The best Soul Ring types for the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul were metal-element and gemstone types, and most Soul Beasts of those kinds dwelled in areas rich in mineral deposits.
The Sun-Moon Empire had far more mines than the Douluo Original Three Kingdoms. Other types of Soul Beasts were another matter, but when it came to metal-element Soul Beasts, both their numbers and varieties far surpassed those of the Douluo Original Three Kingdoms.
"Then let's go with this place."
Bai Chen took a look. Because people from the Sun-Moon Empire frequently came to mine rare metals from the outer layers of this cave, the Soul Beasts here were not especially strong. Most were ten-year or century Soul Beasts; millennium Soul Beasts were already extremely rare, while ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts were completely absent.
A place like this was perfect for a team like theirs.
"Mm, in that case..."
Hearing this, Xuan Ziwen muttered something under his breath. Then, he took four long Soul Guide Cannons from his Storage Soul Guidance Device and tossed them to Bai Chen and the others.
Bai Chen caught one instinctively and asked:
"Teacher Xuan, what are these?"
"Seventh-Level Disintegration Cannons."
"Pfft—"
At Xuan Ziwen's casual answer, Jing Ziyan spat before Bai Chen could even react.
She wiped the corner of her mouth and asked in disbelief:
"Wait, wait, wait. Senior, what did you say those were?"
Xuan Ziwen calmly repeated:
"Seventh-Level Disintegration Cannons. Don't worry, I made special modifications. Even you can use one once, provided you're willing to exhaust all your Soul Power."
"Huh?!"
Jing Ziyan stared at the long cannon in her hands, too stunned to speak.
Ning Tian and Ji Juechen, who did not know much about Soul Tools, could not understand why she was reacting like that. Only Bai Chen understood.
Disintegration Cannons were a special branch of Soul Tools, classified as single-target long-range offensive Soul Tools. Even the lowest-level Disintegration Cannons were Level-Six Soul Guide Devices.
The crafting process for Disintegration Cannons was extremely complex, involving many principles that were difficult to comprehend. It even touched upon spatial theories, making them one of the hardest Soul Tools to produce among those of the same level.
Yet what they provided in return was extreme firepower. The single-target attack power of a Disintegration Cannon even surpassed that of a Fixed-Installed Soul Guide Shell of the same level. They were the Soul Tool type with the strongest single-target attack power at the same level, and they were extraordinarily precious. For example, the commander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps possessed more than ten Ninth-Level Fixed Soul Cannon Shells, yet did not have even a single Level-Nine Disintegration Cannon.
The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps had the imperial family backing it and was the wealthiest of the Beast King Soul Engineer Corps. Even its commander had not been equipped with a Level-Nine Disintegration Cannon, which showed just how expensive these things were.
Though Seventh-Level Disintegration Cannons were not worth as much as Level-Nine Disintegration Cannons, they were already more valuable than most Level-Eight Soul Guide Devices. The combined value of four Seventh-Level Disintegration Cannons was not even inferior to a Level-Nine Soul Guide Device.
A cold smile appeared on Xuan Ziwen's lips.
"Scared now? If you know how valuable these are, then come back safe and sound and return them to me. Understand?"
"Y-Yes..."
Jing Ziyan carefully put away the Disintegration Cannon in her hands.
As a Level-Four Soul Engineer, she was not poor, but this Seventh-Level Disintegration Cannon could truly wipe out her entire fortune.
In truth, the reason Xuan Ziwen was able to take out so many Seventh-Level Disintegration Cannons lay with Bai Chen.
When he had first come into contact with Thousand-Forged Metal, he had specifically made many difficult Soul Tools in order to study their properties.
Seventh-Level Disintegration Cannons were one of those types. He actually had only five in total. After giving four to them, he had just one left.
As for the special modifications he had made, they were also inspired by Bai Chen.
Bai Chen would intentionally or unintentionally reveal concepts from the future to him in daily life. Xuan Ziwen absorbed those concepts at an astonishing speed, and in a sense, the special modification he had made this time was the prototype of a Sealed Milk Bottle.
Xuan Ziwen walked up to Bai Chen, his expression softening. He patted Bai Chen's shoulder and said quietly:
"Be careful. Don't force yourself, understand?"
"Don't worry, Teacher."
Bai Chen answered with a confident smile.
"We'll be fine."
The Hongchen Siblings
The next morning, Bai Chen and his group left the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy early and headed toward the mine cave marked on the map.
At noon, they arrived at the entrance of Qiling Mine Cave.
Though Soul Guide lamps illuminated the entrance, the deep cave mouth still gave off an unsettling feeling.
Everyone took out the searchlights they had prepared beforehand and entered.
None of them expected that shortly after entering the mine cave, they would encounter another group that had come to hunt Soul Beasts.
"Ah..."
Seeing an old man with two eight- or nine-year-old children, both dressed in the uniforms of the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Bai Chen took the initiative to greet them.
"Are you from the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?"
At his words, the boy turned his face away and gave a haughty snort.
The girl, however, answered with a smile:
"Yes. What's your name?"
"Bai Chen."
"Oh..."
The girl blinked.
For some reason, she felt as though she had heard that name somewhere before.
Jing Ziyan tugged Bai Chen from behind and whispered:
"Hey, Bai Chen, don't you know who they are?"
"...Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen?"
"So you do know!"
"..."
No, he did not actually know them, but he could guess.
