Classmates Shouldn't Resort to Violence

Only after Xu Ping's figure had completely disappeared did Ye Chenxing withdraw his gaze and look back at Jing Hongchen.

"There's a second reason," he said. "My Ultimate Light is extremely sensitive to evil aura. As long as the other party enters a combat state, I can sense the aura of an evil soul master on them."

Xiao Hongchen blurted out, "Ultimate attributes are that miraculous?! They even have a function like that?"

Ye Chenxing tilted his head to glance at him, smiled faintly, and offered no further explanation.

That was obviously nonsense. Those four had disguised themselves flawlessly and had not leaked even the slightest trace of evil aura from start to finish. If he hadn't read the original story, how else would he have known they had been sent by the Holy Spirit Cult?

But it didn't matter. He held the right to interpret ultimate attributes, so plenty of lies did not even need to be patched up.

"Then how did you escape?" Jing Hongchen asked curiously.

"Simple." Ye Chenxing shrugged. "I exchanged a few moves with him. When he realized he couldn't take me down anytime soon, he figured you had probably freed up your hands and were on your way over. Afraid of being intercepted, he could only retreat."

So that was it. They had exchanged a few moves.

Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen exchanged a look and nodded.

...Wait?

Grandfather and grandson both froze on the spot, enormous question marks rising in their minds at the same time.

A Great Spirit Master in his twenties had "exchanged a few moves" with a Soul Douluo whose cultivation exceeded his by more than sixty ranks? And had even made it so the other party "couldn't take him down anytime soon"?!

I understand every word, so why does it make no sense when they're put together?

Such insane, fantastical nonsense sounded utterly absurd coming from his mouth in such a casual tone.

The grandfather and grandson slowly turned their heads. Yet no matter how outrageous it seemed, Ye Chenxing was standing right before them, completely unharmed and speaking with them.

Facts spoke louder than words, especially since Ye Chenxing's martial soul was already miraculous enough. Beating an eightieth-rank Soul Douluo...

They still couldn't accept it!

That was eighty ranks, not eight ranks, nor eighteen ranks!

There was nothing to be done. Everyone had their own secrets, and Jing Hongchen tactfully chose not to press further. Meanwhile, Xiao Hongchen silently made up his mind.

Right. Once they returned to the academy, he would definitely compete with Ye Chenxing in soul tool assembly and aiming. They were classmates, after all. Fighting and killing on the Soul Duel Arena would hurt their relationship.

It definitely wasn't because I was scared! Right, definitely not!

Jing Hongchen collected himself and looked at the devastation left all around by the battle, his expression so dark it seemed ready to drip water.

"To snuff out Ultimate Light... Just where did the information leak from..."

"Still, one Titled Douluo and three Soul Douluos. This was probably the strongest lineup those gutter rats could deploy while keeping it hidden from the Empire's surveillance. After breaking so many teeth this time, they definitely won't dare show themselves again anytime soon."

As he said this, killing intent flooded Jing Hongchen's eyes. He practically forced out the words through clenched teeth. "When I return, I will report this truthfully to Elder Kong. They dared reach for the future of the Sun Moon Empire. I will make them pay in blood!"

Ye Chenxing did not respond.

He was currently calculating who the instigator behind today's assassination attempt might be. Was it the old emperor, who was nearing death? Or the ruthless Crown Prince Xu Tianran?

But after another thought, Ye Chenxing relaxed.

It didn't matter. Whoever it was, it wasn't important.

When the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. He only needed to package this mess up exactly as it was and dump it on Elder Kong once they got back.

Returning from his thoughts, Ye Chenxing lowered his head and looked at Meng Hongchen, who was tightly clutching the corner of his clothes.

The little girl had already steadied her breathing and stopped trembling, but she still buried her face in his chest without moving, like a sleeping kitten.

Amused, Ye Chenxing curled a finger and lightly flicked her forehead, his tone lazy. "Hey, crybaby. You've leaned on me for so long. Don't tell me you fell asleep in my arms?"

"Who's a crybaby?!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Meng Hongchen sprang away as though shocked by electricity. Only then did she realize that she had actually been lying in Ye Chenxing's arms for so long.

