Douluo Continent: We agreed on a simulation, but they've come to life?

"Oh, I heard from Teacher Xuan that today is the enrollment season? I wonder if any freshmen or freshmen will come..." a pretty and cute girl said with a smile.

"In short, we still need to establish the authority of our seniors. We all entered the lab around the same time, so we're all seniors to those newcomers." Another tall, dark-skinned young man with the distinctive skin tone of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family also laughed, his tone carrying a hint of arrogance and disdain.

"You agree, right, Zimu?" he said, nudging the arm of the handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed man beside him.

"..." The latter shrugged, seemingly unwilling to get involved.

However, Keke echoed Wang Shaojie's words: "Great! Let the new juniors see how powerful I am and make them submit to me, hehe."

"I'm so tired, I need to catch up on my sleep when I get back." The last girl, with fair skin like mutton fat jade and a beautiful face, but looking a bit haggard, waved her hand.

However, as soon as everyone entered, they could clearly hear the harsh sound of polishing. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a tall, upright figure facing them, focused on polishing the metal casing.

In his hand, two jade-like rings slowly took shape.

"Hey, newbie... you're using the lab equipment without our permission?" Wang Shaojie said imperiously, his words purely nitpicking, without the slightest hint of pretense.

"Hey, hey..."

Seeing that Lu Cheng ignored him, he became even angrier and planned to put on airs as a senior and give this guy a good kick.

"Oh?"

Lu Cheng slowly put down the ring, stood up, and glanced at the crowd behind him.

"So handsome..." Keke was speechless. He was at least on par with Zimu in terms of handsomeness, or even better. Her arrogance, which she had just felt because of her senior, vanished in an instant.

Orange's expression remained calm; she merely raised an eyebrow. What an unfamiliar face.

He doesn't seem like a junior from the Royal Soul Master Academy.

"Junior students?"

Lu Cheng glanced around at the group of people, extended his hand to take the initiative in the conversation, and said in a gentle tone: "Cheng Lu, from another province, is a new student admitted to Mingde Hall this year..."

"A level seven Soul Master?" Only Ke Ke noticed the badge on Lu Cheng's chest that symbolized a level seven Soul Master. Her red lips parted slightly, and she was clearly a little dazed. No matter where you are, the strong are respected. This is why Lu Cheng, who entered the laboratory later, could openly call himself a senior.

"Hello, Senior Cheng."

Wang Shaojie was clearly startled as well. His eyes twitched, and he was about to say something when Keke pushed him away, quickly stepped forward, and stretched out her little hand with bright, sparkling eyes: "My name is Keke."

"Orange, hello senior."

Orange tossed her jet-black hair and calmly and gracefully extended her hand.

"My name is Zimu, hello senior." The blond, handsome boy said, a little nervous.

After all, this young man was not much older than them, maybe a year or two at most, but his exaggerated and somewhat abnormal talent was enough to make even the proud ones like them obediently call him senior.

These prodigies are basically top-tier laboratory experts, like senior students, and in time, they might even be qualified to sit and stand alongside someone of Professor Xuan's caliber.

Why would it appear in Professor Xuan's dilapidated lab? Could it be that someone from out of town has no connections or influence? That shouldn't be the case…

"I……"

A hint of regret flickered in Wang Shaojie's eyes. With his royal background, although he wasn't afraid of offending anyone, it was still a risky move to offend him for no reason. He was arrogant, but not stupid.

"Since this is our first time meeting, I'll treat you to a meal."

However, Lu Cheng subconsciously ignored him, bypassed Wang Shaojie, and greeted the others with a smile as they left the laboratory. He also gave the two level-six defensive soul tool diamond rings he had just made to Ju Zi and Ke Ke, and even gave Zi Mu a not-so-bad gift.

Only Wang Shaojie's face turned bright red as he watched Lu Cheng "buy off" his classmates in just one meeting, while his goddess Keke, whom he had been pursuing unsuccessfully, smiled exceptionally brightly.

"Damn it, he's just a country bumpkin from another province, how dare he look down on me and act like a senior to me?" Wang Shaojie glanced at the crowd as they walked away, ignoring him completely. His face turned increasingly pale and purplish-blue; he had completely lost face.

