At the mention of Xiao Hongchen's name, Xu Tianran paused briefly, then eagerly pressed her. "Ju Zi, hurry and tell me how their clash unfolded."
Ju Zi nodded and quickly gave the Crown Prince before her an accurate account of what Ke Ke had told her.
Wang Shaojie had planned to put the new junior student in his place, but an unfortunate coincidence had led him to injure Xiao Hongchen instead. The two had exchanged heated words and come to blows, ending with Wang Shaojie severely wounded.
After listening, Xu Tianran revealed a faint, gentle smile. "Interesting."
"I've heard of this Wang Shaojie. Just a narrow-minded member of a collateral branch, but he does have some connection to the Third Prince. He's apparently the younger cousin of Xu Mochen, captain of the Royal Family Disciplinary Team, correct?"
Ju Zi nodded. "Yes."
Xu Tianran asked again, "Doesn't he know that Father expressly forbade any member of the imperial family from having contact with anyone from Illustrious Virtue Hall? Xiao Hongchen is the Hall Master of Illustrious Virtue Hall's most beloved grandson, and he's already a Soul King. Leaving aside whether Wang Shaojie could beat him, how did he dare attack him?"
Ju Zi said, "Your Highness, you're unfamiliar with the situation within the academy. Although Xiao Hongchen is renowned throughout the academy as the Sun Moon Empire's Number One Genius, he usually receives personal instruction from the Hall Master of Illustrious Virtue Hall and rarely interacts with the other students."
"Many students have only caught a distant glimpse of him at the Trial Grounds and never had a chance to get to know him. Since the last Soul Fighting Tournament ended, he's immersed himself in cultivation and appeared in public even less."
"It's perfectly normal that Wang Shaojie didn't recognize him.