Xiao Hongchen lay on the ground, the corners of his mouth curling into a self-deprecating smile.
So this so-called strongest genius of the Sun Moon Empire… I'm nothing more than an ordinary person.
In front of Wang Chen's overwhelming strength, Xiao Hongchen's Dao heart shattered completely—his pride and arrogance crumbled to dust, replaced by humility.
At the side, Meng Hongchen's thoughts were still frozen in the previous moment. She had originally believed that the match between her brother, Xiao Hongchen, and her Brother Wang Chen would be an intense, evenly matched battle between dragons and tigers.
Yet the result completely exceeded her expectations—just one move, and her brother was utterly defeated. The gap between them was immense, visible to the naked eye—they weren't even on the same level.
Meng Hongchen knew her brother's strength better than anyone. Although he only possessed the cultivation of a forty-sixth-rank, four-ring Soul Ancestor, the power of his top-tier martial soul, the Three-Legged Golden Toad, which could control metal, made him extraordinarily formidable.
With their grandfather's focused guidance, both his physique and spiritual power were close to that of a Soul King. Moreover, each of his soul skills had been carefully chosen—interlinked and mutually enhancing—making them nearly perfect and ideally suited for a Soul Engineer.
His combat power was so great that most Rank Five Soul Engineers with Soul King-level cultivation couldn't defeat him.
But now, her brother—this mighty genius—had been crushed so completely by Brother Wang Chen.
Just how powerful is Brother Wang Chen?
Suddenly, Meng Hongchen recalled the meeting she'd had with Brother Wang Chen half a month before the Crown Prince's assassination attempt.
Back then, Brother Wang Chen had asked her to guess his current cultivation level. She had guessed and guessed but couldn't get it right. In the end, Brother Wang Chen had smiled mysteriously and said it was a secret—that he'd surprise her in a while.
And indeed, this surprise was enormous!
After all, what girl doesn't hope that the person she likes keeps growing stronger and more exceptional?
Thinking of this, Meng Hongchen couldn't help feeling a wave of sweetness. Blushing shyly, she thought to herself, Brother Wang Chen is so bad! He's this amazing, and he didn't tell me earlier—he made me worry for nothing!
With sparkling eyes full of admiration, she looked at Wang Chen and said sweetly, "Brother Wang Chen, you're so handsome, so amazing, so incredible!"
Hearing his sister's words, Xiao Hongchen—still lying on the ground—looked even more miserable, his expression filled with despair.
Your brother just got beaten to a pulp, and instead of coming to comfort me, you're over there complimenting Wang Chen? "So handsome, so amazing, so incredible"?
Tell me, am I still your brother, or is Wang Chen your real brother?
Nearby, Director Lin Jiayi wasn't surprised by any of this scene.
During the final stage of the assessment earlier, Wang Chen had taken down a Rank Five Soul Engineer with just two slaps.
Even though Young Master Xiao Hongchen's martial soul was powerful, his cultivation level limited him. He was only a little stronger than a Rank Five Soul Engineer. Losing to Wang Chen was perfectly normal.
In fact, Lin Jiayi believed that Wang Chen's strength was formidable even among Soul Emperors.
After easily defeating Xiao Hongchen with a single strike of the Dominating Heaven Battle Technique, Wang Chen looked at his brother-in-law—who lay on the floor, completely lifeless—and walked forward to pull him up.
Smiling, Wang Chen said comfortingly, "Victory and defeat are both part of battle—don't take it to heart. What's important is that I'm older than you and my cultivation is deeper. Once you reach my age, your strength will have improved greatly…"
If it were anyone else, Wang Chen wouldn't have bothered. But since Xiao Hongchen was, after all, his brother-in-law, he naturally had to say a few consoling words.
After Wang Chen's long string of reassurances, the despondent Xiao Hongchen—whose Dao heart had been shattered—finally revived. His delicate, handsome face gradually regained its usual pride.
Inwardly, Xiao Hongchen thought, Wang Chen is older than me. By the time I'm fifteen, my soul power will definitely have reached the Soul King realm. By then, even Soul Emperors won't be my match. If Wang Chen and I were the same age, I'd surely win.
Thinking this, Xiao Hongchen—having to look up due to the height difference—tilted his chin upward defiantly and said, "I lost to you today. When I break through to Soul King, I'll challenge you again!"
