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"Hey Meteor, I gotta say, you really can't judge a book by its cover—you're tougher than you look."
Gu Yuena rubbed her now-reddened forehead and said it with a straight face.
Meteor's mouth twitched.He was this close to telling her, "You're the one with the hard head."His physical strength came straight from Liuying, and even so, after taking that surprise headbutt from Gu Yuena, his head was still ringing!
But saying something like that to a girl? Yeah... definitely not cool. He could only keep it to himself.
Gu Yuena slightly lowered her head, and a faint glimmer flashed through her purple eyes.
Liuying had been listening the whole time to the conversation between Meteor and Gu Yuena without saying a word, but she was watching Gu Yuena closely, deep in thought.
She couldn't help but feel uneasy about the fact that she hadn't sensed Gu Yuena sneaking up on them just now. Even in such a laid-back academy setting, Liuying never really let her guard down—but Gu Yuena's sudden appearance had caught her completely off guard.
Sure, maybe she was too busy chatting with Meteor and let her vigilance slip a little... but still, that girl Gu Yuena? Something was off. Her instincts were telling her so.
"Meteor, Liuying—over here, over here!"
As soon as they stepped into the Practical Soul Tool Class at Mingdu Junior Soul Engineer Academy, Meteor saw Xu Tianzhen waving at them enthusiastically. Because of his waving, over twenty other students in the classroom all turned to look toward the door.
Meteor sighed and shook his head, then turned to Gu Yuena and said, "Hey, that's our friend over there—we're gonna head over."
"Alright."
Gu Yuena nodded lightly.
Meteor took Liuying's hand and walked over to Xu Tianzhen. Right next to him was Ye Guyi, and there just so happened to be two empty seats beside them—clearly saved for Meteor and Liuying.
Anyone who got into Mingdu Junior Soul Engineer Academy either had talent, status, or money—there was no such thing as an "ordinary" student here.
Their class was clearly the elite group. Otherwise, there's no way the four of them would've ended up in the same class. Whether or not someone behind the scenes pulled some strings—well, who knew?
One thing was for sure: it wasn't Luan Yu. Maybe it was Xu Tianran or Shangguan Weier, but Meteor didn't really care. Privilege was everywhere, and now he was part of the privileged class too. No point overthinking it. He wasn't the type to get all moody about this stuff.
The Practical Soul Tool department was different from the regular Soul Engineering classes. It focused on the basics—things every soul master should know. Sometimes they'd touch on soul tool knowledge, but it was all fundamental stuff.
Most of it, Meteor and his friends had already studied on their own at home. After all, this was still just a junior academy. Nothing too advanced—this was beginner material for kids. If it were too complex, they wouldn't even be able to keep up. That kind of stuff came later, in the advanced academies.
Still, Mingdu Junior Academy did have something special: a simulated training ground.
Sure, it couldn't compare to the custom-designed volcanic training zone Luan Yu and Fire Phoenix Douluo had built just for him and Liuying—but for most ordinary soul masters, it was an absolute treasure trove for training.
For a junior academy to even have a simulated environment like that—only the best school in Mingdu could pull it off. No wonder so many rich families were throwing money at the place just to get their kids in. It gave them a major head start. Kids at other junior academies were already behind from day one.
But clearly, that particular resource was aimed at kids with talent but no money. As for Meteor, Xu Tianzhen, and Ye Guyi—their families already had their own high-end training facilities. The school's basic one didn't even interest them.
Even so, it showed that the Sun-Moon Empire was pretty supportive of commoners. They really did try to open up paths for talented kids without background.
In fact, getting into the Royal Sun-Moon Soul Engineer Academy in the future didn't require noble blood at all. As long as your martial soul talent and engineering aptitude were good enough, you had a shot.
Luan Yu and Fire Phoenix Douluo were living proof of that. They'd climbed the ranks step by step, relying entirely on their own abilities—eventually joining the famous Mingde Hall, studying under master-level teachers, and becoming top-tier Rank-9 Soul Engineers.
If this were one of the original three Douluo Kingdoms, they probably wouldn't have even gotten into those prestigious academies. Meteor had heard that to even apply to the so-called "number one academy on the continent," Shrek Academy, you needed a personal recommendation letter from the governor of a major city. No recommendation, no entry. Period.
For a commoner, even with sky-high talent, getting past that "recommendation letter" wall was nearly impossible. Sure, there were a few generous governors out there who liked mentoring talent and would help out a gifted kid—but most of them? Not so friendly.
Meteor and his friends sitting together definitely caught people's attention. Most of the class was sneaking peeks at them. They were all around the same age, so naturally curious about each other.
And let's be honest—Liuying, Ye Guyi, and Xu Tianzhen were all really cute. One look and you could tell they'd grow up to be stunners. Meteor, being the only boy in the group, made the other boys in the class quietly seethe with envy.
Kids on Douluo Continent matured early. They already knew how to show off and get jealous over stuff like this. But since this was an elite class, everyone here had been told by their families to keep things in check. So no one started any dumb drama or tried to pick a fight—which Meteor found kind of disappointing. He was starting to wonder if he didn't have any "main character energy."
Maybe he really wasn't the protagonist. And yeah, that made sense. This planet already had its own Child of Destiny, its own chosen one—not him, the outsider.
But Meteor didn't mind.
So what if you're the main character? That just means you're the lead in a lower-tier world. Without real power, even the "hero" gets used as a pawn. Meteor knew full well that the so-called protagonist of this world had a rough ride—manipulated by the previous main character, broken in mind and spirit, and basically turned into a loyal dog. Probably the most tragic main character in history.
According to what he'd read back in his previous life, people online used to say that the main character of this world had his whole fate planned out from day one. Every part of his life was someone else's design. In the end, he was perfectly tamed.
Meteor felt kinda bad for him, but he wasn't planning to play savior.
He had one goal from beginning to end: help Liuying, the one who gave him a second life, inherit the Divine Position of Life. Solve that entropy decay illness. Help her live. Really live—run, jump, laugh, and be free.
Anyone who stood in their way? Enemy.Anyone who walked beside them? Friend.Everyone else? Just passersby.He and Liuying were just travelers through the world of Douluo.
Still, on this journey, he didn't mind helping his friends do better... and making sure his enemies suffered a little.
Now he had friends. Even family.The only thing missing? An enemy.
Kids get distracted easily. Before long, no one was paying attention to Meteor's group anymore. Everyone started chatting among themselves, showing off their martial souls or asking others about theirs—comparing and sizing each other up.
"....."