Wu Ling held the map in his hand while Russell Sterling introduced the Sun Moon Empire's royal academy beside him.
The Sun Moon Royal Soulcraft Academy was divided into three main areas: the teaching district, the dormitory district, and the experimental district. Of these, the experimental district occupied more than two-thirds of the academy grounds.
At the very center of the experimental district, one area had been circled in red and labeled Mingde Hall. It looked like part of the experimental district, but everyone knew what Mingde Hall meant to the Sun Moon Royal Soulcraft Academy and even to the Sun Moon Empire itself.
The teaching and dormitory districts were marked in much greater detail. The teaching district had twelve teaching buildings, split across six grades, with two buildings per grade.
The academy's six grades were not divided by age. The entry requirement was that a student had to be a Spirit Master above level 10, possess one Spirit Ring, and be no older than twelve at enrollment. After entering, age was no longer the key measure.
Here, if a student's ability reached the level of a first-grade soulcraft engineer, they could enter second year. If they reached second-grade soulcraft engineer level, they could enter third year. Compared with the many assessments Wu Ling knew Shrek Academy used, the atmosphere here was obviously much looser. The only real metric was soulcraft engineer ranking.
Of course, there was still a time limit. Anyone who failed to reach third-grade soulcraft engineer level by eighteen had to leave the academy and seek their own future. Anyone who completed that requirement could remain until at least twenty-five. If they reached fifth-grade soulcraft engineer level before twenty-five, they would qualify to take Mingde Hall's assessment.
As they walked, Russell led Wu Ling and the others to the end of the eastern side of the first floor of the first-year teaching building. A sign above the door read Physical Testing Room.
"Young sir, this may be somewhat presumptuous, but every visitor must undergo a physical test. If you wish to remain here for exchange and study, the process is necessary."
Russell said this to Wu Ling, but in truth, the physical test was not mandatory. He merely wanted to understand Wu Ling's own strength. Wu Ling's personal strength would also affect Russell's attitude.
Wu Ling understood Russell's intention, so he did not refuse. Besides, he was curious about his own physical data.
When Wu Ling nodded, Russell took out a token and waved it before a round crystal-like disc embedded in the door.
With a soft beep, the paired metal doors slid open silently. Russell led the three of them inside.
The room was not especially large, only about a hundred square meters. Inside were several large soulcraft devices. They looked clean and simple, but the Spirit Power fluctuations within them were quite strong.
"Young sir, this is our academy's physical testing area. Every student who enters the academy completes a physical test here each year, so none of these soulcraft testing instruments will harm your body."
Russell continued, "However, I must ask you to put away every soulcraft device you have on you first, so they do not affect the scan data. During the scan, please also hand your storage soulcraft device to someone else for safekeeping. You must ensure that there is no metal on your body."
Wu Ling nodded and began taking off his clothes without changing expression. Clara stepped forward and took the clothes he had removed.
Feeling the warmth from the fabric and seeing her teacher's skin so close, Clara's face gradually reddened. She had never encountered a scene like this before.
A minute later, Wu Ling had taken off everything except his underwear and socks. Even his shoes were gone.
Russell stared hotly at the clothes Clara was holding. Do not misunderstand. Russell had no improper thoughts. Wu Ling's behavior had simply indicated that the entire outfit was a set of "soulcraft devices" he did not understand.
It was true that Russell could compress soulcraft devices, but making them into clothing like this was beyond him. More importantly, even he had failed to sense anything before Wu Ling removed them. His attention had mostly been on the Dragon Frame, but at such close range, failing to detect the clothes still proved that their technical level was not low.
Russell's burning gaze drew Clara's attention. She looked at him, then at the clothes in her arms. Suddenly, she seemed to understand something. Her embarrassment vanished, and she hugged the clothes tightly to her chest while watching Russell with wary eyes.
Russell realized what his expression looked like and awkwardly shifted his gaze. He then led Wu Ling to the largest instrument.
"Young sir, please look here. This is the finest of all our testing devices. It can test Spirit Masters below level 95."
"A beam of light will sweep over you. The process will not cause any harm. It will record your physical state as well as height, weight, and related data."
"Good." Wu Ling agreed cleanly.
The instrument was a long vertical cylinder. On its front was a crystal column running from top to bottom. A circular platform stood before it. The whole instrument was about two and a half meters tall. At Russell's instruction, Wu Ling stood on the platform facing the crystal column.
Russell moved to the side of the instrument and pressed his palm into a palm-shaped recess. Then he took out a notebook and pen to prepare his records.
"To protect your privacy, I will personally handle the entire test. Please relax your body. We will begin now."
As Russell finished speaking, thick Spirit Power fluctuations erupted from his body. Immediately, a white light lit up at the top of the physical testing soulcraft instrument. The light spread out like a fan, covering about one square meter, then slowly descended.
The white light moved downward at a calm pace. Only after a while did it scan from Wu Ling's head to his chest. Russell began recording step by step while reading the results aloud.
"Physical strength: level 90. Physical resilience: level 90. Spirit Power fluctuation: level 69. Height: one meter eighty-five. Weight: seventy-seven kilograms. Left arm length... bone age: seventeen. Right arm Spirit Bone attached. Overall assessment..."
Every value Russell read rewrote his worldview. A seventeen-year-old at level 69 was already world-shaking. Yet Wu Ling's physical strength was approaching that of a Titled Sage.
Just as Russell waited for the final assessment, the physical testing soulcraft instrument suddenly began making strange beeping sounds.
Russell stared in disbelief. "Data disorder. The physical testing soulcraft instrument... has made an error!"
Author's Note: These numbers are Wu Ling's data without using Spirit Skills. In simple terms, his physical body alone can beat most Spirit Emperors. With Spirit Skills other than the sixth, he can fight Titled Sages below level 95. If he is in a workshop and uses his sixth Spirit Skill, then Titled Sages below level 98 will be at a disadvantage, while those below level 95 may even die. Of course, this is only the current situation. After he absorbs his seventh Spirit Ring and gains his Martial Soul True Form, his strength will undergo another qualitative change.