Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan

Xiao Hongchen slowly approached the two of them. Unlike Meng Hongchen's curious appraisal, his gaze seemed more like scrutiny.

Wow, was he as arrogant as in the original? Had he had that habit since childhood?

But he was different from what Lin Mo had expected-or rather, from the Xiao Hongchen he had seen in the comic.

The Xiao Hongchen before them, who looked only eleven or twelve, bowed slightly.

"Hello, my name is Xiao Hongchen. I'm her older brother, and also Dean Hongchen's grandson."

"Hello..."

"Hello..."

Huh, he was surprisingly polite. Had I misunderstood him?

"Sorry, sorry, juniors. We didn't mean to block your way. It's just that Grandpa mentioned you last night, and we were really curious."

Seeing how nervous Huo Yuyao looked, Meng Hongchen pressed her palms together in apology. Xiao Hongchen also nodded slightly to Lin Mo and quietly said, "Sorry."

Was it because the timeline had changed, and we were meeting them when they were only eleven or twelve? So Xiao Hongchen hadn't yet evolved into someone who looked down on the entire world.

With that explanation in mind, Lin Mo relaxed. Honestly, he knew dealing with the Hongchen siblings was inevitable, but the thought of Xiao Hongchen's arrogance in the original had been hard to stomach. If this was all there was to it, though, he could accept it.

"So, Senior Meng, Senior Xiao, what exactly did you want with us?"

"Ah, Grandpa wouldn't tell me your martial souls, or your soul power levels and innate soul power. So we wanted to find out in person. And while we were at it..."

"Meng said she also wanted to see what you looked like. Whether you were good-looking."

"Hey, Xiao!"

Watching the two bicker, Lin Mo could only smile helplessly.

Looks like Meng Hongchen's obsession with good looks had stayed the same from childhood onward.

"Ahem, but now that I've had a look, you're both pretty impressive. Our junior here is very handsome, and our little junior is adorable."

As she spoke, Meng Hongchen circled around them, even coming up beside Lin Mo and giving him a wink.

Lin Mo chose to ignore it, but Huo Yuyao stared at the scene in a slight daze.

Lin Mo glanced at the sign on the distant teaching building.

"Sorry, we're about to have class. Seniors, if you're curious, could you wait until afterward? We do have time at noon."

"Sure, that works."

"Okay! Then let's meet right here after your morning classes. I remember you have another little girl with you, right? Bring her along, too. Your big sister will treat you to a feast."

After that little interlude, Lin Mo took Huo Yuyao's hand and ran with her into the teaching building.

Fortunately, they hadn't been delayed for too long. Several minutes passed after they entered the right classroom and sat down before the bell rang.

"That was close. Looks like we weren't late."

"Mm-hmm. Good thing we didn't keep chatting with those two seniors."

They had only chatted for a little while when a fairly young male teacher walked in.

He placed his books on the lectern, then wrote his name on the blackboard.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Liu Hai. I'll be your temporary homeroom teacher and instructor. You can call me Teacher Liu."

"Hello, Teacher Liu."

Greetings rose from the students one after another.

Liu Hai waved for everyone to quiet down. His gaze drifted, seemingly casually, toward Lin Mo and Huo Yuyao in the corner, something both of them quickly noticed.

Were those the two students Director Lin had asked me to pay special attention to?

"Looks like the dean specifically told him about us."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, okay."

Seeing Huo Yuyao's slightly clueless expression beside him, he said nothing more and merely smiled helplessly.

After the introductions, class soon began.

Since it was the first day of school, Liu Hai didn't cover any particularly important material or complicated theories. Instead, he gave them a lesson on the history of the Sun Moon Empire and soul tools.

Lin Mo and Huo Yuyao were both quite curious about these subjects. Neither had really studied them formally before, so they listened attentively throughout the lesson.

The morning quickly passed like that, and Lin Mo stretched.

"I really never expected to keep attending classes even after transmigrating."

"Let's go, Little Yao."

"Mm-hmm."

They put their textbooks back into their storage bracelets and headed toward the place where they had agreed to meet Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

When they reached the spot where they had encountered the siblings that morning, the two were already waiting.

