Jing Hongchen's Appearance and Suspicions

"Hall Master Hongchen, all of this was said by that boy named Xiao Changge. I think he might be telling the truth. If he really had Innate Full Soul Power and was crippled, that's also very possible. And he has two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings—his first and second Soul Rings were both Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings.

"So what he said should be true. He really might be a genius, only to have been ruined by Shrek."

Everything Xiao Changge had said was reported to Jing Hongchen, the Hongchen Hall Master of the Sun Moon Empire. This Hall Master Hongchen looked like a handsome man.

If Xiao Changge saw him, he would definitely be impressed.

That was because Jing Hongchen's appearances in the novel, animation, and comic versions differed enormously—the novel depicted him as a short, fat, shabby old man; the comic portrayed him as a handsome man with glasses; and the animation showed him as a dignified, white-haired, handsome old man. The three versions were practically three entirely different people.

(1) Original novel: short, fat, greasy, and relied on disguise to look younger.

Jing Hongchen's true appearance in the novel wasn't attractive. He followed the typical "greasy big shot" route:

Build: about 1.6 meters tall, with a huge waistline, broad and fat, a short and stout figure paired with a thick, short neck.

Appearance: a square face covered in wrinkles, a grayish pallor, and an overall comical impression.

Hairstyle: long reddish-brown hair draped behind his back, the Hongchen Family's signature hair color.

Clothing: a lavish long robe with a purple base and golden patterns—or black fabric embroidered with golden Sun Moon patterns—paired with gold-rimmed glasses, behind whose lenses his tiny eyes narrowed into two slits.

Interestingly, the later parts of the novel revealed that he could use Soul Tools to disguise himself. His true appearance was that of an imposing middle-aged man wearing a golden monocle, refined yet sharp. To some extent, his "shabby old man" image was deliberately maintained to project authority.

(2) Comic version: a handsome man with glasses and a fiery temper.

The comic beautified him significantly, directly portraying Jing Hongchen as an elegant villain:

He wasn't young, but he was handsome, with small glasses perched on his nose and a strong scholarly air.

He was bad-tempered and scheming, repeatedly making things difficult for Huo Yuhao, with a calculating expression always hanging on his face.

(3) Animation version: a handsome white-haired old man with an overwhelming presence.

The animation produced by Xuanji gave him an even greater "makeover," shaping Jing Hongchen into a dignified, cool old man. This was also the most widely circulated version at present:

Appearance: short white hair, white eyebrows and beard, aged features with hard, defined lines, and sharp eyes.

Build: tall and burly, dressed in a brown robe and cape, with Soul Tool-style armor embedded around his shoulders, waist, and legs, brimming with a sense of technology.

Temperament: his dominance leaked from every pore; he was the type who became more charming with age.

There were quite a few viewers who criticized the animation's changes, with fans of the original novel complaining that it had "beautified him too much." After all, it was truly difficult to equate the short, fat, greasy old man from the novel, who immediately became timid upon seeing Mu En, with the imposing white-haired handsome older man in the animation.

But the Hall Master Hongchen in this world clearly matched the second appearance—the handsome man from the comic.

"The genius ruined by Shrek, whose first and second Soul Rings are Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings—do you have a Soul Tool recording? Let me see it."

"Yes. We had him release his Martial Soul and Soul Rings. His first and second Soul Rings truly are ten-thousand-year ones, and his Martial Soul is indeed a top-tier Martial Soul."

Afterward, those subordinates brought out the Soul Tool containing records of Xiao Changge's appearance, Martial Soul, and Soul Rings.

"This appearance!" Jing Hongchen was stunned when he saw Xiao Changge's face.

"This appearance? What's wrong, Hall Master Hongchen? Is there a problem with this boy's appearance? There isn't, and isn't his Martial Soul merely an ordinary Phoenix Martial Soul? Could it be that his Soul Rings surprised you?"

Jing Hongchen didn't say much after hearing that and continued watching. Upon seeing the Phoenix Martial Soul and then the two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, he confirmed that there had been no mistake and was deeply shocked as well.

"Hall Master Hongchen, these are the two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts he hunted. It has already been confirmed that they were Soul Beasts over ten thousand years and over forty thousand years old."

"A fifteen-thousand-year Golden-Winged Fire Crane and a forty-thousand-year Four-Winged Fire Phosphorus Bird... This is utterly absurd. He's simply a genius, and his appearance..."

For a moment, Jing Hongchen truly didn't know what to say. At the same time, he recalled something. It was an extremely secret matter, known only to the upper ranks of the Sun Moon Empire.

"Do you know something?"

Jing Hongchen's image within the Sun Moon Empire could be summed up in one sentence—toward his subordinates, he was a technical grandmaster who cherished talent and protected his own; toward the imperial family, he was an arsenal director they had no choice but to win over and no choice but to guard against.

First, in the eyes of his subordinates: absolute academic authority and a protective patriarch.

As the empire's highest Soul Tool research institution, Mingde Hall implemented a four-tier Soul Engineer admission system and received an extreme concentration of resources. It was practically a "nation within a nation." As its hall master, Jing Hongchen was, in the eyes of his subordinates, a symbiotic entity where "the man was the institution"—his will was the hall's rule, and his judgment was the standard.

Thus, when his subordinates saw Hall Master Hongchen like this, they were somewhat surprised. After all, he was one of the empire's upper-ranking figures and a Titled Douluo. If even he was surprised, it meant the matter was extremely secretive.

At a time like this, it was best not to ask too many questions.

"I want to meet this person personally. Also, help me collect his blood. Tell him it's for an examination, just in case. Say that someone in the empire has contracted an infectious disease, that many people have been infected, and that it has spread to the border regions. As a precaution, everyone needs to be examined. And tell him not to speak of it.

"You'd also better not ask too many questions. Just do it. There are some things you're better off not knowing. Consider this my own investigation. I hope you understand; otherwise, it will become troublesome."

"Understood."

When the subordinates of the Sun Moon Empire's Hall Master Hongchen saw him acting this way, they understood that it was likely an extremely secret matter, perhaps even a serious one involving the dignity of the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family or upper ranks, or the empire's reputation. No matter what, it could not be revealed, so it had to be concealed properly.

They then left directly and began collecting Xiao Changge's blood.

If this face... really was inherited from that woman, then... the conflict between our Sun Moon Empire and Shrek will grow even greater. If he truly is that woman's child, and truly that person's child... then the conflict between the Sun Moon Empire and Shrek will become even greater. Shrek ruined his future, wasted three years of his life, and when they drove him out, they only gave him 100 Gold Soul Coins... Such humiliation...

Though he ended up wandering outside, he still... went from Innate Full Soul Power to Soul Power Rank 3. This grudge truly must be avenged!