[You were born in the Star Luo Empire, nominally the son of the head of the Su family, the old noble Fire Leopard family. However, most people in the empire's upper echelons know that you are actually the illegitimate son of the Star Luo Emperor, born from a one-night stand. But since you possess the White Tiger Martial Soul bloodline of the Dai family, you might have some potential for future development, so you were entrusted to the Fire Leopard Sect for upbringing.]
[As a member of the Star Luo Empire's royal bloodline, although your birth is illegitimate, this isn't a fatal flaw. Especially in a place like the Star Luo Empire that values strength, aside from lacking the qualifications to contend for the throne, basic resources for growth are easily obtainable. Of course, this is on the premise that you can prove you have the potential and qualifications to be nurtured when your Martial Soul awakens at age six.]
[Because of your special status and your innate affinity, your family treats you well. Although they don't offer special privileges, they never make things difficult for you, treating you only as an ordinary family member.]
[But you know that your situation is not safe.] Although you are merely the illegitimate son of the Star Luo Emperor, and your identity is shrouded in secrecy, if your talent is too exceptional, you will still be seen as a thorn in the side. However, if your talent is too poor, you will lose the right to grow up in the Star Luo capital. Therefore, the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony at age six is the moment that will determine your fate. [
You naturally harbor resentment towards the Star Luo Empire's cold-blooded system that only pursues strength and has no regard for kinship. You also feel deep disgust towards the Star Luo Emperor. However, your birth and strength dictate that
you can only temporarily bow to fate. But you secretly vow in your heart that you will make the Star Luo royal family pay the price in the future.] [For your own safety, from a young age, you began to study your own Martial Soul. You discovered that even before your Martial Soul awakened, you could roughly sense the restlessness within your Martial Soul—a call from your bloodline, a talent you did not understand.]
[After sensing your special sensitivity to your Martial Soul, you began to delve deeper into the knowledge of Martial Souls.] Through a rudimentary assessment of your own abilities, you discover that you possess considerable talent, potentially reaching innate soul power of level eight or higher. This somewhat surprised you, given that your maternal bloodline is quite weak, yet it hasn't significantly weakened the essence of your White Tiger Martial Soul. Therefore, you deliberately lowered your usual nutritional standards to weaken your basic attributes.
At the age of six, you participated in the bloodline awakening ceremony along with your nominal father, Marquis Su Bo of the Fire Leopard, and other noble children of the same age. You weren't nervous about it, as you had kept your Martial Soul strength below level eight over the past few years. However, with your current abilities, you couldn't clearly perceive the specific awakening level.
After the Martial Soul awakening ceremony, the final result didn't exceed your expectations. You didn't experience any bloodline mutations, and your innate soul power was only level seven. However, you were quite satisfied with this result. Although this talent wasn't considered good within the Dai family bloodline, it was enough to overwhelm most other noble bloodlines. [
As a noble scion, after awakening your martial soul, you naturally have access to a specialized primary royal academy, dedicated to teaching basic soul master knowledge. With your innate soul power level, you are fully qualified to enter.]
[Main quest begins.]
With a jolt, Su Cheng sensed his six-year-old body.
Beside him was a guest elder of the Su family, whose cultivation was also at the Soul King level.
The two were currently on their way to the Star Luo Primary Royal Academy.
"Young Master, the Royal Academy is just ahead. There are many noble scions there, so please be mindful of your behavior when interacting with them. However, the patriarch has instructed that you don't need to be overly cautious if necessary. Although our Fire Leopard Sect doesn't cause trouble, we aren't afraid of it either."
The accompanying elder spoke with great concern for this second son of the Su family patriarch.
There wasn't anything too complicated about it.
This young master before him was exceptionally talented and approachable, making him very comfortable to be around. Giving him a few more words of advice was just a small favor.
As for the other's hidden identity, it was none of his concern, and he didn't want to get involved in such matters.
Su Cheng nodded upon hearing this and said gently, "Alright. Thank you for escorting me all the way, Elder Li. I can go in by myself. You can go back to the Marquis's Mansion first."
After the other party left, Su Cheng looked at the academy gate in front of him and walked in without lingering.
There was no such thing as registration at the Royal Academy. Each spot was limited and had been determined long ago after the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony.
