For the next week, Xiao Hongchen's days followed a fairly regular routine.
Every morning, he went to the academy with his younger sister. After they parted ways, he headed straight to Mingde Hall, where he studied Soul Tools above Level Five with Xuan Ziwen and made Soul Tools with his own hands.
He would spend several hours there, eating lunch in the lab, too. On a good day, he could leave around three in the afternoon. When his workload was heavy, he wouldn't finish until evening.
After returning home at night, he still had to train the Three-Legged Golden Toad's ability to control metal. Every so often, he would also head to the Gravity Chamber in the backyard to train his body. After that, he would either go straight to sleep or meditate for a while. Day after day, it was the same.
"Why does this feel so much like my life before I transmigrated? It's still so damn miserable..." Xiao Hongchen grumbled to himself. "If this didn't actually make me stronger, I'd have given up ages ago."
The following morning, his routine was broken.
As usual, Xiao Hongchen went to Mingde Hall, only to find the door to Xuan Ziwen's lab firmly shut. A Soul Tool display on the door showed that the room was "Unoccupied."
"He's not here?" Xiao Hongchen frowned slightly.
Xuan Ziwen was even more of a workaholic than he was, spending at least twelve hours a day in the lab. How had he arrived later than Xiao Hongchen today? Xiao Hongchen had just come up with a question about the stability of humanoid Soul Tools that he wanted to ask him, only to find nobody there.
In that case, he would study on his own. Xiao Hongchen spent another three hours in the lab. After lunch, Xuan Ziwen still hadn't shown up. Remembering what Xuan Ziwen had said earlier, Xiao Hongchen decided to visit his lab on the ground floor. He could treat it as a post-meal stroll and walk off his lunch while he was at it.
Xiao Hongchen took the elevator back to the ground floor and headed straight for Xuan Ziwen's lab.
Before he pushed the door open, he heard a hubbub of chatter and laughter inside.
As the door opened, several people in the lab all turned to look at him.
Four students in the uniforms of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy stood beside the workbench.
At the front stood a tall, burly young man, well over two meters tall, with dark skin and short brown hair. His eyes were bright, and his bulging muscles made his uniform look ready to burst.
Behind him was a petite young girl, about a meter sixty tall, with a rather fierce look in her eyes.
Another girl had long brown hair and looked about sixteen or seventeen. Her large, sleepy brown eyes were hidden behind glasses. Her skin was so flawless and delicate that not a single pore could be seen, as if a pinch would squeeze water out of it. The same uniform brought out her graceful figure to the fullest.
There was also a male student with a slender build and long golden hair falling over his shoulders. He had a high nose bridge and deep, lively blue eyes. His handsome features made him a perfect match for Ju Zi, who stood behind him.
The group had gathered around a workbench, where several unfinished Soul Tool cores lay.
Xiao Hongchen looked around but didn't see Xuan Ziwen anywhere. What a waste of a trip. He had no intention of getting to know these people, so he turned to leave.
"Well, if it isn't our genius Xiao Hongchen," Wang Shaojie said first, his tone openly sour. "What's the matter? You were unconscious at home for over a week, and now you've lost your memory? You don't even know where your own lab is?"
Xiao Hongchen paused and turned around. His mismatched eyes calmly swept over Wang Shaojie and the others behind him.
Wang Shaojie, Ju Zi, Ke Ke, Zi Mu... The four people who had clashed with Huo Yuhao in the lab in the original story were also Xuan Ziwen's students.
He felt nothing at all. If anything, he found it a little boring.
A bunch of people who couldn't even make a stable Level Five core dared to sneer at him?
Xiao Hongchen's voice was flat, tinged with aloof condescension. "I'm here to see Teacher Xuan. May I ask where he is?"
Wang Shaojie gave a cold laugh and glanced at the Level 4 Soul Engineer badge on Xiao Hongchen's chest. His burly frame took a step forward, his muscles bulging beneath his uniform. "Teacher Xuan has an urgent test today. He won't be back. If I remember correctly, you're still a Level 4 Soul Engineer, so you can't choose an advisor, right?"
The petite Ke Ke glared fiercely at Xiao Hongchen without saying a word.
Zi Mu, the golden-haired student, merely curled his lips slightly, watching with interest.
Ju Zi frowned gently, as if she wanted to say something, but Wang Shaojie stopped her with a look.
A Level 4 Soul Engineer?
With the support of his Twin Martial Souls and Brain Martial Soul, his Spiritual Power and ability to control metal had long surpassed those of an ordinary Level 5 Soul Engineer. And these people were still making a fuss about his Level 4 badge. It was laughable. It seemed he would have to take the Level 5 Soul Engineer examination sooner rather than later.
He sighed softly. His voice remained calm, but his aloofness left no room for argument.
"Although I haven't officially become his student yet, you're still Teacher Xuan's student. So tell me, is this how you speak to your senior fellow apprentice?"
