Battle Against Xiao Hongchen

Li Qingming had not noticed the little incident over there at all.

Of course, even if he had noticed, he would not have cared.

Because school was starting here, and school was starting over there as well.

At that moment, he was already seated in a third-year classroom at Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

Meng Hongchen was seated beside him.

At the moment, Meng Hongchen was introducing him to the situation in their class.

The third-year students here were generally around fourteen or fifteen years old, and Meng Hongchen explained everything in great detail.

Their class—the current third year—would join with the fourth years to form the representative team for this National Soul Master Tournament.

Thus, quite a few members would be selected from their year.

The person Li Qingming had specifically asked about was Ji Juechen.

That sword fanatic ought to have been quite famous within the Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

Yet after he asked, Meng Hongchen shook her head and said she had never heard of him.

Clearly, Ji Juechen was either already a third-level soul engineer or still in his obscure, unknown stage.

Li Qingming did not say anything about that.

The lessons here mainly covered the manufacturing process for second-level soul tools, with some discussion of research directions for third-level soul tools.

These theories were quite innovative, and several key points were explained very well.

This knowledge was exactly what Li Qingming needed at the moment.

Since Kong Deming was not teaching him, he could ask this teacher any questions he had.

Under normal circumstances, this teacher did not handle questions and answers, but with Meng Hongchen around, he was very courteous toward Li Qingming.

As for how close the two had become, Xiao Hongchen had definitely already found out.

The two had even had a few minor clashes along the way.

Previously, when the two of them had been researching second-level soul tools in the laboratory, Xiao Hongchen had bombarded Meng Hongchen with calls through a soul tool.

Meng Hongchen had ignored him every time.

Naturally, Li Qingming did not think there would be any problems. After all, he did not interact with many people.

Other than Meng Hongchen, he kept a considerable distance from everyone else.

However, just as Huo Yuhao revealed two hundred-thousand-year soul rings over at Shrek Academy and frightened all the soul beasts into submission, trouble arose on Li Qingming's side.

The two had just finished class and were about to leave the classroom when they saw Xiao Hongchen blocking their way.

Xiao Hongchen looked the two of them over.

Li Qingming was not holding Meng Hongchen's hand, but they were already walking very close together. That had aroused Xiao Hongchen's vigilance and dissatisfaction.

Looking at the handsome youth before him, Xiao Hongchen had not initially intended to make things difficult for Li Qingming.

After all, he knew all too well just how infatuated with handsome faces his younger sister could be.

Whenever she encountered someone good-looking, his sister would almost always try to get close to them.

But someone like Li Qingming—handsome, with a clean background, and so kind in manner—might have been the first person Meng Hongchen had met. That was why she had fallen so deeply for him.

Xiao Hongchen had come this time simply to warn Li Qingming and prevent the two from continuing to spend time together.

But seeing her brother's aggressive expression, Meng Hongchen frowned slightly.

She was clearly dissatisfied with her brother's attitude, but facing him as he blocked the way, Meng Hongchen could only sigh helplessly.

"Brother, what are you doing here? This is between Li Qingming and me. It has nothing to do with you."

"At your age, you should be putting your energy into practicing with soul tools. Even if you truly want to find someone to learn from, you should find a third-level or fourth-level soul engineer. What use is a second-level soul engineer like him?"

As Xiao Hongchen spoke, he looked at Li Qingming coldly.

He was not some obsessive sister-con, but he still felt unhappy about someone getting close to his sister.

Yet sensing Xiao Hongchen's hostility, Li Qingming merely blinked.

Xiao Hongchen was highly talented, and being older than him, he was already a four-ring Soul Ancestor.

But Li Qingming's own strength was no less impressive.

Or rather, between the two of them, Xiao Hongchen could not possibly be his opponent.

And in terms of backing, Li Qingming was, at the very least, currently one of Xu Tianran's people.

The dean, Jing Hongchen, might not give Li Qingming face, but he could not possibly refuse to give Xu Tianran face.

Therefore, Li Qingming did not care in the slightest about the threat in Xiao Hongchen's eyes.

That sort of threat could not actually threaten him at all, so why would he care?

However, seeing the fighting intent in Xiao Hongchen's eyes and recalling his contempt, Li Qingming hesitated for only two seconds before calmly looking at Xiao Hongchen.

"Xiao Hongchen, this is between Meng Hongchen and me. It has nothing to do with you. If you are unhappy about it, isn't there a challenge stage over there? We can go up and have a match in front of everyone."

Li Qingming's voice was calm, and he did not speak loudly.

But the surrounding students were not far away. As many of them curiously turned to look, quite a few let out startled cries.

After all, Xiao Hongchen was a renowned figure among the younger generation of the Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

At such a young age, he was already a genuine four-ring Soul Ancestor. Not only that, but both his talent and strength were formidable.

He had even become a third-level soul engineer at this age.

So when they heard that someone wanted to challenge Xiao Hongchen, many of the students around them looked astonished.

"Who is that guy? He is so handsome, but is he crazy? Xiao Hongchen is the strongest among our younger generation."

"He is a third-level soul engineer despite being only a teenager, and he is also a genuine four-ring Soul Ancestor."

"He looks like a new student. Huh, isn't that Meng Hongchen beside him? How did these siblings end up like this?"

Listening to the surrounding discussions, Xiao Hongchen stared at Li Qingming as a flash of anger passed through his eyes.

He could tolerate his sister getting close to the newly arrived Li Qingming, but what he could not accept was his sister forming a bond with him. That was absolutely unacceptable.

Thus, as he looked at Li Qingming's calm gaze, Xiao Hongchen nodded directly.

"Then let's do it. Let me see what strength you have—or rather, who gave you the courage to challenge me directly."

After speaking, Xiao Hongchen turned to the side.

He ignored the commotion around them, kept his eyes on Li Qingming, and walked straight toward the challenge stage nearby.

Seeing the activity here, quite a few third-year and fourth-year students gathered around, watching the scene with great interest.

As he watched Xiao Hongchen walk away, Li Qingming's expression remained calm.

This was already within his expectations.

His purpose this time was clear as well: to defeat Xiao Hongchen outright and make a name for himself before everyone.

Only with a sufficiently great reputation could he draw more of Xu Tianran's attention, and only then would this body have a chance to enter the National Soul Master Tournament as well.

As for what would happen if both bodies entered and encountered two people with the same name?

Their appearances were different anyway, and their martial souls were even two completely opposing martial souls.

Even if such a situation arose, no one would be able to realize that the two were the same person.

At that thought, a flash of fighting intent passed through Li Qingming's eyes. He then strode forward at a quick pace.