Su Cheng did not go directly to the school building.
He didn't have anything to store. The noble academy was known for its comprehensive services, and everything was prepared in advance.
He went straight to the academy square and looked at the group of young people gathered in front of him.
There weren't many students in the academy yet, and the square was already mostly occupied by them, about twenty or so, mostly members of the noble families of the Star Luo Empire.
These people had only recently awakened, and from the fluctuations in their auras, Su Cheng found that he could roughly sense the strength of their Martial Souls.
"Is this the talent of a 'Soul Scholar'? Pretty impressive..."
While the fact that these children were too weak and hadn't yet acquired soul rings to become Soul Masters, and that Su Cheng couldn't accurately sense their innate soul power levels (only a rough estimate), it was still
incredibly impressive that he hadn't yet fully developed this talent.
Su Cheng observed them briefly and found that even with his level seven innate soul power, he was already standing out from the crowd. Only two others were at his level, and none were at level eight or higher.
People with innate soul power above level seven were actually
quite rare in this world. Even among the Star Luo nobles with superior bloodlines, they were scarce.
This situation was understandable given the age distribution.
After thinking for a moment, he focused on one of them and walked straight towards him—the son of a marquis whose soul power was similar to his own.
The two brushed past each other, their shoulders bumping, and the other boy nearly fell to the ground.
"Are you blind?!" Zhang San San straightened up and shouted, glaring at Su Cheng.
Everyone around turned to look at the commotion, glancing at the scene with amusement.
"Sorry, I wasn't looking," Su Cheng smiled apologetically, offering a hand to help him up.
But his gaze held no apology, only a hint of mockery.
This scene went unnoticed by anyone except Zhang San San. Seeing this,
Zhang San San's anger flared even more.
Even in the aristocratic Star Luo Imperial Capital, his background was among the best, and his innate soul power was a rare seventh level, making him a rising star for his family.
Now, he was being rudely insulted, and the other party even looked down on him.
How could he swallow this insult?
After a closer look at Su Cheng, Zhang San San recognized him.
"Who do we have here? It's Su Cheng, the second young master of the Fire Leopard Clan!" he mocked loudly, his voice so loud that all the surrounding new students could hear him clearly. "I heard you awakened the White Tiger Martial Soul. What's going on? Are you your father's biological son, or are you a hybrid?"
"Huh? It seems there's some truth to that."
"I've heard my family mention it too." "
A descendant of the Fire Leopard Clan awakened the White Tiger Martial Soul, that's quite laughable."
"..."
Su Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing around out of the corner of his eye.
He noticed that besides a few who were joining in the commotion and most of the new students who were just watching the spectacle, another child with similar innate soul power was also watching them thoughtfully not far away.
At this moment, everyone present was of extraordinary birth, coming from different upper-class noble families in the Star Luo Empire, and their martial soul talents were also top-notch.
Their thoughts were naturally not simple.
Whether it was Su Cheng's initial actions, Zhang San San's verbal attacks, or even many of the bystanders, everyone had their own calculations in mind.
All these actions were nothing more than vying for influence in the academy in the future.
Such incidents were bound to happen sooner or later.
It was just that Su Cheng's initial actions ignited the fire first.
For noble children, learning Soul Master knowledge at this Royal Academy was only a small part of the reason.
This knowledge was extremely valuable to commoners, but it was no secret to nobles.
They could improve and grow at home just as easily.
But why did all the nobles still choose to send their children to the academy?
Besides the more systematic teaching and the opportunity for students to compete and learn from each other, a major purpose was to expand their networks and build bridges between families.
However, in any interaction involving exploitation, there must be a hierarchy between the parties.
For Soul Masters, the simplest, most direct, and most effective way is undoubtedly to compare fist sizes.
Whether it's Zhang San San in front of him or the few others around who were egging him on, their reasons for saying these things might be at the behest of their families, or they might be acting on their own initiative, or even trying to curry favor with the Crown Prince.
But Su Cheng didn't care about any of that, because it suited his purposes perfectly.
His figure flashed—
"Slap!"
Before Zhang San San could even see Su Cheng's movement, he was slapped across the face.
When their strengths were similar, Su Cheng, with his Qi-restoring technique, always had speed as his greatest advantage.