Xiao Hongchen narrowed his mismatched eyes slightly. His tone was calm, but every word cut like a blade.
"Even if I set that aside, when you meet a member of Mingde Hall, you should call him 'senior.' Understand?"
Everyone in the lab froze.
"Mingde Hall?" Ju Zi stopped rubbing her eyes, surprise clear despite her sleepy expression. "You joined Mingde Hall?" She was only a Level 4 Soul Engineer herself. Thanks to Crown Prince Xu Tianran's recommendation, she had been able to study in Teacher Xuan's lab, but she was still a long way from joining Mingde Hall.
The petite girl's voice carried a note of disbelief. "Impossible. Mingde Hall only accepts outstanding Soul Engineers at Level Five and above. Even we've failed the examination several times. You're only Level Four..."
The golden-haired student's blue eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of gravity crossing his handsome face.
Wang Shaojie forced a laugh, trying to save face. "Xiao Hongchen, stop bragging! What kind of place is Mingde Hall? You're a Level 4 Soul Engineer who only just woke up, and you think you can get in? If you got in through the back door, fine, but don't come here showing off. You'll make a fool of yourself!"
Looking at the people before him, Xiao Hongchen felt only bored. This was just too predictable.
He might as well knock them down a peg, as a warning to the rest. That way, he wouldn't have clueless idiots who didn't know their place coming to provoke him all the time.
He quietly released his Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul. In an instant, more than twenty Level Five Soul Cannons and eighty Level 4 Soul Cannons appeared behind him, their cold muzzles all trained on Wang Shaojie. The Level Five Soul Cannons were the ones he had improved over the past week.
Wang Shaojie had never seen a sight like this. His face instantly turned deathly pale. Almost reflexively, he released his Martial Soul, and five Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—rose around him. As a member of the imperial family, he at least had the ideal Soul Ring configuration.
Nearly fifty Soul Cannons of various designs suddenly appeared around him as well, but only a handful were Level Five. Only after confirming he could activate his Soul Tool shield at any moment did Wang Shaojie manage to steady himself. He forced himself to swallow and look calm.
Xiao Hongchen's gaze remained calm, but his voice carried a faint chill.
"Wang Shaojie, weren't you just acting so high and mighty? Go on."
Xiao Hongchen lifted a hand and gave a light wave. Every Soul Cannon behind him lit up at once with blinding golden light, and a terrifying surge of Soul Power instantly flooded the room like a rising tide.
Wang Shaojie's face went utterly white. He could clearly feel death looming over him—his Soul Tool shield definitely couldn't withstand the coming saturation attack. Cold sweat instantly covered his forehead, and his voice began to tremble.
"Senior... Senior Brother Xiao! D-don't do anything rash! That was just a little joke from your junior!"
"Oh?"
A faint curve lifted the corner of Xiao Hongchen's mouth, but there was not the slightest trace of a smile in his eyes.
"So you're calling me 'Senior Brother' to save your life?"
He paused. His voice suddenly turned light and airy, yet carried a chill that made one's heart tremble.
"Too bad. The thing I hate most is a presumptuous joke like that."
Wang Shaojie's legs gave way, and he nearly fell to his knees. His voice was close to tears.
"Senior Brother Xiao! I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Please... Please give me another chance!"
Looking at Wang Shaojie's miserable state, Xiao Hongchen felt a flicker of satisfaction. He slowly drew back some of his Soul Power, but the cannons remained trained on the other boy. He didn't fully lower the threat.
"Remember how this feels."
His voice was calm, but his authority left no room for dispute.
"If I ever hear you throwing your imperial status around in front of me again, I won't just scare you."
With that, he gave a light wave of his hand. All the Soul Cannons dimmed at once and disappeared back into the phantom image of the Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul.
Wang Shaojie looked as if he had just been pardoned. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. He didn't dare look up at Xiao Hongchen again. Cold sweat mixed with dust on his forehead, leaving him utterly disheveled.
On the viewing platform not far away, three figures had silently watched everything unfold.
Some of the laziness had faded from Ju Zi's eyes, replaced by a solemn look. She thought, Xiao Hongchen has been hiding his strength all this time. I need to find a chance to report this to the Crown Prince. As for me, I can try to befriend him first. Maybe he'll come in handy later when I help the Crown Prince and the Master of Mingde Hall build a closer relationship.
Beside her, Ke Ke folded her arms and frowned slightly. "That display just now... He must have used more than a hundred Soul Cannons, right? He's only thirteen, yet he can control that many Soul Cannons at once. Just how monstrous is this guy?"
Zi Mu gently pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, a complicated glint in his eyes. His voice was low.
"It's not just the number. His precision in controlling metal and his distribution of Soul Power have both reached a terrifying level. Wang Shaojie's fifty Soul Cannons looked like toys beside his. It seems... we'll have to reassess him."
The three exchanged glances, seeing the same wariness and gravity in one another's eyes.
Xiao Hongchen paid the group behind him no further attention. He turned and walked straight out of the lab.
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