Meng Hongchen did not speak.
She just watched Lu Ren in the arena quietly, a strange light flashing in her large, water-blue eyes.
The young man stood in the center of the Trial Ground, sunlight spilling over him, surrounded by the exclamations and discussions of ten thousand people.
His expression was calm, as if he had just done something trivial.
Meng Hongchen bit her lower lip gently.
“Just how strong is this person…?”
On the referee’s stand, Xuan Ziwen remained silent for a long time.
He re-examined Lu Ren, his gaze having completely changed.
The impatience and disdain from moments ago had all been cast to the back of his mind.
“This kid…” he muttered to himself, “is interesting.”
His gaze fell upon Lu Ren, carrying a curiosity peculiar to a researcher.
“I’ve started to get curious about what his Spirit Ability is.
What exactly were those invisible slashes from before?”
The previous irritation had long since vanished, replaced by intense curiosity.
He had even started conceptualizing in his mind how to design a spirit tool that could defend against this kind of invisible attack.
On the rostrum, Lin Jiayi cleared his throat and announced in a loud voice:
“Next challenger, please take the stage.”
The entire arena fell silent for a moment.
Then, everyone’s gaze turned toward a certain direction in the spectator stands.
Sitting there were the two strongest individuals of the young generation from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
Without even a moment of mourning for Xia Xuanchen’s defeat, the one who immediately rushed onto the stage was…
Xiao Hongchen!
Seeing this, the surrounding crowd erupted into discussion:
“It’s Xiao Hongchen!
He’s finally going to make a move!”
“Xiao Hongchen is a level 49 Spirit Ancestor, specializing in spirit tools, and he’s the Hall Master’s grandson.
His strength is formidable!”
“Now we’re in for a good show!
Xiao Hongchen will surely expose that Lu Ren’s tricks!”
“I bet Xiao Hongchen wins!
His spirit tools are specially made by Mingde Hall; they are much stronger than Xia Xuanchen’s!”
Xiao Hongchen stood up.
His movements were slow, but every step carried a sharp Aura.
The surrounding students subconsciously made way as he walked onto the Trial Ground.
Every step he took was extremely heavy, as if he wanted to crush the ground.
He stopped ten meters opposite Lu Ren.
“Xiao Hongchen, level 49 Spirit Ancestor.”
He paused, a proud arc curling at the corner of his mouth:
“Spirit, Three-legged Golden Toad.”
Lu Ren glanced at him.
Xiao Hongchen was hailed by the Sun Moon Empire as the greatest Genius in history.
It was a pity that in the Late Stage, he was ruined due to excessive drug use.
“Lu Ren.”
He responded briefly.
Xuan Ziwen’s voice came from the referee’s stand, breaking the silence:
“Second match, begin!”
The moment the words fell, Xiao Hongchen released his Spirit.
With a flash of golden light, from the position of his tailbone, a leg actually grew out behind him.
That leg was gilded throughout, shimmering with a dazzling luster under the sunlight.
Immediately after, majestic golden Soul Power swept over his entire body like a tide, completely enveloping Xiao Hongchen.
Under the three-legged form of the Three-legged Golden Toad Spirit, Xiao Hongchen slightly bent his knees and crouched.
Four spirit rings—two yellow and two purple—slowly ascended from under his feet.
As the halos flowed, his cultivation as a Spirit Ancestor was fully displayed.
His back arched slightly, and countless golden protrusions suddenly arched under his robes, like dormant golden scales, emitting a warm and heavy golden halo, with the scent of metal rushing towards him.
The first and third spirit rings lit up simultaneously!
Xiao Hongchen waved his arms violently, and over a hundred cold, gleaming metal balls flew out in response.
They immediately hovered around him, weaving an airtight metal barrier, protecting him firmly in the center.
The next second, with each metal ball as the core, thick metal cannon barrels grew out of thin air, the walls of the barrels gleaming with a cold metallic luster.
In just a breath’s time, Xiao Hongchen had turned into a metal hedgehog covered in cannon barrels, his deterrent power maximized.
“I don’t know what your ability actually is.”