"You!"
"Slap!"
Su Cheng smiled and slapped him again with his backhand, "What do you mean 'you'? Didn't your family teach you to speak properly?"
Then, the other freshmen who had just joined in the egging received the same treatment.
He treated everyone equally.
"..."
His series of actions were as swift as lightning, and no one had the slightest chance to fight back.
Several slaps landed, and the entire room fell silent, several people looking grave.
Su Cheng glanced around,
a polite smile appearing on his face, and bowed slightly to the others.
"I apologize for the commotion, classmates. As you can see, they were the ones who spoke rudely first. I'm not good with words, so I had to retaliate. Insulting me is fine, but insulting my family is unacceptable. I believe that none of you would choose to remain silent in this situation."
He spoke with genuine sincerity, his eyes as gentle as water, a stark contrast to his previous violent actions.
The children he looked at instantly and unconsciously agreed with his point of view, moved by his words.
They were unaware of Su Cheng's subtle provocation with his eyes. They
simply felt that if their own families were insulted, they would do the same, even fight to the death to seek justice.
The nobles of the Star Luo Empire never lacked a sense of family honor or the courage to fight.
The second young master of the Su family before them, though swift in action, was polite and gentle in speech.
After accidentally bumping into someone, he apologized politely.
Even when he retaliated, he only made light of the situation, clearly not the kind of person to be overbearing and domineering.
Given his formidable strength, there was no need to provoke him, and everyone nodded in agreement.
Zhang San San watched this scene, his anger surging.
However, Su Cheng's uncanny speed and overwhelming strength at the start made him realize he was no match.
Helpless, he snorted angrily and left.
Su Cheng chuckled inwardly.
Indeed, this talent for affability was extremely effective, naturally gaining favor and trust.
Especially when handled well, it made it easier to gain the upper hand.
Of course, this was under the premise that there was no serious conflict of interest.
So-called affability was ultimately just a first impression, a head start.
But he wasn't a male succubus; he couldn't expect others to be devoted to him based on just this one charisma. Everything depended on their future methods.
After the recent upheaval, many new students began to befriend him.
Su Cheng welcomed them all, chatting and introducing them with smiles.
Not everyone knew his specific situation.
After learning that his innate soul power was as high as level seven and that his martial soul was the White Tiger, their attitudes changed drastically.
He easily became friends with these children.
Undoubtedly, Su Cheng's talent and initial talent of maxed-out affinity played a significant role in this process.
A few observant people even connected it to the Dai family's White Tiger martial soul.
However, such thoughts only surfaced in their minds; no one dared to discuss it openly.
Besides, even if Su Cheng truly possessed royal blood, it wasn't a major problem.
This identity was indeed inconvenient to reveal openly, but the bloody traditions that the Dai family had upheld for countless years were enough to prove that this family valued the strength of the heir, not their status.
In just over a week after the start of the semester, Su Cheng had become incredibly popular, with the vast majority of new students following his lead, and even many returning students had good relationships with him.
Even the teachers at the academy regarded him as a representative figure among the students.
After all, in terms of strength, talent, apparent background, and hidden bloodline, he was in a class of his own.
Not to mention, Su Cheng's daily words and actions easily earned him the trust and closeness of others.
With the teachers protecting him, his future actions would be even more convenient.
The teachers at the Royal Academy were naturally not stupid; the Soul Masters who could enter here were not ordinary people, and they wielded considerable power, otherwise, how could they manage a group of noble children?
As the saying goes, the Star Luo Empire's high-ranking officials valued strength above all else; status was secondary.
This was completely different from the Heaven Dou Empire.
In the Heaven Dou Empire, even each emperor himself only had a cultivation level of forty or fifty, and his Martial Soul was the not-so-powerful Swan Martial Soul; the noble system was also bloated and inefficient.
If it weren't for the Spirit Hall coordinating and balancing between the two empires, and the seven major Soul Master sects checking and balancing each other, the situation on the continent would probably have long been dominated by the Star Luo Empire.
Su Cheng was certainly not doing all this to play house with these kids.
It's because Zhu Zhuqing, who's the same age as him, will probably be enrolling here soon.
He needs to prepare in advance.
....................
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