"Over here! Over here!"

Meng Hongchen waved happily when she saw them, drawing the attention of quite a few nearby students.

As more and more gazes gathered on them, Lin Mo awkwardly averted his eyes and led Huo Yuyao over.

"Huh, aren't those Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen?"

"They really are. They're the dean's grandchildren, right?"

"They're true geniuses. Haven't you heard? They're only just twelve, and they're already at rank thirty-six."

"Holy crap, rank thirty-six at twelve? Even those people from Shrek probably couldn't manage that."

"Exactly. And both siblings are Level 3 Soul Engineers. I heard they've already started working with Level 4 Soul Engineer material, but their soul power levels aren't high enough yet, so they haven't taken the assessment."

"Damn. If those two are hanging out with geniuses like them, they probably aren't ordinary people either, right?"

"I think they're the two Director Lin took away during yesterday's entrance assessment."

Hearing the whispers around him, Lin Mo felt a little drained. He had never been comfortable with so many people watching him. It reminded him of some unpleasant things from his previous life.

Huo Yuyao unconsciously tightened her grip on Lin Mo's hand. The girl, who had always struggled with feelings of inferiority, was also frightened by the situation.

The Hongchen siblings exchanged a glance at the sight, then stepped forward.

"Let's go, let's go. I'm starving."

"Yeah, let's go."

With the siblings helping them out, the two finally escaped that wretched place.

"Sorry, sorry. Hehe."

Once they reached a less crowded place, Meng Hongchen hurriedly apologized. She hadn't expected her charm to draw such a crowd of students.

"It's fine, it's fine."

The four walked to the foot of the Practical Control Department's teaching building. Xiao Xiao was already waiting there, but two other people stood beside her.

"Huh?"

Xiao Xiao stared blankly at the two white-haired seniors standing beside Lin Mo and Huo Yuyao.

Likewise, the four of them noticed the two people beside Xiao Xiao.

Wait, those two-their hair colors, and the huge sword on that guy's back...

Lin Mo froze when he noticed those unmistakable features.

The boy beside Xiao Xiao stood tall and straight, like a green pine on a solitary peak, a sharp aura untouched by worldly dust lingering around him. His features were finely chiseled, and his long, apple-green hair-a green tinged with blue, like in the comic-fell to his waist.

He wore a rather traditional navy-blue martial outfit, with a heavy sword wrapped in cloth strapped to his back.

The other was a girl with a shapely figure, dressed in a fitted, cinched-waist dress of deep purple.

Her long, dark-brown hair was tied in a low ponytail, loose strands falling along both cheeks, and she wore glasses.

Ji Juechen. Jing Ziyan.

"Huh? Aren't those Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan? Why are they with your friend?"

"That battle maniac."

Just as the siblings had recognized Lin Mo and Huo Yuyao at a glance, they naturally knew what Xiao Xiao looked like, too.

And, of course, they had clearly recognized Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan as well.

But at this point, Lin Mo couldn't act as though he knew them.

"Senior Xiao, who are they?"

Lin Mo asked in a slightly puzzled tone.

Hearing his question, Xiao Hongchen naturally began explaining.

"You've only just arrived, so you wouldn't know. That's Ji Juechen. He's three years older than me, so fifteen, and he's our school's universally acknowledged battle maniac."

"That's right. He challenges people to spar at the drop of a hat."

Meng Hongchen chimed in from the side.

"Oh, now I remember. Lin Mo, your martial soul is the Mystic Sword, right? He probably heard about that, because his martial soul is also a sword."

"Huh? Surely he hasn't come to fight me..."

Lin Mo sounded confused, but inwardly he couldn't help feeling excited. Since his final match last week, it felt like ages since he had sparred with anyone. Sword wielders like him especially loved seeking people out for matches.

Hearing that there was another sword wielder like him stirred his excitement, but remembering how relentlessly the other boy had pursued people in the original also made him somewhat wary. After all, now that he had transmigrated here, he didn't have that much time to spare.

"He's different from you-or rather, from all of us. His innate soul power was only rank three, but through painstaking cultivation, he's reached rank thirty-seven at fifteen. That's something most people could never accomplish."

