New Combat Ideas

It was noon by the time Xiao Hongchen finished wandering around Mingde Hall, yet he did not leave.

After a hearty lunch delivered by the staff, Xiao Hongchen immediately threw himself back into his work in the rest area of the laboratory.

He intended to upgrade his specialty: the large-scale soul tool artillery strike system.

Previously, he had been capable of controlling nearly eighty level-four soul cannons simultaneously, but there was still a significant gap between that and his ideal level of fire suppression.

Now, with his mental power significantly enhanced, he estimated that he could control over a hundred soul cannons at once, at least half of which were level-five specifications. This solidified his resolve to upgrade the arrays. Therefore, his current task was to gradually upgrade his soul cannons' original level-four soul arrays to level-five.

Xiao Hongchen spent the entire afternoon immersed in the laboratory. Using the Dark Gold Profound Blade as his tool, he combined the Three-Legged Golden Toad martial soul's extreme affinity for metal with the overclocked computational power provided by his Brain martial soul, losing himself completely in the world of soul tools.

Sweat soaked his school uniform, yet he remained oblivious, each stroke of his carving knife imbued with increasingly precise metal control.

It was not until the sky outside turned completely dark and the laboratory's soul lights flickered on automatically that Xiao Hongchen finally stopped his knife and let out a long breath.

"That's enough for today..."

In just this short afternoon, five shimmering level-five soul cannon core arrays sat neatly arranged on the workbench before him.

"This... you finished all of these in one afternoon?" Xuan Ziwen, who had walked over after noticing Xiao Hongchen was finished, was stunned once again, his eyes filled with disbelief. One had to know that crafting soul core arrays was an extremely taxing endeavor for both mental power and soul power.

"Five level-five core arrays, not only with a hundred percent success rate, but each one's precision exceeds the standard template. Xiao Hongchen, your speed and control are practically cheating!"

Xiao Hongchen raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, a proud smile tugging at the corners of his mouth: "What is so difficult about that? It is merely following a map; there is no innovation here. Teacher, do not forget my title outside these walls."

Xuan Ziwen opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally let out a long sigh: "The Sun Moon Empire's number one genius? You brat... you really are a monster."

"A monster?" Xiao Hongchen raised an eyebrow. "I think it is just that your standards are too low, Teacher Xuan."

"Enough, stop with the glib talk." Xuan Ziwen waved his hand, his expression returning to its usual rigor, though a hint of imperceptible expectation lingered in his tone. "Even if you exhausted yourself this afternoon, do not be late tomorrow morning."

"Understood, Teacher Xuan." Xiao Hongchen flicked his wrist, a trace of soul power stirring as he precisely stored the five core arrays into his storage soul tool. He performed a student's salute.

With that, he turned and walked toward the laboratory exit without lingering. The Dark Gold Profound Blade spun nimbly between his fingers before vanishing into his sleeve.

When he stepped out of Mingde Hall, the sky had turned completely dark. The family's soul tool carriage was still waiting quietly at the academy gate.

Upon returning to the Hongchen family estate, the butler, Pin Hongchen, was already waiting at the entrance. Seeing Xiao Hongchen return, he immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully:

"Young Master, you have returned. The first batch of rare metals has been delivered to your room and categorized according to your requirements. Most are on the list, though a small amount will arrive in two days due to logistical issues."

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Xiao Hongchen's eyes as he nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Pin."

After dinner with his grandfather and sister, Xiao Hongchen moved all the metal powder in his room into his storage soul belt and went alone to the estate's backyard.

The night was cool as water, and the bright moonlight bathed the empty courtyard, making the neatly trimmed vegetation appear exceptionally tranquil.

Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath and brushed his hand across his soul belt. With a faint hum of soul power, various rare metal powders arranged themselves neatly before him.

He released both of his martial souls simultaneously, his first and third soul skills lighting up in succession.