"Right, a level seven Soul Master from another province will have one or two levels deducted when they come to Mingdu!" Wang Shaojie suddenly remembered something, his face full of gloom: "I almost got fooled too!"

"So what if you make two level-six defensive soul tools? Who knows if they were bought or not, and you're just pretending they're a pair..."

"Just you wait, if I don't expose you tomorrow, I'll change my surname to yours!" Wang Shaojie rushed out, unable to find the direction the others had left in, and cursed as he did so.

Lu Cheng chatted and laughed with Ke Ke as if nothing had happened, having long since forgotten about her. She was just a nobody from the royal family of the Sun Moon Empire. He wouldn't be afraid of her at all, not even if Xu Tianran came.

I glanced at the orange; this girl, speaking of which, was actually Xu Tianran's spy.

Should we take advantage of this?

……

Chapter 175 Xuan Ziwen: As a teacher, I also have considerable family wealth; Mental Operating System

Lu Cheng wasn't stingy. He led the lab members to a rather luxurious hotel outside the Royal Academy, where a table was laden with expensive food. He smiled and said to everyone, "Fellow junior brothers and sisters, this meal is on me."

"Wow~" Keke exclaimed at the opportune moment.

Ultimately, their families were only of average means, and this meal costing thousands of gold soul coins was indeed a luxury. Their monthly expenses, excluding the cost of their soul tools, were far less than the price of this meal.

He is definitely the son of a duke, or a member of a local wealthy family.

Orange glanced calmly at Lu Cheng and saw that he was chatting happily with Ke Ke, with Zi Mu occasionally chiming in, making the atmosphere seem quite harmonious.

But for some reason, she felt that something was wrong...

"Ju Zi, why do you stop talking as soon as you see a handsome guy?" Ke Ke teased with a grin, "You weren't like this before."

"..." Orange rolled her eyes at Keke.

"Hehe, senior brother, want to pursue Ju Zi? I'll give you some advice. You two are a match made in heaven." Ke Ke became a great wingman.

Zi Mu's face stiffened slightly, and he sat down dejectedly to one side.

Everyone knows he likes Ju Zi, but everyone also knows Ju Zi doesn't like him. There's no way around it; a cook can't win love. Only the strong, the strong enough to lead a powerful army north to trample the Star Luo Empire and kill the White Tiger Duke, deserve Ju Zi's love.

And coincidentally, the new senior student Cheng had all of these things.

If he joins the military after graduation, he will most likely start at a high level, with a promising future. Even becoming the deputy leader of the four major beast soul mentor groups is not out of the question.

Not to mention his privileged family background and handsome appearance, all he could offer was probably a tiny, insignificant amount of love.

"Keke, a Soul Master should prioritize her studies," Lu Cheng said with a smile.

"These things should be done sooner rather than later." Keke said mysteriously, leaning closer. "Don't be like Teacher Xuan, who's so old and still single, and looks like he's never even held a girl's hand..."

“Keke…” Ju Zi’s eyes twitched as she tried to remind her.

"What's wrong? Isn't it common knowledge that Teacher Xuan is unwanted? Senior, you don't know, he... cough cough cough, Teacher Xuan, what a coincidence, you're here too?" Ke Ke stared blankly at Xuan Ziwen, who was standing to the side with several black lines on his face.

Xuan Ziwen walked into the dining table, and everyone stood up.

He patted Lu Cheng on the shoulder, handed him a document, and then met Ke Ke's trembling, pleading eyes. He said expressionlessly, "Get to the lab early tomorrow. I need to check on your studies."

"Yes." The little girl drooped her head, looking utterly hopeless.

The coursework for Mingde Hall disciples is no easy task. Even for these geniuses who graduated from the Royal Academy, it would be quite a headache. Xuan Ziwen usually focuses on his own research and is relatively lenient with them, but once he gets serious...

"Oh no... I'm still stuck on the last semester's coursework. What are my assignments?" Ke Ke cried after Xuan Ziwen left.

"It seems that to make a level 5 baby bottle, the design blueprints and the carving of the core array all need to reach the normal rating." Zi Mu looked at Ke Ke with sympathy.

