Jing Hongchen politely smiled and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Dean Yan. I didn't expect that you'd be here personally today. It seems like your academy is treating this exchange quite seriously."
Yan Shaozhe wore a calm smile and replied, "Hallmaster Hongchen, aren't you personally here too? Apologies for not hosting you well when you came to Shrek Academy as a guest the other time."
As someone raised and lived his entire life in the Three Douluo Kingdoms, he was naturally biased towards those from the Sun Moon Empire.
Especially with the many evidence that he received from Akatsuki, who had established themselves being a pretty reliable source of information since the last several months with the right price, and found that the mysterious group of Evil Soul Masters who attacked Shrek Academy came from the Sun Moon Empire.
Even if there was no evidence of said organization has close ties with the imperial royal family of the empire or any other organization, it didn't change the fact that the Evil Soul Masters have been moving more freely in their territory than anywhere else on the continent.
To Yan Shaozhe, that wasn't coincidence—it was complicity. If not from the empire directly, then at the very least from powerful individuals looking the other way.
Jing Hongchen, ever the cunning old man, didn't rise to the bait.
He continued smiling and said, "I heard that Elder Mu has passed on. My condolences! It's a pity that it was our last time meeting then. He was the strongest and most deserving of respect among all the Titled Douluo that I've ever seen."
Yan Shaozhe received those words coldly. Elder Mu's death had been a huge blow to him. "Hallmaster Hongchen, let's cut to the chase. As per our respective academy's agreement, let's exchange our students now."
"I'm representing Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department in welcoming your students for this exchange."
Jing Hongchen nodded. "Very well. I hope you can take good care of my students. I and my colleagues wouldn't want something to happen to them while in your care."
Yan Shaozhe laughed and said, "I, Yan Shaozhe, can personally promise you that they will be treated fairly and respectfully, just like our own.
In fact! Shrek Academy's inner courtyard will be open to them; I hope that Hallmaster Hongchen can reciprocate this sincerity during the exchange."
Jing Hongchen laughed and replied, "Of course. Your elite students will receive the best possible guidance in the Illustrious Virtue Hall, as long as they pass the exams."
Both old men shared a chuckle, all smiles and politeness but anyone with half a brain could see the tension simmering beneath the surface.
Their words were cordial, but their intentions were sharp — like two swords sheathed in silk, ready to strike at the first sign of weakness.
Huo Yuhao watched the exchange unfold with calm indifference.
'Now I remember clearly on why I didn't become Hokage in both lifetimes, well, asides from being a criminal that is.'
The students from both academies switched positions under the guidance of the teachers.
When Xiao Hongchen and Huo Yuhao brushed past each other, Huo Yuhao clearly heard the former say, "In the next tournament, I promise to give you a great surprise. So I hope you won't disappoint us all when the time comes."
Huo Yuhao smirked as he inwardly said, 'The next tournament? Sorry buddy, but I won't be wasting my time doing that. But don't worry. You and others of like-minded people won't be disappointed of what's to come.'
Meng Hongchen waved her hand at Huo Yuhao, smiling shyly at him.
Huo Yuhao 'looked' surprised at her gesture and returned a wave with a warm, gentle smile — the kind that made her ears burn and heart skip.
'Hook, line, and sinking fast,' he mused, not unkindly.
He didn't intend to manipulate her cruelly — but if her admiration could be weaponized to build bridges or turn loyalties, then he wouldn't hesitate.
This was war disguised as diplomacy. Charm, just like a soul tool, was a weapon.
He was a hypocrite. He had just criticized others for deception and manipulation, yet here he was—smiling kindly while calculating outcomes behind his eyes.
But so what? Life isn't fair, nor is it simply a black and white painting where good and evil are clearly outlined.
People like him — those who had crawled out of blood-soaked soil, who had tasted grief more bitter than poison — didn't have the luxury of purity. Not anymore.
Meng Hongchen quickly turned away, biting her lip and pretending to focus on her luggage. Her brother gave her a look, but said nothing.
As the two parties finally separated fully, each heading toward their respective sides of the continent, Jing Hongchen spoke once more:
"Dean Yan, I sincerely hope this exchange cultivates understanding between our two great institutions."
Yan Shaozhe offered a final smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Of course. Let's hope it doesn't cultivate anything more.... explosive."
The wind blew between them as the escorts from both academies moved out.
And just like that, the board was reset. New pieces in new positions.
But Huo Yuhao?
He was already thinking five moves ahead, pondering if the piece he had prepared so long ago was doing his job properly.
"Everyone, please follow me closely." Jing Hongchen said, two thin streaks of golden light slowly rose behind his body.
Huo Yuhao observed the flying-type soul tool that he used carefully. Instead of a pair of metal wings, it didn't appear to be made of metal at all and looked organic. Even though the golden lights on the wings surged, no soul power could be felt from it.
It was beyond anything that Huo Yuhao had seen from the soul tools of the Three Douluo Kingdoms.
"By Sea God..." Fan Yu, the teacher leading them into the Sun Moon Imperial Academy, uttered in awe.
Jing Hongchen flapped his wings lightly and rose into the sky with ease.
His voice could be heard as soon as Fan Yu finished speaking, "Little fellows, we need to be quicker! Otherwise we won't reach our destination before dark."
As he spoke, the flying-type soul tool behind him started to shine with golden light. It was like a golden screen of light had descended from the heavens, and they were all engulfed in it.
Some of the students attempted to resist out of surprise, but Fan Yu stopped them.
