Meng Hongchen knew nothing.
She looked at her grandfather, who seemed to have been struck by lightning, his face full of panic, and at Chen Mo, who looked as though he were enjoying a good show.
A trace of confusion crossed her face.
She wondered.
What was going on with these two?
Seeing his granddaughter expose his secret identity in an instant, Jing Hongchen gave up.
He might as well drop the act and lay his cards on the table.
"Fine. Since it's come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore."
“There never was any Golden Toad.”
“I am Jing Hongchen, dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, master of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and a Level 9 Soul Engineer!”
"Well?"
"Surprised? Shocked? Happy?"
Jing Hongchen's face brimmed with anticipation. He wanted to see Chen Mo's reaction to learning his true identity.
Unfortunately, he was disappointed.
Chen Mo's expression remained utterly calm, without the slightest hint of surprise.
He even looked as though he had expected it all along.
He replied casually, "Oh—so that's it. I already knew."
"What do you mean, you already knew?"
Jing Hongchen couldn't quite process it.
Chen Mo said, “I mean I already knew you were Dean Jing Hongchen.”
"Impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible."
"When I met you as the dean, I was confident my disguise was flawless. There's no way you could have spotted a flaw."
Jing Hongchen refused to believe it.
Chen Mo said unhurriedly, “My Jade-Eyed Three-Flower Pupils have a Truth-Piercing skill that sees through any disguise. I knew what you really looked like when we met on my very first day here.”
"If you knew all along, why didn't you say so? You made me keep up this whole act with you," Jing Hongchen said resentfully.
Chen Mo spread his hands. “So it's my fault? Weren't you the one who started acting first? You even approached me as this Golden Toad and took me on as your student.”
"Only because you were dishonest first, brat."
“The grand Young Sect Master of the Body Sect actually wrote ‘commoner’ in the birth background section of his application.”
"Have you no shame?"
Jing Hongchen immediately fired back.
"Hold on!"
Listening to their exchange, Meng Hongchen grew confused.
She hurriedly interrupted them.
"Grandpa, what exactly are you and Little Mo talking about?"
"Why can't I understand a single word?"
“Here's what happened...” Chen Mo gave Meng Hongchen a rough account of the events.
After hearing it, Meng Hongchen finally understood.
She couldn't help thinking.
What a performance.
One had deliberately assumed a false identity to take on a disciple, yet used his real face; the other had known who he was all along, yet pretended not to and kept playing along.
But that wasn't what held her attention now.
Meng Hongchen looked at Chen Mo. “Xiao Mo, you're the Young Sect Master of the Body Sect?”
“That's right.” Chen Mo admitted it openly, then added, “But I should clarify one thing: I really didn't fill in the birth background section incorrectly.”
“I really was born a commoner. Becoming the Young Sect Master came later.”
"..."
Once he finished, silence fell over the room.
For Jing Hongchen, it was sheer embarrassment.
He had kept up the act for so long, believing it seamless.
Yet Chen Mo had known his identity from beginning to end.
Chen Mo, meanwhile, was tired of talking and wanted to rest and catch his breath.
As for Meng Hongchen, her brain had received far too much information in those few short minutes, and it took her a long time to digest it all.
The three chatted for a while longer.
Then Jing Hongchen took Meng Hongchen home.
Chen Mo, meanwhile, returned to his dormitory.
At noon a few days later.
Meng Hongchen took Chen Mo out, and they finished lunch.
The two then went to the academy's Training Ground together.
Ever since learning that Chen Mo's teacher was her grandfather.
Meng Hongchen had started visiting Chen Mo more frequently, not only dragging him out shopping but also feeding him all sorts of things.
When she learned that Chen Mo had never visited the Training Ground.
She immediately brought him there.
At that moment.
An exceptionally fierce battle was underway in the Training Ground.
The combatants were a man and a woman.
The man had long teal hair and a sword-sharp brow, and held a thoroughly ordinary sword.
He showed no tender mercy toward his opponent just because she was a woman.
Instead, he struck hard with his sword.
Three waves of sword energy swept past, shearing off several strands of the young woman's hair.
"My hair!!!"
"Stop! Hold it!"
"I'm done fighting! You dragged me out here to fight right after lunch, you blockhead! Maybe you don't need rest, but I do!"
The young woman wore square-framed glasses and looked very scholarly.
Looking at the hair mercilessly sliced off by the Iron Sword.
She shot the young man a furious sideways glare.
On the other side, when the young man heard that she no longer wanted to fight.
He stood with his sword behind his back and slowly turned away.
He replied blandly, "Oh."
"You think an 'oh' settles it? Ji Juechen! This isn't over!!!"
Watching the two argue.
Meng Hongchen immediately sensed trouble. She lowered her head and pressed a hand to her forehead. "What rotten luck. Why did we have to run into Senior Jing and Senior Ji fighting?"
She turned and hurriedly introduced them to Chen Mo in a whisper. "Xiao Mo, these two are fifth-year seniors, Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan. They're also members of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Remember, you can provoke anyone in the academy, but never these two."
"It's not that they have powerful backgrounds. It's just that if you provoke them, you'll have endless trouble afterward."
"But don't underestimate them, either. Those two are the pride of our academy."
As someone who had transmigrated, Chen Mo.
Knew quite a lot about the two of them.
Especially Ji Juechen.
He fully embodied the saying, "There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters."
Not only was his innate soul power merely rank three, but his martial soul was also an Iron Sword with nothing special about it whatsoever.
With a combination like that.
An ordinary person would count themselves lucky enough to burn incense in thanks if they managed to become a Soul King in their lifetime.
Yet through his own devotion to and faith in the sword, Ji Juechen had stubbornly.
Carved out a world of his own.
His strength was already approaching that of a Six-Ring Soul Emperor.
He was truly a formidable man.
Unlike a certain useless fool who called himself a "Grandmaster" and could only indulge in empty talk.
Compared with Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan paled a little.
But that didn't mean she was weak.
After all, as the only person Ji Juechen currently dragged into fights every day, she certainly had considerable ability.
After finishing her introductions, Meng Hongchen was about to pull Chen Mo away quietly.
Unexpectedly.
Jing Ziyan happened to look up, and just because she took one extra glance into the crowd.
She instantly spotted a certain Meng Hongchen.
"Junior Meng! Long time no see! Don't rush off. I need something from you," Jing Ziyan shouted, waving.
Meng Hongchen shuddered.
She turned around stiffly, wearing an expression of wanting to cry but having no tears.
I'm doomed!
I didn't get away!
As she spoke, Jing Ziyan had already approached.
Seeing only Meng Hongchen, she asked in confusion, "Huh? Why are you alone today? Where's your brother?"
"Uh... my brother's gone into secluded cultivation," Meng Hongchen replied.
Jing Ziyan looked disappointed. "Damn it. I was hoping to have a match with him."
"Hm? Who's this little fellow?"
Jing Ziyan noticed Chen Mo beside her.
Before you continue