Lin Jiayi’s gaze lingered on Lu Ren’s face for three seconds, swept over the two purple and two black spirit rings at his feet, and finally landed on Wang Shaojie, who was still bleeding.
“Heard of me?” His voice was neither cold nor warm.
“I have never heard of someone like you.
You hurt my student at the academy gate and dared to call me by my name.
Tell me, what big matter is worth me coming out personally?”
Lu Ren looked at him, his tone flat:
“My name is Lu Ren.
I came here because I want to join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.”
“Join the academy?” Lin Jiayi was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud.
“Our academy has a strict assessment process for admissions.
You haven’t registered, you hurt someone at the gate, and you still want to enroll?
It’s simply absurd.”
Lu Ren raised an eyebrow: “For someone truly valuable, procedures are nothing more than decorations.”
Lin Jiayi’s expression tightened.
First spirit ring: thousand-year.
Third spirit ring: ten-thousand-year.
Lin Jiayi had taught for many years and had seen at least eight hundred to a thousand Geniuses.
But such a spirit ring configuration—let alone seen, he had never even heard of it.
He was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.
“Not bad.”
This “not bad” had a completely different tone than before, carrying a distinct air of appreciation.
“In the Douluo Continent, in the World of Spirit Masters, spirit rings are the most direct way to demonstrate strength.”
Lin Jiayi looked Lu Ren up and down, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
“Without even a single hundred-year spirit ring on you, starting immediately with a thousand-year first spirit ring—this is a Genius among Geniuses.”
He paused and added:
“Even at Shrek Academy, which is known as the Holy Land for Spirit Masters, I’m afraid a Prodigy like you has never appeared.”
Lu Ren did not reply, just quietly waiting for him to continue.
Lin Jiayi didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly:
“What is your purpose for joining the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?”
“For the upcoming All-Continent Spirit Master Tournament.” Lu Ren got straight to the point.
“To help you defeat Shrek.”
Lin Jiayi’s eyes flickered.
“Oh?
Do you have a grudge against Shrek?”
“I wouldn’t call it a grudge.” Lu Ren shook his head.
Lin Jiayi stared at him for a few seconds and did not pursue the question.
“Good.” He nodded.
“I approve of your joining the academy.
But before that, you need to undergo testing, can you do that?”
“No problem.”
Lin Jiayi turned his head and instructed the students nearby:
“Go prepare.
Take him to the Physical Fitness Testing Room, I will come shortly.”
“Yes, teacher.” The students looked at Lu Ren.
“Please come with us.”
Lu Ren nodded and followed them into the academy.
When passing by Wang Shaojie, he paused his steps and glanced sideways at that guy.
Facing Lu Ren’s Aura, Wang Shaojie subconsciously stepped back, lowering his head, covering his still-bleeding nose, his eyes full of resentment.
Lu Ren didn’t say anything, withdrew his gaze, and continued walking forward.
Lin Jiayi watched Lu Ren’s back disappear into the depths of the academy, the smile on his face no longer containable.
He turned around and walked quickly in another direction.
His pace got faster and faster, eventually turning into almost a jog.
If there were truly no problems with him, then without a doubt, he had found a treasure.
Although he wasn’t some Genius Soul Engineer, as a top-tier Spirit Master, his talent far exceeded those Prodigy Geniuses of Shrek Academy; their academy would certainly recruit him without hesitation.
This matter was of great importance; he had to report it to the Hall Master immediately.
…
Mingde Hall.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s office.
This Hall Master of Mingde Hall, the true power behind the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, was sitting behind a large desk, looking down and tinkering with the design of an exquisite spirit tool.
The door was suddenly pushed open.
“Hall Master!” Lin Jiayi rushed in, panting.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s hand shook; he put down the design, looked up, and said angrily: “Bastard!
Why didn’t you knock?”
Lin Jiayi knelt on one knee, not bothering to wipe the sweat from his forehead, his tone trembling with excitement: “Hall Master, this subordinate has a massive piece of good news to report!”
Then he told Hall Master Jing Hongchen everything that had happened earlier.
“A youth came to the academy gate, named Lu Ren.
He looks to be only about fifteen years old, but I observed his Soul Power Aura, and he has already reached Rank 44 Spirit Ancestor!”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen frowned, put down the design in his hand, and said with some impatience: “Mediocre, it doesn’t even reach our academy’s average Rank.