His first soul skill, "Metal Control," significantly boosted his affinity and precision in manipulating metal, while his third soul skill, "Gold Solidification," allowed him to instantly condense metal into any form.

Driven by his powerful mental energy, the metal blocks on the ground disintegrated rapidly, turning into fine powder. Countless particles of metal rose like obedient fireflies, circling and dancing around his body.

Xiao Hongchen was curious to test his current limits.

He continuously withdrew more metal from his storage soul tool, turning it all into powder and gathering it together. Only when his mental power began to feel a clear sense of strain did he allow the powder to settle back onto the ground.

Using only his first and third soul skills, he could currently control about five cubic meters of metal with relative stability. If he were merely wrapping or crushing, this number could be higher, but in actual combat, where speed and precision were paramount, the effectively controllable amount would be significantly lower.

Manipulating the metal powder already on the ground was much easier.

Xiao Hongchen swung his right hand forward sharply, and a torrent of metal several times larger than before surged out, rushing forward like a tide to completely envelop a massive boulder.

"Sand Binding Coffin." He slowly closed his five fingers, uttering the chuunibyou-esque phrase. No sooner had the words left his lips than the boulder, wrapped in metal powder, was crushed as if by a giant hand, instantly turning into fine dust that fell to the ground in a rustle.

Xiao Hongchen raised an eyebrow in satisfaction and relaxed his palm; the metal powder slid off the pile of rubble like a receding tide, gathering back at his feet.

"But brute force alone is not enough." He muttered to himself, gesturing with his hand. A small stream of metal powder separated from the torrent, rapidly condensing into a thin needle in mid-air before zipping into a distant tree trunk, embedding itself deep within the wood. Immediately after, he split off another stream, weaving it into a fine metal net in the blink of an eye, which expanded and contracted in the air as flexibly as if it were a part of his own body.

Afterward, Xiao Hongchen experimented with a new tactic—while using the metal torrent to sweep through an opponent, he could suddenly extend countless sharp metal spikes from within to launch a surprise attack.

He also verified another application: forming a layer of absolute defense around himself using high-hardness metal. Under such protection, even a high-level assault-type Soul King would be unable to break through, not to mention that he could still extend metal spikes from within to counterattack.

There were simply too many ways to manipulate metal, and he would have to leave them for future development. From the afternoon until now, the high-intensity mental expenditure had been constant, and even with his talent and physique, he felt a deep sense of fatigue.

Xiao Hongchen stretched his slightly sore body and turned toward the main residence.

As he entered the courtyard gate, a servant hurried over and bowed respectfully:

"Young Master, you have returned. The hot water is ready, and the Family Head has prepared a medicinal bath for you. Please, follow me."

Xiao Hongchen nodded and followed the servant to the bathroom. The Hongchen family was wealthier than an entire nation; in the original story, they had been able to bid 150 million for the Snow Emperor's embryo with ease, and their daily provision for him and his sister, Meng Hongchen, was luxurious to the extreme.

Pushing open the door, heat mixed with a faint medicinal fragrance rushed to meet him. The large jade bathtub was filled with amber-colored medicinal liquid, with many precious spirit herbs floating on the surface.

He removed his clothes and slowly submerged himself into the pool.

The warm liquid instantly enveloped his entire body, the interplay of stinging sensation and comfort quickly easing the exhaustion from the afternoon's high-intensity mental labor. The slight soreness in his body also gradually subsided under the nourishment of the medicine.

Xiao Hongchen leaned against the edge of the pool, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.

"A productive day..."

Becoming Xuan Ziwen's personal disciple, the conceptualization of the level-five array upgrade, and the successful completion of his first metal manipulation experiment. He would just have to keep getting stronger, bit by bit.

After finishing the medicinal bath and returning to his bedroom, Xiao Hongchen had barely lain down on the bed before a profound sense of weariness washed over him. From dawn until now, he had hardly stopped for a single moment.

His consciousness quickly sank into the darkness.