The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

After washing up in the bathroom, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began his cultivation.

With his current level of mental strength, multitasking is easy for him. While cultivating, he also carefully recalled his previous conversation with Jing Hongchen.

Jing Hongchen holds a very special position within the Sun Moon Empire. He may not be the most powerful Soul Master in the empire, but he is undoubtedly the most influential. After all, he controls the Mingde Hall and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy of the Sun Moon Empire is equivalent to Shrek Academy, which originally belonged to the Douluo Continent. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy has cultivated countless talents for the Sun Moon Empire.

At least 90% of the renowned high-level Soul Masters today are graduates of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

Furthermore, due to the relaxed teaching environment of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, even Soul Masters of average talent can enter and study there. Many of those who fail to gain admission to the Mingde Hall choose to join the Soul Master Corps in the military.

Unlike ordinary soldiers, the Soul Master Corps has always enjoyed excellent treatment.

It can be said that Jing Hongchen, who holds the title of Duke, is well-connected in the military, among the nobility, and in the royal family.

Even his elder brother, Xu Tianran, treated Jing Hongchen with utmost respect.

Because no matter which prince ascends the throne, he will need the support of Jing Hongchen, the head of Mingde Hall.

Xu Zihuang naturally hoped to win over Jing Hongchen, as this would undoubtedly be highly beneficial to his future plans. It would also make it much easier for him to seize power and unify the continent.

But he can't reveal his identity to Jing Hongchen right now; that would be too dangerous.

Anyone who can climb to such a position must be incredibly shrewd.

Why should Jing Hongchen take such a big risk to stand on his side when he hasn't even grown up yet?

However, he wasn't entirely without a clue. Jing Hongchen's granddaughter, Meng Hongchen, was a good starting point.

When necessary, he was willing to give up everything he could. He had long ago made up his mind to do so. If he could gain enough benefits to tempt him, he wouldn't hesitate for a moment even if it meant marrying Meng Hongchen immediately.

As his chaotic thoughts gradually calmed down, Xu Zihuang immediately immersed himself in cultivation.

The night passed quietly.

As the sun rose over the balcony, Xu Zihuang faced it and exhaled a long breath, a thin wisp of white mist gradually forming. He then inhaled it again with each breath, filling the room with a delicate fragrance and a cool, refreshing atmosphere.

The remains left behind by the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm were stuck to the skin on his chest. This was, after all, the essence that the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm had condensed over millions of years of cultivation.

Even when simply applied to the skin, it provides protection against water and fire, as well as dust.

The air he breathed was completely pure, filtered through this layer of remains. It was precisely because of this filtration that the air he inhaled and exhaled was also a bit colder.

The chill wasn't biting; instead, it made him feel refreshed.

Each dormitory building at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy has its own cafeteria. The higher the grade, the better the food in the cafeteria.

The sixth-grade dormitory building where Xu Zihuang and his classmates lived was undoubtedly the place with the best food, second only to Mingde Hall.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy is very wealthy; room and board are provided free of charge. All students only need to pay a certain amount of tuition each year.

The food provided, while nutritious, was made from ordinary ingredients. To enjoy the delicacies made from the finest parts of various spirit beasts and rare, precious herbs, one had to pay for it themselves.

The cafeteria is somewhat like a spacious auditorium. The various windows on the first floor offer free food, while the special windows on the second floor sell dishes that are beneficial to the health of Soul Masters.

Xu Zihuang arrived at the cafeteria and walked up the wide staircase to the second floor.

He sold the 30,000-year-old diamond mammoth right arm bone to the Xuanming Sect behind Xu Sanshi. With his savings, he still had more than 8 million gold soul coins.

There's no need for him to be demanding of himself when it comes to food. He's never short of money anyway.

He Caitou was also by his side. Their dormitories were next to each other, and they came together in the early morning.

As the two walked down the stairs, they suddenly noticed out of the corner of their eyes Fan Yu walking in from the cafeteria entrance.

Fan Yu was placed in a separate room by Jing Hongchen yesterday. The reason he came to the cafeteria in the sixth-grade dormitory building was clearly to find Xu Zihuang and He Caitou.

There weren't many sixth-year students at the entire Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. Fan Yu looked around and instantly spotted the two of them. He quickly stepped forward and asked with a smile.

"How about it?"

A hint of bitterness appeared on He Caitou's honest, dark face.

"The gap between our Shrek Academy's Soul Guidance Department and this place is really huge."

