First soul tool battle: Meng beams, Xiao sighs, and Jing Hongchen's astonishing wisdom (5k1)

"Eek~ Can we make peace now?"

At the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's ninth Soul Fighting Arena, which was closed to the public, a trembling Ke Ke stood opposite Yu Tianjun, who was seeing soul tools for the first time.

"No. Since we're already here, I have to see what these soul tools are made of."

He opened with his customary snap of the fingers. The ever-growing Five-Element Qilin made its mighty entrance as a ten-meter behemoth.

The instant it landed, dust flew, and the platform seemed to dip beneath its weight.

Yu Tianjun landed steadily on the Qilin's back with a backward somersault. Four conspicuously mismatched soul rings—yellow, purple, purple, and black—floated up around him.

Ke Ke looked down at her petite, 1.6-meter frame, then raised her head again, wondering whether she was still asleep in Teacher Xuan's laboratory.

I've checked your martial soul. You're the wrong person. You aren't some well-connected freeloader. A Five-Element Qilin shouldn't appear in the Sun Moon Empire, where everyone's martial soul is a weakling.

How much did the dean spend to poach you from the Original Three Kingdoms? He really has poured his heart and blood into the empire's future. A true model for Level 9 Soul Engineers.

"Go, Ke Ke! Go, Ke Ke! You too, Qilin junior! Once you've beaten her, you can't beat me, okay...?"

Below the arena, Ju Zi cheered loudly, encouraging both sides.

"Oh? A two-faced fence-sitter with no firm loyalties?"

Miss Angel, righteous by nature, detected Ju Zi's tendency to bend whichever way the wind blew and gave her a scrutinizing look that left evil nowhere to hide.

Ju Zi shivered. A look of earnest negotiation appeared on her soft, springy cheeks. "I'm a food-type soul master. Would you like one of my oranges?"

"I think you should give them to your best friend first." Ye Guyi pointed at the Soul Fighting Arena, suggesting that Ju Zi save her strength for someone who needed it more.

"Begin the soul fight!"

Lin Jiayi appeared from who knew where and announced the start of a battle between opponents of utterly unequal size.

"With something that big, I can only use soul tool turret tactics."

Ke Ke abandoned her martial soul and sat cross-legged on the ground. Soul light rippled around her petite, lovely body as cold metal barrels emerged from it, aiming at the enormous Five-Element Qilin from different directions.

Soul tool turret tactics sacrificed flexibility and mobility in exchange for powerful bursts of firepower, generally allowing the user to suppress soul masters of the same rank in a head-on exchange.

"Watch out."

Out of courtesy, Ke Ke warned the freakish junior opposite her, whose face showed no sense of danger and even a little curiosity. Then the cannons roared, burning through gold by the cartload as cannon fire poured out without restraint, creating dazzling light pollution.

"Thank you. I'll take this seriously. Water Release Defense, Fire-Earth Dual Release, Fire-Earth Raging Rock."

Yu Tianjun chose to respect his opponent. Red, yellow, and blue light surged through his five-colored eyes as water, fire, and earth elements formed three circles of light, each five meters across, in midair.

Watery light condensed into curtains of water before the Qilin. Earth elements formed rocks, fire elements enchanted them, and meteors fell from the sky.

"Is all that really necessary to deal with me?"

Ke Ke blinked. Soul tool beams bombarded the Five-Element Qilin like dense rain, but before they could draw near, they struck the meteors and exploded, raising scorching waves that rapidly heated the air.

The heat waves swept outward. The Qilin, which had prepared its defenses in advance, did not budge. Ke Ke activated her Soul Tool Shield, but the heat still sent her flying.

The virtually undamaged meteors continued to descend. Just as the poor, petite girl was about to suffer something too dreadful to describe...

"The battle is over. Jun Tianyu wins."

Lin Jiayi flew back into the Soul Fighting Arena at top speed and raised a defensive shield before Ke Ke, only to see the fire-earth meteors abruptly stop and disperse into specks of elemental light.

"Thank you, Director, but I think you're a little late."

