The siblings Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were both geniuses, without a doubt.
But in the Sun Moon Empire's prevailing environment, relying on medicine to improve one's strength seemed to have become the norm.
Although this could accelerate cultivation in the early stages, it carried serious hidden dangers for the later stages.
In the original story, the siblings' cultivation had slowed after they reached rank seventy. Later, they had become stuck at rank eighty-nine, unable to break through to Titled Douluo for years.
Now that Kong Xuan was a member of the Sun Moon Empire, he felt it necessary to give these two gifted siblings a warning.
Kong Xuan looked at them and asked, "Have you already started using medicine to increase your Soul Power?"
"Of course!"
"Without medicine, I couldn't possibly have broken through to Soul Elder already."
Xiao Hongchen spoke without the slightest reservation and even seemed somewhat proud of it, a clear indication of the cultivation culture among Sun Moon's Soul Engineers.
But as he laughed, the smile gradually vanished from Xiao Hongchen's face.
He was no fool. Looking at Kong Xuan's expression, he suddenly realized a terrifying fact.
"Don't tell me you didn't raise your cultivation with medicine?!"
Pills that increased Soul Power were not cheap. Ordinary people could not afford them.
But in Xiao Hongchen's eyes, someone of Kong Xuan's standing could naturally eat pills like candy.
Yet Kong Xuan's expression, combined with his earlier question, seemed to point toward a possibility Xiao Hongchen did not want to believe.
Looking at the wide-eyed Xiao Hongchen, Kong Xuan shook his head. "I really haven't taken any medicine to increase my Soul Power!"
"Impossible!"
At Kong Xuan's answer, Xiao Hongchen's expression changed drastically, his eyes full of disbelief. "Absolutely impossible."
Beside him, Meng Hongchen also stared at Kong Xuan in shock, stunned by his answer.
"Without taking pills, how could you possibly have broken through to Soul Grandmaster at your age?!"
Kong Xuan remained calm and asked in return, "Then have you ever seen a two-ring Soul Master defeat a four-ring Soul Master?"
Of course they had, and not long ago, at that. They had witnessed it themselves in the Soul Fighting Arena. Hadn't Kong Xuan, standing right before them, been the one to achieve that impossible victory?
Recalling Kong Xuan's terrifying battle record, both knew they could not judge him by conventional standards, and they actually found themselves somewhat accepting this fact.
Seeing that the two were too shocked to speak for a long while, Kong Xuan spoke instead. "Although medicine can rapidly increase your Soul Power cultivation, its drawbacks will become apparent after rank seventy. Your cultivation speed will fall drastically, and breaking through bottlenecks will become far more difficult."
After a long silence, the pride on Xiao Hongchen's face faded.
"Naturally, I know all that."
His voice was low, and he seemed somewhat helpless.
Then he abruptly raised his head to look at Kong Xuan, his voice even turning a little hoarse. "But if we don't rely on medicine to raise our cultivation, how can we defeat Shrek Academy?"
"It's been four thousand years, and we haven't won even once!"
Kong Xuan had not expected Xiao Hongchen, at only ten years old, to shoulder a burden spanning thousands of years.
He truly did not know whether to admire his sense of responsibility or mock him for overestimating himself!
Kong Xuan advised him, "You're only ten. Four years from now, you'll only be fourteen. What's wrong with waiting another tournament?"
"I can wait, but I don't want to."
A trace of stubbornness flashed through Xiao Hongchen's eyes, and resentment colored his voice. "Everyone says Shrek Academy is where geniuses come from. Why can't our Sun Moon produce them? If I can't break through to Soul King at fourteen, how can I outshine Shrek when it comes to being a genius?"
Only then did Kong Xuan understand what Xiao Hongchen was thinking. This proud young genius had actually been holding his breath over this all along.
He suddenly smiled and said lightly, "If that's your goal, there's really no need to force your cultivation higher with medicine."
Kong Xuan's sudden words left Xiao Hongchen bewildered, unsure what he meant.
But Kong Xuan did not keep him waiting long. His confident voice rang out a moment later. "Because I'm here!"
"Whether it's outshining Shrek in talent or defeating Shrek in the Soul Fighting Tournament and bringing the championship home to Sun Moon..."
"With me here, all of it can be done!"
"Hahaha!" Xiao Hongchen suddenly burst out laughing, pointing at Kong Xuan. "I thought I was arrogant enough, but today I've met someone even more arrogant than me!"
Kong Xuan merely glanced at him. "I accept your invitation."
"But as I said, forcing your cultivation higher with medicine is squeezing your potential dry."
"If you want to beat Shrek, I'm enough."
"As for whether you keep taking medicine, I've said my piece. Decide for yourselves."
With that, Kong Xuan turned and headed straight back into the teaching building. The bell for class had already rung.
Watching Kong Xuan disappear through the teaching building's entrance, Meng Hongchen's cheeks flushed slightly, ripples shimmering in her ice-blue eyes. "He's so handsome!"
At the sight, Xiao Hongchen sighed and slapped his forehead with his left hand, looking utterly helpless.
"Brother, with Kong Xuan's talent, perhaps he really can do everything he said."
Hearing his sister say this, Xiao Hongchen had to admit that this was not merely the talk of a lovestruck girl.
Given the strength Kong Xuan had already displayed, even he dared not imagine how powerful Kong Xuan would be four years from now.
"Perhaps."
Xiao Hongchen uttered that word. It seemed to express uncertainty about the outcome, but wasn't it also a kind of acknowledgment?
Meng Hongchen asked again, "Then are we still going to keep taking Soul Ascension Pills?"
This time, Xiao Hongchen did not answer immediately. Clearly, Kong Xuan's words had shaken his resolve.
Only after a moment did Xiao Hongchen say with a conflicted expression, "We'll decide when the time comes. There's still a month before our next dose anyway."
After speaking, he could not help glancing toward the teaching building ahead again. "I have a feeling that this time... we might really succeed!"
The fifth floor of the Soul Tool Department's second teaching building at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
After entering the corridor and walking several dozen meters farther, Kong Xuan finally stopped outside a heavy metal door.
Looking up, he could see a sign directly above the metal door-Laboratory Three.
Kong Xuan took a metal access card from his Storage Soul Tool and swiped it across the crystal pedestal beside the entrance.
With a beep, the heavy metal door slowly slid open.
As soon as the door opened, a distinctive scent mingling metal and Soul Power washed over him. Kong Xuan had encountered this scent plenty of times before coming to the academy.
The laboratory was spacious, with twelve floating soul tool workbenches arranged in a circle, each enveloped in a pale blue protective force field.
Although Kong Xuan had never specifically studied soul tools, he had picked up some knowledge through two years of exposure at Kong Deming's side.
After entering the laboratory, a casual glance was enough for him to see all manner of rare metals laid out on the workbenches.
Despite their variety, they were arranged very neatly and did not look cluttered.
Laboratory Three had been assigned by the academy for Xuan Ziwen's exclusive use, so naturally, Kong Xuan had come here today to find his martial uncle, Xuan Ziwen.
But the figure of his martial uncle Xuan Ziwen bent over his work, as he had expected, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, an unfamiliar girl came into view.
She looked twelve or thirteen, with long black hair tied into a neat ponytail and large, lively, glistening eyes. Her skin, in particular, was so dewy and smooth that a pinch seemed enough to squeeze water from it.
Hearing the laboratory door open, she set down the half-carved soul tool core in her hands and looked up toward the entrance.
"Who are you? Why do you have an access card to the laboratory?"
Her willow-leaf brows knitted slightly, and a trace of wariness appeared in her gaze.