Xiao Hongchen: Expelling Evil Soul Masters from the Academy

The infirmary was not far, and the two arrived quickly.

The school doctor was surprisingly absent. The room was quiet, with only the vines of the pothos on the windowsill swaying gently in the breeze.

"Cough... the doctor isn't even here. I'll have my grandfather dock his pay later."

Xiao Hongchen made an awkward attempt at small talk.

He, of course, had no idea that his sister had already run over earlier to lure the doctor away.

Ye Guyi's gaze swept over the medicine cabinet against the wall, and she said softly:

"Sit down."

Xiao Hongchen sat on the edge of the bed and extended his right hand.

The wound had basically stopped bleeding—after fusing with the Gold of Life, his self-healing ability far exceeded that of an ordinary person. That remark he made earlier about "it would have healed if you didn't treat it" really wasn't a joke.

Ye Guyi opened the cabinet door and took out a roll of clean white cloth and a jar of hemostatic ointment.

She sat down opposite him, unscrewed the lid of the ointment, dipped a bit with her fingertip, paused for a moment hovering over the back of his hand, and then applied it gently.

The ointment was cool, and so were her fingers.

The back of Xiao Hongchen's hand tensed slightly.

She spread the ointment evenly, the scab softening under its moisture, then used a corner of the white cloth to press down gently, soaking up the remaining blood.

"Does it hurt?" Ye Guyi asked in a low voice.

"No."

Ye Guyi didn't speak again. She wrapped the white cloth around his hand, circle by circle. When she reached the final turn, she suddenly stopped.

A pale golden light ignited from her palm.

First Soul Skill—Holy Light Illumination.

The most primordial sacred power of the Angel Martial Soul seeped into Xiao Hongchen's wound through her fingertips.

That warm, pure radiance felt like soft feathers brushing against the damaged skin. Cells accelerated their growth within the light, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Xiao Hongchen only felt a warm itch on the back of his hand; the original stinging pain quickly faded, replaced by a comfortable, tingling sensation.

Ye Guyi finished wrapping the last layer of cloth and said in a low voice:

"All done... it shouldn't leave a scar."

Her voice was even softer than usual.

"Is that so? Thank you... Guyi."

Ye Guyi didn't look up, only giving a soft "Mm."

She turned to walk toward the medicine cabinet to put the ointment and the remaining cloth away. When her back was turned to him, her shoulder lines appeared somewhat tense, and her fingertips lingered on the cabinet door for a moment before she closed it gently.

"Well, I'll head back now?"

Having finished treating Xiao Hongchen's wound, Ye Guyi prepared to escape.

"Sure, and take Meng with you on your way out."

His spiritual power far exceeded that of an ordinary person; he had long since discovered his sister hiding at the door, peeking through the crack. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Eh? Meng is here too?"

Ye Guyi hadn't noticed at all. She was clearly stunned at his words and instinctively turned to look at the door.

Outside the crack, Meng Hongchen was caught red-handed. She let out a soft "Ah," tossed her long, silver-blue hair, and simply pushed the door open with a flourish, a blatant, gossipy smile on her face:

"You found me~"

She walked over quickly, hooked her arm through Ye Guyi's, and looked back and forth between the two with sparkling eyes.

But Ye Guyi soon dragged Meng Hongchen out of the infirmary without a word.

"Finally, some peace."

Xiao Hongchen lay on the bed and let out a long breath.

The battle with Ji Juechen was far from as easy as it appeared on the surface; that sharp, piercing sword intent still lingered in his perception, giving him much to reflect on.

He secretly decided that he would incorporate these sensations into his Black Flash later.

As for his next plans...

Feeling his soul power, which had already reached level forty-nine, Xiao Hongchen had a clear plan in mind: he would devote most of his energy to cultivation and body tempering from here on out.

His fifth soul ring required a soul beast with at least thirty thousand years of cultivation; he couldn't just settle for anything.

In the original story, Xiao Hongchen's fifth soul skill was called Attachment of Gold, an extremely powerful thirty-thousand-year soul skill. At that time, he had relied on special drugs to forcibly boost himself to barely succeed in absorbing it, and the consequence was that his control over this skill was far from being able to use it as he pleased.

But now, he was quite satisfied with Attachment of Gold, a skill that could liquefy his body into liquid metal.

His body, transformed by the Gold of Life, gave him the confidence to absorb this thirty-thousand-year soul ring directly.

"Mm, I'll use that soul beast as a baseline," Xiao Hongchen thought. "If I can't find anything more suitable, I'll absorb it."

Now that his Brain Martial Soul had been augmented with a soul ring, and he was accustomed to releasing both martial souls simultaneously during combat, he appeared on the surface to be a five-ringed Soul King with "two yellow, two purple, and one black" rings.

Once he obtained his fifth soul ring, his status would directly become that of a Soul Emperor, which was a very bad situation.