Ke Ke's reminder came from behind him. Lin Jiayi turned and discovered that a water shield identical to the Five-Element Qilin's had appeared in front of her at some point.

"Are you all right? I think I hit a little too hard."

Yu Tianjun strode over to Ke Ke and extended a fair, powerful hand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

Ke Ke gazed up at her Qilin junior's jawline, as sharply sculpted as if carved with knives and axes. Above it was a flawless face wearing a gentle smile, and her heart began racing despite herself.

Mom, I think I've discovered what falling in love feels like... Ke Ke felt a flutter of attraction.

"As long as you're fine. Next match."

Yu Tianjun did not understand what it meant for someone's heart to flutter during battle. Having confirmed that he had not crippled his senior, he turned his ferocious gaze on the dazed Ju Zi below.

Lin Jiayi silently stepped aside. Yu Tianjun had just displayed exquisitely precise control and effortless Soul King-level attacks. He felt rather unnecessary.

Most importantly, not a single soul ring had flashed.

"How did the Dean trick him into coming? Did he sell off his family assets?"

The same confusion arose in both Lin Jiayi and Ju Zi. Ju Zi steeled herself and stepped onto the platform, unleashing her powerful means of attack—throwing out a shower of plump, round golden oranges with thin skins and plenty of juice, mixed with a handful of grenades disguised as oranges.

Yu Tianjun spread out a curtain of water. Everyone clearly saw the oranges strike it and explode. Amid the crackling blasts, flames rose into wildly dancing fire snakes before dying out.

Those absurd anti-Japanese war dramas had become reality. Bombs really could be hidden in food.

"Food-type soul masters can't take much punishment. I'll use Wood Release... Blue Silver Entanglement."

Green light flashed in Yu Tianjun's eyes as he manipulated the wood element.

Blue Silver Grass spread silently, growing upward to bind Ju Zi's ankles. One gentle trip, and the soft, sweet, easily bullied food-type senior was KO'd on the ground.

Strands of Blue Silver Grass wound around her and gently carried Senior Ju Zi out of the arena.

"Boohoo, I don't want to lose in such an embarrassing way! Who invented Blue Silver Entanglement...?"

The veteran senior burst into tears on the spot. Though she had remained unhurt throughout, being sent packing by roadside weeds like Blue Silver Grass was so humiliating!

"Understood. Next time, I'll switch to Lone Bamboo and spring you out."

Yu Tianjun readily accepted her suggestion, stepped off the platform, and gave his assessment of soul tools.

"The experience with soul tools was pretty good. They're very suitable as tools for practicing soul skills."

Lin Jiayi's face twitched. "Student Jun Tianyu, the mysteries of soul tools go much further than this. I believe they'll offer you a different experience in the future."

"I hope so. Of the five elements, metal is the strongest offensively. I've been searching for a suitable way to use it."

Yu Tianjun nodded lightly. Of course, the mysteries of soul tools did not end there, but for now, guns and cannons were inferior to the five-element combination techniques he fashioned himself.

After devouring Bi Yangde, the Death Spider Emperor Soul Saint, his spiritual power, vital energy, and martial soul bloodline had all made great strides. Yu Tianjun could easily mold the elements into whatever shapes he wanted.

"Ke Ke, I lost so miserably! A soul master prodigy joining a soul engineer academy—isn't that just making fools of us?"

"Don't worry, Ju Zi. I didn't even last as long as you."

Ke Ke and Ju Zi huddled together for comfort. Ye Guyi walked up beside Yu Tianjun, a trace of regret in her voice. "You've scared all the seniors with those beatings. It looks like I won't get a chance to fight today."

"Tianjun, how could you come to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy without telling me? Are we still friends?"

No sooner had Miss Angel finished speaking than a clear voice overflowing with delighted surprise came from outside the arena.

The five turned toward the sound. A girl in school uniform ran toward them on the wind, laughter in the corners of her eyes. Snow-white hair fell on either side of her cheeks, and undisguised joy danced in her icy-blue eyes.

