"His name is Chen Mo. He's a new First Grade student who enrolled this year."
"I'm showing him around the academy."
"Senior Jing, Senior Ji, if there's nothing else, I'll take Junior Xiao Mo and be on our way."
After the brief introduction, Meng Hongchen took Chen Mo's hand and prepared to leave.
But upon hearing the name "Chen Mo," a glint flashed through Jing Ziyan's eyes.
She grabbed Meng Hongchen, though her gaze swept over Chen Mo. "So you're the genius Chen Mo who passed the Level One Soul Tool Assessment in just three months."
"Hello, Senior Jing. Hello, Senior Ji."
"That was just a lucky break. It's hardly worth mentioning."
After greeting them, Chen Mo spoke modestly.
After all, these two were the famous Sword Fanatic and Martial Arts Fanatic.
Every day, they were either fighting or on their way to a fight.
And they specifically picked on those so-called geniuses.
Even Xiao Hongchen, who constantly boasted that he was "unbeatable among his peers," usually took a detour whenever he saw these two.
With his current strength, he had no desire to draw their attention.
But things went against his wishes.
Jing Hongchen appeared from who knew where.
He pulled Chen Mo over and launched into an introduction to Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen. "Since everyone's here, let me introduce my student. Don't let his young age fool you. His talent in both cultivation and soul tools is absolutely terrifying. He's a genuine genius!"
"You're all among the most gifted of the younger generation at our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. You should exchange pointers whenever you get the chance."
Sure enough.
Ji Juechen had been about to leave and continue practicing his swordsmanship because there was no one to fight.
But after hearing the words "terrifying talent" and "genius"...
His eyes instantly lit up.
"No day like today. Let's do it now."
Seeing Ji Juechen's excited expression and the iron sword in his hand...
Chen Mo lost all will to live.
It's over.
They've set their sights on me.
Scenes of these two demanding to spar with him every single day were already flashing through his mind.
Chen Mo turned toward Jing Hongchen and silently mouthed a few words.
Although he made no sound, the curses were clearly filthy.
Meng Hongchen hurried to rescue him. "Senior Ji, Xiao Mo is only a Soul Elder right now. Besides, he's a Psychic Soul Master. There's no way he can fight a Power Attack System Soul King like you."
"Thanks, Senior. I'll treat you to a meal sometime," Chen Mo whispered.
Hearing that...
Ji Juechen thought she had a point.
Although he liked fighting, he never bullied the weak.
Just as he was about to withdraw his martial soul, and Chen Mo was breathing a long sigh of relief inwardly...
Jing Hongchen, who clearly intended to stir up trouble, stopped even pretending otherwise.
He quickly said, "An uneven match? That's easy to fix. There are exactly four of you, aren't there? Ji Juechen is the strongest and Chen Mo is the weakest, so those two can form one team, while Jing Ziyan and Meng form the other. Wouldn't that work?"
Jing Ziyan: "..."
Meng Hongchen: "..."
Chen Mo finally understood. This old geezer was determined to make the four of them fight today.
"I have no objections," Ji Juechen said.
"Neither do I," Jing Ziyan immediately followed.
She did a quick calculation of their combat strength.
Ji Juechen might be powerful, but he would be saddled with Chen Mo, a Soul Elder dragging him down.
Meanwhile, with Meng Hongchen on her team, they would be a pair of Soul Kings.
Their chances of winning were high!
This fight was worth taking.
Since things had already gone this far...
Chen Mo and Meng Hongchen could only reluctantly agree.
The two teams headed to opposite sides of the arena.
They began discussing tactics.
Ji Juechen said nothing, simply standing silently in place.
Clearly, he had no intention of discussing any tactics.
Chen Mo broke the silence. "Um, Senior Ji, my martial soul is the Jade-Eyed Three-Flower Pupils. It's a psychic martial soul, so I can support you during the fight..."
"No need," Ji Juechen bluntly refused.
In his eyes, Chen Mo's presence made no difference in this match.
One against two—that was a proper fight.
Besides, he had absolute confidence in his own strength.
So what if his opponents were two Soul Kings? He would be the one to win in the end!
Meng Hongchen and Jing Ziyan finished discussing their tactics.
