After parting with Chen Mo, Meng Hongchen left campus and arrived at a luxurious manor.
As Dean Jing Hongchen's grandchildren,
she and Xiao Hongchen did not have to live on campus like the other students.
Once home,
Meng Hongchen did not go straight to her room, but instead headed to a laboratory.
There, Jing Hongchen stared at an Energy-Gathering Soul Guidance Ray Gun on the workbench, his brows knitted in thought.
This Energy-Gathering Soul Guidance Ray Gun was the very one Chen Mo had made during his Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment.
Ordinarily,
a Level 1 Soul Tool would hardly warrant any attention from a Level 9 Soul Engineer like him.
But Chen Mo's gun was different.
The little modifications he had made to the gun's body had given Jing Hongchen some new ideas.
"Heat dissipation... rapid fire... fast energy gathering..."
"If these effects could be incorporated into a Soul Cannon, even the lowest-grade Soul Cannon could unleash tremendous power."
"Grandpa, I'm back."
Hearing his granddaughter's gentle voice,
Jing Hongchen emerged from his thoughts.
His face bloomed into a smile. "You're back, Meng."
"Mm."
"Grandpa, what are you looking at? You're so engrossed."
Meng Hongchen jogged over, but grew puzzled when she saw the object on the workbench.
"A Level 1 Soul Tool?"
"Grandpa, you're a Level 9 Soul Engineer. Why would you be interested in a Level 1 Soul Tool?"
Jing Hongchen affectionately patted her head. "This is the first Soul Tool made by the student I recently took on. Aside from its significance, the little modifications he made to this Concentrated Ray Gun have given me some new ideas."
"Ah! Grandpa, you actually took on a student? Who could possibly have caught your discerning eye?" Meng Hongchen's face filled with curiosity.
Her grandfather's standards for accepting students were outrageously high.
Over the years, countless people had sought to study under him, and every single one had failed.
Usually, apart from teaching a few classes exclusively for students of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, he spent the rest of his time training her and Xiao Hongchen.
"You'll find out soon enough. Let me keep you guessing for now." Jing Hongchen smiled mysteriously. Seeing that his granddaughter had returned alone, he asked, "Where's your brother? Didn't he come back with you?"
"My brother said he's holing up in the laboratory to prepare for the Level 5 Soul Engineer assessment, so he hasn't got time for me lately." Her brows drew together and her cheeks puffed out as she said angrily, "Hmph! Making his adorable little sister come home alone! I'm not talking to him anymore."
Jing Hongchen hurried to console her. "All right, don't be angry. Your brother only has no time for you because he's busy with something important."
"But why is Xiao suddenly going into seclusion to push for Level 5 Soul Engineer? Just a few days ago, he told me he wanted to spend some time consolidating his skills."
"Something important? Little Mo simply lit a fire under him. He's afraid Little Mo will surpass him, so he rushed straight into seclusion without stopping for breath." Meng Hongchen exposed the real reason behind Xiao Hongchen's seclusion.
Jing Hongchen nodded after hearing this.
So that was it.
The speed at which Chen Mo had become a Level 1 Soul Engineer had spurred him on.
Wait! He had a feeling that wasn't the important part.
Little Mo?
Jing Hongchen suddenly registered the way Meng Hongchen had addressed him.
He hurriedly asked, "By Little Mo, you mean Chen Mo, don't you? You've already met him?"
"Yes." Meng Hongchen answered with a bright smile, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Grandpa, do you have any fellow disciples?"
"No."
"If I had any fellow disciples, wouldn't you and Xiao know about them?"
"Meng, if you ever meet anyone pretending to be Grandpa's fellow disciple, don't hold back. Blast him with a Soul Cannon."
Without catching on, Jing Hongchen flatly denied it.
Having received her grandfather's firm answer,
Meng Hongchen grew angry again. "I never thought Chen Mo would lie when he looks so sweet and innocent. Men really are all good-for-nothings."
