The Battle with Sword Fanatic

Xiao Hongchen had been back at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy for three days.

The quasi-sixth-level Soul Tool Sword for Ye Guyi had been delivered. Although he was fully capable of making it a sixth-level weapon, he had decided against it after considering Ye Guyi's cultivation.

He had named the sword Divine Body Sword. It came with an exceptionally powerful AOE skill: Golden Wave.

With a horizontal swing of the sword, holy power transformed into golden light that covered a fan-shaped area fifty meters ahead.

He had even shoved one of his custom self-recharging Milk Bottles into Meng Hongchen's hands to shut her up.

Everything returned to normal: classes, experiments, meditation, meals.

Until one day, a man appeared in front of him.

The man had long, pale-green hair like young bamboo, with a few loose strands falling over his light-green eyes. He had refined, handsome features, fair skin, and a cool, otherworldly air. He wore a traditional-style martial outfit in deep blue, with a white inner layer. Its fine details were sharp and neat, and he carried the aloof air of a swordsman.

There was no doubt about it: Ji Juechen was blocking his way to the cafeteria.

Ji Juechen stood in the middle of the corridor, a pitch-black long sword strapped to his back. He was like a pillar that had put down roots.

Xiao Hongchen stopped short and instinctively tried to go around him.

But Jing Ziyan was standing at the other end of the corridor. She pushed up her glasses and watched him with a smile.

The two of them had blocked both ends, leaving him no way to avoid them.

"Xiao Hongchen," Ji Juechen said. His voice was as cold and deep as he was, like iron that had never been drawn from its sheath. "Fight me."

Xiao Hongchen, of course, remembered him.

Ji Juechen was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's madman of practical combat. His Martial Soul was an ordinary sword, and he had been born with only Rank Three Soul Power.

Over the past few years, he had challenged nearly every noteworthy student in the academy. He won more often than he lost, and even when he lost, he would challenge his opponent again months later, until he won.

Every month, Ji Juechen had the right to choose a challenge target at either Sun Moon Academy or Mingde Hall. It was a privilege his grandfather had specially granted him.

In Xiao Hongchen's memories, this madman had challenged him four times already. The original owner had turned him down every time—not out of fear, but because he found it annoying.

Why should a genius who made his living with Soul Tools fight some sword-obsessed lunatic?

There was nothing to gain by winning and everything to lose by losing face. That was what the original owner had thought, so he had kept dodging him.

But this time, he was cornered. He had no choice but to accept the challenge. Grandpa, you've really done a number on me.

"I'll fight you, but if you lose, you can't keep pestering me."

"We'll talk after the fight."

Ji Juechen's eyes gleamed with fighting spirit. He had clearly paid no attention to Xiao Hongchen's words, and seemed ready to pull out his greatsword.

"Not here. We'll talk after I've eaten."

Xiao Hongchen was genuinely afraid Ji Juechen would start a fight right there at the cafeteria entrance.

Ji Juechen fell silent for a breath.

"I'll wait."

"...Don't say things that could give people the wrong idea."

There weren't many people in the cafeteria.

Xiao Hongchen sat down with his tray, and Ji Juechen sat opposite him with his own.

His greatsword lay across his knees as he ate in silence and with utter focus, as if he hadn't been the one blocking the corridor moments ago.

Meng Hongchen and Ye Guyi walked over with their trays. When they saw the two of them together, they both stopped in their tracks.

Meng Hongchen set her tray beside Xiao Hongchen's and lowered her voice. "Brother, why are you sitting with him? Haven't you always been avoiding him?"

"There's nowhere left to run. I can only fight to the bitter end."

Xiao Hongchen suddenly looked up at Ji Juechen, who was silently eating across from him.

"By the way, let me introduce you."

He pointed at Meng Hongchen. "This is my younger sister, Meng Hongchen. Rank Forty-Six, a close-combat Soul Engineer." Then he pointed at Ye Guyi. "Ye Guyi, Rank Forty-Two, a fourth-level close-combat Soul Engineer."

"My sister's Ice Toad Poison is excellent at controlling an area. Few people at the same level can get close to her. As for Ye Guyi... her swordsmanship is superb."

"Both of them would make better opponents for you than I would. I'm a ranged control type. Fighting me wouldn't satisfy you. They specialize in close combat, so their styles are a better match for your swordsmanship."

