Lu Jingming looked at the three soul bones in his hand. All of them were of the ten-thousand-year quality, with excellent texture and attributes—truly a generous reward from the Heavenly Soul Empire this time. However, Lu Jingming didn't care much about them. He certainly wouldn't refine these soul bones for himself, nor did he want Zhang Lexuan or Keqing to absorb them.
After all, once a soul bone is refined, it can't be replaced. Using these ten-thousand-year soul bones on the two of them would be a waste of their potential.
However, as the leader of his own faction now, even if he couldn't use these soul bones himself, they could be used as precious rewards for his subordinates who rendered meritorious service.
Whether it was the Golden Guard or the Wushang Division, both would need such scarce resources as soul bones to enhance their overall strength in the future.
At this moment, Lu Jingming's group had long parted ways with Xu Jiujiu. They had already passed through Star Luo City. Previously, Xu Jiujiu had warmly invited Lu Jingming and his companions to visit Star Luo City, but Lu Jingming had politely declined.
It was precisely because they had parted ways with Xu Jiujiu's group that those with ill intentions dared to target St. Freya Academy.
After all, it was well-known that the Star Luo Royal Academy would always be led by a Title Douluo, which made people wary.
…
Sun-Moon Empire, Radiant City.
"Teacher, that's what happened. Although we didn't defeat Shrek Academy to win the championship this time, Shrek also failed to continue their glory, losing to the rising St. Freya Academy."
Elder Bai Xu was respectfully reporting to the elderly man before him, dressed in white with white hair, his aura reserved.
Although the soul power level of the old man in front of him was only one level higher than his own, if they were to really fight, he probably wouldn't last more than a few moves before being defeated.
The old man was not only his mentor on the path of soul engineering, but also possessed twin martial souls himself, and his attainments in soul tools were infinitely close to a rank-ten soul engineer.
This person was Bai Xu's teacher: Kong Deming, the former head of Illustrious Virtue Hall, current head of the Imperial Consecration Hall, and one of the three great soul engineers of the Sun-Moon Empire—Silver Moon Douluo.
Although Kong Deming was famous alongside Jing Hongchen and Ye Yulin, collectively known as the Sun-Moon Empire's three top soul engineers, insiders all knew that Silver Moon Douluo was the strongest soul engineer in the empire.
Because both the current Illustrious Virtue Hall head Jing Hongchen and Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin were personally taught by Kong Deming.
The soul engineers of the Sun-Moon Empire, due to heavy use of various soul power-enhancing elixirs early on, advanced rapidly but would later hit a bottleneck, unable to break through for life.
Jing Hongchen and Ye Yulin were examples of this. They had been stuck at level 94 for many years, with no further progress possible—rank-nine soul engineer was their limit.
But Kong Deming was different. Though he too had been stuck at level 94 for many years, he had twin martial souls and great talent as a soul engineer. He still had hope of breaking through to level 95 and becoming a Super Douluo.
Once Kong Deming reached the Super Douluo level, becoming a rank-ten soul engineer would be inevitable. At that time, even ordinary Ultimate Douluo would not be his match.
"If it's only this kind of news, you shouldn't have come to see me."
Kong Deming's tone was calm. After so many years and so many All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battles, though he was a bit surprised that Shrek lost, it didn't cause much of a ripple in his heart.
At his level, the wins and losses of these academy tournaments didn't matter much.
Others who thought the same included Dragon God Douluo Mu En. After so many ups and downs in life, to them, wins and losses among the young didn't mean everything.
"Teacher, I saw the Silver Moon Martial Soul, but she's not from our Sun-Moon Empire."
Bai Xu wasn't surprised at Kong Deming's attitude. Unlike them, Kong Deming had a broader view and thoughts they couldn't comprehend.
"Who?"
Upon hearing "Silver Moon Martial Soul," Kong Deming's tone finally changed.
"St. Freya Academy, Zhang Lexuan, from Haiyuan City, Star Luo Empire."
Bai Xu had already gathered the information, and it wasn't hard to find out about Zhang Lexuan.
"I see. You may leave." Kong Deming's eyes were deep, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Bai Xu was slightly taken aback, a bit puzzled, but he still obeyed Kong Deming's order, saluted, and turned to leave.
"Haiyuan City!"
Kong Deming looked north, in the direction of the Star Luo Empire.
…
"So this is Haiyuan City? Humanity has developed so quickly?" The black-haired girl, Gu Yue, looked up at the futuristic buildings of Haiyuan City, her brows slightly furrowed.
Ten thousand years ago, she had been awakened by the battle of the three gods, and had observed the human world of that era. Human civilization back then was nowhere near as prosperous and advanced as it was now.
Stepping into Haiyuan City, Gu Yue deftly dodged a passing soul-guided tram. Everything along the way made her curious, her eyes sparkling with a desire to explore.
Before long, following the city's signs, Gu Yue arrived at St. Freya Academy.
At this moment, a long queue had already formed at the academy's entrance, all people coming to register for the entrance examination.
Since St. Freya Academy won the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle, its reputation had soared in the soul master world.
No matter what the public said—some claimed it was just luck—St. Freya Academy had still defeated Shrek and taken the championship.
Those who lacked confidence in passing Shrek's entrance exam flocked to Haiyuan City to try their luck.
Thus, the scene at St. Freya Academy's entrance was extremely lively.
This was already the second new student intake since St. Freya Academy's victory.
Compared to the first, even more people had come to register this time.
After two years of accumulation, St. Freya Academy had become the top academy in the Star Luo Empire, second only to Star Luo Royal Academy.
Thanks to Lu Jingming's lavish investment, both the teaching staff and resources at St. Freya Academy now matched those of first-class academies.
Due to the large number of applicants, the academy had set up five registration channels, so Gu Yue didn't have to wait long before it was her turn.
Receiving a registration form from a friendly-looking female teacher in uniform, Gu Yue glanced at it and began filling it out.
[Name: Gu Yue]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 11]
[Martial Soul: Elementalist]
[Soul Power Level: 38th rank (Soul Elder)]
[Soul Ring Configuration: Yellow, Purple, Purple]
The female teacher, upon receiving Gu Yue's form, immediately showed a look of surprise.
She glanced at the soul power detector beside her, which clearly displayed Gu Yue's bone age and soul power, perfectly matching the form.
The teacher's eyes were filled with delight. Such talent—she had only seen it in a few S-class students at the academy.