Only a Spirit Ancestor at fourteen or fifteen—it’s just average level.
You’re wasting my time for this?”
“This time it is definitely not an ordinary Genius.” Lin Jiayi’s voice raised a few notches.
“His spirit ring configuration is two purple and two black.
The first spirit ring is thousand-year, and the third spirit ring is ten-thousand-year.”
Upon hearing this, Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s expression froze.
His eyes instantly became as sharp as an eagle’s, staring fixedly at Lin Jiayi: “What did you say?”
“This subordinate saw it with my own eyes!” Lin Jiayi nodded heavily.
“The spirit ring colors cannot be faked; dozens of students nearby saw it, and it caused an uproar on the spot!”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen was silent.
Three seconds later, he stood up abruptly, his chair behind him nearly toppling over: “First spirit ring thousand-year, third spirit ring ten-thousand-year?
Lin Jiayi, are you bored and coming here to tease this old man for fun?”
“This subordinate does not have a single word of falsehood!” Lin Jiayi said hurriedly.
“That youth is currently in the Physical Fitness Testing Room, waiting for the test!”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s eyelid twitched.
He had taught for decades and had seen at least eight hundred to a thousand Geniuses.
He had also seen many of those students from Shrek who were called monsters.
But a thousand-year first spirit ring?
This already exceeded the scope of a Genius.
It was simply a Prodigy that defied common sense!
In this way, shortcomings like only reaching Spirit Ancestor Rank at fourteen or fifteen were thrown aside by Hall Master Jing Hongchen.
A Genius needs uniqueness, and the spirit ring configuration of the person Lin Jiayi spoke of was exactly the uniqueness of a Prodigy Genius!
“Absurd, simply absurd.” Hall Master Jing Hongchen muttered to himself.
“Even Tang San from ten thousand years ago only had a normal hundred-year spirit ring for his first, and his third spirit ring was barely thousand-year.
Where did this youth get the Opportunity to have such a Heaven-Defying spirit ring configuration?”
“This subordinate also finds it inconceivable!” Lin Jiayi agreed.
“And this youth’s strength is unfathomable.”
“That brat Wang Shaojie is a five-ring Spirit King, he wanted to extort benefits from him before agreeing to recommend him, but ended up getting his nose bridge broken by a casual punch from him.
Wang Shaojie didn’t even have room to fight back!”
“Oh?” Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s eyes flickered.
“Wang Shaojie?
That one from the royal collateral branch?”
“Exactly.”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s brows furrowed even tighter.
He sat back down and pondered: “Unknown origin, background not cleared, why would someone with such Heaven-Defying talent choose our academy?
Perhaps he is an undercover agent sent by Shrek or the three great Empires?”
“This subordinate has this concern as well.” Lin Jiayi said hurriedly.
“So, this subordinate has already arranged for people to take him to the Physical Fitness Testing Room for comprehensive testing; Soul Power, bone age, and Spirit will all be checked one by one.
If he really has a problem, it absolutely won’t be hidden.”
“Well done.” Hall Master Jing Hongchen nodded, his tone softening a bit.
Lin Jiayi paused and continued: “It’s just that this youth is too mysterious.
His spirit ring configuration and his Spirit both seem strange.
This subordinate is dull; when I looked into his eyes earlier, I only felt his gaze was deep, completely unable to see through his depth, nor could I grasp his true purpose.”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen was silent for a moment.
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked toward the direction of the academy.
“What did he say his purpose for joining the academy was?”
Lin Jiayi answered honestly: “To help us defeat Shrek at the All-Continent Spirit Master Tournament.”
The corners of Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s mouth curled into a playful smile.
“He certainly has a big mouth.”
He turned around and stepped out the door: “Let’s go.
This old man will go see for himself.
I hope you haven’t deceived me.”
Lin Jiayi was overjoyed and hurriedly got up to follow: “Yes!
This subordinate will lead the way!”
As Hall Master Jing Hongchen walked, he muttered to himself: “First spirit ring thousand-year, third spirit ring ten-thousand-year…
If those old fogies at Shrek knew that such a person had been recruited by us, they would probably be so jealous they couldn’t sleep, right?”
In his tone, there was both shock and a faint, hidden anticipation.
If this Lu Ren could truly do as he said and crush Shrek…
then the Sun Moon Empire’s dream of dominating the continent might really be realized ahead of time.
*******************************
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