeding nose, glared viciously at Lu Ren, and turned to run into the academy.
After running a few steps, he didn’t forget to look back and shout:
“You just wait for me, when the director of education comes, you’ll get what’s coming to you!”
Lu Ren sneered and stood still without moving.
This was the effect he wanted.
The bigger the commotion, the higher the level of the people attracted, and the greater his chance to demonstrate his value.
However…
He looked at Wang Shaojie’s disappearing back and shook his head.
Given this guy’s nature, he probably wouldn’t obediently go call the director of education.
A moment later, a group of people rushed out of the academy gate.
Leading them was a middle-aged man with six spirit rings flashing on his body—a six-ring Spirit Emperor.
Judging by the badge he was wearing, he should be a teacher.
Behind him followed Wang Shaojie, who was clutching his nose, and several other students also wearing uniforms.
“It’s him, teacher!
It’s this kid who hit me and dared to cause trouble at the academy gate!”
Wang Shaojie pointed at Lu Ren, his tone excited, nosebleed still flowing down, looking exceptionally disheveled.
The middle-aged man stepped forward and looked coldly at Lu Ren:
“Did you hurt a student of our academy?”
Lu Ren looked him over and sighed.
“Unnecessary.”
He asked directly:
“Are you someone who can make decisions?
If you can’t, go back and call the director of education, Lin Jiayi, over, and say someone wants to discuss important matters with him.”
Hearing the three words “Lin Jiayi,” the middle-aged man’s expression changed slightly.
Someone who isn’t from the academy, how could he know the director of education’s name?
He looked at Lu Ren with an uncertain expression:
“You are not from the academy.”
“I will be soon.”
Lu Ren answered with a smile.
He took half a step forward, his tone still casual, but his eyes had already turned cold:
“Besides, how much is your monthly salary?
I’m here to find Lin Jiayi; if something important is delayed, can you bear the responsibility?”
The middle-aged man’s expression became even worse.
These words poked at his weak spot.
He was just a teacher, working for the academy, earning such a small salary every month; it wasn’t worth taking responsibility for this.
Seeing this person so arrogant and domineering…
he must have the capital for such confidence.
In case this boy in front of him really had some background, or really had some big matter to discuss, and he blocked him from entering, in the end, the one who would be unlucky would be himself.
Anyway, there’s no harm in reporting it…
He gritted his teeth, turned around, and said to the people behind him:
“You guys watch here, I’m going to call the director of education.”
“Teacher!” Wang Shaojie was anxious.
The middle-aged man glared at him and left without looking back.
The corner of Lu Ren’s mouth curled into a smile.
Sensible.
Not long after, a burst of hurried footsteps came.
A short, stout middle-aged man walked quickly out of the academy gate, his face gloomy, his eyes sharp as knives.
The director of education, Lin Jiayi.
His gaze locked directly onto Lu Ren, sizing up the boy who dared to cause trouble at the academy gate.
Lu Ren also looked at him.
Their gazes collided in the air.
Lu Ren suddenly smiled.
“Director Lin, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
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