Black Soul Ring, Who Doesn't Have One?

"Don't misunderstand. I'm just curious, nothing more."

Although she and Ye Luochen had become quite familiar with each other, in the world of soul masters, soul rings were considered private.

Unless someone displayed them voluntarily, people generally rarely asked about them.

Thus, Meng Hongchen added another explanation.

However, she could only stay serious for less than a second. The next moment, a smile reappeared on Meng Hongchen's face.

"Or rather, I'm asking on behalf of my brother.

"Ye Luochen, let me tell you, my brother is so vain. If your Fourth Soul Ring is better than his, he'll probably be furious to death."

"You!"

Hearing his sister's words, Xiao Hongchen immediately shot her an angry glare.

But after uttering only one word, he quickly composed himself and returned to his aloof posture.

If he flew into a rage again, wouldn't that directly confirm Meng Hongchen's words?

"Me? My Fourth Soul Ring came from a Thorn Vine," Ye Luochen answered.

"Who cares what vine it came from? What matters is, how many years is your Fourth Soul Ring?

"Show me—ah, no, show my brother the color of your soul ring. He's really anxious."

Meng Hongchen continued asking.

"Heh, do you think everyone is like you? How could I possibly care about something so trivial?" Xiao Hongchen sneered.

"Not anxious? Then could you pull back that neck you've stretched out two miles, my dear brother?"

"I'm concerned about my teammate!"

Seeing the siblings start up their usual routine again, Ye Luochen could not help shaking his head.

He had guessed this would happen.

That was why he had deliberately avoided mentioning the soul ring's age just now, hoping to muddle through.

But clearly, he had failed to get away with it.

After sighing softly, Ye Luochen could not be bothered to speak anymore and directly revealed his soul rings.

He would have to show them sooner or later anyway.

As the distinctive glow that preceded the appearance of soul rings began to emerge around Ye Luochen's body, pairs of eyes nearby all turned toward him.

The next moment, four soul rings condensed into existence one after another.

Yellow, yellow, purple, black.

"Look, Brother, look!"

The instant the soul rings appeared, Meng Hongchen's excited voice rang out.

"It's black! What level is black again? So hard to guess. Brother, can you tell me?"

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you too jealous to think straight? Brother, don't be jealous. Your purple Fourth Soul Ring is definitely prettier than this dark black one."

"You win, my dear brother!"

Meng Hongchen leaned beside Xiao Hongchen's ear like a machine gun, firing off one sentence after another.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Hongchen merely sneered.

"Heh, childish."

"Meng, do you think such a clumsy trick can still provoke me?

"So what if it's black? Who doesn't have a black soul ring?"

"Wow, you're amazing!" Meng Hongchen eagerly played along. "Then, my dear brother, can you show me which of your soul rings is black?"

"Meng! Hong! Chen!"

After that little interlude, they returned to the main topic.

Aside from the Hongchen siblings, the other four people, as well as Lin Yuan, looked at Ye Luochen very differently now.

Previously, they had all believed that Ye Luochen had been valued by the academy and Mingde Hall because of his exceptional talent.

That was why he had been specially approved to join the reserve team and compete alongside the academy.

But now, they began reassessing why Ye Luochen had joined the team.

All of them were Soul Kings and possessed black Fifth Soul Rings.

Therefore, they all had a deep and direct understanding of the power of ten-thousand-year soul rings.

Yet Ye Luochen had absurdly obtained a ten-thousand-year soul ring as early as his Fourth Soul Ring!

With such an extraordinary soul ring configuration, perhaps he truly had not gotten in entirely through connections.

"Good, good, good!" Lin Yuan laughed heartily.

That smile came completely from the bottom of his heart.

First of all, Ye Luochen's outrageous soul ring configuration meant that his potential had risen once more. As Ye Luochen's entrance examination teacher and Mingde Hall recommender, Lin Yuan would naturally receive greater benefits as well.

Second, looking at the whole lineup, the reserve team under his leadership was undoubtedly luxurious.

Six Soul Kings who were also Level 5 Soul Engineers, plus a Soul Ancestor with a ten-thousand-year soul ring who was also a genius Level 3 Soul Engineer.

As long as they had the chance, this reserve team would certainly shine brilliantly in the tournament. And when that happened, as the team leader, he would undoubtedly gain even more benefits.

After laughing several times and calming himself down, Lin Yuan finally spoke again.

"Alright, that's enough. Go back and rest and adjust yourselves properly. In a few more days, we'll set off and begin our journey for this tournament."

Hearing that, Ye Luochen was immediately stunned.

Wait, that was it?

This team assembly only had a self-introduction session?

There was no need for some practical combat to build teamwork?

Seeing Ye Luochen's expression, Lin Yuan immediately guessed what he was thinking and explained further.

"There's no need to worry. The first four members are classmates and have long since developed excellent coordination.

"Jing Hongchen and Meng Hongchen are special cases and do not need to coordinate with the other members. As for you, your situation is even more special."

"Your greatest value is not on the arena."

Because he had personally overseen Ye Luochen's assessment, Lin Yuan knew his background very well.

He came from Shrek and had even nearly entered Shrek's core circle.

For such a special existence, the greatest value he could offer the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy as it headed toward the tournament was absolutely not his strength.

It was intelligence.

Intelligence regarding Shrek.

"Alright, that's it for now. Next stop, the Star Luo Empire!"

The team disbanded, and Lin Yuan left along with the other four members.

Xiao Hongchen seemed to have been deeply provoked. The moment Lin Yuan announced the end, he immediately left.

Only Ye Luochen and Meng Hongchen remained.

"I never expected your Fourth Soul Ring to actually be at the ten-thousand-year level. My brother will probably shut himself away for a while."

Meng Hongchen said this while blinking her eyes.

Ye Luochen did not respond immediately upon hearing her words.

Meng Hongchen's words and behavior were quite thought-provoking.

Whenever he displayed something that surpassed common sense, Meng Hongchen had always only been interested in provoking Xiao Hongchen.

From beginning to end, she herself had revealed very little emotion.

Was his performance not impressive enough?

Most likely not. After all, Xiao Hongchen, who was known as a genius, had been successfully provoked into losing his composure every time before, and this time he had left at lightning speed.

Then there was probably only another possibility.

What impressed Xiao Hongchen was not enough to impress Meng Hongchen.

Ye Luochen's speculation was not baseless; there were clues to support it.

He had never seen Meng Hongchen make a move before, and there had been very little information about her strength.

But the recent Soul Hunting Operation had finally allowed him to gain some understanding of Meng Hongchen.