He did not possess Huo Yuhao's "Simulation" soul skill, nor did he care to hunt Ice Silkworms. In the Far North, the Ice Silkworm clan was nothing more than roadside trash; there were basically none over ten thousand years old, and a thousand-year Ice Silkworm would only waste his precious soul ring slot.

It seemed he would have to seek out a vision-based or camouflage-based soul skill after obtaining his fifth soul ring.

Afterward, he could ask his grandfather to see if he had any recommended soul beasts.

Besides that, there was another matter he needed to clarify with his grandfather.

But for now, he should focus on cultivating to level fifty.

Thinking of this, he sat up from the bed and crossed his legs.

His right hand was still injured and not suitable for crafting Soul Tools; it would take a few more days to fully recover. Now was the perfect time for cultivation.

Xiao Hongchen took out several pieces of rare metal suitable for absorption and entered a meditative state while slowly absorbing the energy within them.

Hongchen Mansion.

Xiao Hongchen stood before Jing Hongchen's room.

As if he had made a certain decision, he finally knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A familiar voice drifted out.

Xiao Hongchen pushed the door open and locked it securely behind him.

"What is it, Xiao?"

Jing Hongchen noticed that something was off with Xiao Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen had already steeled himself, so he went straight to the point:

"I want to know if Mingde Hall has some sort of cooperation with the Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

But Jing Hongchen's expression showed no trace of panic; he simply watched Xiao Hongchen quietly.

Finally, he spoke, his voice remaining steady:

"Why would you think that?"

Xiao Hongchen had absolutely no fondness for the Holy Spirit Cult.

No, "no fondness" was too mild a term.

To be precise, it was the kind of hatred that made him want to identify them with hundreds of soul cannons.

Xiao Hongchen was not a native of the Sun Moon Empire.

As someone who had transmigrated from another world, he had never considered himself a native of this land, and he shouldn't have cared about the injustices or cruel encounters they suffered.

But humans were, after all, emotional creatures.

The massacres of villages, the harvesting of souls, the refining of artifacts, and the imprisonment of living souls to ensure they could never be reincarnated—the things the Holy Spirit Cult committed within the Sun Moon Empire were ten times more cruel than the most brutal things he had heard of on Blue Star.

Too numerous to record. That idiom was probably meant to describe this exact situation.

The thought that Evil Soul Masters might be hiding inside the Mingde Hall he entered every day made his scalp crawl.

And what he couldn't bear to think about further was something else.

If one day, Ye Guyi discovered that the family she had walked into with such hope actually had some sort of cooperation with the enemies who killed her parents—

Xiao Hongchen dared not think any further.

"So, there really is?"

Xiao Hongchen stared directly at Jing Hongchen.

He already knew the answer, of course. He hadn't come here to verify the fact, but to see if Jing Hongchen would hide it from him as well.

Jing Hongchen let out a long sigh.

"There is."

He was, by nature, an egoist—or more accurately, a family-egoist.

As a hereditary duke, he had never cared about the lives of ordinary people. Perhaps he felt sympathy for their plight, but so what? He couldn't see it, and even if he did, what could he do? It wasn't as if he were the one doing it.

Xiao Hongchen watched him quietly, as if waiting for the rest.

Jing Hongchen did not rush to explain. He walked back to his chair and sat down, resting his hands on the armrests. His expression held no guilt, but rather the composure of someone who, having seen through things so thoroughly, was too lazy to hide them anymore.

"Do you want to know why?"

"I want to know many things," Xiao Hongchen said. "But tell me why first."

Jing Hongchen was silent for a moment before he spoke, his voice steady, as if he were stating a matter that had nothing to do with him:

"The Xishui Alliance provides Mingde Hall with a large amount of rare metals every month. As a condition, I allow their people to study within Mingde Hall."

He paused.

"Mingde Hall is not short of that batch of metal, but more is always better. Besides, that batch of goods goes directly into my personal accounts, which is different in nature from what the Empire allocates."

Xiao Hongchen fell silent for two seconds after hearing this.

"As for breaking ties with them—" Jing Hongchen didn't wait for him to speak, continuing on his own, "You know what is behind them, and you know the current relationship between the Imperial family and them. You want to flip the table at a time like this?"

This statement was not wrong.

It was not wrong at all, which was precisely why it made one feel even more stifled.

"So, the day Ye Guyi came," Xiao Hongchen said expressionlessly, "the things you said, were they insincere?"

Jing Hongchen glanced at him and shook his head.

"No."

He leaned back into his chair, his voice slowing down:

"The Imperial family cannot tolerate the Holy Spirit Cult; that is only a matter of time. Furthermore, Xu Tianran will likely become the next Emperor."

Xu Tianran.

That young man sitting in a wheelchair—Jing Hongchen had encountered him a few times.

The things hidden in those eyes were not what a cripple should possess.

He had tried to win Jing Hongchen over, and in his words, he had already laid out a corner of the future chessboard.

