Meng Hongchen's Fourth Soul Skill
On the streets of Mingdu in the early morning, three boys and girls dressed in the uniforms of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy walked side by side.
"Sister Meng, you went too far yesterday..." Bao Liang covered his face, grimacing as he complained, "I almost didn't recognize myself when I looked in the mirror this morning."
"And you, you scoundrel, what did that thumbs-up you gave me yesterday? Did you betray me?!"
Xiao Hongchen walked on the right, arms crossed, looking completely innocent. "I don't know anything, I don't know anything."
"You're talking nonsense! That look of yours clearly said 'You're finished!'"
You've misunderstood.
"I saw it with both eyes!"
Meng Hongchen walked to Bao Liang's left and gave him a cold glance upon hearing this.
Although that gaze lacked the murderous intent it displayed yesterday when the Martial Soul Possession, it still sent a chill down Bao Liang's spine.
Bao Liang.
"Arrive!"
"If you do something this dangerous again and keep it from me, I'll really turn against you." Meng Hongchen's voice was calm, a calmness that was all the more terrifying. "Next time, I won't hold back."
Bao Liang shrank back slightly. "Well... I was just afraid you'd worry..."
"You kept it from me because you were afraid I'd worry?" Meng Hongchen's lips curled slightly upward, but there was no warmth in that smile. "Do you think you'd be more worried or more angry after I found out the truth?"
Bao Liang opened his mouth, then decisively shut it.
Xiao Hongchen, watching the drama unfold with amusement, retorted, "So what? Let them keep it a secret. It's not like it's their first time—"
"Xiao Hongchen." Meng Hongchen turned her head.
"I'll shut up." Xiao Hongchen immediately backed down.
The three walked in silence for a while until the magnificent gate of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy came into view.
Xiao Hongchen cleared his throat and began explaining the situation at the academy to Bao Liang.
"Although you have been registered as a student, you haven't attended a single class yet and know almost nothing about what's happening in the college."
"Since we still have some time, let me tell you something," Xiao Hongchen said seriously. "The academy is divided into six grades, and each grade is further subdivided into classes based on Soul Power Level, Soul Tool crafting skills, and Soul Master combat style."
You and Meng are in the same class—Class B. I'm in Class A, above level 50.
"Why are Sister Meng and I both in Class B?" Bao Liang asked, puzzled.
"Because both you and Meng filled in 'primary combat, secondary Soul Tool ' on your enrollment records, you were assigned to Class B." Xiao Hongchen rolled her eyes at him. "If you want to change classes, go to the academic affairs office yourself."
"Forget it, being in the same class as Sister Meng is fine." Bao Liang decisively gave up.
Meng Hongchen's lips curled slightly, but she quickly straightened her face again.
As they spoke, the three of them had already entered the academy gates.
The campus was bustling with people, and students in uniform were everywhere.
Some were chatting in small groups, some were hurrying along with their Soul Tool, and some were practicing their Soul Skill on the open ground by the roadside.
As the most prestigious Soul Engineer academy in the Sun Moon Empire, every student at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is an elite selected from all over the country.
Bao Liang followed Meng Hongchen into Class C's classroom. The classroom was large, capable of accommodating over a hundred people, and was already more than half full.
The moment Bao Liang and Meng Hongchen walked in side by side, the noisy classroom suddenly quieted down.
Almost everyone's eyes were on Bao Liang.
This student, who has been "skipping class" since the start of the semester, finally showed up today.
Although Bao Liang absorbed Soul Ring and his body developed, he was still only ten years old.
Furthermore, since most of his vital energy and Soul Power were fed to his Second Martial Soul, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, his face still retained a touch of childishness. His facial features were soft yet well-defined, and his body was not bloated but rather sculpted and proportionate. He was only about a head taller than Meng Hongchen.
With those slightly roguish eyes, he had the appearance of a "young beauty".
Many girls' eyes lit up, and whispers rose and fell.
"Is this Bao Liang? I heard he's the grandson-in-law of the Mirror Hall Master Hongchen..."
"She's actually quite good-looking..."
"She's a bit thin, but she can still grow at this age..."
"You silly girl, she's already taken. Didn't you see who's next to her?"
The boys' gazes weren't so friendly.
Especially seeing Bao Liang sitting with Meng Hongchen Meng Hongchen —who is the undisputed number one beauty in Class B, with silver hair and icy eyes, and an otherworldly temperament, who knows how many boys secretly admire her.
Seeing her sitting and chatting happily with a "truant student," many people's faces darkened.
Bao Liang, however, was completely unaware, or rather, selectively ignored it.
He sat down casually next to Meng Hongchen, flashing an innocent smile at the onlookers.
