Jing Hongchen

Biodata

Background

Jing Hongchen has decades of teaching experience and leads Illustrious Virtue Hall, the Sun Moon Empire’s pinnacle of Soul Tool technology. His office occupies the Hall’s top floor, beyond several tightly secured metal doors 7 9.

His standing within the empire is comparable to an imperial preceptor’s; even the emperor addresses him courteously as Hall Master. Nevertheless, he avoids unnecessary confrontations with the imperial family’s collateral branches because of their extensive political connections 23.

He regards defeating Shrek Academy as more than a tournament ambition. He hopes that breaking its dominance will strengthen the Sun Moon Empire’s position and advance its eventual unification of the continent 7 9 24.

Personality

Jing Hongchen combines enthusiasm for exceptional talent with persistent suspicion. Lu Ren’s unusual Soul Rings immediately attract him, but he still orders an investigation into the boy’s identity and motives. He openly recognizes that Shrek offers advantages in training pure Soul Masters, making Lu Ren’s choice of a Soul Engineer academy especially questionable 7 8.

He is a demanding negotiator who uses threats, tests, and generous treatment to establish a recruit’s value and loyalty. Rather than accepting Lu Ren’s promises, he requires a public demonstration of strength; afterward, he invests in accommodation, cultivation facilities, equipment, and protection to give Lu Ren reasons to remain 10 18 24 31.

His affection for his grandchildren does not prevent him from exposing them to defeat. He welcomes Lu Ren’s victory over Xiao Hongchen as a corrective to his grandson’s arrogance and encourages Meng Hongchen to learn from an opponent she cannot yet beat 14.

Despite frequently scolding Lu Ren, Jing Hongchen becomes deeply invested in his survival. Finding him near death after Xuan Zi’s attack breaks his usual composure: he urgently calls for a doctor, then laughs with relief when Lu Ren awakens 38.

Abilities & Skills

Soul Engineering

Jing Hongchen is a Level 9 Soul Engineer who regularly works with intricate Soul Tool blueprints 7 10 26.

• Activates a soundproof barrier around his office before discussing sensitive matters with Lu Ren 9.
• Advocates combining powerful Spiritual System Soul Masters with Soul Tools as a future research direction 31.
• Recognizes when available offensive Soul Tools offer little advantage over Lu Ren’s existing techniques and agrees to supply defensive equipment instead 31.

Combat Assessment

He evaluates recruits through physical testing, direct observation, and increasingly difficult practical challenges 8 11 15.

• Determines that Lu Ren held back against Xiao Hongchen and that his grandson has merely lost consciousness 14.
• Detects that the power behind Lu Ren’s punch is neither ordinary Soul Power nor a familiar Martial Soul talent 14.
• Questions Lu Ren about Blood Manipulation, his unfamiliar energy, and the workings of Binding Vows 30.

Soul Power Support

Jing Hongchen can transfer his Soul Power into another person to help restore their condition 38.

• Channels energy through Lu Ren’s wrist after Xuan Zi’s attack, improving his complexion and steadying his breathing 38.

Equipment / Items

• Communication Soul Tool — A desk-mounted device used to issue instructions and summon Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen 10.
• Tracking and alarm sphere — A fist-sized silver-white Soul Tool covered in Soul Guidance Arrays, given to Lu Ren for emergencies. It transmits his location only when he injects Soul Power; Jing Hongchen explicitly states that it does not continuously monitor him 18.
• Level 9 defensive Soul Tool — Carried by Jing Hongchen. Lu Ren hopes to obtain it, but Jing Hongchen does not hand it over during their discussion 31.