Seeing this, Jing Hongchen walked to the center of the arena to act as referee.
The two teams stood on opposite sides.
"I hereby declare that the friendly exhibition match begins now!"
At Jing Hongchen's command...
Ji Juechen activated his martial soul.
Five soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black—appeared around him.
He raised his sword and shot forward, swinging it as he closed in on the two women.
Jing Ziyan fought Ji Juechen every day.
Naturally, she was familiar with his way of attacking.
She and Meng Hongchen immediately dodged backward.
Then they counterattacked according to the tactics they had discussed beforehand.
Jing Ziyan activated her martial soul as well.
Her soul rings were also yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black.
Her martial soul shared her name: Purple Smoke, a martial soul specialized in wide-area crowd control.
Jing Ziyan unleashed a soul skill, creating a vast cloud of smoke that enveloped the arena.
"This trick again." Ji Juechen surveyed the thick smoke around him, where visibility was extremely low.
His expression remained perfectly calm.
All five soul rings beneath his feet lit up at once.
Ji Juechen truly was something else.
Every soul ring he had hunted provided an enhancement effect.
Meanwhile, almost all his offensive soul skills were self-created.
With his enhancements complete...
He drove his sword hard into the ground.
Thud!
A powerful wave of sword force surged outward, instantly scattering the surrounding haze.
Just as he caught sight of Jing Ziyan and prepared to attack...
Meng Hongchen set up a Class Five fixed soul tool and fired its shells.
Ji Juechen unleashed a slash of sword energy.
He cut down the incoming shells one after another.
But Jing Ziyan used that opening to unleash another soul skill, shrouding the arena in smoke once more.
With his vision obstructed again...
Ji Juechen was about to disperse the smoke using the same method as before.
But Chen Mo's voice rang out. "Senior Ji, relax your mind and don't resist. Leave the visibility problem to me."
"Third soul skill—All-Domain Shared Search!"
"Three-Flower Pupils: Illusion Break!"
Ji Juechen suddenly felt a force entering his mind.
He was just about to resist it.
But the scene that appeared before his eyes left him stunned.
The entire arena appeared before him in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view without a single blind spot.
He could clearly see Jing Ziyan creating smoke and Meng Hongchen charging her fixed soul cannon.
There were even red dots marking the openings they exposed.
He could not help marveling at how miraculous it was.
With Chen Mo's support...
Ji Juechen became like a wild beast freed from its seal.
He surged forward, swiftly and precisely locating Jing Ziyan first and engaging her in combat.
"Damn it! Ji Juechen, how did you find me?"
Staring at Ji Juechen, who had suddenly appeared before her...
Jing Ziyan was utterly bewildered.
With visibility this low in the thick smoke, this blockhead should not have been able to find her.
How on earth had he done it?
"Senior Jing, I'll help you!"
Meng Hongchen's fixed soul cannon had finished charging.
She aimed at Ji Juechen and fired.
Ji Juechen was just about to defend himself.
But Chen Mo's voice rang out again. "Senior Ji, focus on eliminating Senior Jing first. Leave the soul cannon to me."
"Second soul skill—Spatial Interference!"
Chen Mo waved his hand.
Spatial power manifested, instantly transporting the shells flying toward Ji Juechen elsewhere.
"How could that happen? Could it be Junior Xiao Mo?" Meng Hongchen looked stunned, but quickly caught on, turning her gaze toward Chen Mo, who had been overlooked in a corner.
"That must be it. Looks like we underestimated Xiao Mo."
"Xiao Mo, your senior is coming!"
Meng Hongchen changed direction, intending to eliminate Chen Mo first.
Seeing that he had been exposed...
Chen Mo first fired off a Mental Burst, disrupting Meng Hongchen.
Then he hurriedly retreated.
With Chen Mo's support, Ji Juechen pursued Jing Ziyan relentlessly, hammering her with attacks until he quickly knocked her out of the arena.
Seeing Meng Hongchen chasing Chen Mo, he immediately dispersed the smoke.
He rushed forward and pointed his sword at Meng Hongchen.
Chen Mo smiled then and said, "Meng Hongchen, you've lost."
Before you continue