Bullying

After Xuan Ziwen spoke, a look of unmistakable astonishment appeared on Xiao Hongchen's face.

He immediately wanted to question Xuan Ziwen.

However, Xuan Ziwen had already anticipated his thoughts:

"Wait until this person has finished speaking before discussing anything else."

Given Xuan Ziwen's talent, he was among the top figures even within Mingde Hall; otherwise, Jing Hongchen would never have let his own grandson apprentice under him.

Therefore, seeing his teacher speak, Xiao Hongchen could only suppress the anger in his heart for the time being:

"Fine, then I'll listen to Teacher Xuan! I'll give you a chance to show what you've got. I want to see just how much skill a grandstanding clown like you actually possesses!"

Although he had no intention of clashing with Xiao Hongchen, even a clay figurine had a temper, let alone Xu Tianming.

"I had no prior grievance with you. Are you certain you want to make an enemy of me over such a trivial matter?"

His tone was indifferent, yet it contained a domineering air that his peers simply did not possess.

If it were anyone else, they might have truly been cowed by this simple sentence from Xu Tianming.

But Xiao Hongchen was different.

He was exceptionally gifted, with no peer in the Sun Moon Empire who could surpass him. Furthermore, his own grandfather was the Hall Master of Mingde Hall, in charge of the Sun Moon Empire's most core Soul Tool technology.

It was no exaggeration to say that within the Sun Moon Empire, a single word from his grandfather was enough to make the imperial court tremble.

With such talent and such a background, how could Xiao Hongchen retreat because of the words of a strange boy?

"Heh, what a big mouth! Who do you think you are? Don't think that just because you can enter Mingde Hall, you're something special! So what if I make an enemy of you? Do you even know who I am?"

After saying this in one breath, Xiao Hongchen paused to catch his breath before continuing his tirade:

"I'll lay it out right here! If you can truly point out three flaws, then this matter is settled. But if you can't provide a reason... Heh, then that proves you're just a grandstanding clown who loves to spout nonsense and is good for nothing!"

"When that happens, you will crawl out of here yourself, and afterwards, I will personally report this to my grandfather. No matter what your status or background is, and no matter how talented you are, I will have your qualifications to study at Mingde Hall stripped! After all, Mingde Hall is a place for dedicated research into Soul Tool technology, not a stage for you to grandstand. Someone like you is not fit to enter Mingde Hall!"

Once these words were spoken, Xuan Ziwen frowned and wanted to say something, but after seeing the calm and composed look in Xu Tianming's eyes, he changed his mind and remained silent for the time being.

He wanted to see what kind of ability this extraordinary youth truly possessed.

At the same time, he felt secretly disappointed in Xiao Hongchen.

While the boy's talent was acceptable, his character was too poor. He might achieve some small success in the future, but if his character did not change, he would never go very far!

From the moment Xiao Hongchen began his wild rant, Ye Guyi at the side had instinctively clenched her fists.

If not for keeping Xu Tianming's instructions firmly in mind, she would have already flashed forward and swung her fist with all her might into Xiao Hongchen's punchable face before he could even finish speaking.

As for Meng Hongchen, she was completely dumbfounded.

According to her expectations, there would at most be a minor conflict between her stinky older brother and this handsome Fourth Prince, and she only needed to step in and mediate before the conflict escalated to achieve her goal.

However, the reality was that the situation had completely exceeded her expectations.

The conflict between her stinky brother and the Fourth Prince was not progressing in stages; it had skipped directly to an almost irreconcilable level from the very start!

How was she supposed to mediate this?

Scolding a prince for grandstanding and even threatening to have her grandfather kick this prince out of Mingde Hall...

If her grandfather found out that he had offended a prince for such a reason without her knowing anything about it, he would probably break her stinky brother's legs...

But she had no time to think about that now; if she didn't show her "understanding" soon, she feared she would never have another chance to show it!

Thinking of this, Meng Hongchen immediately stepped forward. Before Xu Tianming could speak, she pointed at Xiao Hongchen's nose and scolded:

"Xiao Hongchen! You've gone too far! Brother Tianming was just speaking casually; is it necessary to make such a big deal out of it? Also, what right do you have to represent Grandfather in kicking someone out of Mingde Hall? Do you know that you are ruining Grandfather's reputation? If Grandfather finds out what you've done today, he will definitely break your dog legs!"

Xiao Hongchen's words had already been enough to shock Mavuika within the Mental Sea of Consciousness.

She hadn't expected there to be an even more intense player!

Ever since she ascended to the position of the Pyro Archon, everything she had personally handled concerned the survival of Natlan; she hadn't seen a dispute between youths over some trivial matter in a long time.

Seeing it by chance today, Mavuika was full of interest, and at this moment, she couldn't wait to see Xu Tianming slap Xiao Hongchen's face.

It was just a pity that there were no melon seeds or drinks in this Mental Sea of Consciousness; it lacked the soul of a spectator...

Xu Tianming hadn't expected Meng Hongchen to speak up for him at a time like this.

Although this girl definitely had an ulterior motive, just based on these words she had just spoken, she had successfully made Xu Tianming feel favorably toward her.

As for Xiao Hongchen...

After finishing that long, high-spirited speech, he had expected to hear the "feeble excuses" of a "weakling."

After all, he had seen this kind of situation before.

But he never imagined that his own younger sister would be the first to scold him, and that she would affectionately call that arrogant brat "brother"!

Fine, fine, fine!

She addressed her own brother by his full name, yet was so intimate with some wild boy who had popped out of nowhere!

It seemed his stupid sister had already been fed a love potion by this wild boy.

And she had the audacity to say he was ruining Grandfather's reputation and that Grandfather would break his legs?

Ridiculous!

He was clearly upholding the honor of Mingde Hall!

If Grandfather knew what he had done, he would surely heap praise upon him!

It was his own foolish sister who was turning her back on her own kin.

Getting close to some wild brat who crawled out of nowhere—such behavior that disgraced the family name was what truly deserved to have its legs broken!

However, as her own brother, he naturally couldn't be as ungrateful as this foolish girl. Even if she had erred, he was willing to give her a chance to turn over a new leaf:

"Meng Hongchen! Although I don't know what kind of love potion this wild brat has fed you, I am still willing to give you a chance to repent! Leave his side immediately and return to mine, and I can pretend I never heard what you just said. Otherwise, once I report everything that happened today to Grandfather, do you think he will punish you for the crime of disgracing our family?"