"Ah, with such a jewel before him now, Xiao still..." Jing Hongchen shook his head with a wry smile.
If not for what had happened that afternoon.
He would most likely have been happy for his grandson too. But Xu Cheng's monstrous talent made even his heart tremble. He knew his own grandson well. Xiao's ambitions soared higher than the heavens. Faced with someone whose strength and talent firmly surpassed his own, he must not let resentment take root...
Especially since Elder Cheng's tone already suggested that he regarded Xu Cheng as his final, foremost disciple.
That would truly not be worth it.
"Your concern has clouded your judgment," Elder Cheng said calmly, seeing through Jing Hongchen's thoughts. "I watched Xiao grow up too. He may be proud, but he isn't foolish..."
"I hope so..."
"Xu Cheng!"
Wang Shaojie gritted out his name.
"What are you calling me for?"
Xu Cheng found it rather amusing.
Was he actually blaming him for the humiliation Xiao had dealt him?
"I'll defeat you in front of everyone!" Wang Shaojie sneered. "You're just a bastard whose mother's dead. You think you deserve to compete with the Fourth Prince for the throne? Oh, right, your mother was a whore too. Why didn't she take you with her?"
"..."
The smile on Xu Cheng's face slowly froze.
Shortly after he had transmigrated, his mother in this world had died in childbirth.
Later, he had overheard the maid Huo Qing's muttering and learned the truth: his mother had died because of him. The imperial physician had told her that either both mother and child would die, or one would die and the other survive. She had left this body its chance at life...
A person should at least know gratitude.
So the moment the word "whore" left his mouth, Wang Shaojie was already a dead man in Xu Cheng's eyes.
Below the stage.
Xiao Hongchen had been watching the matches with utter boredom.
His gaze happened to fall on Xu Cheng.
But it never moved away again, his languid expression turning grave.
"Meng... do you think something's off about Cheng?"
"A little. It's like he's become someone else," Meng Hongchen said hesitantly. "But..."
The little beauty's lips curved upward, impossible to restrain.
She cupped her face in her hands, utterly lovestruck.
"He's even more handsome now."
Xiao Hongchen: "..."
Hopeless. Drag every last love-addled fool out and shoot them!
However, Fixed-Installation Soul Cannons were prohibited in the assessment.
It wasn't just the Shrek students who worried about accidental injuries. The Sun Moon Empire wasn't foolish either.
As Xu Cheng pondered.
Wang Shaojie closed his hand, and a massive red sword appeared in his grip.
He was a melee soul engineer.
"Hah!"
He let out a long shout.
Raising his sword, he slashed straight at Xu Cheng.
They were not far apart, so under normal circumstances, he would reach him in an instant.
"Watch out!"
Cries of alarm rang out across the arena.
Unlike Xiao Hongchen, whose astonishing talent drew everyone's attention.
Xu Cheng's handsome face had already attracted a large crowd of girls. Coupled with his crimson eyes and fair skin, it had even caught the covetous eyes of countless girls in the higher years.
Seeing Xu Cheng "in danger," they naturally grew worried.
"Wang Shaojie's in for it..."
Xiao Hongchen smacked his lips.
He knew Xu Cheng's strength and talent better than anyone.
Otherwise, he would never have "discussed the geniuses over warmed wine" with him. In his eyes, Xu Cheng was the only person in their entire year who could compete with him for first place. The rest were nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs.
At a glance, Xu Cheng seemed to be standing there in a daze.
But in reality...
Boom!
Just as Wang Shaojie's face twisted viciously and the sword in his hand came crashing down.
His vision blurred.
Just as the massive sword was about to strike the hair atop Xu Cheng's head, a Soul Cannon barrel slammed against Wang Shaojie's chin. Light surged within it, and a savage aura of annihilation spread outward.
"Damn it!"
In that instant, Wang Shaojie caught sight of Xu Cheng's indifferent, blood-red eyes.
An indescribable terror crawled through his entire body, a chilling cold seeping down his spine.
This man wanted to die with him!
Run!
His survival instinct sent adrenaline surging through his body. With more effort than he had ever exerted in his life, he twisted away, only to discover that his body suddenly felt lighter, like drifting clouds and mist. He had actually dodged it!
A gleam of delight flashed through Wang Shaojie's eyes.
He really was a genius!
Then he spun around with a flourish, his sword whipping up an enormous wave of air as he slashed straight at Xu Cheng.
Squelch!
Blood splattered, and a head fell to the ground.
A trace of madness appeared in Wang Shaojie's eyes.
He threw both hands high and cheered in delight.
"I did it! Cousin! I killed him! His Highness the Fourth Prince will definitely value me and help me join the Royal Inspection Squad! I..."
But in the next instant.
His voice turned hoarse, as though someone had clamped a hand around his throat. No matter what he did, he could not make a sound.
Bewildered, he touched his neck.
Something warm and wet seemed to cling to his hand. He raised it to look...
Red. It was blood!
It was as though the world had shattered.
The pain in Wang Shaojie's throat grew fiercer and fiercer, as though it would burn him to ashes. He let out raspy, hissing growls like a wild beast.
He slowly sank to his knees, then collapsed to the ground, unable to support himself. Blood ran down his arms, soaked his entire shirt, and flowed across the floor.
His consciousness gradually blurred.
Through the haze, he seemed to see that figure ahead still standing in the same place, gazing down at him indifferently, as though looking down at an ant.
Those blood-red eyes held neither sorrow nor joy.
I... died?
That was Wang Shaojie's final thought before his consciousness faded.
But how he had died remained a complete mystery to him...
Outside the arena.
Utter silence.
What everyone had seen was this.
As Wang Shaojie's massive sword descended, he suddenly froze in place and stopped moving. Xu Cheng leisurely took a Level 1 Soul Guidance Ray out of his storage Soul Tool and aimed it at Wang Shaojie's neck.
When the searing Soul Guidance Ray pierced Wang Shaojie's neck.
Only then did the teachers realize what was happening and rush toward the stage in horror to save him.
Yet Wang Shaojie began cheering bizarrely, muttering indistinct words.
He himself had delayed treatment past the best window to save him.
Everything that followed was steeped in strangeness...
"Announce the winner."
Xu Cheng took out a piece of cloth and wiped his hands.
He spoke calmly to the teacher who had come up.
His second Soul Skill, Crimson Moon Mist, could forcibly drag an opponent into an illusion under his control as long as he made contact with them. The stronger the enemy, the less time he could trap them, and he might even suffer a backlash.
But a mere Wang Shaojie...
It was the same move he had used on Tang Ya two months earlier.
"You!" The teacher's face was filled with fury.
"The assessment is over. Xu Cheng wins!"
Before he could speak, a voice rang out from the raised platform, carrying across the assessment grounds.
Xu Cheng looked over in surprise.
At last, a flicker of change crossed his unruffled eyes.
It was Lin Jiayi. Beside him, Elder Cheng still wore his usual smile, though it seemed a little warmer than normal, his gaze like that of an elder bound to him by blood.
After a long moment, the corners of Xu Cheng's mouth slowly lifted into a smile.
At last, it worked!
"Wang Shaojie insulted the late imperial consort of our reigning emperor and harbored murderous intent toward a fellow student during the match. His crimes warranted death!"
Jing Hongchen's voice slowly rang out as well.
Before you continue