Behind her walked a flashy white-haired boy with his arms crossed, his raised gaze carrying a cool fighting spirit. The moment he entered, he scrutinized Yu Tianjun, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

Meng wasn't exaggerating. He really is better-looking than me... Forget it, forget it. I don't make a living off my face.

Comforting himself that strength was what truly mattered, Xiao Hongchen's eyes filled with arrogance, and his fighting spirit began to rise.

The highest peak among the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's geniuses, Brother Xiao Hongchen, made his dazzling entrance.

"Look, Ju Zi. The Hongchen siblings are here." Ke Ke swiftly adjusted her mood and switched to spectator mode.

"Does Xiao Hongchen want a fight?"

Ju Zi noticed the arrival of the Sun Moon Empire's greatest genius in a thousand years—formerly—and a watery gleam rippled through her beautiful eyes.

His divine beast martial soul, the Three-Legged Golden Toad, gave Xiao Hongchen cultivation ahead of his peers and exceptional fighting strength. At the academy, he enjoyed a reputation as "invincible at his rank, first among four-ring users."

He had his own fans, the Smiling Fan Club, a famously zealous academy group that followed Xiao Hongchen around, helping expose every loophole in the school rules.

The spectators dearly wanted to see the new king fight the old king.

Perhaps it was a stirring in his bloodline, or perhaps he had sensed someone's gaze. Yu Tianjun looked past the delighted Miss Hongchen toward her older brother. Five-colored radiance appeared in the depths of his eyes as they met the eyes of the Three-Legged Golden Toad.

He has a divine beast martial soul too?

The instant their gazes met, Xiao Hongchen's body involuntarily stiffened, and a warning surfaced in his mind: the other boy's bloodline was stronger than his own.

There was no need for words. Only a stronger divine beast bloodline could suppress a divine beast bloodline. The advantage he took such pride in was no longer unique.

Play it safe. There's no hurry to fight.

After thinking for two and a half seconds, Xiao Hongchen voluntarily reined in his aura and watched his foolish little sister approach to gather information.

A divine beast bloodline could not determine everything. It also depended on its host's performance. His Three-Legged Golden Toad had devoured countless metals since childhood. It surely would not lose to some unknown existence.

But what divine beast possessed that multicolored power? Were there any records of it in history?

By this point, he had completely forgotten that he had come to stop his sister from swooning over a new student who was supposedly exceptionally handsome.

Brother Xiao's true love was battle. His sister was merely incidental.

"Long time no see, Miss Hongchen. Special circumstances brought me here a little earlier than we agreed."

While Xiao Hongchen racked his brains over the other boy's origins, Yu Tianjun greeted the girl from Mingdu whom he had met only once but remembered vividly, his smile sincere.

Their first meeting had been somewhat alarming, but the outcome had been gratifying. Miss Hongchen had shaken some gold out of her grandpa, and the Red Dust Protection she had given him had saved his life.

"Keeping an appointment on time is lovely, of course, but arriving early is an even bigger surprise. I'm very happy you came to Mingdu. You won't be leaving again this time, will you?"

Meng Hongchen smiled sweetly and reached out to shake his hand, revealing two charming dimples.

Yu Tianjun answered with a gentle smile, "For a long time to come, I should be living and putting down roots in Mingdu. Still, sooner or later, I'll have to return to the Original Continent to settle some scores."

"Grandpa said you came here for a special reason, so I won't ask about whatever made you sad. Whenever you want to talk, I'll be happy to listen and do my duty as a friend."

Meng Hongchen blinked with a smile, then swept her gaze over the others. Ju Zi and Ke Ke were slightly older seniors. Lin Jiayi was the director who often hauled her brother into the academic affairs office. Finally, there was Ye Guyi...

She did not know her, but getting acquainted was necessary.

"You're a friend who came to the academy with Tianjun, aren't you? I'm Meng Hongchen. Nice to meet you."

"Hello. I'm Ye Guyi."

The girl from Mingdu and Miss Angel shook hands and exchanged greetings with easy grace, then smiled and spoke in unison:

"Interested in a soul fight?"

The moment the words fell, the air went still.

