The Second Prince said,
"Elder Wang, that's enough for now. If we can pull Jing Hongchen to our side, with him backing me, then the throne will be as good as mine."
As he finished speaking, Prince Xu Tianyu's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Beside him, Wang Yan saw his delighted expression and decided not to dampen his mood with cold water.
Though Wang Yan knew very well that with Jing Hongchen's strength, position, and authority, he couldn't place his bet on anyone at this stage…
But since the Second Prince was happy, he let it be. After all, Wang Yan had already chosen his side.
Naturally, he wouldn't spoil the prince's mood over something so trivial.
After all, in the future, he still needed Xu Tianyu to ascend the throne and provide him with resources to break through to Title Douluo. If he provoked the Second Prince's displeasure now, and his resources ended up being cut short in the future, that would be truly disastrous.
Wang Yan understood this all too well. He knew the Xu family's members were all narrow-minded and petty.
So he simply nodded in agreement.
Seeing Wang Yan's approval, the Second Prince was elated and immediately ordered his servants to prepare a banquet so he could dine with Elder Wang.
Although in recent days, his elder brother Xu Tiannan had been constantly trying to catch him making mistakes…
Compared to the gains he had secured, that was nothing worth worrying about.
Among all the princes, the faction supporting him was already the most powerful. Now that he had also secured the Wang family's support, his position was even stronger.
The Second Prince felt the supreme throne was already within his grasp. Soon, he would crush Xu Tiannan and the other princes, becoming the Crown Prince of the Sun and Moon Empire.
Then, once his father passed away, he would ascend the throne without hindrance, becoming the new emperor of the Sun and Moon Empire.
Second Prince (inwardly): (｀ー´) "Once I am emperor, Xu Tiannan, the very first thing I'll do is cripple you! You'll learn what it means to oppose me. Hahahahaha!"
Time quickly passed, and soon it was the next day.
Morning, at the Wang Family residence.
At this moment, Wang Chen was sitting cross-legged, immersed in meditation and cultivation.
Yesterday, after using the Ring Tempering Secret Technique, he had faintly sensed that his soul power was on the verge of a breakthrough.
So after discharging all the energy generated by the secret art, Wang Chen immediately began cultivating tirelessly, aiming for the twenty-ninth level.
A quarter of an hour later, Wang Chen slowly opened his eyes, a gleam of light flashing within them.
At the same time, his aura suddenly surged stronger, and his soul power felt denser and more vigorous than before.
He murmured,
"Another breakthrough—level twenty-nine already. Only one step away from becoming a Soul Elder."
Without delay, Wang Chen took out a pill from his storage soul tool and swallowed it.
This pill was called the Vital Energy Pill. It could strengthen one's foundation, stabilize breakthroughs, and—most importantly—its medicinal nature was extremely gentle, making it most suitable for young, low-ranked soul masters.
In the Wang Family, any young clan member with innate soul power above level seven would be granted one pill every three months to stabilize their cultivation.
As the Vital Energy Pill melted within him, Wang Chen felt his freshly advanced twenty-ninth-level soul power become steadier. Some of the medicinal energy even seeped into his meridians and bones, reinforcing his foundation.
One pill alone was equivalent to saving him at least three days of cultivation effort.
This was why, despite being only eleven years old, Wang Chen, who had been born with level nine innate soul power, had already reached level twenty-nine.
And that was even without consuming those risky pills that caused unstable soul power or damaged potential. Otherwise, his level would have been even higher.
Of course, a pill like the Vital Energy Pill, with such wondrous effects, was far from cheap. On the open market, one costs five thousand gold soul coins.
Without backing from a powerful clan, ordinary soul masters could never afford such luxury.
In truth, the Wang Family still didn't count as one of the truly top-tier families. Compared to the Hongchen Family or the royal bloodline, their resources were far inferior.
For instance, the Hongchen Family's heirs—Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen—in the original story had already reached the Soul King realm before the age of fifteen. And they did so without sacrificing their future potential. Their cultivation speed was truly shocking.
Even Shrek Academy, which always looked down on Sun and Moon Empire soul engineers for relying on pills, wasn't above using them. Pills like Profound Water Pill and Spirit Ascension Pill—they took them all the same.
After all, only a fool would refuse a pill that could fortify one's foundation and accelerate cultivation.
After finishing his pill and consolidating his breakthrough, Wang Chen rose from his bed. He stretched his waist, loosening his slightly stiff legs.
Then he retrieved from his sapphire storage ring a fist-sized block of jade-like rare metal and a fine carving knife.
It was time for his daily core array inscription practice.
In soul engineer evaluations, the most crucial test was always the inscription of core arrays. The level of core arrays one could inscribe—and whether one's cultivation was sufficient—directly determined one's grade as a soul engineer.
Wang Chen's fingers danced deftly, his movements nimble yet decisive. The carving knife scraped softly against the metal, producing faint sha-sha sounds.
Every line he etched was precise, each stroke naturally flowing. His wrist rotated lightly, making the knife seem alive in his hand.
Lines formed like rays of dawn across the rare metal's surface.
As fine shavings fell away, the block of metal seemed to awaken, as if a microcosmos within it was gradually revealed through his carvings.
With a final decisive stroke, the lines connected seamlessly—the core array was complete.
Holding the piece in his palm, Wang Chen gently infused it with his soul power.
At once, the metal emitted brilliant golden light, a red glow spiraling upward into a three-foot-tall column of radiance.
Clearly, the inscription was a complete success. The soul power flowed smoothly through the array, successfully altering its properties.
With this, once mounted into the inner or outer shell of a soul tool, it would become a finished weapon.
Wang Chen glanced at the completed third-tier core array, then casually put it back into his sapphire storage ring along with the carving knife.
He planned to accumulate a batch of these and later sell them all at the Treasure Pavilion, earning some funds to pad his wallet.
On the path of soul engineering, thanks to the Black Book—his golden finger—Wang Chen's progress was astonishingly fast.
Every time he observed another soul engineer forging a soul tool, the Black Book automatically recorded its method.
From carving techniques to inscription skills, everything would be copied into it.
Then, Wang Chen only needed to study through the book, practicing until his body developed muscle memory.
That was the true source of his rapid advancement.