For one thing, the pair's white hair was far too distinctive. For another, eight-year-old children being escorted by an old man who clearly looked powerful could not possibly be ordinary.
Bai Chen gave a light cough and asked:
"Um... since we're classmates, could we follow along with you? We won't cause any trouble."
Hearing this, the old man looked at the two children beside him.
Xiao Hongchen curled his lips in displeasure and was just about to say something when Meng Hongchen cheerfully said:
"Sure. Let's get along well."
"Hey, Meng, you..."
"Come on, Brother. Classmates should help each other."
Meng Hongchen's smiling face immediately swallowed all the words Xiao Hongchen had been about to say.
"Hmph. Fine, do whatever you want."
After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Hongchen ultimately chose not to argue with his sister. With a dark expression, he stopped talking.
Only after receiving the two little ancestors' approval did the old man speak.
"Then you may come with us. But let me make one thing clear first: we're heading all the way to the bottom of this cave. It's very dangerous there, so I hope you won't cause trouble."
"Yes, we'll behave and listen obediently. We definitely won't get in the way."
Bai Chen nodded obediently. Seeing his manner, the old man revealed a kind smile as well.
"My surname is Ma. You can call me Old Ma."
He seemed to understand a little why Meng Hongchen had been willing to let Bai Chen follow them. This child's attitude and appearance both made people naturally like him.
Compared to the other little ancestor on his side...
After glancing inconspicuously at Xiao Hongchen, Old Ma let out a long sigh in his heart.
Honestly, this child's temper really was a bit foul.
He was undoubtedly a genius, but he still needed to learn how to conduct himself.
However, it was not Old Ma's place as a hired hand to say such things. All he needed to do was complete his job properly.
Old Ma said to everyone:
"Then before we continue deeper, let's share our names, Martial Souls, and Soul Ring requirements. If we encounter Soul Beasts suitable for you along the way, I'll take care of them while we're at it."
Thus, everyone exchanged information about themselves there.
As expected, Old Ma was a Level-Eight Soul Engineer affiliated with Mingde Hall. Though high-level Soul Engineers were generally weaker than Soul Masters of the same rank, he was still far stronger than an ordinary Soul Saint. At the very least, having an expert like him in a place like this made everyone feel immensely reassured.
If Bai Chen's guess was correct, he was very likely Ma Rulong's grandfather.
When he heard the names Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen, Old Ma showed obvious surprise.
Jing Ziyan had once been a genius as famous as Xuan Ziwen, while Ji Juechen was a problem child among problem children. Both were well-known, so Old Ma had naturally heard their names.
He had not expected these two unusual students to be traveling with freshmen like Bai Chen and Ning Tian.
How had they ended up together?
Meanwhile, the purpose of Xiao Hongchen's group's visit was also revealed.
Just as Bai Chen had guessed beforehand, they had come here to obtain Soul Rings as well.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were eight years old this year, more than two years older than Bai Chen and Ning Tian. Under Jing Hongchen's tireless cultivation, they had already reached the threshold of Rank Twenty. As long as they acquired suitable Soul Rings, they could officially advance to Soul Grandmasters.
Naturally, they had not come to this gathering place filled with metal-element Soul Beasts to obtain a Soul Ring for Meng Hongchen. The purpose of this trip was to hunt a Soul Ring for Xiao Hongchen.
Bai Chen was focused on the purpose of their trip, while Old Ma was focused on Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen's identities. Only Miss Meng's focus was slightly different.
She was focused on Bai Chen.
When Ning Tian introduced herself, realization suddenly appeared in Meng Hongchen's eyes.
She remembered where she had heard Bai Chen's name before.
During a casual chat with the siblings, Jing Hongchen had once mentioned this young man from the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect.
According to Jing Hongchen, Ning Tian, the young sect mistress, was not particularly worth paying attention to. Instead, Bai Chen, who had accompanied her here, was more gifted.
If she remembered correctly, he had seemed to already be Rank Sixteen at the time?
She wondered whether he had reached Rank Seventeen yet.
Meng Hongchen glanced at Xiao Hongchen and found him still wearing that smug expression. She immediately understood that her brother had completely forgotten about it.
But even if she had remembered, Meng Hongchen did not feel any hostility toward Bai Chen.
First, when Jing Hongchen had told them about this matter, he had said that if they encountered Bai Chen, they could try to recruit him.
Second...
Meng Hongchen looked at Bai Chen's face, and a beautiful curve rose on her lips.
He was so handsome!
Naturally, Jing Hongchen had not mentioned Bai Chen's appearance when he told them about him, so Meng Hongchen had never expected him to look like this.
Even Jing Ziyan believed that once Bai Chen grew up, he might be on the same level as Ji Juechen. This showed just how lethal his face was.
Up until now, he had often used that face to act cute and obtain information from senior girls. But now, at last, he had encountered a genuine looks-obsessed girl.
Meng Hongchen had one particular trait: her initial fondness for good-looking people was especially high. This trait was even more pronounced when facing people her own age.
She had not actually cared about some genius youth from the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect. She had practically forgotten about him already.
But now, she suddenly changed her mind.
I have to use this opportunity to bring him into my camp! Meng Hongchen secretly made up her mind.
Ning Tian's First Soul Ring
After gaining a general understanding of one another, the group set off again.
Just as Old Ma had said, they were heading for the very bottom of Qiling Mine Cave. Without stopping even once along the way, they continuously ventured deeper inside.
Before you continue