A domain-type skill, [Crimson Moon Eye].
A crimson moon hung in the sky, also serving as a blood-red eye. When the crimson moon awakened and the eye opened, crimson fire would blaze throughout the entire mental world, burning everything to ashes.
It leaned toward the spiritual attribute.
"Master."
Xu Cheng rose and respectfully bowed.
From now on, he had someone backing him, too.
"Good, very good..." Elder Cheng stroked his chin, his eyes brimming with satisfaction.
"All right, it's getting late. Go wash up, then head straight to the competition."
"..."
Xu Cheng looked up in surprise and glanced out the window.
The sunlight was still there, but it felt more vibrant, unlike the languid glow of dusk...
Had he actually cultivated all night?
"Yes."
After a quick wash, Xu Cheng bade Elder Cheng farewell and walked straight out of Mingde Hall.
The air outside was fresh, filled with the morning scent of plants, as though it had settled and cleared overnight.
Quite a few students were already heading toward the Soul Tool Trial Grounds.
Xu Cheng followed the crowd while testing the growth of his spiritual power.
After absorbing the Evil Eye Tyrant skull, his soul power had risen by two levels. His entire Sea of Consciousness had also undergone considerable changes, expanding to a little more than twice its former size.
Suddenly.
His perception sharpened, and his field of vision opened wide.
His viewpoint shot up from the ground, as though he were looking down from above. Some girls yawned while chatting with their companions, while some boys discussed today's wins and losses. In the cracks along the corridor the crowd passed through, a colony of ants worked hard to relocate their nest. Above them, beyond a stone slab, a spider wove a dense web.
Even the fine hairs on the spider's body were clearly visible.
The range was roughly two hundred meters in diameter, but it was not just the detection range that had increased. There was also greater precision, along with a sense of "prediction."
Xu Cheng nodded inwardly.
This was the skill the soul bone had granted him, [Neural Prediction].
It could precisely predict an opponent's next move. Combined with his existing skill, [Spiritual Detection], it practically allowed him to see the movement of every muscle in an enemy's body.
Likewise, he understood every minute movement of the countless students around him, from walking slowly forward to stopping or turning their heads.
"What a godly skill..."
Xu Cheng sighed in admiration.
For a soul engineer, especially a spiritual-type ranged soul engineer, this was nothing short of a qualitative leap.
What was the key to ranged soul guidance tools?
Suppressive fire?
No. Suppressive fire was used because a single attack had difficulty hitting its target, especially when the opponent was an agility-type soul master. That was why quantity was used to improve the hit rate! (Specifically in one-on-one arena matches.)
In battles between opponents of the same rank, even ten thousand soul tools would probably only serve as carpet bombardment. After all, the enemy could not possibly stand there like an idiot and wait for you. Much of that fire coverage was therefore meant to leave the enemy nowhere to go, forcing them to take the hits.
Naturally, the results were rather underwhelming.
With the firepower spread out, the attacks that ultimately struck the target were little different from those of one or two soul tools.
But what if...
All ten thousand soul tools were concentrated on a single spot?
The attack efficiency of a ranged soul engineer would probably reach a terrifying level.
In other words, the current... Xu Cheng.
The match coming up will be a perfect chance to test it, Xu Cheng thought.
"Hey, you didn't come back all night! And here we were, waiting for you." Xiao Hongchen came running over noisily and slung an arm around his shoulders.
"Master needed me for something. I couldn't exactly refuse," Xu Cheng said apologetically.
"Master..." Xiao Hongchen froze for a moment.
Previously, this fellow had always called him Teacher Cheng. That change in address, dropping the surname Cheng, said everything...
"Nice, very nice! You earned this." Xiao Hongchen patted Xu Cheng's shoulder with feeling, happy that his good friend had found an excellent master.
He had seen all the effort Xu Cheng had put in these past days. He had even been preparing to ask his grandfather to take Xu Cheng as a disciple, only for Elder Cheng to beat him to it.
Still, compared with his grandfather, Elder Cheng might be even more beneficial to Xu Cheng.
"But why did Elder Cheng suddenly take you in? Because of the strength you showed during the assessment?" Xiao Hongchen paused, puzzled.
The timing was far too convenient.
He had not taken Xu Cheng in during the previous two months, yet suddenly, after the first day of the assessment...
"Remember the short dagger Meng asked me to repair?" Xu Cheng asked with a smile.
"Of course. You were practically possessed that whole month. Luckily, you didn't develop an inner demon, or I'd have died of guilt..." Xiao Hongchen said with a shrug.
"What would you feel guilty for? That was a test your grandfather and Elder Cheng set for me."
"...Huh?" Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened.
"Let me get this straight. They... used a Level 7 Soul Tool to test you? Have I gone mad, or has the whole world gone mad?"
"..." Xu Cheng shrugged.
"Then... there can only be one truth! They gave you an impossible task to see how far you could get!" Xiao Hongchen adjusted a nonexistent pair of glasses and delivered his deduction smugly, wearing an "I knew it" expression.
"No." Xu Cheng shook his head again. "I completed it."
"You comp..." Xiao Hongchen suddenly turned to stare at Xu Cheng, utterly dumbfounded. "Say that fucking again?!"
Inside the Soul Tool Trial Grounds.
"Meng, that short dagger..."
Xiao Hongchen spoke cautiously.
"I gave it to Grandpa. It's a Level 7 Soul Tool, after all. Isn't it perfectly normal that he couldn't fix it?" Meng Hongchen shot her brother a glare, afraid he might upset Xu Cheng.
After all, she had always assumed Xu Cheng's tireless efforts were because a man could never admit he could not do something.
Xiao Hongchen gave a bitter smile.
"I mean, did you use that short dagger again?"
"No. Brother, what exactly are you trying to say?" Meng Hongchen planted both hands on her hips, annoyed.
"Actually... before I gave it to you, Xu Cheng had already repaired it," Xiao Hongchen managed to say.
Meng Hongchen's beautiful eyes flew wide open: ???
Below the platform, Xu Cheng had already entered the arena.
Compared with yesterday, considerably more people were paying attention to him today.
Not just because of his identity, but also because of his strength.
Wang Shaojie's death had been so bizarre that they could not make sense of it at all.
Xu Cheng's methods were mysterious and unfathomable. Perhaps he was also the greatest dark horse in this assessment!
"The second round of elimination matches begins now!"
Lin Jiayi's voice rang throughout the training grounds.
Another boy had appeared opposite Xu Cheng.
"Feng Ying, new Class Two. Martial soul: Azure Luan Bird. Agility-type soul engineer. Please give me your guidance!" The slender boy assumed an offensive stance and spoke solemnly.
He was not confident about facing Xu Cheng, either.
After all, Wang Shaojie had been killed outright yesterday. Although Feng Ying had also found his death satisfying-he, too, would have struggled to restrain himself if someone insulted his deceased mother-now that it was his own turn, he could not help feeling nervous...
Xu Cheng's strength was beyond question, and no one knew the secrets of his ghostly, unfathomable methods.
If he was someone who delighted in killing, then Feng Ying might also...
"Xu Cheng, new Class One. Martial soul: Blood Eyes," Xu Cheng said succinctly.
"Also, I am absolutely not someone who delights in killing. Yesterday was truly an accident..."
Seeing Feng Ying visibly breathe a sigh of relief, Xu Cheng shook his head helplessly. It seemed he needed to pay some attention to maintaining his reputation...
Before you continue