Hearing that Chen Mo had actually deceived his granddaughter, Jing Hongchen immediately grew angry. "What did that brat lie to you about? Tell Grandpa. I'll settle the score for you."
"He told me his teacher, Golden Toad, was your junior fellow disciple, Grandpa. But he was just making it all up." Meng Hongchen spoke with puffed-out cheeks.
Jing Hongchen stood awkwardly beside her.
Golden... Golden Toad?
That seemed to be the alias he had specially adopted to take Chen Mo as his student.
He cleared his throat twice. "Ahem, ahem. I remember now. I do have a junior fellow disciple named Golden Toad. He's a Level 7 Soul Engineer at our academy. We simply haven't been in contact for so long that I forgot."
Meng Hongchen looked suspicious. "Huh? Grandpa, aren't you lying to me too? Just a second ago, you said you didn't have any fellow disciples, and now a junior fellow disciple has suddenly popped up?"
Jing Hongchen waved his hands guiltily. "Here's the thing. This junior fellow disciple of mine is wholly devoted to Soul Tools, but because of his limited talent, he's never managed to pass the Level 8 Soul Tool assessment. He feels he's disgraced our lineage, so he's unwilling to contact me."
"Really?"
"Really!"
Meng Hongchen let out a long breath. "That's good, then. Xiao Mo really is the best. He wouldn't lie to me."
Hearing his granddaughter call him Little Mo at every turn,
Jing Hongchen asked with a smile, "Meng, what do you think of Chen Mo?"
"He's great."
"Not only is he good-looking, he's talented and hardworking, and he's humble too. He's very likable." Meng Hongchen shared her impression of Chen Mo.
Listening to his granddaughter heap praise on Chen Mo, Jing Hongchen could not help entertaining an idea.
After Meng Hongchen returned to her room, Jing Hongchen stared at the Concentrated Ray Gun, lost in thought.
That night,
Chen Mo finished eating and headed toward his dorm room.
Suddenly,
he turned his head and swept his gaze over his surroundings.
"That's weird. Why the hell do I keep feeling like someone's following me?" Doubt flickered across Chen Mo's face.
Ever since he had been in the dining hall,
he had sensed someone watching him.
But when he used his Spiritual Power to trace the source of that gaze, it disappeared.
Nor could he detect anything unusual.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
As Chen Mo pondered, his eyes lit up, and he unleashed the Soul Skill he had comprehended not long ago.
"Three-Flower Eyes: Truth-Piercing!"
His surroundings instantly transformed before his eyes.
He saw through everything.
The air, the breeze, traces of soul power, and Spiritual Power—all were laid bare.
"There really is someone!"
Chen Mo spoke in a low voice.
Several dozen meters behind him, several trails of soul power stretched all the way from the dining hall, following his route.
But there was no one in sight.
They must have already left their previous positions.
"Something's wrong. I'd better get back to my room fast."
Chen Mo lingered no longer. He turned and raced toward his dorm room.
At the same time, he made sure to take out his Soul Tool Token and send Jing Hongchen a message.
He had a persistent feeling that something bad was about to happen.
Before long,
Chen Mo reached his dorm room and shut the door.
Before he could catch his breath,
a knock sounded at the door.
"Are you Chen Mo? Open up. We're here to bring you some warmth."
"Bring me warmth? I don't believe you."
"You're the ones who were following me all the way here, aren't you?" Chen Mo said as he watched the fluctuations of soul power outside the door.
Yet just as he prepared to stall them until Jing Hongchen arrived,
a beep sounded, followed by a creak, and the dorm room door opened.
A sleazy-looking fat man, a hundred and sixty centimeters tall, stood in the doorway with several black-robed figures blocking the entrance.
The sleazy man gave what he thought was a kindly smile. "Hello, Chen Mo. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Park Guk-chang, dean of the Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy."
"I've come today to invite a talented young man like you to join our Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy."
Chen Mo froze.
Holy shit!
Had the competition to poach students really gotten this cutthroat?
Before you continue