In the face of such rumors, even the powerful Illustrious Virtue Hall, long the overlord of soul engineering, chose to remain silent.
Deep down, they had to admit that the technology and creativity shown by the simulated universe were clearly beyond what a Rank 9 soul engineer could achieve.
Other than the legendary, never-before-seen Rank 10 engineer, who else could make such a marvel?
While the simulated universe continued to cause a sensation, the biggest event on the continent was the upcoming All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament to be held in the Heavenly Soul Empire.
At the same time, a shocking event rocked the Sun-Moon Empire: the reigning emperor suddenly died under mysterious circumstances involving food poisoning. Even more shocking—the empress, crown prince, and all the princesses perished as well.
A powerful prince quickly seized the throne, using decisive means to quell the chaos from the emperor's death.
The entire succession happened at lightning speed—before the three original kingdoms could even react, everything was settled.
The three original Empires had planned to take advantage of the chaos to weaken the Sun Moon Empire, but who could have guessed that the upheaval would end so quickly?
From the incident to the new emperor's enthronement and stabilization, less than half a month passed before peace returned.
It was as if the entire Sun-Moon Empire's upper echelons reached a tacit agreement, letting the transition pass without any power struggle.
The original Empires might not fully grasp the deeper meaning behind these events, but Lu Jingming understood perfectly.
He knew that this seemingly peaceful transition was a sign that the Sun-Moon Empire was about to bare its fangs—a storm was coming.
On the whole continent, no one understood the strength gap between the Sun-Moon Empire and the original Empires better than Lu Jingming.
Not even the Sun-Moon Empire itself could imagine how soon they'd crush the three empires in a sweeping victory.
If not for the interference of God Kings, they could easily unify the continent.
Ambitious as he was, Lu Jingming wouldn't just watch events unfold.
But the Sun-Moon Empire was simply too powerful, and with himself in the Star Luo Empire, he couldn't think of many effective ways to check their rise.
Just as he was pondering this, a girl suddenly appeared and gave him a new idea.
The girl before him, eyes full of vigilance and hatred, had long orange hair and skin so fair it seemed it would drip water if pinched.
Her features were exquisitely beautiful—already showing a goddess's bearing, though only twelve and still a bit immature. In time, she'd surely stun the world.
"Your name is Juzi? You're from the Sun-Moon Empire?" Lu Jingming was surprised.
He hadn't expected his subordinates, while out on a mission, to bring back such a surprise.
Juzi instinctively took a wary step back. Though Lu Jingming looked even younger than her, deep inside she harbored a natural aversion to Star Luo people, and she instantly became guarded.
She quickly glanced for help at her savior—a girl with long white hair, an expressionless face, and a chilling aura.
This white-haired girl was even more beautiful than Juzi.
It was she who had rescued the wandering and destitute Juzi from the Sun-Moon border and brought her here. Lu Jingming frowned, knowing how much Juzi hated Star Luo people.
All this stemmed from a border conflict between the empires.
In the small war started by the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, Juzi's father had died.
At just twelve, Juzi was forced to wander, her mother having died of grief, and she hadn't yet met the man who would change her fate—Xu Tianran.
At this stage, Juzi's hatred for the White Tiger Duke burned like wildfire, spreading to all Star Luo people.
And unfortunately, Lu Jingming was from Star Luo.
"Forget it, Yingying, take her to rest and let her wash up and change clothes," Lu Jingming said helplessly, giving up trying to talk to Juzi and turning to the white-haired girl.
This girl was Ji Yingying, from the game "Naraka: Bladepoint," which Lu Jingming had played in his previous life.
Born with a bound saintly body and the top-selling skin in the game, she was the most beloved female character.
Lu Jingming liked her a lot, and thanks to the simulated universe's overwhelming popularity, he had gained a lot of real power feedback.
He immediately summoned Ji Yingying.
Not only that, he had her form a Haiyuan City-exclusive assassin organization: the Wuchang Division.
Ji Yingying herself acted as the Yan Lord, selecting fusion warriors to serve as Black and White Wuchang.
Female members were White Wuchang, codenamed Bai One, Bai Two, etc.; males were Black Wuchang, codenamed Hei One, Hei Two, etc.
The Wuchang Division, on the surface, had no connection to Haiyuan City, operating as an underground assassin group hidden in the shadows, taking on all sorts of dangerous missions.
As its founder, Ji Yingying was immensely powerful—a Rank 96 Super Douluo, Title: Wuchang Douluo.
Thanks to the simulated universe's abundant real power feedback, Lu Jingming had plenty of resources and, out of favoritism, maxed her stats.
When Keqing and Ningguang first appeared, they weren't this strong.
This time, Ji Yingying surprised Lu Jingming—she brought back Juzi while carrying out an assassination mission.
Because the only requirement for fusion warriors was absolute loyalty.
When Wuchang Division members encountered desperate, young people during missions, they would take them back.
After passing a series of strict tests, these people could become fusion warriors and officially join the Wuchang Division.
PS: I have no idea about this Wuchang.