A visible blush instantly spread from her neck all the way to her ears. She did not dare look at Ye Chenxing again, hurriedly turning around and pretending to tidy hair that had not been messy in the first place.

Ye Chenxing smiled faintly and looked up. On the horizon, Xu Ping was leading a fully armed flying soul engineer squadron toward them at incredible speed.

"Let's go. We're going home."

Dark Cloud Douluo sped along with the Zhongli brothers and finally arrived at a hidden Holy Spirit Cult stronghold. The three stopped and removed their disguises.

Zhongli Tian and Zhongli Di, the identical Soul Douluo brothers, were both heavily injured, their auras weak and listless.

"Damn it! Has that old bastard Jing Hongchen gone insane?" Zhongli Di cursed as he clutched his chest, coughing up a thread of blood. "We weren't trying to kill his grandson and granddaughter. Did he have to hit us that hard?"

Zhongli Tian wore a grim expression and ground his teeth as he agreed. "If not for the Cult Leader considering the possibility of cooperation with the Sun Moon Empire's emperor and deciding it was unwise to completely tear relations apart, the Cult Leader and all the elders and consecrates would have personally moved out and slaughtered them long ago!"

Dark Cloud Douluo ignored their complaints. Frowning deeply, he swept his gaze around the area. "Didn't we agree to meet here after the operation succeeded? Where is Zhongli Ren?"

At those words, the Zhongli brothers both froze.

Right, where was Zhongli Ren? Logically speaking, killing a mere brat should have been easy. He should have succeeded and returned to the stronghold long ago.

An intense sense of foreboding instantly enveloped them. Zhongli Di abruptly rose to his feet. "No, we have to go back and find him!"

Dark Cloud Douluo reacted swiftly, pressing both of them back down and shouting sternly, "Are you insane? Ming Capital is definitely conducting a thorough investigation both inside and outside the city right now. Are you planning to drag your heavily injured bodies back there to die? Or do you think we haven't left enough evidence behind, so you insist on delivering yourselves back into their hands?"

The Zhongli brothers forcefully shook free of Dark Cloud Douluo's hands, their eyes bloodshot. "What do you know?! That's our biological younger brother. We can never abandon him!"

Seeing that they had nearly lost their minds, Dark Cloud Douluo narrowed his eyes, and his tone turned completely cold. "Fine. If you insist on going back to die, I'll return to the Cult and report the truth to the Cult Leader at once."

At the words "Cult Leader," the previously enraged Zhongli brothers seemed to have been doused with cold water. They instantly fell silent, all their aggression gone.

Once he saw that they had finally settled down, Dark Cloud Douluo coldly threw out a sentence. "Let's go. Return to the Cult first. Leave everything to the Cult Leader's judgment."

He paused, gazing in the direction they had come from, his voice low. "It seems that brat with Ultimate Light isn't so simple. Or perhaps... there were other experts beside him who forcibly held Zhongli Ren back."

The wheelchair rolled over the bluestone pavement with a low, soft sound. Xu Tianran sat in it dressed in white, slowly pushed out of the Crown Prince's Palace by the young woman behind him.

"Orange, His Majesty summoned me today. Do you know why?" Xu Tianran asked, turning his head slightly.

"Orange does not know." The young woman shook her head.

Xu Tianran chuckled, his tone certain. "My father summoned me to the palace today because he must have approved of my plans for war."

The old emperor was in poor health and had not attended court for a long time. Ever since Xu Tianran used iron-handed methods to purge the Second Prince who had framed him, few princes in court still dared confront him directly.

He now handled more than half of state affairs, while the emperor was only responsible for making the final decisions. Xu Tianran knew clearly that summoning him now to directly abdicate would be wishful thinking, but it certainly meant the emperor intended to grant him even more authority.

Orange said softly, "Then congratulations are in order, Your Highness."

"The more power I hold, the closer you will be to the day you take your revenge." Xu Tianran gave her a deep look. "Grow quickly, Orange. Only then can I truly entrust the heavy burden to you."

At his words, sorrow and hatred surfaced in Orange's eyes, but she quickly suppressed them and replied softly:

"Yes, Your Highness."