Friends

For some reason, though, Ye Luochen always felt that something was off.

Unable to hold it back, he added:

"Yes, I can understand that words couldn't stop your brother, so you chose to use force.

But why did you keep provoking him? The more you provoked him, wouldn't that only reinforce his image as a villain?"

Meng Hongchen quickly gave Ye Luochen an answer.

It was just that this answer truly left Ye Luochen unable to keep a straight face.

"Yeah, but don't you think it's fun?"

Hearing Meng Hongchen's words, Ye Luochen's mouth twitched, but in the end, he could not say anything else.

Good grief. So when she said it was fun from the start, she had not been joking.

With that in mind, Ye Luochen could only change the subject and ask again:

"And your brother—I roughly understand why he acts that way now, but honestly, why do I feel like he's enjoying it?"

"Yeah, I noticed that too and asked him about it. Then he said he thought it was pretty fun too."

Meng Hongchen once again gave an answer that left one unable to keep a straight face.

Yet with his astonishing patience, Ye Luochen managed to hold it together.

He could see it clearly now: neither of these siblings was normal.

To protect his sister, the brother had chosen to present himself as a villain. Yet over time, he had somehow come to enjoy it, becoming a genuinely arrogant genius and perfectly settling into the role.

Because she felt sorry for her brother, the sister had chosen to stop him with force, refusing to let him suffer for her. Yet over time, she had somehow come to enjoy it too, even taking the initiative to provoke him verbally in order to get an opportunity to hit him.

Looking at it as a whole, they were still deeply devoted siblings.

But truly, birds of a feather flocked together.

These two siblings were quite the perfect match.

"So, do you know why my brother and I are willing to hang out with you now?"

Hearing Meng Hongchen's words, Ye Luochen froze.

He did not understand what this had to do with what Meng Hongchen had just said.

Seeing that Ye Luochen did not seem to understand, Meng Hongchen smiled.

"Because you're a genius too, and you have connections too. We're on the same path."

Ye Luochen's first instinct upon hearing that was to refute her.

He was a normal person. How could he possibly be the same as this pair of oddballs?

But when the words reached his lips, Ye Luochen sadly realized that he seemed unable to refute her.

He had made rapid progress in the field of Soul Tools, going from nothing to a third-rank Soul Engineer in less than a month. Calling him a genius was no exaggeration.

The moment he enrolled, he had entered Mingde Hall and gained the attention of Mingde Hall's master, along with a great deal of resource support. Calling him someone with connections would not be wrong either.

In other people's eyes, he and the Hongchen siblings probably were indeed the same kind of people.

"Alright, I'm done teasing you. Actually, it's because you didn't look at us through tinted glasses like everyone else."

Meng Hongchen's voice continued.

"You might not believe this, but you're the only peer my brother and I have met over the years who's been like this.

No distance, no reverence, no flattery. You interact with us completely normally, as equals."

Ye Luochen did not refute that.

Because that was indeed how he behaved.

In his view, spending time thinking about all that messy nonsense was far less meaningful than focusing on cultivation for two hours.

"Alright, it's getting late. I should head back."

Meng Hongchen clapped her hands and rose to her feet.

"After telling you all this, we'll be friends from now on."

Ye Luochen smiled and nodded at that.

Meng Hongchen had been the only one speaking earlier, and he had not mentioned it.

In truth, he had never really had any friends over the years.

Those so-called good friends from before had revealed their true colors to Ye Luochen through what had happened at Sea God Lake.

They had all been driven by profit.

Once he lost his value, they would cast him aside.

These siblings might have had an exceptionally bizarre way of thinking, but precisely because of that, they would not befriend him for profit.

That kind of relationship was instead much purer.

After parting ways, Ye Luochen returned to his dormitory and resumed cultivating.

Another seven days passed in cultivation.

It was not until the morning of the eighth day that Ye Luochen emerged from his cultivation state.

After checking his condition, Ye Luochen nodded in satisfaction.

His Soul Power had become even more substantial, and breaking through to level forty-three was just around the corner.

His vitality, spirit, and every other aspect were all at their fullest peak.

When he had joined the team last time, Lin Yuan had said that they would soon depart for the competition.

Today was the day of departure.

This tournament was being held in the Star Luo Empire, tens of thousands of miles away from the Sun Moon Empire.

Even with teachers leading the team, such a terrifying distance made it difficult to guarantee that no accidents would happen.

That was why Ye Luochen had not hesitated to spend seven days adjusting every aspect of his condition to its peak.

It was best to be prepared.

By the time he arrived at the meeting point, quite a few people were already waiting there.

Most of them were faces Ye Luochen had never seen before.

When Ye Luochen appeared, quite a few people glanced at him, but quickly looked away again.

"These are the members of the academy's main team for this tournament."

Meng Hongchen appeared from who knew where and explained to Ye Luochen.

"The one on the far left is Ma Rulong, a sixth-year student."

Ye Luochen's brows rose slightly at that.

Sixth year meant that Ma Rulong was already a sixth-rank Soul Engineer. Likewise, it meant that his Soul Power Level was above sixty.

And since he could compete, that meant he was under twenty years old.

A Soul Emperor under twenty years old—apparently, he had still underestimated the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy last time.

"Don't tell me all the main team members have cultivation levels like his?"

Ye Luochen could not help asking.

"Of course not."

Meng Hongchen shook her head.

"He's the captain, and the only sixth-year student who meets the eligibility requirements. The others are all fifth-years."

Ye Luochen nodded slightly.

"So he's the captain."

He had just been thinking that if every member of the main team was like this man—a Soul Emperor and a sixth-rank Soul Engineer—then there would be no need for their reserve team to go at all.

They could just sit back and wait for the championship.

As he spoke, Ye Luochen thought of another question.

"Then who's the captain of our reserve team?"

Meng Hongchen said, "My brother, obviously. How could something as attention-grabbing as this possibly leave him out?"

"Uh..."

For a moment, Ye Luochen did not know how to respond.

After their last conversation, he now had no idea how to judge the peculiar way these siblings got along.

He could only change the subject and ask again:

"Then how are we getting to the Star Luo Empire?"

"By flying Soul Tool, of course." Meng Hongchen answered with some confusion.

"As long as it's a long distance, everyone uses flying Soul Tools to travel. Isn't that common sense?"

As she spoke, Meng Hongchen suddenly seemed to think of something. After glancing at the third-rank Soul Engineer badge on Ye Luochen's chest, she finally came to a realization.

"Don't tell me..."

"You don't have a flying Soul Tool?"