If he could ascend the throne, there would inevitably be a war.

During wartime, the value of Mingde Hall would be magnified exponentially. Weapons, talent, logistics—the Hongchen Family would transform from a hereditary figurehead into a truly irreplaceable force.

"When the situation of the Empire unifying the continent is set, that will be the day the Imperial family makes their move," Jing Hongchen continued, his voice steady, as if he had planned this more than once. "You and Meng, along with Ye Guyi, will strike the Holy Spirit Cult a heavy blow at that time. Even if there are rumors outside, the three of you will claim to know nothing. Do you understand?"

He paused for a moment.

"Even if the matter of colluding with the Evil Soul Masters is exposed, I will be the one to bear it. You are the heroes who saved the people from fire and water, the brave ones in the eyes of the public. The prestige of the Hongchen Family will only become more stable by then; it will not fall."

Although Jing Hongchen said this, he knew clearly in his heart that even if it reached that point, he would not be severely punished; having his title of Duke stripped would be the absolute worst of it.

The room fell quiet.

Xiao Hongchen stood where he was, watching Jing Hongchen without moving.

"Your plan is very thorough, but I do not accept it."

Jing Hongchen's brows twitched slightly.

"This is not a question of whether you accept it or not—"

Xiao Hongchen interrupted him.

He took two steps closer, shortening the distance between them for the first time in this conversation.

"I do not accept that ending."

"And I certainly do not want you to pave the way for us in this manner."

"This is what I can do for the Hongchen family—"

"I don't care for it."

The three words were like a stone, suppressing whatever Jing Hongchen was about to say next.

Jing Hongchen looked at him without speaking.

Xiao Hongchen did not give him a chance to open his mouth, continuing:

"Also, Grandfather, are you underestimating yourself?"

He walked slowly around the room, as if organizing his thoughts.

"What kind of place is Mingde Hall? You know better than I do. It is the holy land of research and the largest military factory in the Sun Moon Empire. How many years have you operated in the imperial court? Do you not have a sense of your own weight?"

He stopped and turned to look at Jing Hongchen.

"Clear them all out. Whether they are registered names or those hiding in the corners who have never shown their faces, deport them all. Cleanly, leaving not a single one behind."

Xiao Hongchen's tone was calm, as if he were speaking of something that was a matter of course.

"Do you really think the Holy Spirit Cult can flip the table?"

Xiao Hongchen did not believe such a trivial matter could reach the level of the Dragon or Ye, and even Zhongli Wu would not necessarily offend the Master of Mingde Hall over this.

Jing Hongchen did not respond immediately.

"No matter how arrogant the Holy Spirit Cult is, they haven't reached the point where they can openly seek justice for themselves in the imperial court."

Xiao Hongchen continued:

"If they want to move against you, they must first put themselves in the public eye, and that is precisely what they fear most."

He paused.

"Furthermore, from a public perspective, clearing the Evil Soul Masters out of the academy is a good thing. Even the Emperor would have to reward you on the surface, holding his nose to grant you credit. By then, the reputation of Mingde Hall among the common people will only be higher, not lower."

"You have used their metal to gain convenience for so many years; now, using a clean finish to wash all those things away—this account is not a loss."

Jing Hongchen sat in his chair, looking at the young man standing before him.

Xiao, you have truly grown up.

"You make it sound so easy." He finally spoke, his voice a few shades deeper than before. "Repatriation is simple, but what about the aftermath? The Holy Spirit Cult won't swallow this insult; they will look for an outlet. I am not afraid for myself, but for you all..."

Jing Hongchen was, after all, afraid of burying his own kin once again.

"Then let them come." Xiao Hongchen wore a confident expression. "If one comes, I'll take them on; if two come, I'll take on the pair."

"Besides, are you underestimating me, or have you forgotten about Electrolux?"

Before Electrolux fell into his slumber, he had entrusted that Undead Semi-Plane into his hands.

As long as a Title Douluo didn't intervene, even if he couldn't win a fight, couldn't he still run?

"As for Meng, couldn't you just grant her Red Dust Protection?"

Jing Hongchen remained silent, watching him for a long time.

This child he had watched grow up—he didn't know when it started, but he had already mapped out every retreat, sheltered everyone within his own calculations, and could still stand here, looking so calm and collected.

"You child."

There was something rare in Jing Hongchen's voice, something that could not be clearly defined as helplessness or otherwise. "You still speak in a way that leaves no room for rebuttal."

He paused, as if he had finally reached a decision. Once that breath was released, his entire demeanor became a few degrees more steady.

"By the end of this semester at the latest, I will investigate and uncover every single Evil Soul Master hidden within the academy and Mingde Hall."

Xiao Hongchen smiled.

"It should have been done long ago."

He finished, then paused, something flickering in his eyes as if something long-suppressed had finally found an exit.

"Those Evil Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy—I will drive them all out! Not a single one will remain!"