Little Brother, Come Inside and Play! Please Keep Reading! Please Vote!

Little brother, come inside and play! Please keep reading! Please vote!

Another morning arrived. Brimming with energy, Chen Hong came to the Chen Family Ironworks and completed the final finishing touches on the Soul Engine upgrade plan. He had obtained what was perhaps the most precise artificial engine in the world at present—the First Generation Soul Engine, or Generation One for short.

After his father Chen Lin's earnest lectures, Chen Hong ultimately gave up on the name "Ultimate Invincible Overlord God of War," which would have turned Chen Lin into a laughingstock throughout the blacksmithing world. Chen Hong himself did not think it mattered. After all, his reputation in the forging world was tied to his father Chen Lin's. His own account had not leveled up yet, so only his father would lose face, not him.

Generation One was a metal creation the size of a volleyball, silver-blue all over. It had secretly used some of Chen Lin's Deep Sea Sinking Iron. Its inner and outer walls were covered in neatly arranged yet intricate silver patterns that occasionally produced a light-flow effect under the sun's reflection. This was not stolen precious material from Chen Lin, though—it was Chen Hong's own Soul Guidance Mithril.

With the support of the Soul Power Scalpel and Martial Soul Psychic Power's control over details, Chen Hong had spent the past few days upgrading Generation One according to exceptionally high industrial standards.

Generation One was smooth as a mirror, with an exquisitely designed internal seal. Chen Hong had also added Soul Power Compression Engravings to it. As Soul Power was injected, it formed a sealed high-energy environment inside, increasing Generation One's output efficiency tenfold over the previous Generation 0.2! The power it generated was enough to make this world's carriages run at over a hundred kilometers per hour. Provided the carriage could withstand it.

Its only drawback at present was that the driver needed to bring his own "rations." Before a suitable energy-storage Soul Tool could be found, drivers might replace horses and become a different kind of workhorse.

The new era had arrived, and we were still workhorses! So? Surprised? Was that unexpected?

"Hong! Someone from Spirit Hall is looking for you!"

Just as Chen Hong was admiring the long-lost industrial beauty of Generation One by himself, a rough male voice suddenly came from outside the ironworks.

At this time? Have people from Spirit Hall Headquarters arrived? Chen Hong muttered to himself upon hearing that.

He felt that the people from Spirit Hall Headquarters had come a little slowly. Could they have been stopped by a kitten on the road and gotten lost? But then he remembered that it would take time for Bishop Suotuo's people to make a round trip. Besides, once people from Headquarters came down—even while they were still on the road—the Heaven Dou Empire's nobles would not dare seize anything by force, lest they face the wrath of Spirit Hall Headquarters' representatives.

Chen Hong dismantled Generation One into parts again, packed them into his backpack, and walked outside. He found that his father, Chen Lin, had already been waiting for him. Beside him stood a Spirit Master wearing a Spirit Hall uniform.

When Chen Lin saw Chen Hong, he called out, "Let's go. We'll visit Bishop Suotuo together. I'll accompany you back to White Cloud Village so you don't pull any tricks on the road."

Chen Lin was still worried that his clever yet foolish son might accidentally offend someone from Spirit Hall Headquarters, so he decided to make the trip with him personally.

Chen Hong rolled his eyes at Chen Lin, displeased by his lack of trust. Then he thanked the Spirit Hall messenger, and the two of them quickly ran toward the outskirts under the man's lead.

To avoid drawing too much attention, the people dispatched by Spirit Hall Headquarters had not entered the city. Instead, they waited on a country road outside the city and sent a messenger into Suotuo City to find them.

After some time, Chen Hong and his father arrived before a convoy in the countryside under the messenger's guidance. The familiar Bishop Suotuo was also there in plain clothes, standing in front of a carriage. Beside him stood an elderly man in an elder's robes, coldly watching everything around him.

"You are Chen Hong?" When the mysterious Spirit Hall Elder saw Chen Hong and his father arrive, his gaze passed directly over Chen Lin and settled on the boy, whose face held a trace of confusion.

Anyone with half a brain could tell that this Spirit Hall Elder was a powerful existence who could crush him as easily as an ant. Chen Hong therefore replied solemnly, "Yes, Grandpa! I'm Chen Hong!"

Spirit Hall Headquarters had not sent many people this time. Including those from Suotuo City's Main Spirit Hall, there were only around ten of them. They stood around the seemingly ordinary yet finely crafted carriage in the center, clearly indicating that a truly important figure was inside.

When Bishop Suotuo beside the Spirit Hall Elder heard Chen Hong's words, he could not help smiling slightly. He praised the little fellow inwardly for remaining calm in a crisis and having thoughts of his own.

The Spirit Hall Elder merely gave Chen Hong an indifferent glance and did not care about the way he had addressed him. Chen Hong's young age truly gave him quite a bit of convenience.

"Follow the convoy. We'll go take a look at the mineral vein you discovered."

The Spirit Hall Elder did not say much else. After confirming Chen Hong's identity, he directly ordered the convoy to move. The carriage set off, following the relatively wide dirt road toward White Cloud Village on the map.

The Spirit Hall convoy moved extremely quickly. Aside from Chen Hong and his father, everyone present had an average Soul Power Level of at least Spirit King rank. Even burdened by the carriage, they could still travel at forty to fifty kilometers per hour on such dirt roads.

At first, Chen Lin could barely keep up, but when his Soul Power ran out, a Spirit Hall Soul Emperor simply carried him in one hand and kept pace with the convoy while holding a person. As for Chen Hong, the little weakling, he spent the entire journey tucked under Bishop Suotuo's arm.

While tucked under his arm, Chen Hong made faces at his father Chen Lin, who had tried to show off at the back of the convoy, failed, and was now being carried like a chicken in someone's hand.

Trash should have the self-awareness of trash.

Why were you hurt by the word "trash"?

Because you had not accepted the fact that you were trash.

Many people used to enjoy calling Chen Hong trash. But ever since Chen Hong began frequently saying, "I'm trash," no one called him trash anymore. The words had lost their sting, and the act of "insulting" no longer had any basis to exist.

Chen Hong's mocking expression became too much even for the Spirit Hall Soul Emperor behind him to bear. He carried the red-faced Chen Lin to the other side of the carriage.

Bishop Suotuo, who was carrying Chen Hong, naturally noticed this as well and found it rather amusing.

After thinking for a moment, he lightly knocked on the carriage's wooden wall. After seemingly saying something, he placed Chen Hong before the curtain at the front of the carriage.

"Lively little fellow, be serious. The Holy Maiden wishes to see you."

Chen Hong's eyes froze at those words. Holy Maiden? What Holy Maiden? Why was it another woman?

"Little brother, come in and sit. I heard... you have a spiritual-type martial soul?"

A slightly husky yet seductive voice, accompanied by subtle Mental Fluctuations, entered Chen Hong's mind.