Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen

"Too rare? Can't believe it?"

"With me, Xiao Hongchen, here, there's still—"

Before the delicate-featured youth could finish, the girl with wine-red hair beside him clamped a hand over his mouth.

"That's enough. I know you're about to start bragging about your own situation again."

"Meng Hongchen, what are you doing!"

The youth struggled free and turned to snap at her.

"Obviously, I'm stopping you from acting arrogant all day long."

"Honestly, it's so exhausting. Teacher, please continue; don't mind my brother."

As she spoke, the girl slapped him again, firmly covering the youth's mouth once more.

"Uh... haha, right, let's continue, let's continue."

The teacher on the podium laughed awkwardly.

"That's about the situation with classmate Ye Luochen. Just as Xiao Hongchen said, please take care of him in the future and strive to help him integrate into our big family as soon as possible."

"Alright, classmate Ye Luochen, you may return to your seat."

Although he was a bit bewildered by this interlude, Ye Luochen still nodded.

He then returned to his seat and sat down.

However, his gaze couldn't help but drift toward the youth and girl who were still scuffling.

Judging by their words, these two were likely siblings.

Of course, what Ye Luochen cared about wasn't that, but their names.

Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen.

If he remembered correctly, the Mingde Hall master he had just met yesterday.

His name was Jing Hongchen, right?

Plus the scene earlier, where the youth's mere opening words had silenced everyone, it was clear these two siblings definitely had a significant connection to the Mingde Hall master.

It seems I'm not the only one with connections in this class.

After the interlude, the class continued, and the teacher began the regular lecture.

Time passed until near noon, when the bell rang.

The teacher announced the end of class, and the classroom became lively once again.

Many students gathered in twos and threes, though it was unclear whether they were discussing the lesson or the morning's little episode.

Ye Luochen remained in his seat.

He stared at the few sparse characters in his notebook, lost in thought.

Strictly speaking, they couldn't even be called characters.

Because the page was mostly filled with random, scribbled symbols.

Of course, this wasn't because Ye Luochen hadn't been listening or taking notes seriously.

He was always very diligent regarding anything that could help improve his strength.

But unfortunately, he hadn't understood a single word of what the teacher had just said.

Just then, a figure stopped beside his desk.

Ye Luochen looked up and met a pair of blue eyes.

The person who had come over was none other than the delicate-featured youth, Xiao Hongchen.

Glancing at Ye Luochen's notebook, which had nothing to do with the lesson, Xiao Hongchen seemed somewhat stunned and asked in confusion:

"Why didn't you take any notes?"

Ye Luochen nodded candidly:

"I didn't understand, so I couldn't."

"You didn't understand any of it?"

"None of it."

Xiao Hongchen raised an eyebrow slightly.

Even with his personality, he couldn't help but find this a bit novel.

"Then what have you been doing sitting here all morning?"

"Listening to the lecture."

"Did you understand it?"

"No."

"..."

Just as Xiao Hongchen was left speechless by Ye Luochen's words, a girl with wine-red hair who had appeared out of nowhere, Meng Hongchen, landed a solid slap on him.

"Here you go again. He already said he just started learning about soul tools, yet you're still here trying to gross him out."

"Having a brother like you is truly a stain on my reputation, Meng Hongchen."

"Shut up."

Xiao Hongchen struggled to break free, glaring at his younger sister with annoyance.

"Watch your mouth, Meng Hongchen."

"What do you mean I'm trying to gross him out? I'm just a little curious about our new classmate's situation."

"Although he does seem a bit weak in terms of soul tools right now, being able to reach nearly level forty soul power at an age similar to ours already makes him one of the few people in the academy who can pique my interest."

The response Xiao Hongchen received was another heavy, unrestrained slap from his sister.

"You're invincible, Xiao Hongchen. You're showing off again without even trying."

"If you hit me again, I'm going to lose my temper!"

Breaking free once more, Xiao Hongchen turned his head to snap at her before looking back at Ye Luochen.

"Ye Luochen, right?"

"Yes."

"Let's get to know each other."

Xiao Hongchen extended his hand.

"My name is Xiao Hongchen."

"If you don't understand anything in the future, feel free to ask me."

Seeing this, Ye Luochen was slightly stunned, but he still reached out his own hand.

"Thank you for your guidance."

After watching Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen leave, several students in the classroom who had been observing from the sidelines immediately crowded around.

"Classmate Luochen, do you... know the Hongchen siblings?"

A male student couldn't help but ask.

Ye Luochen shook his head.

"Just met."

"Just met?"

The group looked at each other, clearly finding it hard to believe.

After all, they were all very familiar with Xiao Hongchen's usual personality.

That guy wasn't the type to take the initiative to make friends with others, let alone go out of his way to come over and greet someone.

"You've got some real luck."

Another student sighed.

"There aren't many people in the entire academy who can get Xiao Hongchen to initiate a conversation."

Hearing this, Ye Luochen felt a slight stir in his heart.

Although he had already guessed as much, he still asked:

"Is he very famous?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the people around him immediately wore strange expressions.

"You don't know who he is?"

"I don't."

Ye Luochen shook his head honestly.

"..."

The group fell silent for a moment, then looked at him as if he were a monster.

"That's Xiao Hongchen."

"The grandson of the Mingde Hall master."

"The academy's recognized number one genius."

"Fifteen years old, and already possessing the cultivation of a Spirit King. It's even said that he's already preparing for the Level 5 Spirit Engineer examination."

As he said this, the student's face was filled with envy and awe.

"Someone like that simply isn't from the same world as us."

The people around him nodded one after another, clearly in full agreement with this sentiment.

Hearing this, a flash of surprise couldn't help but cross Ye Luochen's eyes.

Fifteen years old, over level fifty spirit power.

A Level 5 Spirit Engineer.

Such talent was truly astonishing.

Even placed within Shrek, known for gathering geniuses, it could absolutely be called astonishing.

No wonder he gave off such a sense of natural confidence when he spoke earlier.

Just then, someone nearby asked curiously:

"By the way, classmate Luochen, how old are you this year?"

"Fifteen."

Ye Luochen replied.

"You're only fifteen too? So young?"

The student was stunned for a moment.

"I remember after you finished your self-introduction, didn't the teacher say your spirit power level was close to level forty?"

As these words fell, the few people who had been somewhat noisy fell silent all at once.

Several pairs of eyes turned in unison to look at Ye Luochen.

"That's right, close to level forty."

Ye Luochen answered truthfully.

"Hiss... fifteen years old, close to level forty."

"I originally thought we would become good brothers, but now it seems..."

"You aren't from the same world as us either!"