“If the difference wasn’t significant, we wouldn’t have come here.” Fan Yu’s smile remained unchanged as he shifted his gaze to Xu Zihuang.

“Tianhuang, I spoke with the Hongchen Hall Master yesterday. Their sincerity was even greater than I expected. The Hongchen Hall Master said that he would personally appoint Teacher Xuan Ziwen as your mentor. This Teacher Xuan is no ordinary person. He is an eighth-level Soul Master at a young age, and also the chief researcher of the Mingde Hall.”

It really was Xuan Ziwen.

Xu Zihuang's heart stirred slightly, but on the surface he said very calmly, "Teacher Fanyu, actually, Master Hongchen told me about these things last night."

Fan Yu raised an eyebrow.

"last night?"

Xu Zihuang didn't hide anything and told Fan Yu the whole story of Jing Hongchen meeting him at Mingde Hall. He just didn't mention the details of Jing Hongchen's attempt to win him over.

"To be honest, Tianhuang, your talent is too outstanding. I'm not surprised at all that the Master of the Red Dust Hall would lower himself to try and win you over."

Fan Yu sighed wistfully, her expression somewhat complicated.

To his relief, Yu Tianhuang was originally from their side of Douluo Continent. As for whether Yu Tianhuang would accept Jing Hongchen's offer of a hand, he wasn't too worried.

People like Yu Tianhuang, descendants of ancient soul master families from the three great empires of Douluo Continent, have very deep-rooted traditional values. And surely the conditions Shrek Academy could offer Yu Tianhuang wouldn't be inferior to Jing Hongchen's promises?

Not to mention that Elder Mu has been personally instructing Yu Tianhuang for the past two years. He believed that Elder Mu and the academy's higher-ups were right in their judgment.

Fan Yu didn't dwell on it too much. He waved his hand and led the two to the window of the top-tier dishes on the second floor.

"Alright, let's go eat first."

Fan Yu paid for breakfast. The three of them spent a total of over four hundred gold soul coins, which was quite generous.

Each person received three dishes and a soup, plus a large bowl of crystal-clear white corn rice. Xu Zihuang and He Caitou had been carrying out the Extreme Individual Soldier Program for the past two years, and had eaten all sorts of nourishing dishes. The only dish that they found somewhat novel was a bowl of tender and delicate stewed meat.

Fan Yu made a point of asking and heard from the chef behind the window that it was made by stewing the hind leg meat of a century-old silver wolf over a low flame.

The Silver Wolf, also known as the Silver Moon Wolf, is a unique soul beast of the Sun Moon Empire. It can devour mithril to grow and break through its limits. Its meat is extremely delicious and, when consumed, has the wonderful effect of enhancing a soul master's physique. They are born with the ability to control various attributes through powerful mental strength, making them quite suitable as soul rings for spirit-attribute soul masters.

If they could find a Silver Moon Wolf King with 100,000 years of cultivation, it should be able to bring Xu Zihuang some very good soul skills.

Unfortunately, the Sun Moon Empire has never produced a Silver Moon Wolf King with 100,000 years of cultivation.

After breakfast, the three parted ways. Like Xu Zihuang, Fan Yu would soon be able to enter Mingde Hall for observation and learning.

The efficiency of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was indeed very high. When Xu Zihuang and He Caitou returned to their dormitory, their school uniforms had already been delivered. They were also notified to assemble in front of the first floor of the sixth-grade teaching building.

The silver-white school uniform looked regal on Xu Zihuang, with a sun and moon pattern embroidered in silver thread on the left chest. The sun was above and the moon below.

In contrast, He Caitou, whose muscles were bulging all over and almost bursting out of his school uniform, did not look as elegant and noble as Xu Zihuang.

The sixth-grade teaching building was in no way smaller than the first-grade teaching building they had visited yesterday. Yet, these two massive teaching buildings were only used by a few dozen sixth-grade students.

Lin Jiayi was already waiting here, with ten teachers of different ages standing behind him.

Xu Zihuang, He Caitou, Ye Xiaosheng, and ten other students from Shrek Academy stood in a neat row in front of Lin Jiayi.

Lin Jiayi said.

"Dear students from Shrek Academy, from today onwards, you are officially members of our Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. We hope that you will consider this place your home for the next two and a half years. In order to enable you to access more advanced knowledge of soul tools, your study schedule is as follows."