Upon seeing this, Meng Hongchen couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Just then, a middle-aged man in a dark blue teacher's uniform walked up to the podium, his gaze sweeping over the students in the classroom, finally lingering on Bao Liang for a second.
His gaze held a mixture of scrutiny and curiosity—clearly, he had heard about the background of this "truant student."
"Today's content is different from the first day of class," the teacher began, her voice soft yet clear enough to carry throughout the classroom. "Today's class will include practical sparring and grade-level ranking."
A commotion immediately broke out in the classroom.
"The purpose of the rankings is none other than to select the Empire's most outstanding talents," the teacher continued. "Similarly, the top ten will have the opportunity to become reserve members of this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament."
Bao Liang raised an eyebrow.
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament —that's the most prestigious competition among the younger generation on the entire Douluo Continent. The Sun Moon Empire, having been suppressed by Shrek Academy for so many years, naturally had to send out its strongest lineup.
Just then, a commotion arose at the classroom door.
Xiao Hongchen swaggered in, completely ignoring the Class B teacher's expression that screamed "You've come to the wrong classroom," and walked straight up to Bao Liang.
"Bao Liang." Xiao Hongchen's tone was very serious, unusually devoid of any teasing, "This battle is the first time in so many years that we've truly fought without holding back."
Don't hold back. I want to see how much of your strength I can force you to use now.
Bao Liang looked at Xiao Hongchen's earnest heterochromatic eyes and slowly smiled, "Alright."
But let me make this clear first, don't cry if you lose!
"Hehe, I'll return that sentence to you verbatim."
"You two are so childish," Meng Hongchen said calmly from the side.
Neither Bao Liang nor Xiao Hongchen refuted this.
The reason is simple: Meng Hongchen's Fourth Soul Skill, [Burial of Ice and Snow], is a 100% poison, 100% freeze, and 100% slow effect that ignores attributes, resistances, and immunity.
Although poison, freezing, and slowing are all forms of continuous damage that require time and stacking of Soul Skill to reach their maximum effect, this does not prevent her from becoming Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen's strictest mother.
The sparring practice began quickly.
Because it is in the Sun Moon Empire, and even more so because it is the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, almost all students' fighting styles are inseparable from Soul Tool.
But when it comes to Soul Tool Soul Tool, one cannot ignore the two strictest "fathers" in the field.
The Ultimate Gold, the Three-Legged Golden Toad Xiao Hongchen; the Ultimate Flame, the Explosion Bao Liang.
Once the battle began, the entire battlefield quickly turned into a one-sided massacre.
Xiao Hongchen unleashed a barrage of fire, his Three-Legged Golden Toad spewing golden light, and with the dense array of Soul Tool surrounding him, virtually no one could withstand a single volley of his fire.
Golden soul-guided beams poured down like a torrential rain. The opponent's Defensive Soul Tool were like paper in the face of the penetrating power of the Ultimate Gold, and were blasted out of the arena in just two or three seconds.
Meng Hongchen, on the other hand, is a completely different style.
She stood in the center of the arena like an ice queen, and frost spread with every move she made.
Before her opponent could even get within five meters of her, the ground beneath her feet had already solidified into a layer of ice.
After they finally regained their footing, they were met with a wave of icy blue cold air—and then, they were turned into ice sculptures, which the referee hurriedly carried out.
Bao Liang was even simpler and more direct.
He barely used any Soul Skill; he simply used the Explosion of his Martial Soul in conjunction with the propulsion Soul Tool to achieve super-accelerated explosive propulsion. Before his opponents could even react, he shoved them into the ground one by one.
The speed was so fast that even the referee's soul-guided detector could barely keep up.
The three fighters' completely different fighting styles— Xiao Hongchen's overwhelming power, Meng Hongchen's Ice Seal control, and Bao Liang's lightning-fast kills—attracted a lot of attention and cheers.
More and more students gathered in the stands, and the discussions grew louder and louder.
Until the very last game.
The decisive battle to determine the final victor: Xiao Hongchen versus Bao Liang.
The atmosphere on the entire battlefield froze instantly.
All eyes were focused on the two figures, and a suffocating tension filled the air.
Xiao Hongchen stood at one end of the arena, his Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul Possession, golden light flowing around him, and the entire External Soul Bone on his left arm radiating a dark golden luster.
In his heterochromatic pupils, blue and green flashed alternately, his fighting spirit burning like flames.
Bao Liang stood at the other end, the Ultimate Flame of his Explosion Martial Soul dancing at his fingertips, crimson flames burning from his right eye.
He flexed his wrists and a smile appeared on his lips.
Come on, laugh. Let me see how much you've improved over the years.
Xiao Hongchen sneered, "I should be the one saying those words."