MTLNOVEL Chapter 79: Jing Ziyan
"I almost forgot, today is the first day of the new semester. It's that time again."
"Guess if there are any among them with highly compatible martial souls, like the Hongchen siblings from before."
"Don't even think about it. How many new students have come and gone? Only the Hongchen siblings had a compatibility of over sixty percent."
The senior students in the training ground were chatting and curiously looking in the direction of the new students.
"Old Ji, look, it's time for the new students to test their martial soul compatibility again."
A female student with light purple hair, wearing glasses, and with a fiery figure nudged the young man in green beside her, showing great interest.
The young man in green held an iron sword that looked like it was bought from a street stall.
He was meticulously practicing his sword techniques.
Although he was only performing the simplest moves, he treated it as if it were a sacred task, focusing intensely and striving for perfection with each strike.
Interrupted by the girl, he showed no annoyance, clearly accustomed to her whims.
He glanced in the direction of the new students and said indifferently, "Not interested. Ziyan, if you disturb my practice again, I'll cut you."
Jing Ziyan's face darkened, and she retorted, "Practice, practice, you're almost turning into a sword yourself. Ji Juechen, I really don't know what's going on in your head."
She secretly grumbled, "A beauty like me standing next to you, and you don't even glance my way. All you do is practice your sword. You might as well spend your life with your sword."
Ji Juechen shook his head, ignoring Jing Ziyan, and continued to wield his iron sword.
Strangely, although he was only swinging at the air, faint sword marks appeared on the bluestone beneath his feet.
Jing Ziyan's pupils contracted, and she lost interest in watching the new students' tests.
She walked away, focusing on developing her own soul skills.
"This is the soul tool detection device, which can test martial soul compatibility. Next, students who are close and usually spend time together can pair up and enter the detection area to test their martial soul compatibility."
According to the theory of martial soul fusion, closer relationships are more conducive to the development of martial soul fusion skills.
Following Teacher Li's instructions, the students from the practical soul tool class began to communicate and soon formed small groups.
A few minutes later, the first test group appeared.
There were three of them, with soul power levels around 18 or 19. Their martial souls were a wolf, a leopard, and an ape.
The three had known each other before entering the Royal Sun Moon Soul Engineer Academy and had often been together during their junior academy days.
They were close friends within the class, and out of curiosity, they became the first group to undergo the test.
The three slowly walked into the detection area, reaching the center of the soul tool detection device.
As Teacher Li pressed the soul tool switch, the stone pillars around the detection device emitted a wave of soul power, and a mysterious light infused the three individuals.
Their martial souls were involuntarily released, and the wolf, leopard, and ape martial souls appeared.
Their yellow soul rings also emerged, and the three stood motionless within the light.
Soon, a red line on the detection device began to rise from the bottom but stopped after a short climb.
After glancing at the compatibility, Teacher Li showed no expression, as if this were commonplace, and simply announced, "Compatibility, five percent. Next group."
With the first group done, the second group quickly followed.
This time, it was a pair, a boy and a girl. It was evident that they were a couple, holding hands as they walked out from the group, showing off their affection in front of the entire class.
Their martial souls were a tiger and a fox.
Unfortunately, their relationship did not result in high martial soul compatibility, with only ten percent.
They left the detection area with disappointed expressions.
The martial soul compatibility test took about two to three minutes per group.
Soon, over ten groups had been tested, with pairs, trios, and even quartets, but the results were the same, none exceeded fifty percent compatibility, with the highest being only thirty-five percent.
Gradually, the students' initial curiosity waned, and they began to go through the motions without much hope.
The senior students watching from the periphery also lost patience and gradually dispersed, no longer paying attention to the detection area.
It wasn't until Ye Guxi and Xu Tianzhen stepped into the test area that things changed.
As the stone pillars emitted a radiant light, their martial souls manifested, and their three soul rings, one yellow and two purple, stood out prominently.
Compared to the majority of their classmates, who had only one or two soul rings, the two were not only three-ringed Soul Elders but also had a thousand-year soul ring as their second ring.
This not only surprised their classmates but also drew back the senior students who had started to leave.
"What's going on? They're new students, right? They're already three-ringed Soul Elders!"
"What's with their soul rings? The second one is purple. Am I seeing things?"
Some students rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.
The cultivation levels and soul ring configurations of the two attracted the attention of everyone in the training ground.
Even Ji Juechen, who had been diligently practicing his sword, stopped and silently looked toward Ye Guxi and Xu Tianzhen in the detection area.
"What? Are you surprised too?" Jing Ziyan, suppressing her own astonishment, asked Ji Juechen.
Ji Juechen shook his head and said softly, "They will likely become formidable opponents in the future."
"That's true. With their talent, it won't be long before they catch up to us, just like those siblings," Jing Ziyan nodded.
She and Ji Juechen were considered outstanding in the Royal Sun Moon Soul Engineer Academy, but compared to the Hongchen siblings and now Ye Guxi and Xu Tianzhen, they were slightly inferior.