Relationships

• Lu Ren — Special recruit and prospective ally. Jing Hongchen exchanges resources and protection for his help against Shrek, while remaining wary of his concealed motives and abilities 9 18 24.
• Xiao Hongchen — Grandson. Jing Hongchen uses Lu Ren’s challenge to confront his arrogance and is pleased when he subsequently commits to secluded cultivation 10 14 23.
• Meng Hongchen — Granddaughter. He encourages her practical training and uses her family status to help shield Lu Ren from the Imperial Family Inspection Team 14 23.
• Lin Jiayi — Subordinate entrusted with recruitment reports, background investigations, challenger arrangements, and concealing Lu Ren from Shrek’s searchers 7 15 17.
• Ji Juechen — A talented swordsman he values. Jing Hongchen summons him as Lu Ren’s final arena opponent and later permits him to accompany Lu Ren into Mingdu 15 16 42.
• Xuan Zi — Shrek powerhouse whose pursuit of Lu Ren creates a security threat. Jing Hongchen acknowledges the difficulty of preventing his infiltration and later responds to his attack 18 38.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Recruiting Lu Ren

After Lin Jiayi reports Lu Ren’s two-purple, two-black Soul Ring configuration, Jing Hongchen personally attends his examination. The results—including an unmeasurable physique and a fifty-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring—prompt him to investigate Lu Ren’s background while opening negotiations over his admission 7 8.

Lu Ren requests a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone in exchange for helping the academy defeat Shrek. Jing Hongchen initially refuses and offers a Level 9 Soul Tool instead. He eventually agrees to approach the imperial family about the Soul Bone, provided Lu Ren first proves himself the academy’s strongest fighter under twenty 9 10.

The Arena Challenge

Jing Hongchen turns the test into an academy-wide event, offering Illustrious Virtue Hall admission and rare metals to anyone who defeats Lu Ren. He enters both grandchildren, escalates the opposition to Level 6 Soul Engineers, and finally summons Ji Juechen 10 11 15.

Lu Ren wins all seventy-eight matches. With his strength established, Jing Hongchen accepts their agreement and promises to find the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone after the tournament 17 18.

Protecting and Retaining the Recruit

When investigators discover that Shrek is searching for Lu Ren, Jing Hongchen orders Lin Jiayi to conceal his whereabouts. Although he suspects Lu Ren deliberately engineered the rivalry between the academies, he decides that securing such a recruit is worth opposing Shrek 17 18.

He provides an emergency tracking sphere and commissions a dim cultivation room suited to Lu Ren’s preferences, with more than three times the Heaven and Earth Energy of an ordinary room. These benefits are intended to build gratitude and lasting loyalty to the Sun Moon Empire 18 24.

Imperial Family Inspection Team Incident

Anticipating retaliation from Wang Shaojie, Jing Hongchen orders Lu Ren to remain beside Meng Hongchen so the Inspection Team will hesitate to act. When they arrest him anyway, Jing Hongchen secretly watches rather than intervening immediately, wanting to see how Lu Ren handles the confrontation 23 26.

He appears after Lu Ren defeats the squad and its Level 7 Soul Engineer, then takes charge of questioning the surviving team members. The incident further convinces him that Lu Ren’s abilities greatly exceed his apparent cultivation level 28 29.

Xuan Zi’s Attack and the Mingdu Outing

Jing Hongchen arrives with high-ranking Soul Engineers as Xuan Zi withdraws from Illustrious Virtue Hall. He finds Lu Ren barely alive, supplies Soul Power, orders level-one security, and warns the higher authorities about a Titled Douluo intruder in Mingdu 38.

He subsequently forbids Lu Ren from leaving the academy, but relents when Lu Ren argues that Xuan Zi’s return journey to Shrek creates a temporary safe window. He requires a companion, accepts Ji Juechen, and warns Lu Ren against causing trouble in the capital 42.

Notable Quotes

“It's only opposing Shrek. That amounts to nothing.” 17

“If anything happens, place your hand on it and inject Soul Power. I'll come.” 18

“Don't worry, I'll take care of that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for you. I keep my word.” 31

Trivia

• Lu Ren is described as the first newly admitted student to receive such courteous personal treatment from Jing Hongchen since the academy’s founding 8.
• Lu Ren recalls that, in the original story, Xu Tianran banished Jing Hongchen to the frontier after the destruction of Mingdu and Illustrious Virtue Hall. This is a recollection of the original storyline, not an event shown occurring in the supplied chapters 25.