The corner of Yu Tianjun's eye twitched. Black lines seemed to descend over Lin Jiayi's forehead. Xiao Hongchen, Ju Zi, and Ke Ke all wore the same expression of spectators who never minded a fight getting bigger.

Fight! Fight!

"It seems we agree. Sorry for the trouble, Director."

Meng Hongchen smiled at Lin Jiayi.

"No trouble, no trouble."

Lin Jiayi thought that every newcomer was another demanding little ancestor. Fortunately, he was a distinguished Level 8 Soul Engineer, more than capable of keeping the situation under control.

With the contestants changed, Yu Tianjun sensibly withdrew to the spectator seats. He accepted an orange kindly offered by Senior Ju Zi, peeled it, and took a bite. His eyes lit up.

"This is my first time eating food made by a food-type soul master. Your oranges are delicious, Senior. Here, have some of this chilled Flood Dragon meat I brought."

"Thank you."

Ju Zi nodded and accepted Yu Tianjun's chilled slices of Flood Dragon meat. Her naturally vacant eyes were full of confusion. "Did you just leave some secluded sect? You've never eaten food made by a food-type soul master?"

"Something like that. My home is remote. There isn't a single food-type soul master in any of the villages for miles around."

Yu Tianjun nodded. The Heavenly Dragon Sect was wonderful in every way except that it had no food-type true dragon.

None of Dragon City's sects, large or small, had a food-type soul master either. Yu Tianjun had no choice but to study recipes himself.

What a pity. If someone could conjure dragon eggs for everyone to sample, all of Dragon City would surely support that person as the next Food God Douluo.

"Are you from the Original Three Kingdoms? Why did you come to Mingdu?" Ke Ke asked curiously. She firmly believed the Five-Element Qilin could not have come from the Sun Moon Empire.

"Hunted down, fell off a cliff, survived a great calamity, and traveled far from home."

Yu Tianjun briefly summarized his experience, then said, "I believe this will be the beginning of my legendary life."

"Wow, it already sounds legendary!" Ke Ke exclaimed.

Ju Zi remained silent, giving Yu Tianjun a look of sympathy between fellow sufferers.

Even a Five-Element Qilin had been hunted by powerful figures from the Original Three Kingdoms. How awful.

Damn it, he's so good at showing off!

Xiao Hongchen kept observing Yu Tianjun with studied casualness. Suddenly, he coughed twice and remarked with the same studied casualness, "My sister's poison is very powerful. No one has fought her in a soul fight for a long time."

"There shouldn't be many surprises in this match... What the heck is that?"

In the arena, both contestants released their martial souls. Miss Hongchen's blue eyes turned Crimson Eyes as she prepared her Vermilion Sunny Ice Toad Poison. Miss Angel spread her wings and soared high, light and holiness coexisting to guard her sacred beauty.

"A descendant of Spirit Hall. The Holy Angel. To put it in terms you're familiar with, it rivals an ultimate martial soul."

Yu Tianjun answered Xiao Hongchen's question, then continued, "But the holy attribute can't prevent poison from infiltrating the body. Unlike ultimate fire and ultimate ice, it doesn't grant immunity to deadly poison. Guyi's mastery of soul tools is also inferior to Meng's. A draw is quite likely."

"Damn, where did Grandpa find you two?"

The corners of Xiao Hongchen's mouth twitched violently. An unknown divine beast martial soul and a powerful Holy Angel—the blows he had taken today weighed by the ton. His position as the invincible champion of his generation was hanging by a thread.

"Begin!"

The referee rose into the air, and the two beautiful girls traded attacks in a true woman's battle. Ye Guyi voluntarily abandoned her aerial advantage and stood her ground to slug it out with Meng Hongchen.

It was an open and honorable act, carrying something of the spirit of Qian Daoliu, invincible in the sky, fighting Tang Chen, invincible on the ground, on land for three days and nights. She truly was an upright gentlewoman.

A short while later, Meng Hongchen collapsed to the ground with her soul power exhausted. Ye Guyi's face had turned bluish, and she was unable to continue. The battle ended in a draw.

