Elder Ma's words seemed to have worked. After the scolding, Xiao Hongchen calmed down considerably.
Lu Yi had held back and even healed his injuries.
He was a Soul Emperor, a Level 7 Soul Engineer, yet he had needed a Soul Ancestor to hold back against him!
Xiao Hongchen had always believed he had lost to Lu Yi because luck had been against him. Caught off guard, he had given Lu Yi an opening. It had not been a matter of inferior strength.
The scar on his body had haunted him, but not because he cared about the scar itself.
Many people saw scars as medals of valor, marks of honor.
But his scar was a mark of shame, bound to the greatest failure of his life. It would stay with him forever, reminding him that he had once lost to someone.
Now, defeated by Lu Yi a second time, he could not help questioning his title as Sun Moon's greatest genius.
True, he was not on his own turf.
No one here cared about his identity or background. No one would yield to him, and he enjoyed no special privileges.
Perhaps only when stripped of his status could he see himself clearly.
"Lu Yi, I lost today."
Xiao Hongchen forced out the words as though they had taken every ounce of his strength.
"But... we have a long road ahead of us."
Before Lu Yi could respond, Xiao Hongchen turned and strode away, sword in hand, leaving everyone with a back wide open to attack.
"Lu Yi, um... thank you for holding back."
Meng Hongchen looked embarrassed too. If she and Xiao Hongchen had not so obviously been siblings, she would never have admitted she knew him.
"It's fine. Like I said, we were never enemies. There's no fundamental