Douluo: The Chosen Ones of This Era Gathered, but the Times Were Misaligned

He knew exactly what this kid was really like. Though he did not know what Bai Chen was after, he was certain Bai Chen had plans of his own.

Seeing his junior so easily led around by the nose, Xuan Ziwen sighed inwardly and looked away.

Forget it. Given what he knew of Bai Chen, the kid probably would not do anything too excessive. Letting Jing Ziyan suffer a couple of losses and learn her lesson would be a good thing too.

Before long, Bai Chen got the answer he wanted from Jing Ziyan.

The Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was primarily made up of Soul Engineers. Even Soul Engineers from the control department mostly relied on Soul Guide Devices as their main means of combat.

Jing Ziyan only knew three powerful people who mainly fought using their Martial Souls, and among them was Bai Chen's true target for this round of questioning—

Ji Juechen.

Ji Juechen

According to Jing Ziyan, Ji Juechen was seventeen this year, yet his cultivation was only Rank 41.

That would naturally be considered decent talent in the outside world, but at the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, his cultivation speed was simply nothing remarkable.

The main reason was that he was one of the few Soul Masters in the Sun-Moon Empire unwilling to use medicine to cultivate.

His primary method of cultivation was to carry his sword around and constantly seek out outstanding students for sparring matches.

Over time, the students of the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy gave him the nickname "Sword Maniac."

To most students, he was someone they avoided like the plague.

It was not because they could not defeat him. Ji Juechen had only just broken through to Four-Ring, and a stronger Level-Five Soul Engineer could defeat him steadily.

What truly made the students of the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy dislike Ji Juechen was mainly his personality.

This guy wore a cold face all day. Talking to people felt like he was collecting a debt, making him hard to like.

And once he set his sights on someone, a fight was practically unavoidable. His fighting style was exceptionally fierce, and even people stronger than him would break out in a cold sweat by the end of a battle with him.

The key was that he had a bit of a masochistic streak. The more he was beaten, the more excited he became. He was like chewing gum—once he stuck to someone, he could not be shaken off.

As a result, aside from battle maniacs of the same type as Jing Ziyan, hardly anyone in the entire Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy could stand him.

Of course, the ones who could not stand him were those with real strength. Among weaker groups of girls, Ji Juechen was actually quite popular.

Most of that popularity came from his handsome face. According to Jing Ziyan, she had never seen a man more handsome than Ji Juechen. Perhaps Bai Chen would have a chance to compete with him once he grew up.

"Then, Senior Sister, could you let me watch one of your fights with him?"

"Hehe, of course."

Already somewhat dizzy from Bai Chen's flattery, Jing Ziyan laughed smugly.

She thought for a moment and said,

"How about this Saturday morning? Let's meet at the academy entrance at nine in the morning. Sound good?"

"Okay!"

Hearing that, Bai Chen immediately agreed.

Afterward, Jing Ziyan told Xuan Ziwen about the matters their teacher had assigned, then left.

Watching the laboratory door slowly close, Xuan Ziwen asked Bai Chen,

"You brat, you are not planning to get in touch with Ji Juechen, are you?"

"I am."

Bai Chen had no reason to hide anything from Xuan Ziwen. He sat down in a chair and smiled.

"I am part of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect, after all. I have to scout out some talent for our sect."

Xuan Ziwen's mouth twitched.

"You really do not treat me like an outsider..."

"Of course not." Bai Chen smiled faintly. "Not only Ji Juechen—I still have not given up on bringing you into our sect."

"That is certainly straightforward."

Xuan Ziwen laughed.

He did not dislike Bai Chen's attitude. Rather, he quite liked this direct way of getting along.

He was not worried that Bai Chen would suffer any losses while dealing with Ji Juechen. Xuan Ziwen had interacted with Ji Juechen once before. That guy only had swords in his head, and his thoughts were even simpler than Jing Ziyan's. A one-track idiot like that could never outscheme this little monster.

Afterward, Xuan Ziwen began teaching, guiding both Ning Tian and Bai Chen in their studies.

On the weekend, Bai Chen arrived at the place he had agreed on with Jing Ziyan right on time.

"Ah, Bai Chen, you are here!"

The moment he reached the academy entrance, he heard Jing Ziyan's shout. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw her waving at him flamboyantly.

Beside her stood a cold-faced young man. The instant Bai Chen saw him, he understood why this guy had so many fans despite his terrible temperament.

If Bai Chen had to describe him, Ji Juechen was the classic cold-faced swordsman type. A heavy iron sword was strapped to his back, his expression was aloof, and his entire body radiated an air that warned strangers to stay away. Yet passing girls could not help stealing extra glances at him.

Bai Chen quickly walked up to Jing Ziyan and the young man, then asked Jing Ziyan for confirmation.

"Senior Sister, is this the Senior Ji you mentioned?"

"Yes."

Jing Ziyan grinned.

"What do you think? I told you he was handsome, right?"

Hearing the pride in her voice, Bai Chen's lips twitched.

You look like you are showing off the person you like, Senior Sister.

She was being so obvious. It was impressive that Ji Juechen had managed to remain as dense as wood for so many years.

However, Bai Chen had no intention of interfering with the relationship between the two. He flashed a bright smile and extended his hand to Ji Juechen.

"Yes, Senior Ji is indeed very handsome. Senior, it is our first meeting. I am Bai Chen, the student of Senior Sister Jing's senior."