Afterwards, everyone started to move upwards. They realized that Jing Hongchen had expanded his flying-type soul tool a thousand times over, and engulfed them in the aforementioned film of light. They ended up behind Jing Hongchen's back, his more than ten meter-wide wings flapping lightly.
Jing Hongchen turned around and smiled at them. The golden light became even more intense soon afterwards, and the surrounding scenery began to blur.
While the others were taken aback by the transportation, a certain someone was grinning from ear to ear, his heart pounding—not from fear, but from exhilaration.
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered as his natural super-vision spread subtly across the golden light, analyzing every strand of energy, every vibration in the air, every shift in gravitational pull.
'This isn't just flight....it's spatial compression mixed with energy displacement. That "light" isn't light—it's a containment barrier. A carrier array. He turned a personal flying-type soul tool into a portable, mid-range transportation platform.'
This greatly reminded him a certain project that he had heard from the scientists in his previous life had been working on. If he remembers correctly, it was called a plane...?
'Not just the aesthetics, the bionics, the internal framework and the sheer magnitude of usage are completely different from standard soul tool design. This isn't just high-level craftsmanship—this is a new paradigm!'
Huo Yuhao's gaze locked onto every motion with razor-sharp focus, his eyes lighting up.
'Yes, yes! Even if this is a small peek to what is to come, I'm confident to say that my gains in this expenditure in the Sun Moon Empire would be immeasurable!'
His eyes gleamed with manic clarity as calculations and theories raced through his mind.
Just seeing Jing Hongchen's flying-type soul tool stirred Huo Yuhao's creative mind, reminding him of a certain project that he had hit thick walls early-on because of the lack of reference materials and high-grade components.
A concept he'd shelved for years because the Three Douluo Kingdoms simply didn't have the technological foundation to support it.
'Projects Soul Puppet and Exoskeleton.' Huo Yuhao inwardly said.
Both projects are categorized as a human-type soul tool, which simply put, didn't exist in the Three Douluo Kingdoms. It was theorized and many had attempted in creating one, but it was way too complicated and resource-intensive to ever make progress without a comprehensive soul engineering system—something only the Sun Moon Empire had.
Project Soul Puppet was a fully autonomous human-shaped soul tool designed to act as either a substitute body, an independent combat unit, or a spiritual extension of its master. It was like the puppets from his previous life as an Uchiha, but unfortunately, he never did understand how to create and use them.
He was an Uchiha after all, they were more about personal strength than relying on a puppet to fight their battles.
Meanwhile, Project Exoskeleton was its twin—a full-body soul tool framework designed to seamlessly integrate with a user's muscle and nerve systems, amplifying every physical movement while offering modular compatibility with soul weapon arrays, defense systems, and flight assistance.
It wasn't useful for high level soul masters, not yet at least, but it would be for regular people and low ranked soul masters.
Both projects demanded technologies far beyond the static external soul tools of the kingdoms—they required integration. Fusion.
'That kind of integration....it's right here, on display. The wings, the adaptive barrier, the spatial stabilization—it's exactly the foundational theory I wrote in my notes but could never test.'
Huo Yuhao's hands itched to start sketching diagrams, but he suppressed the urge, opting instead to imprint every detail into his photographic memory.
The fluidity of Jing Hongchen's movement, the glow patterns of the light film, the soft buzz of resonance between the material and the air—they were all clues.
Golden light shimmered around them as the scenery passed in a blur. Everyone else was stunned by the flight.
But Huo Yuhao?
He was unraveling secrets.
And this was just the beginning.
'Forget Death God or Ice God, I might as well become the Machine God! Hahahaha!' He laughed maniacally in his head, his mind racing with ideas.
Some time passed.
The Sun Moon Empire's capital was called Sun Moon City or The Radiant City. It was the hub of the Sun Moon Empire's administration and economy.
The city was very large, completely beyond what the Shrek Academy students had imagined and was highly advanced that it looked "futuristic" to them.
The capital city had a Victorian era aesthetic laced with cutting-edge soul tool infrastructure—tall gothic spires fused seamlessly with metallic towers, ornate ironwork latticed with glowing soul circuits, cobblestone roads flanked by rail-guided transport platforms, and glass-paneled walkways crisscrossing above streets bustling with soul-powered trams and uniformed personnel.
Jing Hongchen only slowed down once they entered the Radiant City. When he did so, everyone could clearly see what was beneath them.
The streets were clean, almost unnaturally so, lined with banners bearing the Sun Moon Empire's crest: a golden sun and silver moon encircling a large blue eyeball with tentacles; the soul beast that was recognized as the nation's national soul beast — Evileye Tyrant Emperor.
Soul tool relay nodes hung from street arches, quietly transmitting information through strands of visible spiritual power fluctuations. Public announcement boards shimmered with updated messages in runic script, displayed via low-power screen arrays.
The Shrek Academy students were overwhelmed.
"It's like... we're walking into another era," one muttered, eyes wide with awe.
"Or another world," Ye Xiaosheng added, almost under his breath.
Even Fan Yu was visibly tense and excited, although he held a bit of bias hatred towards the nation, there was no denying the yearning in his heart. "This is where it all happens—research, experimentation, innovation, production. Every major soul tool advancement in the past several centuries...started here."
"We've already arrived in Radiant City. All of you will live in this place for the next two and a half years. I hope that you all find it to your liking." Jing Hongchen said, smiling a bit smugly and satisfaction flashed through his eyes.