"Ah!" Keke slumped into her chair. "Mingdetang, just destroy it already..."

The baby bottle, regardless of its grade, is of medium to low difficulty. Even some veterans who have been immersed in the fifth-level soul master for many years would find it quite difficult, let alone a newbie like her who just loafs around all day.

"Of course," Orange said with a smile.

"Do you really think Teacher Xuan has a good temper?"

However, her gaze also fell on the letter in Lu Cheng's hand. It was clearly a sealed file, and judging from the dust that hadn't been wiped clean, it must have been dormant for a long time...

"The secret files of the mental operating system. I came to our lab specifically for this. Only Professor Xuan has done the most in-depth research on this project. My future research topic will probably be related to this as well." Lu Cheng smiled and explained when he saw Ju Zi glancing at him. There was no need to deliberately hide it from his junior brothers and sisters. After all, the difficulty of this project meant that even if he studied it for three years without making any progress, no one would suspect anything.

Anyone interested in taking a look?

"Forget it, I can't even handle my own research project." Seeing how decisive the other person was, Orange's doubts dissipated considerably, and she stuck out her tongue.

Moreover, this is considered a confidential file. Teacher Xuan dared to give it to Senior Cheng because the latter was qualified to apply for access. As for them... if they wanted to see it, they would probably have to sign a confidentiality agreement or something. In short, it's very troublesome. Even if this thing has been sealed away for many years, it's not something they are qualified to touch.

Zimu and Keke also shook their heads and refused.

Nobody wants to cause trouble for themselves.

After the meal, everyone dispersed.

night.

……

In the girls' dormitory.

Keke pushed open the door with a weary look on her face, threw herself onto the bed, and rolled around a few times before regaining some energy. She had made some progress in her last-minute cramming, so she should be able to avoid getting a severe scolding from Teacher Xuan tomorrow... right?

Forget it, who cares?

"Ju Zi, what do you think of the new senior brother?" Mentioning gossip, Ke Ke regained some of her energy. She changed into her pajamas, jumped onto Ju Zi's bed, and hugged Ju Zi's slender waist with a mischievous smile.

"It's fine."

Orange said calmly, "From now on, besides Teacher Xuan, we'll have someone else to ask about soul guidance knowledge."

"That's it?" Keke said with some disappointment.

"Otherwise what?" Orange glanced at Keke sideways and chuckled, "Do you really think I've lost my mind and will rush at any man I see?"

"But he's different from other men. With this talent, he'd be a candidate for hall master in the Mingde Hall, or a candidate for legion commander in the military. He's definitely a rising star of the empire. For someone like him to come to our lab is just... a stroke of luck! Aren't you going to seize the opportunity?"

"And he's a reliable person..."

"Pfft~"

Ju Zi couldn't help but smile broadly. That man was definitely not an honest person. His style was completely different from Zi Mu's, but somewhat similar to Xu Tianran's. They both seemed to be wearing a mask, making people want to lift the mask and see what they looked like underneath.

"What are you laughing at?!" Keke said, annoyed, and slipped her hand inside Ju Zi's clothes to tickle her waist and abdomen.

"Hahaha... I was wrong, I was wrong..." Orange laughed until tears streamed down her face, and she kept begging for forgiveness.

"In short, stay away from Wang Shaojie." Ju Zi lay on the bed, her ample bosom pressed together, and smoothed her hair with her delicate hand. Her beautiful face finally showed a bit more seriousness: "Stop fishing. That guy is not suitable for you, especially now that Senior Cheng is here. If you get entangled with him again, you will be in trouble."

"I didn't fish it, it just bumped into me," Keke said, distressed.

“I’ve warned him several times, but he just won’t listen and keeps bothering me.”

"..." Ju Zi rolled her eyes at her, not wanting to say anything.

If they really wanted to get rid of her, given Keke's fiery temper, how could Wang Shaojie possibly still be here?

"That guy has a terrible character. We couldn't do anything about it before since we were in the same lab, but now... he'll be dealt with by Senior Cheng sooner or later." A hint of disdain flashed in Orange's eyes. A royal scrap, always showing off, he's messed with the wrong person now.