Time flowed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a year passed by. Over these past six months, a certain topic of conversation had emerged in the upper circles of Capital City. It was a story that was neither too big nor too small, but it caught everyone's attention. At the center of this talk was Kong Mingan. He was the only grandson of His Excellency Kong Deming, and he was only six and a half years old.
The reason everyone was talking about him was quite simple. Every single morning, this young master was personally escorted by a Titled Douluo to the military camp located just outside the city walls. Whether it was raining or the sun was shining, he was always there precisely on time. This routine had been happening since the very day he had his Spirit Awakening until now.
For a child who was only six years old, this kind of behavior seemed very strange and conspicuous. He did not go to a regular school to learn how to read or write, nor did he receive any lessons in the Hall of Worship.
People wondered what a small child could possibly be doing in a military camp all day long. Many different rumors and guesses circulated in private among the nobles, but none of them were actually correct.
Information about the young master's Spirit and his Innate Spirit Power was kept a total secret. The high-ranking members of the Hall of Worship had sealed all the records so that nothing could leak out to the public. To those on the outside, it was only known that the boy had awakened his Spirit, but the specifics of his power remained a very closely guarded secret.
Besides these questions about his training, there was another reason why Kong Mingan was famous. The young master of the Kong Family was known to be exceptionally handsome. After he finished his Spirit Awakening, he seemed to change.
Perhaps it was because of the influence of his Spirit, but he now possessed a very calm personality that was far beyond his peers. When you combined his quiet nature with his beautiful features, anyone who saw him was deeply impressed.
Because of this, many high-ranking officials of the Sun Moon Empire who had young daughters started to think about marriage. They thought that a marriage alliance would be a great idea.
After all, Kong Mingan was the only bloodline of His Excellency Kong Deming. Kong Deming was the most important Soul Engineer and a true pillar of the Empire. In many ways, the young master of the Kong Family held a status that was even higher than many of the imperial princes.
As noon approached inside the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, the sun was shining brightly. The flowerbeds were neatly trimmed and smelled very fresh. On the path, two children who were also around six years old walked side by side. They stood out quite a bit from the other students.
The little girl walked with a quick and happy step. Her soft silver hair reached her shoulders and shimmered beautifully in the sunlight. Her eyes were a lovely ice-blue color, but they did not look cold at all. Instead, they were full of the clear curiosity of a child.
Walking right beside her was a little boy who also had silver hair. However, his eyes were very different. He had heterochromatic eyes, meaning one was blue and the other was green. He had a look of great pride on his face that he didn't even try to hide.
These two children were the grandchildren of Jing Hongchen. Jing Hongchen was the Hall Master of Mingde Hall and the Dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Their names were Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen.
Meng Hongchen plucked a leaf from a bush and tilted her head to look at her brother. She asked him if he had heard about Kong Mingan. She said she heard he was especially good-looking and asked if it was fun to go to the military camp to play every day.
Xiao Hongchen just pouted and looked annoyed. He said that being good-looking didn't matter at all and that strength was the only thing that was important. He wondered what kind of strength Kong Mingan could possibly have since he didn't even come to the academy to study.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had a special preparatory class for young students. Geniuses like Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were allowed to enter early so they could start learning about spirit tools. Because of their family background, they had been around spirit tools since they were babies. Now, even though they were very young, they already attended second-year classes.
Meng Hongchen told her brother to be more modest. She acted like a little adult and suggested that Kong Mingan might be his future opponent one day. Xiao Hongchen just huffed and said that his only real opponent was himself. Meng Hongchen looked at him and felt helpless. She thought her big brother was someone who just couldn't be helped when it came to his ego.
As the siblings continued to chat, a group of people suddenly walked out of a nearby building. The leader was a tall man with a very handsome and refined face. He wore the special red robe that belonged to the leaders of Mingde Hall. This was their grandfather, Jing Hongchen. The people walking with him were his students.
Jing Hongchen stopped when he saw his grandchildren. He asked them why they were there. Both children called out to him at the same time. Meng Hongchen ran over and explained that they had just finished their classes and were going to get something to eat.
Jing Hongchen nodded and thought for a moment. He then looked at a middle-aged man standing next to him. This man was wearing the dark purple uniform of the Hall of Worship. Jing Hongchen asked Steward Lin if it would be alright to take the two children along so they could see more of the world.
Steward Lin looked at the two children and nodded his head. He said it was fine as long as they stayed very quiet. Jing Hongchen was happy with this answer and told the children to follow him. He used a flying spirit tool on both of them, and then the whole group took off into the air.
While they were flying, Meng Hongchen whispered to her grandfather to ask where they were going. Jing Hongchen just smiled and told her she would see when they arrived. He looked over at Xiao Hongchen and wondered if the boy's confidence would be shaken by what he was about to see.
The group flew away from the academy and headed toward Mingde Hall, which was located near the Imperial Palace. They passed through an area that was heavily guarded. Once they entered a special passage, the air felt heavy and the walls were made of thick metal. It felt very safe and secure inside.
After walking for a while, they reached the core laboratory of the Hall of Worship. A heavy metal door slid open without making a sound. A strange smell of metal and machinery filled the air. The space inside was huge. There were many complex spirit tools glowing with light, and researchers in purple uniforms were busy working everywhere.
Steward Lin led them up to the second floor. This floor was a large circular platform where people could watch what was happening below. More than ten people were already gathered there near a clear wall. The mood in the room was very serious.
Meng Hongchen looked around and saw many people she knew. She saw the Starry Sky Douluo, Ye Yulin, who was a very famous man. She also saw the Crown Prince, Xu Tianran. He was only seventeen years old, but her grandfather said he would likely be the next Emperor.
The most important person there was an old man standing at the very front. He looked very strong and dignified. This was Kong Deming. Every time her grandfather mentioned him, he did so with a lot of respect and a little bit of fear. All the other adults in the room were powerful nine-level Soul Engineers. Meng Hongchen felt a bit out of place standing among such important people.
She moved closer to the glass wall to look at the field below. In the center of the field stood a soldier who was built like a giant. He was connected to many cables and wore armor that was used for testing strength. It looked like he was being treated like a piece of equipment.
As Meng Hongchen watched the soldier, she saw something else in the corner of her eye. Her body froze for a second. In a quiet corner of the field, a young boy about her age was sitting. He wore a white researcher's robe and had a very calm face. His dark eyes were watching the soldier very closely. He looked like he was thinking very hard or doing math in his head.
Meng Hongchen was confused about who he was and why he was there. But she also thought he was very handsome. The boy had captured her full attention. She stood on her tiptoes to get a better look at him.
She could hear the adults talking behind her. They were talking about things like energy rates and how this project could change the strength of the whole army. They used big words that she didn't quite understand, but she knew it was important. Everyone was waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly, the young boy in the corner moved. No one else seemed to notice at first, but Meng Hongchen saw him stand up. As soon as he stood up, the room went silent. All the famous and powerful people stopped talking immediately. Kong Deming looked down at the field, and the Crown Prince looked very serious.
The young boy looked up at the people on the second floor. He didn't look like he was asking for permission. Instead, he looked like he was in charge. His voice was very clear and steady as it echoed through the room. He announced that the demonstration of the Body Tempering Method was about to begin.