"Ding! Congratulations to the host for taking in the homeless girl, Juzi. Reward: [First-Generation Artificial Intelligence] Soul Tool Core Array Design!"
Xu Cheng's pupils shrank sharply.
Artificial intelligence! That's artificial intelligence!
He had always dreamed of getting his hands on this.
Especially since he came from the future and knew how terrifyingly powerful it could be.
With future research in mind, this could change everything—especially in missile technology. With artificial intelligence, countless possibilities opened up!
And in the field of mecha research, just thinking about Iron Man's J.A.R.V.I.S. from his past life made him drool with excitement.
Even if this was just a basic form of artificial intelligence, its impact on the entire Soul Tool world would be absolutely massive!
Xu Cheng glanced at the girl sitting beside him in the soul-powered vehicle, nodding off repeatedly.
A glimmer of joy flashed in his eyes.
A lucky charm, indeed.
Sun-Moon Empire Royal Academy
After sending some members of the Holy Spirit Church to handle Juzi's enrollment paperwork and instructing Nana to settle her accommodation, Xu Cheng couldn't wait any longer and rushed to Mingde Hall.
Ever since becoming Elder Cheng's disciple, he no longer needed to go to the regular experiment buildings. Instead, he could use Cheng Lao's personal laboratory inside Mingde Hall.
Xu Cheng placed his identification badge against the scanner at the lab entrance.
With a "beep," the two metal doors slowly slid open.
He walked inside.
Stacks of rare metals lined the walls, alongside advanced instruments that were simply unavailable on the market. High-grade Soul Tool core arrays lay scattered everywhere. Every time he entered this place, he couldn't help but marvel at Elder Cheng's wealth and influence.
A private underground laboratory spanning thousands of square meters—such a luxury was almost unheard of in the capital, where every inch of land was worth a fortune.
At the moment, Cheng Lao was nowhere to be seen. He was likely off giving a lecture.
Xu Cheng didn't waste any time. He took out the artificial intelligence core array design blueprint and placed it on the instrument table.
Then, he activated his Mastery of Analysis ability...
Two hours later.
Xu Cheng slowly lifted his head, his eyes filled with excitement.
During the semester exams, he had managed to "program" a core array arrangement, leveraging a clever domino effect to create a shocking result.
But strictly speaking, that had nothing to do with real artificial intelligence.
He had only applied programming principles from his past life to arrange core arrays in a way that made them operate semi-autonomously.
This First-Generation Artificial Intelligence Core Array Design, however, was an entirely different beast.
If anything, Xu Cheng felt it was more accurate to call it an "Attachment-Type Core Array."
It was designed to be paired with other high-level Soul Tools to enhance their capabilities.
Without a doubt, this was a groundbreaking moment in Soul Tool history—one that would go down in the record books!
"I'll wait for Teacher to come back before delving deeper into this."
Xu Cheng stretched lazily.
His own strength was still too weak. This kind of high-impact technology would be far better utilized in Elder Cheng's hands.
The dream of smart missiles... might not be too far away.
As he stepped out of the experiment building, Xu Cheng noticed how quiet the campus was.
The school was currently on break.
There were still ten days before the semester started, and the emptiness of the grounds was obvious.
Xu Cheng headed straight for his dormitory, ready to catch up on some much-needed sleep.
But before he got far, a group of figures blocked his path.
Xu Cheng looked up.
There were six men in total, all middle-aged, appearing to be in their thirties or forties.
They were wearing military-grade armor.
Xu Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Two Soul Emperors. Four Soul Kings.
The leading man strode forward, flashing a badge in front of Xu Cheng's face. He smirked coldly.
"Royal Disciplinary Squad. Eleventh Prince, please come with us."
Xu Cheng's mind raced.
Clearly, these men were here specifically for him.
Everyone knew that the commander of the Royal Disciplinary Squad was aligned with the Fourth Prince. Their blatant targeting of him like this… Wasn't it a little too arrogant?
The middle-aged man chuckled and said, "Eleventh Prince, you are suspected of deliberately harming a royal family member. Please come with us to assist in the investigation."
As he spoke, he took out a pair of golden handcuffs.
A powerful wave of soul power pulsed from his body, intensifying.
It was obvious—if Xu Cheng resisted in the slightest, these six men would attack him with full force.
"So, this is about Wang Shaojie?" Xu Cheng's eyes narrowed.
"You should be aware that he insulted my mother—the emperor's consort—right? I am a prince. Are you telling me that I cannot even fight back?"
The man sneered. "He is a royal family member. Even if he deserved to die, it was not your place to judge him."
With a righteous facade, he continued, "The Royal Disciplinary Squad was created precisely to prevent misconduct among royal family members. Even as a prince, you have no right to kill without consequence! We will take you into custody and let His Majesty pass judgment."
Xu Cheng scoffed inwardly.
What a joke.
"Let His Majesty pass judgment?"
That was nothing but a convenient excuse.
By the time the emperor heard about this, he would already be on his last breath—or worse, dead in an interrogation chamber.
Once Xu Cheng was eliminated, the competition for the throne would be narrowed down to just Crown Prince Xu Tianran.
And given the Crown Prince's crippled legs, unless he allied with the Holy Spirit Church or pulled off an unexpected maneuver, the Fourth Prince would practically have the throne secured.
Would the emperor kill another son just because of this incident?
No.
At most, he would purge and restructure the Royal Disciplinary Squad. That would be the extent of it.
Sacrificing a few pawns to gain the throne—a fair trade.
Whether these men acted on the Fourth Prince's orders or were simply opportunistic fools, the fact remained:
This was happening.
And technically speaking, these men weren't breaking the rules.
The former emperor had decreed that the Royal Disciplinary Squad had the authority to investigate and discipline even royal family members.
They had the power to oversee the emperor himself, though in practice, no one dared to.
But for a mere prince?
That was fair game.
Xu Cheng gestured slightly, signaling for Shadowguard An—who was hiding in the shadows—to hold back.
He calmly extended his hands.
A faint smile played on his lips.
He was stepping into the game.
Who was the mantis? Who was the oriole? That remained to be seen.
"Click. Click."
The golden handcuffs locked onto Xu Cheng's wrists.
A powerful suppression force surged from the cuffs, sealing his soul power entirely.
His expression remained unchanged.
"May I know your name?" Xu Cheng asked with a smile.
The man grinned. "My name is Xu Mochen. Eleventh Prince, you'd best remember it."
His father was a Duke who oversaw the royal family's affairs, holding immense power.
As for Wang Shaojie? Everyone knew that was just an excuse.
The real goal was capturing Xu Cheng.
A reckless move?
No.
With the Fourth Prince backing them and a seemingly airtight legal justification, what was there to fear?
Would Xu Cheng's allies dare let him get killed?
Ridiculous.
Xu Cheng smirked, completely relaxed as he followed Xu Mochen and his men out of the Royal Soul Engineering Academy.
They boarded a luxurious soul-powered vehicle, heading toward the heart of Mingdu City.
Moments ago, Xu Cheng had secretly sent a message to Nana, instructing her to alert Elder Cheng, the dean of Mingde Hall, and the Holy Spirit Church.
He had stepped into the game.
Now, let's see if the Crown Prince, that cunning fox, would make a move as well...
(End of Chapter)