Wang Chen merely smiled, nodding lightly. "Alright, when you break through to Soul King, we'll fight again."
Although Wang Chen had defeated Xiao Hongchen with ease, it was undeniable that Xiao Hongchen's talent and strength were astonishing.
His four soul skills—Metal Control, Metal Forming, Metal Boiling, and Metal Sacrifice—allowed him to control dozens or even hundreds of soul tools at once.
By burning metallic elements through his fourth soul skill, Metal Sacrifice, he could unleash immense energy to charge his soul tools, causing them to explode with power several times—or even ten times—greater than that of other Soul Engineers of the same rank.
Such was the might of a top-tier martial soul. Before reaching the Soul Sage level, Xiao Hongchen could easily fight across multiple realms.
In the original work, during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, Xiao Hongchen had been able to unleash strength that even Soul Emperors could not resist—with just Soul King-level cultivation.
If not for someone using the Invincible Golden Body, Shrek Academy's vice-captain Dai Yueheng would have been directly defeated by Xiao Hongchen.
Of course, in front of Wang Chen, Xiao Hongchen still wasn't worth mentioning.
By the time Xiao Hongchen broke through to Soul King in the future, Wang Chen would likely have already advanced to Soul Sage.
When that day came, it would just be another day for Xiao Hongchen's Dao heart to shatter once again.
While Wang Chen and Xiao Hongchen were talking, a young man around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, holding a long sword, appeared at the entrance of the assessment hall—his sharp gaze fixed firmly on Wang Chen.
The man's hands gripping the sword were pale and slender, his entire presence exuding a piercing, intimidating aura.
This man's name was Ji Juechen.
He had long black hair, and though his face was pale and somewhat unhealthy-looking, it was extremely handsome—only slightly inferior to Wang Chen's.
His eyes, however, were devoid of emotion—cold and sharp like blades.
In his hand was a sword forged from meteorite iron, exceptionally resilient and about four feet long. The blade was pitch black, with an ancient, simple design that revealed no special characteristics.
Sensing that someone was staring at him, Wang Chen turned his head toward the door of the assessment hall.
Their eyes met. Facing the man's sharp, blade-like gaze, Wang Chen asked calmly, "Who are you?"
Following Wang Chen's movement, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Lin Jiayi all turned to look at the doorway.
Upon recognizing the newcomer, Lin Jiayi exclaimed in surprise, "Ji Juechen? What are you doing here at the Mingde Hall's assessment chamber?"
Lin Jiayi looked at Ji Juechen as if staring at a lunatic.
Sword Maniac Ji Juechen was the top disciple of the Academy's Control-Type Soul Tool Department—a true eccentric within the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Though a student of the academy, Ji Juechen never studied soul tool crafting. He used only the sword—nothing else.
He spent every day either training or challenging strong opponents. Silent and withdrawn, he rarely spoke.
He was only allowed into the Mingde Hall because Jing Hongchen had given special permission.
As the Control Department's top disciple, Ji Juechen could choose his own opponents to challenge. However, to prevent disruptions to the Mingde Hall and the academy, Jing Hongchen had imposed one rule—Ji Juechen could issue only one challenge per month.
Ji Juechen's martial soul was a sword—an utterly ordinary one, without any special abilities. His innate soul power was merely rank three—barely enough to cultivate.
For a normal soul master or soul engineer, that level of innate soul power would mean being stuck as a Soul Elder or Soul Ancestor for life—never reaching the Soul King realm.
But Ji Juechen had no complaints about his martial soul. On the contrary, he adored it to the extreme.
Since awakening his martial soul, he had constantly kept his sword manifested, with eyes that saw nothing but the sword.
No one knew how Ji Juechen cultivated.
At eight years old, he reached rank ten. Alone, carrying only his sword, without companions or help, he went into the wilderness to hunt soul beasts.
Three days later, drenched in blood, he emerged with his first century soul ring.
And unlike other weapon-type martial soul users, his first soul skill did not enhance sharpness or attack—it enhanced soul power, similar to a soul engineer's amplification skill.
Step by step, Ji Juechen advanced without ever taking cultivation-boosting drugs. With an innate soul power of only rank three, he had reached the Soul Emperor realm just recently—at only twenty-three years old.
