"So that's how it is. The key is to think of the person you like and have no distracting thoughts, then the Lovesick Heartbreak Red will recognize you as its master." Lu Jingming stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Thinking about it carefully, it really was like that. In the original story, Huo Yuhao liked Wang Dong'er, but he also liked Juzi before and had a good impression of Wang Qiu'er. However, when picking the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, he only thought of saving Wang Dong'er, without any distracting thoughts, which was why he successfully picked it.
From this perspective, the Lovesick Heartbreak Red's judgment wasn't actually that precise. Wasn't it because Zhu Zhuqing and Yu Xiaogang had distracting thoughts ten thousand years ago that they failed? As long as one maintained a clear mind and thought of the person they liked, then he himself could do it!
Lu Jingming couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. If he had known the conditions were like this, he would have tried it himself. If he could really pick the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, it would be an excellent tool for boosting favorability. As for whose favorability, that would depend on the specific situation.
Lu Jingming had always followed Jingliu in his studies, so he had some understanding of controlling his state of mind. This trip to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had been fruitful. All kinds of immortal herbs had been collected, and even the extremely demanding Lovesick Heartbreak Red was successfully picked. The two dragon souls of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings also fell into Gu Yue's hands. At this point, this journey to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could be considered a complete success.
Besides these rare immortal herbs and dragon souls, the biggest gain from this trip was undoubtedly the four 100,000-year immortal herbs that had already developed sentience.
You see, the essence of the World Tree is a collection of memories, knowledge, and wisdom. After acquiring the memories and power of these four 100,000-year immortal herbs, the World Tree Stigmata welcomed another growth. Lu Jingming activated the power of the Stigmata. In an instant, a crimson flame ignited in his hand. This flame emitted extreme high temperatures, as if it would reduce everything around it to ashes.
However, in the next moment, the scorching flame suddenly dissipated, replaced by a chilling cold that permeated the air. A crystal-clear ice crystal slowly condensed in Lu Jingming's palm. From this, he had grasped both the power of Extreme Ice and Extreme Fire. These two powers originated from the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Blazing Glorious Apricot respectively.
For the World Tree Stigmata, memory is equivalent to power. Acquiring the memories of the immortal herbs meant gaining their unique abilities. Besides the abilities granted by the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Blazing Glorious Apricot, Lu Jingming also gained the abilities of the Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Product and the Qiluo Tulip. However, these two abilities were passively triggered: one granted immunity to all poisons, and the other was a special perception that could identify the properties of natural spiritual treasures.
The memories of other immortal herbs were also absorbed by the World Tree Stigmata. However, because the memories of those immortal herbs without sentience were vague, they couldn't condense new abilities for Lu Jingming. But even so, all of this was already enough. What Lu Jingming needed wasn't more complex abilities, but for these memories to enable the World Tree Stigmata to continue growing. After all, this was closely related to his upcoming plans and could even be said to have a direct impact on his condensation of a divine position.
As for the four immortal herbs whose memories and powers were absorbed, Lu Jingming would arrange for them properly; he had no intention of abandoning them now that they had served their purpose.
"You guys!" Meng Hongchen slowly descended from the sky, gracefully put away her flying soul tool, and then stretched lazily. She looked at the familiar Haiyuan City before her, and excitement involuntarily showed on her face at the thought of seeing Lu Jingming soon.
"This is Haiyuan City! It's truly amazing!" Jing Hongchen looked at the various soul tool constructions in the city, which were in no way inferior to Mingdu. Especially the magnificent artificial island, the Eye of Haiyuan, which he had witnessed by the sea upon arrival. He had to admit that Haiyuan City's research in the field of soul tools, at least in civil applications, had already surpassed the Sun Moon Empire.
"Hall Master Jing, and all of you from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, welcome to Haiyuan City. I am Zhang Lexuan from St. Freya Academy, and I am responsible for matters related to this exchange program."
A gentle and pleasant voice sounded at the opportune moment. Zhang Lexuan, leading ten students from St. Freya Academy, gracefully approached the一行 people from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy attached great importance to this exchange program. To show their sincerity, Jing Hongchen personally led Meng Hongchen and other exchange students to Haiyuan City for the student exchange activity.
Zhang Lexuan's gaze swept over the people behind Jing Hongchen, and she instantly understood. She was no stranger to Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, as the Soul Master Tournament had just ended not long ago. As for the other exchange students, she also had detailed information on hand. This information came not only from the Simulated Universe but also from intelligence provided by the Wuchang Division. After all, a member of the Wuchang Division named Bai Qi was also a student of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and a confidant of Crown Prince Xu Tianran. Therefore, as soon as the list of exchange students from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was finalized, Zhang Lexuan received the news.