Xiao Hongchen’s voice came from the gaps between the metal cannon barrels, carrying an almost manic excitement,
“But as long as I nip you in the bud right from the start, then everything will be fine!”
He threw his head back and laughed wildly, bloodthirsty Battle Intent churning in his eyes, roaring:
“Let me see what kind of skills you actually have!”
The second and fourth spirit rings lit up immediately afterward.
Countless tiny golden light spots suddenly appeared in the air, surging madly towards Xiao Hongchen with the momentum of all rivers flowing into the sea.
The moment each light spot touched his body, a ring of pale golden flame ignited with a boom, and the rich metallic Soul Power instantly boiled, as if the metallic energy of the entire Trial Ground had been stirred up by him.
As the light spots merged, those hundred-plus cannon barrels lit up with dazzling golden light simultaneously—a full one hundred and twenty-eight of them, each one a level 4 spirit tool cannon, with power far exceeding ordinary spirit tools.
“Clang…”
The harsh sound of metal friction from the cannon barrels calibrating rang out.
All the barrels automatically locked onto Lu Ren; even the barrels behind Xiao Hongchen bent on their own, accurately aiming at the target.
This extreme control over metal had long since surpassed the scope of an ordinary Soul Engineer.
A smile of certain victory rose on Xiao Hongchen’s face.
This was the first time he had displayed his full strength in front of the entire academy.
This strike was the Peak of his current cultivation; even a Spirit King-level powerhouse would have no possibility of resisting it head-on.
He had absolute confidence that Lu Ren could not block it!
Even if he blocked it, he would likely be seriously injured.
As the greatest Genius in the history of the Sun Moon Empire, he was not just skilled with spirit tools; his own Spirit was far from as weak as that of an ordinary Soul Engineer.
The Three-legged Golden Toad, this extremely rare Beast Spirit, had a very special ability: controlling metal.
Regardless of the type of metal, it could all be controlled by him.
He could even assist his own Cultivation by absorbing energy from rare metals.
The thing the Sun Moon Empire lacked the least was rare metals.
“Goodbye, Lu Ren!”
Xiao Hongchen shouted with a grimace.
One hundred and twenty-eight cannon barrels lit up simultaneously, the dazzling light converging into a golden ocean.
However, in the very next second, all the cannon barrels were cut in half at the same instant.
The cuts were flat and smooth, as if an invisible blade had swept across horizontally.
The cross-sections of the one hundred and twenty-eight cannon barrels slid off neatly, crashing to the ground and making a crisp “clinking and clattering” sound.
The golden light extinguished.
Xiao Hongchen’s smile froze on his face.
He looked down at the half-cut cannon barrels remaining in his hands, then looked up at Lu Ren, then looked down again at the metal fragments scattered all over the floor.
“This…
how is it possible?”
“It’s that invisible slash again?”
“How was it done?!”
The entire arena was deathly silent.
The next second, Lu Ren moved.
He was so fast that with just a flash, he appeared directly in front of Xiao Hongchen.
Xiao Hongchen’s pupils contracted suddenly.
He hadn’t even had time to see how Lu Ren had come over before he saw a fist rapidly enlarging in his field of vision.
Immediately following was an explosion of dazzling Black Flash, the fist smashing solidly onto Xiao Hongchen’s face.
That handsome face instantly caved in, and the sound of his nasal bridge breaking was clearly audible.
Black Flash!
Xiao Hongchen’s entire body was as if struck by a cannonball; his feet left the ground, his body bent into a bow, and he flew backward.
“Bang!
Bang!
Bang!”
He crashed through three rows of seats, fragments flying everywhere, and finally embedded himself into the backrest of the fourth row of the spectator stands.
His whole person was buried in the wreckage, completely motionless.
The entire arena was deathly silent.
In the Trial Ground of ten thousand people, it was so quiet that one could hear the sound of the wind blowing from the dome.
Everyone’s gaze fell upon the young man standing in the center of the arena.
Lu Ren withdrew his fist, looked down at the Black Flash remaining on his knuckles, and shook his hand.
Then he raised his head, looking at Xiao Hongchen embedded in the seat back in the spectator stands, his expression calm.
*******************************
Enjoyed the action?