Mingde Hall.
The most mysterious place in the Sun Moon Empire, and the Peak of spirit tool technology.
Lu Ren followed behind Hall Master Jing Hongchen, passing through several heavily guarded metal doors, and stepped into a building that was completely different from the rest of the academy.
Various spirit tools were displayed on both sides of the corridor, from miniature communication devices to large-scale offensive spirit tool cannons, each exuding pure Soul Power fluctuations.
The air was filled with the scent of metal and energy, and the lighting was soft yet carried a cold sense of technology.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s office was on the top floor.
As soon as he entered, Lu Ren felt the extraordinariness of this office; the walls were embedded with dense spirit tool arrays, and the bookshelves were filled with design blueprints and ancient books, but the most conspicuous item was a huge desk with a complete spirit tool display screen embedded in its surface.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen sat down first, his fingertips tapping lightly in the air, and a visible transparent barrier instantly expanded, covering the entire office.
A soundproofing barrier.
“Sit, little friend Lu Ren.”
Lu Ren sat down calmly, his gaze looking peacefully at this top expert in the Soul Engineer field of the Sun Moon Empire opposite him.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen crossed his fingers and placed them on the desk, his sharp gaze shooting straight at Lu Ren without the slightest beating around the bush:
“I will get straight to the point.
Fourteen years old, a level 44 Spirit Ancestor, and your fourth spirit ring is even a fifty-thousand-year one.
With this kind of Aptitude, even the core Geniuses of the Shrek Inner Court would be left trailing in the dust.”
He paused, his tone becoming meaningful:
“Shrek is known as the Holy Land for Spirit Masters, and they have always spared no cost to win over top Geniuses.
Their treatment, resources, and Legacy are all the best on the continent.”
“Yet, you refuse to go to such a good place, and instead choose my Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, even going so far as to cause trouble at the entrance to force your way in…”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s gaze suddenly became sharp:
“I want to know your reason for having to choose my Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
Could it be that you have some sort of grudge with Shrek?”
Lu Ren had already prepared his response.
On the surface, he revealed a faint trace of mockery:
“I wouldn’t call it a grudge.
I just can’t stand Shrek’s hypocritical face of being high and mighty, controlling everything.”
He leaned forward slightly, his tone calm yet carrying full persuasive power:
“I have no parents, I am a Loose Cultivator, and I only obtained my current strength after luckily finding an Opportunity in the Star Dou Great Forest.”
“However, when I was hunting Spirit Beasts alone in the Star Dou Great Forest, I encountered students from the Shrek Outer Court bullying others, and they even wanted to snatch my spirit ring and my Opportunity.”
His eyes turned cold:
“The so-called Holy Land for Spirit Masters is nothing more than a gathering place for those who bully the weak.
Even if such a place begged me on their knees to join, I wouldn’t deign to look at it.”
“Therefore, for the past year, I have been working against the people from the Shrek Outer Court.
I suppose they must be searching for my tracks everywhere right now, but they would never guess that I have escaped to the Sun Moon Empire.”
This was half-truth and half-lie.
Being bullied by Shrek students was a lie, but robbing Shrek students was the truth.
As long as Hall Master Jing Hongchen sent people to investigate, they would definitely be able to find that there was indeed a mysterious young man in the Star Dou Great Forest who specialized in robbing Shrek students.
That was enough.
Hearing this, Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s brows relaxed slightly.
Being bullied by Shrek—this reason was reasonable, but what was strange was, did the people at Shrek not discover his Prodigy-level talent?
Did they actually not spare any cost to win him over?
“Then, besides wanting to take revenge on Shrek, do you have any other purpose for joining our academy?”
“Naturally,” Lu Ren said bluntly.
“I need top-tier resources to Cultivate, I need a safe environment to Cultivate, and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy is my only choice at the moment.”
