After speaking, Li Qingming did not spare Xiao Hongchen another glance and walked straight off the arena.
Meanwhile, Xiao Hongchen stood there with his fists clenched so tightly that his nails had dug into his flesh.
His gaze remained fixed on Li Qingming, but Li Qingming acted as though he truly had not seen him and simply walked away, leaving Xiao Hongchen standing there alone in awkwardness.
The surrounding students began whispering among themselves.
"This newcomer is incredibly strong. He actually managed to suppress Xiao Hongchen."
"And he even beat Xiao Hongchen into such a state."
"They're both four-ringed Soul Masters, and Xiao Hongchen is even a third-level Soul Engineer. Yet he was completely unable to defeat that boy."
"Yeah, who knows?"
"Shouldn't a third-level Soul Engineer normally be much stronger than an ordinary Soul Master?"
"Why couldn't he win?"
Listening to the discussions around them, many people wore strange expressions.
After all, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had always promoted the power of Soul Engineers, claiming that Soul Engineers at the same level far surpassed Soul Masters.
Under normal circumstances, that was indeed true. Soul Engineers truly were much stronger than ordinary Soul Masters, and not by just a little.
The problem was that Li Qingming's martial soul was simply far too powerful.
The Fallen Angel martial soul was already absurdly strong, and its Soul Rings had been bestowed by the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
At Li Qingming's four-ring level, the Fallen Judgment Sword already possessed strength approaching the peak of the five-ring level.
Even ordinary Soul Kings could not withstand it, much less Xiao Hongchen.
As Li Qingming came down, Meng Hongchen's face was filled with delight. Yet when she looked at her older brother on the arena, a trace of embarrassment appeared in her expression.
Still, between her dear brother and Li Qingming, Meng Hongchen hesitated for only a second before decisively choosing Li Qingming.
After all, she did not think this matter would become too serious, since Xiao Hongchen was her brother.
The two of them were the biological grandson and granddaughter of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's dean.
Even if many people thought Xiao Hongchen had embarrassed himself and wanted to mock him, they would never dare show it openly.
With that in mind, Meng Hongchen felt that this was not much of a problem.
She stepped forward and took Li Qingming's arm, excitement on her face. "Starting tomorrow, once school begins, I heard many teachers will be giving lectures. Let's go listen to them."
"And tomorrow night, the academy will be holding a trade fair. Some senior students with strong forging skills might bring out good metals to sell."
As Meng Hongchen spoke, a happy expression appeared on her face as well.
After all, the metals brought out at such trade fairs would not be poor quality. At the very least, they would be suitable for use in third- or fourth-level Soul Tools.
Li Qingming was interested in this as well. He was currently researching third-level Soul Tools too.
Due to his high spiritual power, his progress in researching third-level Soul Tools was also swift. However, when it came to the core formations of third-level Soul Tools, even he needed to study them carefully over the past few days.
"Alright. Then I'll see you tomorrow night."
"I'll come find you tomorrow night. We'll listen to the teachers' lectures together, then go to the trade fair."
Li Qingming smiled at Meng Hongchen as he spoke, and she nodded in return.
The two of them left together.
Xiao Hongchen also stepped down from the arena, his eyes dark as he glanced at the backs of Li Qingming and his sister.
Without lingering, he headed directly toward the Hall of Illustrious Virtue, intending to find his grandfather.
On the other side, the two of them parted ways after finishing their meal.
Li Qingming returned to his dormitory and lay on his bed, preparing to rest his mind. Controlling two bodies at once was already a great drain on his energy.
Especially since there were no longer just two bodies.
Because of Shrek Academy—or rather, because Dai Huabin might make a move against him—he had also been making preparations.
At present, his strongest force was not his own body, but the Ice-Snow Clone.
The Ice-Snow Clone had inherited the power of a ferocious beast. Its capabilities surpassed those of the vast majority of Soul Sages and even Soul Douluos.
This was Li Qingming's greatest trump card at the moment, so the Ice-Snow Clone naturally had to make its way to Shrek Academy to provide him with a safeguard.
With Li Qingming's current spiritual power being limited, controlling three clones and governing three bodies at once placed a tremendous burden on him.
Thus, this clone simply lay quietly on the bed beneath a soft down blanket and drifted into sleep.
In truth, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was the place that best suited Li Qingming's standards.
Compared with Shrek Academy, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy possessed a stronger sense of technology, and he felt a greater sense of belonging here.
After all, the environment here somewhat resembled that of his original world.
It was not that he desperately yearned for the world from before he had transmigrated. But after remaining in this world for so long, anyone would feel a certain longing for home.
He missed that stable, peaceful life from the past.
It was like carving a mark on a boat to find a lost sword. Though they knew what was gone was gone, people still stubbornly returned to that spot, hoping to find traces of what once was, hoping to find a past that felt familiar.
Within Shrek Academy, the Beast Fighting Hall had already fallen quiet. Du Weilun had taken Huo Yuhao to find Elder Gong.
Li Qingming, meanwhile, was walking back together with Wang Dong.
Quite a few students were discussing the matter.
The appearance of one hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring was already shocking. When two hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings appeared together, it was enough to leave people horrified.
None of them could understand why there were two whole hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings, nor did they understand how such a thing could happen.
Listening to the discussions around them, curiosity filled Wang Dong's eyes as well. "What exactly is going on with Huo Yuhao?"
"Why does he have two hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings? Could someone his age really contain hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings?"
As she spoke, Wang Dong turned slightly to look back in that direction. It was obvious that she was also deeply interested in Huo Yuhao.
However, Li Qingming did not answer her. He merely shook his head calmly.
Naturally, he knew the truth of the matter, but he did not particularly want to say anything. After all, it had nothing to do with him.
Just as Li Qingming was about to call Wang Dong and head off to eat together, a terrifying divine thought locked onto his body in an instant.
That thought was immensely powerful. In almost an instant, it pierced through his body and probed the secrets within him.
Feeling the descent of that thought, Li Qingming stood still where he was.
He had not originally noticed that thought. The reason he could sense it was because the soul spirit formed from Qian Renxue's remnant soul within his body reacted.
In an instant, that soul spirit completely concealed itself and even vanished without a trace for a short time. This was Qian Renxue's instinctive self-protection.
Sensing that something was wrong, Li Qingming slowly turned his head to look at Wang Dong.
Wang Dong was still standing there, her eyes filled with confusion as she looked at him. Yet a massive golden trident mark had already emerged between her brows.
Then, that divine thought swept out in an instant, returning from Li Qingming's body to Wang Dong's body.
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