When it came to martial soul quality, Miss Angel could pull Mister Qilin to her side and arrogantly declare everyone present their juniors. But anyone who understood poison on the Douluo Continent knew that defeating enemies with it was very easy.

Had she possessed the Six-Winged Angel, she could have activated its domain to dispel every invading poison. But this was no longer last season, and a self-taught soul engineer's mastery could hardly compare with that of the dean's formally trained granddaughter.

Most importantly, the angel had voluntarily abandoned her aerial advantage.

"You're very strong. Let's compete again next time."

"We'll fight again next time."

Meng Hongchen cured Ye Guyi's poison. Seeing Yu Tianjun leap over to help Ye Guyi up, she rolled her eyes and loudly called for a certain white-haired fool. "Brother!!!"

"Hey, I'm not deaf."

Xiao Hongchen scurried down, his face full of helpless resignation at his lot in life.

In the rear spectator stand, Jing Hongchen nodded in satisfaction and spoke to Liao Mengkai, former commander of the Terror Claw Soul Engineer Legion and current vice dean of the Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineer Academy:

"What do you think, old Liao? Master Kong assigned you to protect the Qilin. Do you feel hard done by?"

Liao Mengkai's gaze rested on Yu Tianjun, his eyes shining:

"He didn't fight at close range just now, but there's no hiding that abundant vital energy. My Demon God Saber has always lacked an iron-blooded successor. Before Master Kong makes his move, I'll establish our master-disciple relationship."

"And the Holy Angel too. Such splendid talent for aerial combat, wasted fighting on the ground. It seems Baldy Ye and Luan Feng haven't discovered her yet, so I won't stand on ceremony. Heh heh heh...

"Aah! Old Ye, where did you come from?"

Ye Yulin appeared behind Liao Mengkai, pressing the Sun God Needle against his colleague's mutt head. He smiled. "What did you just say? I didn't quite catch it."

Goosebumps broke out all over Liao Mengkai. He laughed awkwardly. "I was only teasing just now. Hurry up and put away the Sun God Needle. It's frightening."

Ye Yulin said mildly, "Fine. But as for our positions at the academy from now on, you're the youngest of the three of us. You'll have to follow my orders and the old toad's."

"One of you is Baldy Strong and the other's a stinking toad. Why should you two order me around?" Liao Mengkai tried to resist.

Jing Hongchen patted his shoulder from behind and chuckled softly. "You stinking bear, you wouldn't want Master Kong to hear what you said, would you?"

Liao Mengkai went rigid.

Seeing his reaction, Jing Hongchen nodded in satisfaction. "Their admission political vetting is tomorrow. That's when you start work—join us on the judging panel. From then on, your main job will be protecting Yu Tianjun. As your dean, I won't shortchange you."

Liao Mengkai blinked and asked in confusion, "With their talent, there's no way they're spies, right? Do they still need political vetting?"

"Yes. To defeat the Douluo Continent, I've been studying intelligence on its top powers all this time."

Jing Hongchen wore a proud expression. "Spirit Hall's Last Angel God went to the Heaven Dou Empire to impersonate the crown prince. That delayed her cultivation and brought Spirit Hall to ruin. As far as I can see, Shrek is a whole herd of stupid pigs now, too. Sooner or later, they'll be polishing our shoes!"

Liao Mengkai blinked. "What if they really are spies?"

"Then we make them our people, of course."

Jing Hongchen gave him a peculiar look. "Actually, the only one I suspect is Ling Luochеn. Tianyi is a genuine victim. As for Ling Luochеn, the resources I'm offering her are several times what Shrek provides. I have no fear of failing to win her loyalty!"

"With her as our benchmark, we can draw in more geniuses from the Douluo Continent."

"Shrek has its Shrek Seven Monsters. Should our academy put together something like the Seven Outstanding Heroes, Seven Kings, or Seven Stars? We'll match them on every front, anyway."

"Brilliant. Truly wisdom that could astound the world." Liao Mengkai was convinced. He had nothing more to say about Jing Hongchen being the boss.