Hearing that, Jiang Chen decided to indulge the old man's curiosity and let him show off.
The Self-Created Soul Skill he had comprehended was simple.
It was pure strength, pure explosive force, and pure application of soul power. He called it the "Heavenly Emperor Fist."
Then he raised his sandbag-sized fist, mobilizing all his soul power and bloodline power. An enormous ice-blue mark appeared on his fist as he hurled a punch at Mu En before him, shouting, "Heavenly Emperor Fist!"
Boom-!
The building housing the Golden Ancient Tree shook for several seconds. The explosive crack of air instantly alerted the resting Elders.
Mu En stood there, staring at Jiang Chen's fist with a trace of shock in his eyes.
What terrifying strength.
That punch carried at least two thousand jin of force and had directly shaved half a month off his lifespan.
This child truly is a heaven-gifted genius.
Excellent!
What a Heavenly Emperor Fist!
Mu En's aged face lit up with delight. He reached out and patted Jiang Chen's shoulder. "What a Heavenly Emperor Fist! To think that someone with an ice martial soul would comprehend the profound principles of fist techniques and push the explosive application of pure strength to its absolute limit. I was right about you after all."
"But you mustn't throw that punch at others lightly. Your bloodline power is too strong. You could very well turn someone into a mist of blood with one punch."
After saying that, Mu En coughed softly.
Jiang Chen had not expected such high praise from Mu En.
He had not actually comprehended any profound principles of fist techniques. He had merely pushed his strength to its limit and picked a name at random.
Still, he had not expected to be able to hurt Mu En.
This Dragon God Douluo is a little weak.
Just then, Xuan Zi and the others hurried into the quiet chamber, their expressions transformed.
"Mu En, are you all right?"
With Martial Soul Possession active, Xuan Zi scanned the surroundings. He no longer even had a chicken drumstick in his hand, terrified that something might have happened to Mu En.
But when they looked around and saw only Jiang Chen and Mu En, they relaxed a little.
Yan Shaozhe immediately stepped forward to ask, "Mu En, what happened just now? The whole building shook. I thought an Evil Soul Master had sneaked into our academy."
Mu En smiled. "Nothing serious. I was just testing Jiang Chen's progress. I didn't expect to disturb you all. Go back and rest."
Hearing that, the Elders all turned to Jiang Chen at once, finding it hard to believe that he had caused that commotion.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly and immediately replied, "That's right. I comprehended a Self-Created Soul Skill, and Mu En insisted that I demonstrate it. That was what happened."
The quiet chamber fell silent at once.
A level forty Soul Master had actually made the Golden Ancient Tree shake. Who would believe that?
Then Xuan Zi stepped forward and pointed at his own head. "Throw a punch at me. Let me see whether that's true. Don't hold back. I'm a level 98 Super Douluo."
A Limit Douluo said the same thing just now, and it didn't end too well for him either... Without another word, Jiang Chen hurled a Heavenly Emperor Fist at Xuan Zi's head.
Boom!
The Golden Ancient Tree shook again. A red bump slowly rose on Xuan Zi's head, then rapidly disappeared.
Xuan Zi coughed. "That... that strength is passable. I had that much strength when I was young, too."
With that, he took a swig of liquor and vanished from the Sea God Pavilion.
Yan Shaozhe and the others watched the scene, speechless for a long time.
What terrifying strength!
Then Mu En clasped his hands behind his back and said sternly, "None of you may speak of what happened today."
The Elders agreed in unison, promising not to let it leak.
Only then did Mu En nod in satisfaction and turn to Jiang Chen. "I'll arrange matters for your fourth soul ring right away. Go back to the outer court and get some rest. Ling Luochеn happens to still be at the academy, too. She's been waiting for you for quite a while."
"Once the soul hunting mission has been arranged, I'll send someone to notify you."
Jiang Chen cupped his hands in a salute and left the quiet chamber.
After leaving the Sea God Pavilion, Jiang Chen first went to Heart Lake Island. Sure enough, he found a senior female student in a long ice-blue outfit sitting by the lake, feeding the fish.
So Jiang Chen sneaked up to her, then reached out and swept her into his arms.
Ling Luochеn let out an "Ah!" and instantly bristled, her soul power surging wildly throughout her body.
When she saw that it was Jiang Chen, her willow-leaf brows shot up. She grabbed his ear and scolded him in a sweet voice, "Do that again, and I'll get angry!"
Jiang Chen smiled. "Who besides me would dare hug you?"
Ling Luochеn put her hands on her hips and huffed. "Other than you, I'd teach anyone who so much as touched my finger a harsh lesson."
That's more like it... Jiang Chen sat down and fed the fish with Ling Luochеn.
Then Ling Luochеn said, "The academy is on break now, so hardly anyone's around. In a few days, we might have to head out on an Inspection Corps mission, so I won't be able to keep you company."
"Oh, right. Did you gain anything from your secluded training?"
She looked back at him, blinking her lovely eyes as she studied him curiously.
Jiang Chen said, "Can't you tell my soul power has already reached level forty? The academy is arranging a soul hunting mission now. We should set out in a few days."
Ling Luochеn propped up her head and said softly, "Congratulations. But I probably won't be able to go with you. I still have an Inspection Corps mission."
"Once the soul hunt is over, I'll discuss it with Mu En and go with you," Jiang Chen said.
"Really?" Ling Luochеn asked.
Jiang Chen nodded firmly.
That was hardly difficult. With his strength, he was more than capable of participating in the mission. Treating it as a chance to temper himself would be good, too.
Jiang Chen stayed by the lake for a long time, leaving only after he had finished feeding the fish with Ling Luochеn. The two planned to stroll around the city and properly unwind.
But on the way back to the outer court, Jiang Chen ran into a familiar face: Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi looked utterly drained. Cold sweat covered his body, his eyes were sunken, and he looked as though he had indulged in far too much sex.
At the same time, Xu Sanshi spotted Jiang Chen.
Why is this brat still in the Inner Court?
Remembering Xiaotao's instructions, Xu Sanshi felt inexplicably annoyed. He said flatly, "Why are you here, too? You're not an Inner Court student yet. You can't just enter the Inner Court as you please. Don't you know the rules?"
Jiang Chen frowned as he sized up the sexually exhausted Xu Sanshi. "You're not an Inner Court student either. What are you doing here?"
"I... my situation is special," Xu Sanshi argued.
Only then did Jiang Chen catch on. "Helping Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire, huh? That really must be hard on you, her special little fire-draining vessel."
Xu Sanshi's face flushed red at those words, and anger at the humiliation welled up in his heart.
As the dignified young master of the Xuanming Sect, when had he ever suffered such an insult?
Xu Sanshi deliberately shook his crotch and said mockingly, "That's right. I help Xiaotao suppress her evil fire. But I never expected it to feel so good. It's shown me what it feels like to be a man. I wonder whether certain people will ever be lucky enough to experience that."
"Ah, I'm just too handsome. Too bad certain people don't have that kind of luck and can only make snide remarks."
Jiang Chen caught the meaning beneath his words. His gaze gradually turned icy as he asked in a low voice, "Are you using Ma Xiaotao to provoke me?"
Xu Sanshi's smile faded as well. He said coldly, "I am provoking you. What can you do about it? At worst, we'll have a fight today. I'd like to see just how much substance you have as the Freshman Tournament champion."
"You think you're the only Freshman Tournament champion? I was one back in my day, too-and I was stronger than you."
Before you continue