Ji Juechen's gaze fell on Meng Hongchen and Ye Guyi. Something seemed to light up in his eyes, and he nodded to them both.

The fork in Meng Hongchen's hand nearly fell.

"Brother! What are you talking about?" she hissed, her silvery-white hair almost standing on end. "You're selling me out?"

"I'm not selling you out. I'm introducing you," Xiao Hongchen replied without batting an eye. "Haven't you always complained that no one at the academy would spar with you?"

"I—" Meng Hongchen opened her mouth, then realized she had no way to argue.

She had complained that her opponents at the academy were too weak. The moment she released her Ice Toad Poison, they would collapse, leaving her no chance to practice pushing herself to the limit.

But that had just been a complaint. It didn't mean she actually wanted some madman to come and hack at her.

Jing Ziyan leaned in beside them, smiling at Meng Hongchen and Ye Guyi.

"Nice to meet you, girls. I hope we get along from now on."

As she spoke, she gave them a friendly smile.

Meng Hongchen paused, then looked up and met that harmless-looking face.

Her mouth twitched stiffly.

"...Okay."

Xiao Hongchen was already laughing to himself. The siblings weren't far apart in cultivation. Surely nobody really wanted to fight someone as obviously artillery-mage-like as him? As for Meng, she could fend for herself. That would teach her to tease him every day.

After the meal, they went to the Soul Fighting Arena.

The Soul Fighting Zone was hexagonal and about the size of a soccer field from his previous life. A broad stretch of open ground occupied the center, clearly where the students fought.

Rows of seats rose around it, with room for several thousand people.

By then, the seats around the edge of the arena were already packed with students who had heard the news and come to watch. The word had spread faster than Xiao Hongchen expected.

The moment Meng Hongchen led Ye Guyi into the spectator stands, a junior student immediately offered them seats in the front row.

Meng Hongchen sat down without a care in the world, somehow producing a handful of melon seeds.

Ye Guyi took the seat beside her and fixed her gaze on the silver-haired boy in the center of the arena.

On the field.

The two stood a hundred and fifty meters apart, facing each other from a distance.

An invisible pressure began to spread through the Soul Tool Trial Arena.

Ji Juechen gripped his sword with both hands. Five Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—appeared and lit up. Every one of his Soul Rings granted a boost.

An incomparably sharp aura burst from him almost instantly. At that moment, it seemed as if his entire being had merged with the Extraterrestrial Meteorite Sword in his hands.

He poured his soul into the sword. That was Ji Juechen's method of cultivation. His own Martial Soul had completely transformed into energy rather than a physical object, perfectly merging with the Extraterrestrial Meteorite Sword in his hands. He was the sword, and the sword was him; they were one and the same.

That razor-sharp aura was his extraordinarily fierce sword intent.

As Ji Juechen poured his powerful Soul Power into the Extraterrestrial Meteorite Sword, it began to emit a faint hum. Its tip seemed to tremble ever so slightly, while Ji Juechen's aura surged at an astonishing pace.

Once that sword was unleashed, heaven and earth would change color.

A hundred and fifty meters away, Xiao Hongchen activated both of his Martial Souls. Five Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—appeared one after another beneath him. His Spiritual Power spread out before him like a rising tide, resisting the razor-sharp sword intent that seeped in from every direction.

At the same time, four Soul Skills lit up. Metal elements within a hundred meters gathered furiously toward his right hand in the shape of a funnel. If one looked closely, faint silver currents could be seen mixed in. It was a sign that Xiao Hongchen's Spiritual Power was nearing the Tangible Form, Intangible Substance Realm.

Soul Power, metal, and Spiritual Power continually blended and compressed.

Xiao Hongchen's fist intent was taking shape as well.

But Xiao Hongchen knew that his fist intent was no match for Ji Juechen's sword intent. He had to strike before Ji Juechen's sword intent reached its peak... That had been the plan, anyway.

"Come at me with everything you have." Ji Juechen's longing of twenty years, and the burning gaze that matched it, moved Xiao Hongchen—a man who would probably never again find meaning in battle.

"Just this once, though!"

Xiao Hongchen smiled, meeting Ji Juechen's gaze from afar. The uncertainty that had stirred in his eyes was now gone, leaving only resolve.

For some reason, the opening notes of AIZO began ringing in his ears. Dang~ dong...