There was no mockery in Xiao Hongchen's tone. On the contrary, it carried a measure of respect.

"My brother's right. Not only did he work his way up from rank-three innate soul power, but he never took a single pill along the way. Every bit of his soul power was earned through his own effort. So although everyone at school calls him a weirdo, not a single person mocks him for it."

After hearing their explanation, Huo Yuyao couldn't help feeling a measure of awe.

After all, she had initially been someone with only rank-one innate soul power herself. Even with the special cultivation method Lin Mo had given her, she had personally experienced the difficulties low innate soul power brought to cultivation.

As they talked, the two groups finally met.

"Huh, you're Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen. Why are you with Lin Mo and Huo Yuyao?"

"If I'm not mistaken, our reason is pretty much the same as yours."

Xiao Hongchen spoke.

"Ugh, this guy heard there was a new student with innate full soul power whose martial soul was also a sword. As soon as class ended, he rushed around asking about him without a moment's rest, and eventually found our junior Xiao Xiao here."

Jing Ziyan pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly and sighed.

In stark contrast to Jing Ziyan's exasperation, Ji Juechen immediately stepped forward upon noticing Lin Mo.

"You must be Lin Mo. My name is Ji Juechen. Like you, I have a sword martial soul. I've come specifically to learn from your swordsmanship."

"Hey, hey, hey, Ji Juechen. He's only just enrolled, and his soul power is only rank fifteen. You're going to spar with him?"

"I know. I'll suppress my soul power to the same level as his, and we'll only compare swordsmanship."

"Ahem. It's lunchtime. Lin Mo isn't like you. He needs the nourishment food provides."

Xiao Hongchen spoke after clearing his throat twice.

Ji Juechen paused at those words, then considered them.

"Yes, sorry. I didn't think it through. Then how about a match after lunch?"

As he spoke, he bowed slightly in apology.

At that, everyone turned their eyes to Lin Mo.

"Sounds good. I haven't sparred with anyone who has the same type of martial soul, either. I'll be counting on you to go easy on me, Senior Ji."

Only after Lin Mo agreed did a faint smile appear on his face.

"Since everyone's here, let's all go get something to eat at the cafeteria."

Meng Hongchen swept a hand outward, and the seven of them headed toward the cafeteria together, drawing a great many gazes along the way.

News of Ji Juechen's constant search for the freshman with innate full soul power had already spread like wildfire during the breaks and after class. Everyone also learned that Lin Mo and the two girls were the three exceptionally gifted new students Director Lin had taken away yesterday.

The seven of them together were especially remarkable.

There was Ji Juechen, known as the battle maniac; Jing Ziyan, an outstanding student poised to enter Virtue Hall at a young age; the Hongchen siblings, hailed as the empire's rising geniuses; and now, the three newcomers.

After a simple meal, the seven went to the sparring grounds. To get to know one another, they each began showing their martial souls.

"Let us go first."

Meng Hongchen took two steps forward, putting some distance between herself and the others, then entered her Martial Soul Possession form.

The instant her martial soul possessed her, ice-blue soul power began stirring around her, and her long hair, tied in a side ponytail, danced with its fluctuations.

Yellow, yellow, purple-three perfectly configured soul rings slowly rose from beneath her feet.

Fine ice crystals appeared on her neck the moment her martial soul possessed her. Her eyes slowly opened, their original azure blue now transformed into a vivid red.

Her entire air turned cool and aloof, yet an inexplicable trace of otherworldly strangeness lingered within that chill.

Meng Hongchen parted her lips and slowly exhaled a breath of icy air. The corners of her mouth gradually lifted, and paired with that uncanny scarlet hue, her eyes looked somewhat alluring, yet sent a chill through anyone who saw them.

"My martial soul is called the Vermilion Sun Ice Toad. It's a dual-element beast martial soul with ice and poison attributes. My soul power is rank thirty-six. Incidentally, my innate soul power was rank nine."

"Wow, so beautiful."

"Mm-hmm."

Seeing Meng Hongchen after her martial soul possession, Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuyao both exclaimed in admiration.