The Cleverest Kid

The next day.

The three of them had truly entered the Jingyang Mountain Range. Jing Hongchen's easygoing manner from the journey vanished as he clearly told them that from this point on, unless they encountered a crisis they absolutely could not handle, he would not intervene. The three young people exchanged glances, their faces brimming with eager excitement, though their tense bodies still betrayed their inner nervousness.

What they did not know was that Jing Hongchen, who appeared calm and unconcerned, was ten times more nervous than they were.

He had no choice. Two biological grandchildren, plus Ye Chenxing, who was as precious as the entire Illustrious Virtue Hall—if anything happened to them, Jing Hongchen might as well find a block of tofu and smash his head into it.

Of course, what teacher leading a group would fail to carefully protect their juniors or students? Even if they called it training, no sane person would leave children to fend for themselves while finding somewhere to drink and eat meat.

Probably not, right?

Jing Hongchen was here to be a bodyguard, not an animal.

Before this journey ended, the three of them would definitely enter the region inhabited by ten-thousand-year soul beasts. The reason was simple: Ye Chenxing's Soul Ring had to be of the ten-thousand-year level. His physical strength and spiritual power had already met the requirements, and the Jingyang Mountain Range happened to have many spiritual-type soul beasts.

Jing Hongchen believed that with him watching over them, these three children would not face any genuine danger.

What he wanted to see now was just how far they could get through their own strength.

The deeper they went into the main range of the Jingyang Mountain Range, the more treacherous the terrain became. Towering peaks rose one after another into the clouds, and cold gleams from metal veins could faintly be seen reflecting off the exposed cliff faces. In direct proportion to that were the density and strength of the soul beasts.

They had entered the main range an hour ago.

They had encountered quite a few low-level ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts along the way. Plant-type soul beasts such as Ten-Year Lonely Bamboo could not run away, while the rest generally scattered as soon as they sensed the trio's presence from afar. A few hundred-year soul beasts that did not know their limits tried to test them, only to be blasted back into the shrubs howling by several casual Soul Guidance Rays from Xiao Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen was especially proactive today. Whenever a soul beast showed itself along the way, he was always the first to rush forward, alternating between Soul Guidance Cannons and Soul Guidance Rays as though afraid Ye Chenxing would fail to see what he could do.

Ever since his Martial Soul had been crushed, a fire of defiance had burned in the heart of the boy who had always believed himself to possess the greatest talent in Sun Moon—perhaps even all of Douluo Continent.

He could not vent that fire on his grandfather, his sister, or Ye Chenxing—so he could only vent it on soul beasts. Besides, showing off his strength properly in front of Ye Chenxing and making him surprised for once would at least recover a little of his dignity.

At last, his opportunity arrived.

The shrubs on both sides suddenly exploded as two golden figures pounced out amid a stench of blood. They were two Thousand-Year Golden Tigers, powerfully built, their fur gleaming with a metallic chill beneath the sunlight. Judging by the aura emanating from them, neither had a particularly high cultivation—roughly three thousand years each.

The strength of a thousand-year soul beast usually corresponded to that of a human Soul Master between levels thirty and fifty. Two attacking together would indeed be quite troublesome for an ordinary Soul Elder.

The moment Xiao Hongchen saw the two Gold Tigers, his eyes lit up.

Granted, in the mineral-rich Jingyang Mountain Range, metal-attribute soul beasts would receive a certain boost to their combat power. They certainly had an advantage in terms of raw stats.

But so what? Soul beasts could only boost their stats.

His Three-Legged Golden Toad in these mountains was like Ma Hongjun visiting a brothel—he was home.

"Leave both of them to me. You don't need to make a move." Xiao Hongchen spoke without looking back, unable to suppress the excitement in his voice.

Even so, he did not dare be careless. They were two thousand-year soul beasts, after all, and he could not afford to underestimate them.

As a Soul Engineer—one specializing in overwhelming firepower—he understood better than anyone how important distance was.

He kicked off the ground and rapidly retreated, while a dazzling golden light burst from his body.

Martial Soul Possession!

Another leg actually emerged from behind Xiao Hongchen, protruding from his rear. This leg was entirely brilliant gold, as if forged from pure gold, forming a strange yet harmonious triangular support with his body. At the same time, a layer of golden radiance covered his entire body, and fine metallic patterns faintly surfaced across his skin.

Ye Chenxing watched quietly from the side. Honestly, whenever he saw a beast Martial Soul master unleash their Martial Soul, he felt it was no different from gambling. If they were lucky, their Martial Soul Possession would make them look majestic and imposing. If they were unlucky, that was another matter.

Ten thousand years ago, there had been Bibi Dong. Ten thousand years later, there was Xiao Hongchen. Both possessed top-tier Martial Souls, yet their transformed appearances were more abstract than the last.

That made him think of Huo Yuhao. That kid was the cleverest. He drew a tattoo and insisted he had the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Martial Soul.

Xiao Hongchen, now with three legs, crouched slightly. Two yellow and one purple Soul Ring rose beneath his feet, their light flowing.

He arched his back, and golden bulges rose one after another beneath his clothing, emitting soft metallic halos. His first and third Soul Rings lit up at the same time. As he repeatedly waved his hands, more than a hundred metal spheres scattered outward like heavenly maidens strewing flowers.

The metal spheres did not fall to the ground. Instead, they hovered in the air, surrounding him completely.

A bizarre sight appeared.

Using those metal spheres as cores, thick metal cannon barrels began to "grow" from thin air.

Yes, grow—those cannon barrels condensed from nothing into existence, as though an invisible pair of hands were forging them at astonishing speed. In only a few breaths, Xiao Hongchen had turned into a massive metal hedgehog.

First Soul Skill, Metal Control. Third Soul Skill, Golden Form Condensation.

The metal spheres he had thrown were essentially the core formations of Soul Guidance Cannons. The dense cannon barrels around him had been temporarily condensed from metal powder he carried with him, controlled through his Soul Skills.

Nearly sixty Third-Level Soul Guidance Cannons aimed their dark muzzles in perfect unison at the two Gold Tigers.

The two Gold Tigers had clearly never seen such a formation before. Their fierce charging momentum came to an abrupt halt as their limbs uneasily scraped at the ground, low whimpers rumbling from their throats. Their animal instincts were frantically telling them that this three-legged creature before them was dangerous.

A curve lifted at the corner of Xiao Hongchen's mouth. His second Soul Ring lit up.

Every cannon muzzle began charging at once. Golden light gathered deep within the barrels, releasing Soul Power fluctuations that made one's heart tremble.

He had suffered too much stimulation these past few days. He had been crushed during the entrance test, used as a negative example in theory class, and even his own sister had taken someone else's side. At this moment, he was determined to give Ye Chenxing something fierce.

A simultaneous volley from sixty Soul Guidance Cannons—wouldn't that leave him dumbfounded?

Thinking of Ye Chenxing's usually composed face showing surprise, Xiao Hongchen felt that all the frustration he had endured these past few days had been worth it.

But if he had known that Ye Chenxing was not watching his "heroic display" at all and was instead mocking his appearance, who knew what expression he would have worn.