"Junior Brother, I'll have to trouble you a lot with this exchange program." After exchanging pleasantries with Zhang Lexuan for a moment, Jing Hongchen turned to look at the thin, middle-aged man beside him who wore glasses.
"I'll keep an eye on it," Xuan Ziwen nodded gently. In the past, he had always been uninterested in such matters, focusing solely on soul tool research. But this time, the exchange program was with St. Freya Academy. At the thought of possibly meeting Lady Herta, he actively applied to be the lead teacher for this exchange.
"Hall Master Jing, I'll entrust our academy's students to you. I believe they will learn more knowledge at Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Of course, we at St. Freya Academy will also do our utmost to instruct your academy's students," Zhang Lexuan said with a smile, then nodded slightly to a lead teacher beside her. That lead teacher immediately led ten St. Freya Academy students towards Jing Hongchen.
Jing Hongchen, seeing this, also nodded to Xuan Ziwen. Xuan Ziwen pushed up his glasses and walked towards Zhang Lexuan first. Since both sides were full of sincerity, the student exchange process went very smoothly.
Watching Jing Hongchen unfurl his huge flying soul tool and leave with the St. Freya Academy students and lead teacher, Zhang Lexuan turned to Meng Hongchen and the others, smiling as she said, "Welcome again! Follow me, I'll take you to the academy."
Meng Hongchen and the others followed Zhang Lexuan, walking through Haiyuan City and successfully entering St. Freya Academy.
"I'll take you for an entrance test first, and then we'll assign you to classes, issue uniforms, and arrange accommodation," Zhang Lexuan explained in detail about St. Freya Academy's arrangements as she led Meng Hongchen and the others forward.
"Entrance test?" Meng Hongchen and the others were surprised, not expecting an entrance test. They couldn't help but murmur to themselves, wondering if St. Freya Academy was trying to give them a harsh welcome.
"Hehe, don't misunderstand. The entrance test isn't what you think. On the contrary, it's a benefit the academy provides to new students." Zhang Lexuan keenly noticed Meng Hongchen and the others' doubts, realizing they had misunderstood, and quickly explained patiently. According to Lu Jingming, the exchange students like Meng Hongchen should simply be treated as normal new students. There was no need to give them excessive special treatment, nor was there a need to deliberately suppress them or treat them differently. Therefore, the benefits and treatment that St. Freya Academy students received would naturally not be lacking for the exchange students from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Over this period of development, the Holographic Strategy had already undergone upgrades, with diverse monster settings and challenge modes. Meng Hongchen and the others, arranged by Zhang Lexuan, arrived at the Holographic Strategy login room. At the same time, they also learned about St. Freya Academy's ranking rules. Now, their ranking would depend entirely on their performance in the Holographic Strategy.
"Can I ask what Lu Jingming and the others' rankings are?" Xiao Hongchen's personality had become much more stable after Jing Hongchen's guidance. But at this moment, he still couldn't help but ask. Although he had a guess, he still hoped to get accurate information.
"Them? They're all S-rank!" Zhang Lexuan replied with a radiant smile.
"Is that so? Then we only have one goal. Don't you agree, Meng?" Xiao Hongchen clenched his fists tightly, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. He had lost to Lu Jingming in the competition, and this time, in terms of ranking, he absolutely did not want to lose again.
"That's right, big brother! I don't want to be underestimated by student Lu Jingming!" Meng Hongchen also said with high morale.
"If I become an S-rank student, can I ask the Snow Moon Douluo for guidance on swordsmanship?" Among the exchange students from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, a thin young man who always carried an iron sword and had a calm demeanor suddenly asked.
"Of course!" Zhang Lexuan, upon hearing this, couldn't help but deeply observe this young man holding the sword. In an instant, detailed information about him appeared in her mind. Ji Juechen, only twenty years old, was already a five-ring Soul King, the top student in the practical soul tool department of Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, known as "The Sword Obsessed."
Ji Juechen's innate soul power was only level three. Such talent, in the eyes of most soul masters, might not be remarkable. However, he was a man born for the sword. Relying on his extreme love and comprehension of the sword dao, he integrated his soul into his sword, forging a seemingly ordinary piece of meteor iron into a unique sword. Ji Juechen's current soul power level might not be top-tier among soul masters of his age. But it's important to remember that his innate soul power was only level three! If it were any other soul master with the same innate soul power of level three, at twenty years old, they would probably still be struggling at the Great Soul Master realm, let alone becoming a Soul King.