"Senior, hello, I'm Su Cheng. I do indeed have such a thought," Su Cheng nodded. "I heard that Tian Dou Royal Academy has the best cultivation environment in the Empire."
"Then you've chosen the right place." The man nodded, a hint of pride appearing on his face. "I'm Sun Buyu, a teacher at the academy. Follow me to meet some of the academic committee members. We'll talk as we walk."
For ordinary people, it would be impossible to receive such treatment. Not only meeting with the higher-ups of the academy directly, but even the difficulty of enrollment would be extremely high. However, the standards for geniuses are naturally different.
Su Cheng put away his martial soul upon seeing this and followed Sun Buyu towards the academy in the mountains.
As they walked away, the few students who had been guarding the entrance of the academy chatted for a while before leaving excitedly.
Obviously, the scene they witnessed today was also big news for them, ready to share it with their friends.
Su Cheng and Sun Buyu were unaware of what happened behind them. At this moment, the two of them were walking on the mountain path towards the academy.
However, along the way, Su Cheng didn't see many students.
According to Sun Buyu, although there were quite a few students at Tian Dou Royal Academy, there were over five hundred of them. However, the academy's area was too large, and it had various simulated training grounds for soul masters with different attributes. Most of the students were distributed in various simulated areas for cultivation, so the main campus area was relatively empty.
"The location we're in now has already entered the main campus area of the academy. The simulated areas are distributed everywhere, both up and down the mountains, and by the lake. There are over fifty teachers in the academy, and the faculty is extremely well-equipped."
As they walked, Sun Buyu explained the various advantages of the academy to Su Cheng and also inquired about his situation.
"Su Cheng, I see you're only around twelve or thirteen years old this year, and you already have the cultivation of a Soul Elder level. I suppose your martial soul has a full innate soul power level? I wonder which family you come from, and do you have any elders accompanying you?"
Soul masters develop relatively quickly, and coupled with Su Cheng's rapid progress in the past two years, he looked almost like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth based on his appearance.
Sun Buyu also made a rough estimate of his age based on his cultivation level and his own experience.
"I don't have any family. I'm an orphan who was adopted and grew up in a remote mountain village. My foster father has long passed away. As for the level of my innate soul power, I'm not very sure. I heard that the person from the Martial Soul Hall who tested my soul power made a mistake, and the test results weren't accurate."
"I see, then your martial soul is likely to have undergone a mutation," Sun Buyu nodded, looking pensive.
When it comes to artifacts, there are always problems that arise, and unexpected incidents have occurred during the innate soul power testing process before.
Especially when it comes to judging mutated martial souls, errors are more likely to occur.
"So, what about your second soul ring?" Sun Buyu finally asked the question he was most curious and concerned about.
"My second soul ring..." Su Cheng had already planned for this question and showed a hint of fear on his face at the right moment.
"When I was at level 20, I hunted soul beasts alone without anyone guiding me. After desperately killing a Ghostly Shadow Wolf that had just passed the thousand-year level, I instinctively felt that I could absorb its soul ring. So I tried it, feeling like my body was about to burst from the energy, but luckily I managed to endure it in the end."
In fact, what he killed was not a Ghostly Shadow Wolf at all, but a Blue Armored Lizard with extreme gold attribute, with nearly two thousand years of cultivation.
"You're really reckless," Sun Buyu gasped at the revelation.
Su Cheng wasn't the first person to absorb a soul ring beyond their years. It had been done successfully in the past, but absorbing a second soul ring of the thousand-year level was unheard of.
Not to mention that he did it without any guidance, which could only be attributed to his luck in surviving.
As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the central area of the academy's main campus. Sun Buyu led Su Cheng into a reception room.
"Su Cheng, there are distinguished guests visiting the academy today. Wait here for a moment, I'll go inform the academic committee members. The two guests who are coming can also be seen with you. With your talent, you might even have the chance to be selected into the Tian Dou Royal Academy's combat team."
"Distinguished guests?" Su Cheng was slightly surprised.
There weren't many people who could be referred to as "distinguished guests" by Tian Dou Royal Academy.
Was it a member of the imperial family? Or perhaps it was Qian Rinxue disguised as Xue Qinghe?
He remembered that several of the academic committee members were affiliated with Xue Qinghe's faction.
Of course, it could also be someone from Prince Qinghe's faction. The fourth prince, Xue Beng, whom he considered contacting before, seemed to be a student at Tian Dou Royal Academy.
But speculating now was pointless; he would know when he saw them later.
Not long after Su Cheng's brief wait, Sun Buyu returned.
"Su Cheng, after hearing about your situation, several academic committee members want to meet you. Follow me. Perform well later; you might have the chance to be selected into the Tian Dou Royal Academy's combat team."
With that, he led Su Cheng into the office next door.
As the power center of Tian Dou Royal Academy, the office was very simple in its decoration, with only necessary furnishings and some simple green plants as decorations.
Upon entering the room, Su Cheng's first sight was the three elders sitting in the center.
The three of them didn't look stern, and their gazes towards Su Cheng were gentle, but just sitting there, they exuded the aura of strong individuals that was hard to hide.
They were all wearing black robes with peculiar patterns embroidered in gold silk. Su Cheng knew that these were customized robes for Soul Douluo above level eighty, second only to the red robes for Title Douluo.
Generally, Soul Douluo and Title Douluo rarely wore these robes. It represented not only their status but also solemnity. These robes were only worn during duels with opponents of the same level or on extremely important occasions.
They certainly weren't meant for Su Cheng to wear, but for the two "distinguished guests" mentioned by Sun Buyu.
Glancing sideways, besides the three elders, there was also a middle-aged man in his forties and a girl of about the same age as himself sitting as guests.
The middle-aged man had a dignified and elegant appearance, with a straight nose and square mouth. He wore a spotless white robe, and his soft black hair cascaded behind him. At the moment, he was looking at Su Cheng with curiosity.
The girl had short hair that reached her ears, and her delicate and ethereal appearance exuded the aura of a noble young lady. She also showed curiosity.
Is that Ning Fengzhi? Then the girl sitting next to him must be Ning Rongrong?
Su Cheng was slightly surprised but didn't show it on his face.