The next few days were a waiting game for Qian Duoduo.
He had indeed come to the Sun Moon Empire in a bit of a hurry, and Jing Hongchen wasn't lying to him. Although Jing Hongchen was also keen on promoting the exchange student program, Mingde Hall wasn't solely run by him.
Especially for an event involving soul tool knowledge, a cautious approach was necessary.
Not only within Mingde Hall, but Jing Hongchen also had to report to the royal family, and even the 'Father of Soul Tools', Kong Deming, might be alerted.
So, this was clearly not something that could be resolved in a day or two.
On the surface, the three Douluo Empires looked down on soul tools, but in reality, all three, including Shrek, were constantly trying to get their hands on things from the Sun Moon Empire. This was evident from the fact that soul tools were in short supply in the three empires.
With the exception of a few fanatics, most soul masters only looked down on soul engineers who were powerless without their soul tools, not the soul tools themselves.
Therefore, the Sun Moon Empire was extremely strict about controlling soul tool knowledge, high-grade soul tools, and rare metals.
To finalize this exchange program, Jing Hongchen had to put in a considerable amount of effort.
He not only had to persuade the other high-grade soul engineers in Mingde Hall but also had to get approval from the royal family.
Fortunately, the other two Rank 9 soul engineers in Mingde Hall were from his faction. After confirming that no high-grade or top-secret soul tool blueprints would be leaked to Shrek, the royal family also didn't give Jing Hongchen any trouble.
Jing Hongchen's status in the Sun Moon Empire was very high, which was beyond doubt.
However...
As an old fox, how could Jing Hongchen make this a simple process? During this period of negotiation, he managed to extract a lot of benefits from Qian Duoduo.
Even Qian Duoduo, who was known as a 'stingy and timid person' by Yan Shaozhe, had to grudgingly concede many benefits to Jing Hongchen for the sake of the exchange student program.
This meant that once the program began, Shrek Academy had to ensure that the students from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy would receive an excellent education and also provide them with a large sum of resources for their cultivation.
In return, Jing Hongchen promised that as long as Shrek's exchange students were capable of learning, Mingde Hall would open up some high-grade soul tool blueprints and some cutting-edge soul tool theories to them.
Shrek's students would also be able to purchase a portion of the rare metals that the Sun Moon Empire prohibited from being exported, at standard market prices each month, to create soul tools.
This was the main reason Qian Duoduo finally agreed.
The whole point of Shrek's pushing for this exchange program was to get some soul tool knowledge and rare metals from the Sun Moon Empire, right?
With the goal achieved, Qian Duoduo said his goodbyes.
The exchange student program was set to begin in a year and a half, three years before the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, and would last for three years, ending just before the tournament.
Throughout this year, there would undoubtedly be further communication and refinement between Shrek and Mingde Hall to ensure the program ran smoothly.
After personally seeing Qian Duoduo off, Jing Hongchen returned to Mingde Hall and found the siblings Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, who were now approaching the level of Rank 6 soul engineers.
When Jing Hongchen found them, Xiao Hongchen was intently carving a core array, trying to create a Rank 6 soul tool, while Meng Hongchen was assisting him and gaining experience in the process.
Jing Hongchen didn't interrupt them right away.
The exchange program was still more than a year away, so there was no rush to discuss the details with the siblings.
His grandchildren's progress was what was most important.
Jing Hongchen quietly watched Xiao Hongchen make the soul tool without being noticed. The more he watched, the more satisfied the Hall Master of Mingde Hall became.
Only a few months had passed since the end of the last Soul Fighting Competition, and in that time, Xiao Hongchen had made rapid progress, reaching the level of a Rank 6 soul engineer.
The pressure from Lin Yun was simply immense. The terrifying soul ring combination and the suffocating sense of oppression, like dark clouds destroying a city, put a lot of pressure on Xiao Hongchen.
Especially in the subsequent bidding for the immortal herb at the Starlight Auction House, he lost to the wealthy little girl Ning Tian, failing to bid for the Glazed Jade Tea, which could have advanced his martial soul. This made him even more determined.
'If I can't beat you in talent, then I will surpass you in effort!'
Hard work pays off. Under Xiao Hongchen's frantic cultivation, he was constantly getting closer to the realm of a Rank 6 soul engineer.
In Jing Hongchen's eyes, the core array Xiao Hongchen was carving had almost no flaws. Although a few nodes in the soul power circuits were still a bit stiff, it was already good enough to be called a qualified Rank 6 core array.
As the final stroke of the carving knife fell, the completed core array emitted a shimmering glow, and wisps of soul power波动, also rippled out from it.
"It's finished!" Xiao Hongchen finally showed a smile.
This was his first smile in months. Since the competition ended, he had kept his mind tense, not daring to relax for a moment.
Keep in mind... he was only fifteen years old.
A fifteen-year-old Rank 6 soul engineer was already far ahead of the curve on the Douluo Continent. This would be equivalent to a fifteen-year-old Soul Emperor. With this level of talent, even the original Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng would have to offer him tea and admit their inferiority.
However, Xiao Hongchen had the talent of a protagonist, but not the fate.
Hard work and talent were insignificant in the face of cheating.
With Meng Hongchen's help, Xiao Hongchen successfully assembled the core array. A sci-fi-looking soul tool ray cannon was now in front of him.
Clap, clap, clap...
A series of crisp claps suddenly sounded, and Jing Hongchen's voice, tinged with a smile, entered the siblings' ears: "Congratulations, Xiao. You have successfully become a Rank 6 soul engineer at the age of less than sixteen."
When Jing Hongchen himself became a Rank 6 soul engineer, he was already eighteen, almost nineteen years old. Xiao Hongchen was several years ahead of him, which was proof of his talent.
His grandson was better than he was; that was great!
The future was promising!
"Grandpa!" *2
Jing Hongchen's words startled the focused Xiao Hongchen. After seeing that it was his grandfather, he proudly held up the soul tool ray cannon: "Grandpa, see? I told you I could do it!"
Meng Hongchen looked at her brother's arrogant expression and shook her head helplessly.
'Oh, my childish and foolish brother!'
"Yes, it's excellent!" Jing Hongchen naturally didn't skimp on his praise for his grandson's success.
Ignoring her slightly eccentric brother, Meng Hongchen blinked and asked, "Grandpa, did you come to find us for something?"
"Can't I come to see you without a reason?" Jing Hongchen said with a doting smile, stroking his granddaughter's little head. After Meng Hongchen pouted helplessly, he continued, "But this time, I do have something to talk to you about."
"What is it, Grandpa?" Xiao Hongchen also snapped out of his joy of breaking through to a Rank 6 soul engineer and leaned in curiously.
"It's like this..." Jing Hongchen briefly explained the exchange student program to the two siblings.
"So, Grandpa plans for you two to become members of this exchange student program!"
"Huh? You want us to be exchange students at Shrek?" Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened, his tone a bit shocked.
Meng Hongchen, on the other hand, pursed her lips, her eyes shining a little.
'There's such a good thing?'
(End of Chapter)
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