He paused, throwing out the bargaining chip that would most tempt Hall Master Jing Hongchen:
“Besides, isn’t your Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy always being suppressed by Shrek Academy in the All-Continent Elite Spirit Master Competition?”
“This time, if I help you, maybe I can help you win the championship, break Shrek’s consecutive victories and dominant status, and trample Shrek underfoot.
Isn’t that a good thing?”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen frowned:
“Young man, you are very arrogant.”
“Shrek Academy’s status today is definitely not ordinary.”
“Your joining can certainly make our team stronger, but that is not enough to guarantee a one-hundred-percent victory over Shrek Academy.”
Lu Ren looked at Hall Master Jing Hongchen and said in a deep voice: “Then, let’s make a fair deal.”
“If my joining doesn’t help you trample Shrek underfoot, then from now on, I will be your person.
I will do whatever you tell me to do.”
“But if I help you win…” He paused, “I don’t want anything else.
I only want one thing.”
“Speak freely.”
Lu Ren spoke without hesitation:
“I want a hundred-thousand-year soul bone.”
As his words fell, the entire office was quiet for a moment.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s expression froze.
He restrained all the expressions on his face and looked at Lu Ren coldly, his gaze like a knife.
“It seems this is your main goal.”
Lu Ren smiled without saying anything, letting that gaze scrape over him.
“Ask for something else.” Hall Master Jing Hongchen rejected it directly, his tone unquestionable, “As long as it is not a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, even if it is a level 9 spirit tool, I can give it to you.”
“However, only a hundred-thousand-year soul bone will give me the greatest improvement.”
Lu Ren’s tone was neither hurried nor slow, as if he were stating a fact:
“Moreover, once the academy defeats Shrek fair and square in the All-Continent Spirit Master Competition and tramples Shrek Academy underfoot, the impact on the three countries of the original Douluo Continent will be huge.”
He leaned forward slightly, looking straight at Hall Master Jing Hongchen:
“At the very least, it will let everyone open their eyes and see clearly who is the true number one on the continent.
The future Sun Moon Empire will definitely unify the continent.”
These words moved Hall Master Jing Hongchen a little.
It truly touched his heart.
Lu Ren continued: “In this competition, if the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy takes the championship and tramples Shrek underfoot, the academy and the Sun Moon Empire will gain so much.”
He spread his hands, his tone plain yet firm:
“I only want a hundred-thousand-year soul bone.
That’s not too much, is it?”
Hall Master Jing Hongchen stared at him for a long time.
“Do you think a hundred-thousand-year soul bone is a head of cabbage?” His voice turned cold, “First of all, let’s not discuss whether we have the ability to hunt a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, even if we did, why do you think we should give a hundred-thousand-year soul bone to you?”
“The Higher-Ups are fighting over them, not to mention the people in the royal family.”
Lu Ren did not back down:
“Because, while your spirit tools are powerful, you have to admit that powerful spirit tools must be used in conjunction with powerful Spirit Masters to achieve the best results.”
He paused, his tone becoming more firm:
“Theoretically speaking, if Mingde Hall were to join forces with Shrek Academy as allies, it would be the most powerful force on the Douluo Continent, bar none.”
“But that is only in theory.”
His gaze looked straight at Hall Master Jing Hongchen:
“You lack powerful Spirit Masters as allies, and my talent and Aptitude can guarantee that in the future, I will definitely become a Limit Douluo.”
He said the most arrogant words in a plain tone.
Level 99, Limit Douluo.
The office was so quiet that the humming of the spirit tools could be heard.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen’s face darkened.
He had been teaching for decades and had seen countless Geniuses, but this was the first one who dared to say “I will definitely become a Limit Douluo” in front of him.
Moreover, looking at those clear yet deep eyes, although he really wanted to say something like “The future is ethereal, how dare you use such empty words to swindle me”…
But he found he could not refute it.
The passion he had forgotten in the depths of time, the ambition and dreams he had once had when he was young, were gently stirred by this young man in front of him with just a few words.
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