Black Soul Ring, Who Doesn't Have One?

"Don't misunderstand, I'm just curious, I don't have any other intentions."

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

Unless the other party took the initiative to show them, it was rare for anyone to ask about them.

Therefore, Meng Hongchen added an explanation.

However, she couldn't stay serious for even a second; the very next moment, a smile reappeared on her 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."

"You!"

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

But having only managed to spit out a single word, he quickly composed himself and returned to his cold, aloof posture.

If he were to lose his temper now, wouldn't that just confirm Meng Hongchen's claims?

"Me? My Fourth Soul Ring comes from a Thorn Vine," Ye Luochen replied.

"What vine this or vine that, that's not important. How many years is your Fourth Soul Ring? Show me—ah, no, I mean, show my brother your soul ring color. He's very anxious to see it."

Meng Hongchen continued to press him.

"Heh, do you think everyone is like you? Why would I care about such a trivial matter?" Xiao Hongchen sneered.

"Not anxious? Then could you please pull back your neck, which is already stretched out a mile, my dear brother?"

"I am merely showing concern for a teammate!"

Seeing the siblings begin their daily routine, Ye Luochen couldn't help but shake his head.

He had guessed this would happen.

That was why he had deliberately avoided mentioning the age of the soul ring earlier, hoping to gloss over it.

But clearly, he hadn't succeeded.

With a soft sigh, Ye Luochen couldn't be bothered to speak anymore and simply revealed his soul rings.

It would have to be shown sooner or later anyway.

As the unique glow that precedes the appearance of soul rings began to emerge from Ye Luochen's body, pairs of eyes from those nearby all turned toward him.

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

Yellow, yellow, purple, black.

"Look, Brother, look!"

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

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

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you delirious with jealousy? Brother, don't be jealous. Your purple Fourth Soul Ring is definitely better looking than this pitch-black one."

"You win, my dear brother!"

Meng Hongchen leaned into Xiao Hongchen's ear like a machine gun, spitting out words one after another.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Hongchen merely let out a cold laugh:

"Heh, childish."

"Meng, do you really think I would be provoked by such a clumsy trick? So what if it's black? Who doesn't have a black soul ring?"

"Wow, you're so amazing!" Meng Hongchen chimed in with perfect cooperation. "Then, my dear brother, could you show me which of your soul rings is black?"

"Meng! Hong! Chen!"

After the interlude, they returned to the main topic.

Aside from the Hongchen siblings, the other four, as well as Lin Yuan, now looked at Ye Luochen with a drastically changed gaze.

If they had previously believed that Ye Luochen had only been granted special entry into the reserve team to compete with the academy because of his immense talent and the favor of the academy and Mingde Hall, they were now beginning to re-evaluate the reasons for his inclusion.

They were all at the Soul King level and possessed black Fifth Soul Rings.

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

Yet Ye Luochen had absurdly reached the ten-thousand-year level by his Fourth Soul Ring!

With such an heaven-defying soul ring configuration, perhaps he hadn't relied entirely on connections to get in after all.

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

This smile was absolutely heartfelt.

First, Ye Luochen's outrageous Soul Ring configuration meant his potential ceiling had risen once again. As Ye Luochen's entrance examiner and a recommender for Mingde Hall, the benefits he would receive would naturally increase as well.

Secondly, looking at the team as a whole, the reserve team he was leading could definitely be called luxurious.

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

As long as they had the opportunity, this reserve team would definitely shine brilliantly in the tournament, and when that time came, the benefits he would receive as the team leader would undoubtedly be even greater.

After laughing out loud several times and calming his mood, Lin Yuan spoke again:

"Alright, that's it. You all go back, rest, and adjust yourselves. Wait a few more days, and then we will set off to begin our journey for this tournament."

Hearing this, Ye Luochen was momentarily stunned.

Wait, it's over just like that?

This team assembly only consisted of a self-introduction session?

No need for some actual combat to build chemistry?

Observing Ye Luochen's expression, Lin Yuan immediately guessed what he was thinking and explained:

"No need to worry. The first four members are classmates; their coordination is already very tacit.

Jing Hongchen and Meng Hongchen have special circumstances and don't need to coordinate with the other members, and you—your situation is even more special."

"Your greatest value is not on the arena stage."

Because he was personally responsible for Ye Luochen's assessment, Lin Yuan was very clear about his background.

He came from Shrek, and was a student who had nearly stepped into Shrek's inner circle.

For the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, which was about to head to the competition, the greatest value of such a special existence was definitely not his strength.

It was intelligence.

Intelligence regarding Shrek.

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

The team dispersed, and Lin Yuan and the other four members left one after another.

Xiao Hongchen seemed to have been stimulated; as soon as Lin Yuan announced the end, he left the place immediately.

Only Ye Luochen and Meng Hongchen remained.

"I didn't expect your Fourth Soul Ring to actually be at the ten-thousand-year level. My brother is probably going to be depressed for a while."

Meng Hongchen said while fluttering her eyes.

Hearing this, Ye Luochen did not respond immediately.

Meng Hongchen's words and behavior were very intriguing.

When faced with his performances that defied common sense time and time again, Meng Hongchen had always been keen on provoking Xiao Hongchen.

From beginning to end, she herself had not conveyed much emotion.

Was his performance not stunning enough?

Most likely not, because Xiao Hongchen, who bore the name of a genius, had successfully been provoked to the point of breaking down every time before, and this time he had even left at light speed.

Then, there was probably another possibility.

The level at which he stunned Xiao Hongchen was not enough to stun Meng Hongchen.

Ye Luochen having this conjecture was not groundless, but had traces to follow.

He had never seen Meng Hongchen take action before, and there was very little information regarding her strength.

But the soul-hunting operation not long ago had finally allowed him to gain some understanding of Meng Hongchen.