Xiao Hongchen's smug, arrogant look nearly drove Meng Hongchen mad.
If the person she cared about hadn't been right beside her, she would have thrown all decorum aside and gotten into an even fiercer argument with her stupid brother.
But now, unwilling to damage her image in front of Xu Tianming, she could only force down her anger. She gave Xiao Hongchen, who was still basking in his own smugness, one last pitying look and thought to herself:
You idiot, you're done for! You really think victory is yours? Heh. Once the Fourth Prince's identity is revealed, you'll realize just how foolish your actions were!
As a direct descendant of the Hongchen Family, Meng Hongchen had received all kinds of instruction from childhood, even as a girl. That was precisely why she saw the situation more clearly than most.
What if Xu Tianming really had been talking out of turn just now?
A minister's son daring to challenge the dignity of the imperial family was an unforgivable crime!
Although her grandfather wielded considerable power and might be able to protect Xiao Hongchen for a while, thanks to his many years of service to the Sun Moon Empire...
But at what cost?
What if, afterward, the Fourth Prince held a grudge and waited until the time was right to settle the score?
The thought of all those terrible consequences made Meng Hongchen almost afraid to think further.
Perhaps she should have revealed Xu Tianming's identity as soon as Xiao Hongchen tossed out the Gold Soul Coin. That would have avoided a lot of trouble.
But what had happened had happened. There was no point in playing the wise man after the fact and dwelling on it now.
Since her foolish brother was beyond saving, she, his more talented genius of a sister, would have to shoulder the future hopes of the Hongchen Family!
As for how she would do that...
Meng Hongchen's bright, pretty eyes darted about. Then she summoned her courage, slipped her arm through Xu Tianming's left arm, and said in a sweet, coquettish voice:
"Brother Tianming, don't be angry, okay? Xiao Hongchen must have something wrong with his head, which is why he said all those stupid things while out of his mind... If you're still upset, Brother Tianming... then, um, why don't you hit me a few times to vent your anger? Just be gentle, okay? I'm afraid of pain~"
At her words, Xiao Hongchen rubbed his eyes in disbelief, nearly dropping his jaw on the spot.
What had he just heard?
Had that strange noise really come from the sister he knew?
Could Meng Hongchen really say those coquettish things?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Something was wrong!
At least twelve out of ten things were wrong!
After carefully recalling the Meng Hongchen he knew, Xiao Hongchen reached a conclusion that, though hard to believe, he couldn't help accepting:
His foolish little sister was probably possessed!
Ye Guyi was practically grinding her teeth to dust.
The moment Meng Hongchen hooked her arm around Xu Tianming's, Ye Guyi's eyes widened. She stared fixedly at their arms entwined together.
She still didn't know what love was, but the sight made her feel inexplicably miserable. A thought kept repeating itself in her mind:
Let go! Hurry and let go! Young Master, make her let go of your arm! Why does she get to stand so close to you? I was here first...
Inside the Mental Sea of Consciousness.
Even Mavuika, usually so cheerful, was thoroughly stunned by Meng Hongchen:
"My goodness, are young people in this world really this bold?"
But Columbina was focused on a different question:
"Mavuika, do you think Tianming likes girls getting this close to him?"
"Huh? Why would you think that?"
"Because if Tianming didn't like it, that girl wouldn't have had a chance to hook her arm around his."
Following Columbina's line of thought, Mavuika fell silent.
It did seem that way!
"Though you have a point, I think we should wait and see."
At the same time, Xu Tianming glanced down at the arm Meng Hongchen had linked with his, then carefully felt the softness pressed against it.
It was hard to imagine that Meng Hongchen was so young, yet already so well developed!
No, this wasn't the time to be thinking about that!
After forcing the thoughts that didn't belong in his mind right now out of his head, Xu Tianming didn't even look at Xiao Hongchen. He simply pointed to the tip of the Soul Tool Sword, as Columbina had suggested earlier:
"First, here. If I'm not mistaken, Senior Brother Xuan deliberately applied a little extra pressure when carving this Soul Guidance Array. It wouldn't cause the array engraving to fail, but when activated in actual combat, the Soul Guidance Array would take about a second longer to activate than an intact one. Am I right?"
Xuan Ziwen had assumed the scene that followed would turn into a contest of bravado between the two young men. He hadn't expected Xu Tianming to steer the conversation straight back on track—and everything he said was exactly right!
He was deeply shocked. For a moment, he could only stare at Xu Tianming in astonishment.
This poised young man had really spotted the tiny mistake he'd made on purpose in such a short time!
This was a test he'd devised specifically to make things difficult for Xiao Hongchen. Even an experienced Level 4 Soul Engineer might not have noticed the flaw after watching the entire process!
A few days ago, Jing Hongchen, the master of Mingde Hall, had asked him to take the Hongchen siblings as personal disciples.
But Xuan Ziwen only wanted to devote himself to researching civilian Soul Tools. On top of that, his principles clashed with Jing Hongchen's, so he didn't want to accept the request.
Unfortunately, Jing Hongchen held considerable influence. As the master of Mingde Hall, he had to show him some respect. Even though research was the priority within Mingde Hall, it was still impossible to ignore the ways of the world entirely.
But he had one condition.
He would take the Hongchen siblings as personal disciples, but they would have to pass a test he designed himself. If they failed, that would prove they weren't suited to study under him, and no one could blame him for refusing them.
As one of Mingde Hall's chief researchers, Jing Hongchen couldn't very well force Xuan Ziwen too much. So after hearing the condition, he pondered briefly before agreeing.
And today happened to be the day the Hongchen siblings took his test.
Meng Hongchen was a little younger and more interested in having fun, so her test was just a formality. She gave up on her own before long.
As for Xiao Hongchen...
He'd done well on the first few basic tests, but unfortunately, when Xuan Ziwen really raised the difficulty, his performance left much to be desired.
Compared with ordinary people, Xiao Hongchen's talent might already have been considered exceptional.
But given his standing, the talent he'd shown so far simply wasn't enough.
Taking into account the differences between their positions, Xuan Ziwen had ultimately decided against accepting him as a disciple.
And his way of refusing was to have Xiao Hongchen inspect the Soul Tool Sword he'd crafted himself.
Before you continue