Such cultivation speed was nothing short of terrifying.
A man with such poor innate talent reaching such heights naturally attracted the attention of many powerful figures.
After investigation, they discovered that his speed came from his unique cultivation path—a path that no one else could follow. It had no general applicability. Only Ji Juechen himself could walk it.
Thus, those powerful figures lost interest.
Now, standing at the entrance of the assessment hall, Ji Juechen stared straight at Wang Chen.
Even when Lin Jiayi addressed him, he didn't avert his gaze. In a cold, hard tone, he asked Wang Chen, "Will you fight me?"
A sharp battle intent flickered in Ji Juechen's eyes.
The reason he had remained at the academy was to challenge the strong and advance further.
But as his power grew, the number of people in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy who could challenge him grew smaller and smaller.
Such a vast academy—and yet, there were so few opponents who could make his heart stir.
This left Ji Juechen frustrated. He had even thought of leaving the academy to seek battles elsewhere.
But earlier, while passing by the Mingde Hall, he had caught sight of Wang Chen's devastating strike that crushed Xiao Hongchen—and in that instant, he was utterly captivated.
From that punch, he sensed a perfect harmony, an ideal intent—something he had been searching for all along.
He was desperate to challenge Wang Chen, to fight him with all his might.
Ji Juechen had a strong intuition—if he fought Wang Chen, he would definitely gain insight and reach a higher realm.
Seeing Ji Juechen ignore him and persist in challenging Wang Chen, Lin Jiayi's brows furrowed in irritation.
"Ji Juechen," he said sternly, "the Hall Master told you clearly—you can only challenge once a month. Half a month ago, you already fought a Rank Seven Soul Engineer from the Mingde Hall. If you want to challenge again, you'll have to wait another half month."
Xiao Hongchen, annoyed at this sword maniac pestering his brother-in-law, snorted. "Ji Juechen, you're over twenty, and Wang Chen's only fourteen. Don't you have any shame?"
Meng Hongchen also knew how strong Ji Juechen was. Although he had only recently broken through to the Soul Emperor realm, his combat power could rival that of a Rank Seven Soul Engineer.
Though Brother Wang Chen was powerful, he was still too young—fighting this sword-obsessed lunatic would be far too unfair.
She added, "Exactly! You're nearly ten years older. How could you?"
Ji Juechen didn't respond. His cold eyes remained locked on Wang Chen as he said, "I can suppress my cultivation. Will you fight me? If you agree, I'll do one thing for you."
Seeing Ji Juechen's persistence, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen both wanted to tell Lin Jiayi—who was a Soul Douluo—to throw this lunatic out.
But Wang Chen was studying Ji Juechen closely. His gaze focused on the man's ancient black sword, and his eyes lit up.
He discovered that Ji Juechen had actually merged his sword martial soul with the meteorite-iron weapon in his hand.
Normally, a tool-type martial soul was a physical entity, but Ji Juechen's sword martial soul had become energy and fused with the real weapon.
The sword was part of the body, and the body part of the sword—true unity between man and blade.
At that moment, Wang Chen was filled with genuine admiration. He especially wanted to record this "unity of man and sword" in the Black Book.
Inwardly, Wang Chen thought, Unity of man and sword—this Ji Juechen is a true genius.
Wang Chen greatly admired geniuses like Ji Juechen—those who rose purely through talent, not inheritance or powerful bloodlines.
Unlike most people, who wished the world were full of mediocrity so that only they could shine, Wang Chen wanted there to be more geniuses, more extraordinary minds.
With the Black Book, Wang Chen feared no genius. His only worry was that there wouldn't be enough of them.
If the world were filled with mediocrity, where would he find the strong to record and learn from?
Wang Chen's goal was to gather the wisdom of countless geniuses across all worlds—refining their abilities through the Black Book's simulation and evolution, making them even stronger.
The more geniuses there were in the world, the happier Wang Chen would be.
Looking at Ji Juechen, Wang Chen suddenly realized the Black Book's true purpose—
—to absorb the crystallized wisdom of countless powerful beings, to build endless foundations, and to climb step by step toward the summit.
Wang Chen looked at Ji Juechen and said clearly, "I accept your challenge."