NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Three-Year Deadline Has Arrived!
Three years later.
Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy, top floor of the teaching building.
This floor belonged to the sixth-year students. In another year, those who were capable would enter Mingde Hall for advanced studies, while those with slightly weaker talents would join the military, heading to the Sun Moon Empire's frontlines to earn their merits in battle.
"Acheng, there's an academy competition this afternoon. Are you joining?"
Xiao Hongchen walked over, grinning.
"You're participating?"
Xu Cheng glanced at him in surprise.
"I'll join if you join," Xiao Hongchen said.
Xu Cheng: "…"
"Forget it, I still have assignments to finish for the teacher. Not interested." Xu Cheng waved his hand.
"That project isn't done yet?" Xiao Hongchen leaned in mysteriously.
"Nope. Missile trajectory technology is a major research topic, even within Mingde Hall. It's at the cutting edge of development. But at our current pace, it should be completed soon." Xu Cheng clicked his tongue.
Ever since the Holy Spirit Church's grand appearance three years ago, he had immersed himself in Mingde Hall's core research, quietly and diligently working on soul tool technology.
Missile technology had been proposed two years ago by Elder Cheng and supported by Jing Hongchen. The project was quickly approved by the upper echelon as a classified initiative. Xu Cheng's mentor, Cheng Baiqing, personally led the research, conducting a series of experiments.
However, this was the Douluo Continent, where sensory-type soul masters were not rare. With someone like Elder Mu around, the project had to be taken seriously. A single severely injured, aging Limit Douluo might not be a major concern, but with the Golden Tree backing him, its power was evident—after all, in the original story, it had the strength to repel the powerful experts of the Body Sect.
Interestingly, precision guidance had been the easiest problem to solve. The current guidance technology allowed missiles to be launched from the Sun Moon Empire and accurately strike anywhere on the continent, including remote areas like Dou Ling and the coastal borders of the Tianhun Empire. In other words, they could hit any target at will.
Of course, much of this success was thanks to artificial intelligence.
Even a rudimentary AI could analyze image data to automatically recognize terrains such as mountains, hills, and cities—including Shrek City. Along its flight path, the missile could self-adjust without relying on ground-based corrections.
The biggest remaining challenge was signal concealment.
A massive missile wasn't hard to see—after all, if you spotted it, that meant it was already at your doorstep.
However, the real difficulty lay in hiding the ninth-tier soul tool energy fluctuations emitted by the missile. That was the true crux of the issue.
Fortunately, Elder Cheng, the stabilizing pillar of the research community, lived up to his reputation. In a short time, he identified a viable solution and set a research direction. Under his leadership, the members of Mingde Hall worked day and night, tirelessly conducting experiments.
At the current pace, Xu Cheng estimated that the missile technology would be fully developed within six months. Whether it would be publicly revealed, however, depended on how the Shrek Academy team behaved during this year's All-Continent Soul Master Tournament.
If that Chicken Leg Douluo shamelessly relied on raw strength to crush the Sun Moon team, then Xu Cheng wouldn't mind launching a missile straight at Shrek Academy.
Whether it would be a dud missile or a real mushroom bomb… well, that remained to be seen.
Either way, he had no goodwill toward the so-called "protagonist group."
If they couldn't win fairly, they'd cheat.If they couldn't cheat, they'd steal.If they couldn't steal, they'd just rob openly.
No wonder they were cut from the same cloth as that trident-wielding guy in the sky.
After all, they shared the same teacher.
"Hey, don't get so caught up in research that you neglect your cultivation," Xiao Hongchen nagged. Without his strongest rival, there was no thrill in crushing weaker opponents.
But he still couldn't help grumbling.
"Three years to reach Soul King level, and I'm already a sixth-tier Soul Engineer. Isn't that enough?"
Xu Cheng gave him a sidelong glance.
"If I remember correctly, your cultivation is still weaker than mine, right? Hmm? Weren't you the one who only just advanced to Soul King last month? A mere fifth-tier Soul Engineer?"
"Okay, fair enough. But aren't your ambitions the stars and the sea? The God Realm? Hunting down Tang Gou (Tang San)? With your current strength, isn't that a bit lacking? I'm just an average guy, the grandson of Mingde Hall's hall master. I have no grand aspirations—I just want to chill and wait to inherit Mingde Hall." Xiao Hongchen shrugged.
"Oh, I see—you're strict with others and lenient with yourself, huh?"
Xu Cheng shook his head.
As they talked, he packed up his things and walked out of the classroom.
The Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy was different from Shrek Academy's rigid year-based system.
Here, advancement depended solely on ability.
At any time, a student could jump from Year 1 to Year 2 as long as they became a second-tier Soul Engineer. The same rule applied for further promotions. Conversely, those who lacked ability could remain stuck in Year 1 forever—there were no free passes just for aging.
Most of Xu Cheng's peers from the same incoming class were now in their third or fourth year.
Only these two "monsters" had skyrocketed to Year 6.
That being said, the sixth-year students didn't have class advisors. Their schedule resembled university courses, with only three to four lessons per week, leaving most of their time for self-study.
In fact, because there were so few sixth-year students, even the Martial Soul Department had been merged onto this floor. Their classroom was right next to Xu Cheng's.
"So, you're saying you're already prepared for the All-Continent Soul Master Tournament in six months?"
Xiao Hongchen followed up.
"I'm always ready." Xu Cheng smiled.
Shrek Academy—are you ready to meet your godfather?
Of course, before that, there was one more stop—the Star Dou Forest.
A flicker of excitement flashed in Xu Cheng's eyes.
He had been missing Tianmeng (Skydream Iceworm) for too long. The long-awaited reunion was finally near…
Well, Tianmeng didn't have a choice—he had been forced to become Huo Hang's (Huo Yuhao's) soul ring.
But what if a stronger, vastly superior alternative suddenly appeared?
Wouldn't that be a mutual pursuit instead of a one-sided take?
Oh, and while he was at it… since Tianmeng was already in the bag, adding Electrolux wouldn't be too much, right?
And if he got Electrolux, then grabbing Bingbing (Snow Empress) wouldn't be excessive either…
Actually, might as well collect the entire Extreme North lineup.
After all, free EXP is free EXP—why waste it?
"…"
As he stepped out of the classroom, a group of young women approached.
Each of them had their own unique beauty.
If it were up to Shi Xing—the guy who had been beaten up countless times by angry girls yet still shamelessly ranked beauties on the Sun Moon Academy Flower Chart—these girls would definitely be at the top of the list.
To him, beauty was art.
Even Xiao Hongchen, who had initially wanted to beat Shi Xing up, had come to respect him after hearing those words…
"Brother Cheng, are you joining the academy competition this afternoon?"
Meng Hongchen smiled, her crescent-moon eyes curving as she ignored her own brother.
"Nah, I'm heading to Star Dou Forest while the academy's busy with the tournament."
Xu Cheng grinned as he ruffled her silky hair. The texture was amazing—just like petting a cat. So satisfying.
If only Xiao Hongchen weren't staring daggers at him with his 24K pure-gold eyes…
(End of Chapter)