"What did my grandpa talk to you about?"
Xiao Hongchen was leaning against a tree, looking at Lin Yun.
Lin Yun walked up to Xiao Hongchen. After holding his gaze for a moment, he reached out, plucked a leaf from his head, and casually tossed it aside. His tone was flat as he said,
"Nothing major. Since you're joining the reserve team, your grandpa's worried about you. He appointed me captain of the reserve team this time and told you to mind me."
Xiao Hongchen's breathing hitched. He pushed Lin Yun away and said,
"Quit making things up. I don't believe my grandpa would say that."
Lin Yun folded his arms, looking utterly unruffled as he said,
"If you don't believe me, go ask him. It's your grandpa's office, so what, are you afraid to go in?"
Xiao Hongchen glanced at Lin Yun, then said,
"You'd better not be lying to me. Otherwise, I'll make you regret what you did!"
Lin Yun smiled and kept teasing him.
"Do you know you look just like a white-haired loser throwing a tantrum right now?"
Xiao Hongchen's face turned visibly red, flushed with fury. His voice was hoarse as he said,
"Don't push me into a fight!"
Lin Yun waved a hand and said,
"We're both young. There's no need to threaten each other with violence. Unless someone's an enemy, life is precious."
Xiao Hongchen glared at Lin Yun. After a long pause, he said,
"Just you wait. I'm going to ask Grandpa right now!"
Watching Xiao Hongchen walk away, Lin Yun couldn't help laughing. He left a note saying, "Wait for me here," then turned and headed back to the dorm.
That afternoon, someone knocked on Lin Yun's dorm-room door. As soon as he opened it, he saw Xiao Hongchen staring at him, utterly defeated, with a leaf still caught in his hair.
"Honestly, what's wrong with you? Did you stick that leaf in your hair on purpose to lure me into plucking it off for you?"
Lin Yun teased him as he plucked the leaf from Xiao Hongchen's head and tossed it into the trash.
"Where did you go?!"
"Do you know I waited for you all afternoon? The whole afternoon!"
Xiao Hongchen stared at Lin Yun, looking thoroughly distressed.
"You fell for a lie that obvious? That's called outsmarting someone. Get it?"
The corner of Lin Yun's mouth twitched as he thought of Xiao Hongchen standing there like an idiot all afternoon.
"You... Why would my grandpa pick someone like you to lead the reserve team? This is a major failure of judgment."
Lin Yun looked at Xiao Hongchen and said,
"Ever consider that a proper reserve-team captain ought to be someone like me—clever and capable—instead of someone like you, all skin and bones, clueless, and brainless?"
Xiao Hongchen flushed red with anger again, but the color faded after Lin Yun rested a hand on his shoulder for a minute.
Their Soul Power quality was on completely different levels. As soon as Lin Yun laid a hand on him, Xiao Hongchen knew he wasn't a match.
"Fine, you win. But I really do have muscles! I'm not all skin and bones!"
Lin Yun realized that was what Xiao Hongchen had focused on. He stopped teasing him. It was fun to tease someone who thought he was a genius, but teasing someone this guileless wasn't quite as entertaining.
"All right, I take it back. But whether you're all skin and bones depends on who you're comparing yourself to. Go see people from other countries when you get the chance, and you'll know. Anyway..."
"It's almost time to head to the Star Luo Empire. Go get ready. According to your grandpa, our reserve team will get a chance to compete in this tournament. We won't just be spectators."
Early the next morning, Lin Yun's appointment as captain of the reserve team was announced alongside the roster of the main team.
After the reserve-team and main-team rosters were announced, the two teams held a meeting to get acquainted.
The main team's captain was still Ma Rulong—the one who'd used the Judgment Sword to reverse Ma Xiaotao's attributes and turn her into an Evil Soul Master.
After shaking Lin Yun's hand once, Captain Ma Rulong no longer looked at him with contempt.
Compared with the people of the original Douluo Continent, the people of the Sun Moon Empire had some genetic disadvantages. They were naturally less suited to cultivating Soul Power.
That was simply how things were set up. Given the same Innate Soul Power, someone from the Douluo Continent could reach Soul Douluo, while Soul Saint was a hurdle for someone from the Sun Moon Continent.
Lin Yun had no scientific explanation for this strange setup. But one thing was certain: among people from the Douluo Continent, Lin Yun's cultivation was already exceptionally high-quality. Among the people of the Sun Moon Continent, he stood out like a crane among chickens.
A more straightforward comparison would be taking a prime Mike Tyson, dropping him three weight classes, and having him fight.
Once everyone was seated, Ma Rulong spoke first. The captain immediately handed out last year's match results.
He then analyzed the intelligence about this year's tournament.
Lin Yun didn't say much during the meeting. He simply listened quietly to the intelligence gathered by the Sun Moon Empire. His unruffled composure caught Meng Hongchen's attention.
Influenced by her brother, she'd thought Lin Yun was probably no good. But after seeing him today, she found herself thinking he seemed like a decent person after all.
Not long after the tactical discussion ended, they chose the teacher who would lead this year's team from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
After the teacher had met everyone, he organized them aboard a large soul-guided aircraft.
They set off early, heading toward the Star Luo Empire.
The Snow Empress stood at the edge of the Flying Soul Tool, looking down through the glass wind barrier. She couldn't help but marvel,
"I never imagined Soul Guidance Technology had advanced this far."
"Although the books covered related knowledge, experiencing it in person is completely different from reading about it."
Lin Yun stood beside the Snow Empress, quietly using his Soul Power to block the sound of their voices so she wouldn't let something slip and cause trouble.
Blocking sound with Soul Power might attract attention, but it was still something people could accept. If he let the Snow Empress speak freely, she might blurt out something like, "I never imagined humans could..." one day, and then there'd be a real commotion.
Fortunately, the Snow Empress understood the stakes. After voicing her amazement, she returned to her seat, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating her Soul Power.
Leaning against the glass barrier, Lin Yun occasionally glanced down below.
He had a particular fondness for memorizing maps, so he quickly noticed that this flight aboard the soul-guided aircraft had taken several obvious and entirely unnecessary detours.
The reason for them went without saying: they were taking advantage of this chance to fly openly through another country's airspace and get a good look at the terrain of the three great empires...
Before you continue