"The ten sixth-grade teachers behind me are all highly capable instructors in our academy, at least level seven Soul Masters. Each of them is mentoring several sixth-grade students. You will also be learning under these ten teachers. Once you have a certain foundation, these teachers will assess you and determine how often you can attend lectures and observe in the Mingde Hall based on the assessment results. The best outcome is direct entry into the Mingde Hall, while the worst outcome is observation every ten days. Of course, you can apply for a reassessment at any time. As long as you meet the standards, you can still enter the Mingde Hall and become a member."

"Yu Tianhuang," Lin Jiayi suddenly called out, then continued.

"Teacher Xuan."

Xu Zihuang understood and took a step forward. Behind Lin Jiayi, a young teacher with a slightly cold and hard expression also came to Lin Jiayi's side.

It was Xuan Ziwen, whom Fan Yu had mentioned earlier.

Xuan Ziwen glanced at the Level 5 Soul Master badge on Xu Zihuang's chest and frowned, saying, "Director Lin, since it's the Hall Master's order, I will do as he says. But if he can't meet my requirements, then I have nothing to teach him."

The standards for measuring the Soul Master level at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy are different from those elsewhere. In his opinion, Yu Tianhuang could be rated as a Level 5 Soul Master at Shrek Academy, but here, he would be quite good if he could reach the Level 4 Soul Master level.

Lin Jiayi was not angry at all because of Xuan Ziwen's harsh words, and smiled slightly.

"Then I'll leave Yu to you."

He was simply following Jing Hongchen's instructions. Whether Yu Tianhuang could gain Xuan Ziwen's approval was none of his concern. Although Jing Hongchen's attitude towards Yu Tianhuang was subtle, the astute Jing Hongchen wouldn't presume to interpret it.

This is something that subordinates should absolutely avoid.

Xuan Ziwen looked at Xu Zihuang and said coldly, "Come with me."

After saying that, he turned and walked into the second teaching building across the street. He didn't seem to intend to wait for the other teachers.

Xu Zihuang didn't say much and silently followed.

Watching the two figures disappear at the entrance of the teaching building, Lin Jiayi then took some trays from the staff. The trays contained some folded slips of paper.

"To be fair, we will now draw lots to decide which mentor will guide the other nine of you."

The second teaching building is six stories high, and each floor is significantly taller than the teaching buildings at Shrek Academy. The total height of the six floors exceeds forty meters.

Xuan Ziwen led Xu Zihuang to the fifth floor, and then walked several dozen meters along the corridor before stopping in front of a wide metal door.

There is a sign on the door: Third Laboratory.

Xuan Ziwen took out a nameplate from his pocket and waved it twice on the silver-white metal door. A white light flashed, and with a trembling sound, a crack appeared in the center of the metal door, which then split open to both sides.

"Come in."

This laboratory is twice the size of the one that Shrek Academy had exclusively for Fan Yu. It contains all sorts of soul tools and rare metals.

Each of the huge matte experimental tables covers an area of ​​more than thirty square meters. Under the illumination of the soul-guided lights, they are not dazzling, but give people a sense of stability and elegance.

Inside the huge laboratory, only Xu Zihuang and Xuan Ziwen were present.

Xuan Ziwen said calmly, "My name is Xuan Ziwen, and I will be your mentor from today onwards. I don't care how you do in your Shrek Academy's Soul Mentor level assessment. If you don't meet my requirements, you can go to the library to study on your own and don't waste my time. My time is very tight. If you feel it's unfair, you can go to Director Lin now and ask to change your mentor."

"Let's begin," Xu Zihuang replied just as coldly. He wasn't the type to enjoy being met with indifference. Besides, for someone like Xuan Ziwen, demonstrating his abilities was more effective than words.

Xuan Ziwen was stunned for a moment. His indifferent eyes finally showed a hint of surprise. Yu Tianhuang's reaction was something he had not expected.

But that's fine, it saves him from wasting time.

"Alright. Judging from the badge on your chest, you should be a Level 5 Soul Master at Shrek Academy. I'll give you half an hour to create what you consider to be the best Level 5 Core Magic Array Convergence for me."

Under normal circumstances, the time it takes for a typical level 5 Soul Master to successfully inscribe a level 5 core magic array aggregate is roughly within this range.

Of course, this is the standard set by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

Xu Zihuang didn't say much and went directly to the pile of rare metals placed in the center of the metal table. Under Xuan Ziwen's gaze, his fair hand reached out, and an incredibly oppressive black-purple lightning pulsed in his palm before landing on two pieces of rare metal of different colors.

One of the rare metal pieces is a deep purple color, somewhat similar to amethyst, but even darker.