"..."

Ji Juechen looked at Bai Chen's outstretched hand. After a moment of silence, he shook it.

"—!"

The next moment, his expression suddenly changed.

Bai Chen wore an innocent smile.

"Senior, after you finish sparring with Senior Sister, could you give me a little guidance?"

"Hey, hey."

Hearing him say that, Jing Ziyan was immediately startled and hurriedly warned him,

"Little Bai Chen, I advise you not to fight him. This senior specializes in offense, and sometimes he cannot hold back. If he ends up hurting you..."

"Fine. I agree."

Before she could finish, a cold voice interrupted her warning.

"Huh?"

Jing Ziyan blinked in astonishment.

Ji Juechen had always been sparing with his words and extremely aloof. Aside from opponents he acknowledged, he had always been too lazy to say a single word.

The main reason she had managed to invite Ji Juechen out this time was because she had agreed to spar with him. Ji Juechen had no interest in Bai Chen at all.

That should have been the case...

Yet it was not over.

Ji Juechen released Bai Chen's hand and said calmly,

"I look forward to fighting you."

After saying that, he gave Bai Chen a deep look, then actually turned and walked away into the distance.

"Huh? Huh, huh, huh?"

Jing Ziyan became even more confused.

Who was Ji Juechen looking forward to fighting? Bai Chen?

He, he, he... he was not suddenly planning to kill someone, was he?

Increasingly outrageous guesses surfaced in Jing Ziyan's mind, but they were far from the truth.

In fact, the reason Ji Juechen had changed his attitude toward Bai Chen was very simple. Bai Chen had used the opportunity of their handshake to demonstrate some of his strength.

Even without activating his Martial Soul, Bai Chen's strength was no weaker than that of a strength-type Soul Ancestor. It was already enough to surpass Ji Juechen.

Ji Juechen had always looked only at strength, never at people. He did not care how young Bai Chen was. Since Bai Chen had displayed strength worthy of his attention, he did not reject the idea of fighting such a child.

Rather, the fact that Bai Chen possessed such power at his age only made him more excited.

The So-Called Sword Maniac

Jing Ziyan and Bai Chen followed behind Ji Juechen until they arrived before a tall building.

The large sign above the building read, "Soul Device Testing Ground."

Jing Ziyan explained to Bai Chen,

"This is a place Ji Juechen and I often visit. Their business is renting venues to Soul Engineers, allowing them to freely test the performance of new Soul Guide Devices. They also support sparring between Soul Engineers. I know the owner a little, so she can give me a discount."

As she spoke, they entered the building.

After Jing Ziyan exchanged a few words with the front desk, she received a plaque and led Bai Chen and Ji Juechen to a spacious arena.

"Then let's begin, Ji Juechen."

Jing Ziyan leaped onto the arena, crooked a finger at Ji Juechen, and revealed an excited smile.

The reason she could get along with Ji Juechen was not only because she liked him, but also because she herself was a battle maniac by nature.

Even if Bai Chen had not asked to meet Ji Juechen, she had recently been planning to spar with him again.

This was the perfect chance to fight to her heart's content!

"..."

Ji Juechen silently stepped onto the arena and drew his longsword.

Thus, the battle began.

Bai Chen sat in the spectator seats, watching the battle between the two on the arena as he nodded thoughtfully.

Overall, Ji Juechen was at a disadvantage.

After all, he was six or seven years younger than Jing Ziyan. Though he would eventually surpass her in strength, for now, she still had the upper hand.

If Bai Chen had to use two terms to describe Ji Juechen's fighting style, they would be "all or nothing" and "overwhelming force breaks all techniques."

The so-called "overwhelming force breaks all techniques" meant that he simply had no fighting method other than his sword. No matter what tricks his opponent used, he would use the sword in his hand to break through them head-on with absolute force.

And "all or nothing" meant that evasion and defense simply did not exist in his fighting. He always used offense as defense, filling his shortcomings in those areas with attacks of extreme sharpness.

By a description Bai Chen had seen in his previous life, it was a sword style that said, "It is fine if you attack me, but then you will die too."

This unique fighting style perfectly embodied his characteristics, making him exceptionally troublesome to deal with.

However, Jing Ziyan's fighting style was completely different from his.

The reason Jing Ziyan could be called the uncrowned queen of Level-Four Soul Engineers was because she had nearly mastered the production methods of every Level-Four Soul Guide Device.

If Ji Juechen was a radar chart that sacrificed every other attribute in pursuit of extreme attack power, then Jing Ziyan was a hexagonal chart that covered every aspect and excelled in all attributes.

At the same time, her smoke Martial Soul made her main fighting style lean toward guerrilla tactics, vastly different from Ji Juechen's preference for head-on clashes between ultimate moves.

These two nearly opposite fighting styles made their battle exceptionally intense.

However, Ji Juechen's cultivation was still somewhat too low. After ten minutes of fighting, Jing Ziyan eventually found an opening and defeated him.

Yet Jing Ziyan, despite being the winner, was not relaxed either. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and said with feeling,

"Ji Juechen, your strength is really getting stronger and stronger. At this rate, it will not be long before I cannot beat you anymore."

"Mm."

Faced with her praise, Ji Juechen merely nodded indifferently before turning his gaze toward Bai Chen, who was watching beneath the arena.