Xiao Hongchen

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xiao Hongchen
Alias(es)	笑红尘
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Hongchen Family; Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy; Sun Moon Team reserve lineup
Occupation/Role	Academy student, class monitor, ranged artillery specialist, Battle Armor tester
Martial Soul	Three-legged Golden Toad
Soul Power	Rank 50; has reached the Soul King threshold but still requires a fifth Soul Ring 65
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 25

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Rank 50 — Soul King threshold	65	Broke through a long-standing bottleneck after refining the Purple Star Soul Quenching Orchid. The herb purified accumulated toxins and impurities, widened his meridians, and greatly improved his affinity for metal; he still needed a fifth Soul Ring to become a true Soul King. 65

Background

Xiao Hongchen is Jing Hongchen's grandson and Meng Hongchen's elder brother. When Gu Yuejin arrived at the Hongchen Family estate, Xiao initially regarded him with scrutiny and fighting spirit. Gu Yuejin's revelation that he was an under-twenty Soul Sage shattered Xiao's belief that he was the Sun Moon Empire's greatest genius, leaving him shocked and unwilling to accept the gap between them. 25 26

Despite his doubts, Xiao complied with Jing Hongchen's warnings and treated Gu Yuejin respectfully once he became the academy's Martial Soul Department Director. As class monitor, he organized the students for Gu Yuejin's first practical lesson and acted as a disciplined intermediary between the instructor and the class. 33

Gu Yuejin later selected Xiao for the reserve team, assigning him a mobile artillery role built around the Three-legged Golden Toad's metal control and Soul Tool firepower. Xiao accepted the training and the tailored Immortal Herb regimen, eventually reaching Rank 50 and developing a heightened ability to sense metal. 37 64 65

He became a key participant in the Sky Pillar Battle Armor Project alongside Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen. During the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, Xiao led the young Sun Moon Team lineup and unveiled the first phase of Sky Pillar against the Heaven Spirit Team. 68 96 101

Appearance

Xiao is a tall, refined-looking young man with an aloof bearing and a naturally cold, arrogant expression. His most recognizable feature is his heterochromatic gaze. 25

• Silver hair.
• One blue eye and one green eye.
• Handsome, refined facial features.
• Often carries himself with crossed arms and a stern, prideful posture. 25 27

Personality

Xiao is intensely proud of his talent and status, initially believing himself to be the foremost genius of the Sun Moon Empire. Gu Yuejin's cultivation level directly challenged this self-image, but Xiao ultimately adapted by treating the stronger man with proper respect rather than continuing to defy him. 26 33

He is blunt, competitive, and frequently dismissive in speech, particularly toward people he considers inexperienced. Beneath that abrasive exterior, however, he shows concern for Huo Yuhao's social standing and intervenes to help him navigate Mingdu's noble circles. 27 51

Xiao is also protective of Meng Hongchen. He objected to her eagerness to spend time alone with Gu Yuejin and remained wary of Gu Yuejin's influence over her. 27

Abilities & Skills

Three-legged Golden Toad Martial Soul

Xiao's martial soul grants him exceptional metal affinity and control, making him suited to Soul Tool-supported ranged combat. 37

• Manipulates metal elements for attack and battlefield control.
• Can disperse and direct metal fragments as a large-area offensive storm. 66
• After his Rank 50 breakthrough, he could perceive the “breath” of surrounding metal and sense its resistance or affinity. 65 68
• Gu Yuejin designated him as a mobile Soul Tool turret, responsible for mid-to-long-range fire coverage and metal-based crowd control. 37

Soul Tool Artillery

Xiao combines his martial soul's metal manipulation with extensive Soul Tool armaments.

• Deployed 128 Metal Cannon Barrels for concentrated firepower. 86
• Used Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection guidance to target shield connection points with precision cannon fire. 86
• Can coordinate metal dust with Meng Hongchen's ice mist to create the poisonous, vision-obscuring Ice Metal Storm. 37

*Sky Pillar* Battle Armor

Xiao is one of the first practical users of Gu Yuejin and Xuan Ziwen's Battle Armor technology. The armor is designed to integrate with a Soul Master's martial soul as a second skin rather than function as a conventional external Soul Tool. 66 68

• Activated the first phase of the Sky Pillar project alongside Huo Yuhao during the tournament quarterfinals. 101
• The Divine Hand component enabled him to control and dismantle metal within the Heaven Spirit Team's fortress from the inside. 101
• Its thrusters greatly increased his movement speed. 101
• His armguard amplified a close-range punch enough to shatter the opposing captain's turtle-shell shield. 101

Team Coordination

Xiao functions effectively as part of Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection network.

• Receives micron-level targeting guidance from Huo Yuhao for precision attacks. 66 86
• Combines his artillery and metal control with the reserve team's specialized roles rather than fighting solely as an individual. 37 101

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Metal Cannon Barrels — A set of 128 cannon barrels used for long-range precision bombardment. 86
• Sky Pillar Battle Armor, Phase One — Prototype Battle Armor used in tournament combat. 101
• Divine Hand — Battle Armor component that manipulates metal and breaks defenses from within. 101
• Purple Star Soul Quenching Orchid — Immortal Herb supplied by Gu Yuejin; purified his foundation and enabled his Rank 50 breakthrough. 64 65

Relationships

• Jing Hongchen — Grandfather and head of the Hongchen Family; Jing restrains Xiao's arrogance toward Gu Yuejin and later supports the team built around Xiao and the other students. 26 77
• Meng Hongchen — Younger sister; Xiao is protective of her and disapproves of her infatuation with Gu Yuejin. 27 50
• Gu Yuejin — Instructor and mentor figure; Xiao initially doubts him, then follows his instruction, receives an Immortal Herb from him, and serves as a primary Battle Armor test user. 26 33 64 101
• Huo Yuhao — Classmate and combat partner; Xiao initially calls him a country bumpkin, but later helps introduce him to noble circles and relies on his Spiritual Detection for precision combat. 27 51 66
• Xuan Ziwen — Battle Armor Project collaborator; Xuan recognizes Xiao's metal control as vital to research into linking Battle Armor with a Soul Master's martial soul. 66 68

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Hongchen Family arrival — Meets Gu Yuejin and Huo Yuhao; his pride is shaken by Gu Yuejin's Soul Sage cultivation. 25 26
• Mingdu exploration — Accompanies Gu Yuejin, Huo Yuhao, and Meng Hongchen through Mingdu, largely to keep watch over his sister. 27
• Martial Soul Department — Serves as class monitor under Director Gu Yuejin and becomes part of the reserve-team training system. 33 35 37
• Immortal Herb evolution — Refines the Purple Star Soul Quenching Orchid, reaches Rank 50, and gains deeper metal affinity. 64 65
• Battle Armor Project — Assists Gu Yuejin and Xuan Ziwen in overcoming the metal “Life Link” problem for Battle Armor development. 68
• Soul Master Tournament — Leads the young Sun Moon Team lineup and demonstrates Sky Pillar Phase One against the Heaven Spirit Team. 96 101

Notable Quotes

“Teacher, may I?” 101

“Just a bunch of weaklings.” 101