Seeing his sister's gleeful expression, Xiao Hongchen's face darkened.
"You're that happy my record was broken?"
"Of course! Who told you to keep boasting about being better than me?" Meng Hongchen stuck out her tongue and made a face. "Lueluelue~"
The siblings' talents were actually quite similar. But Xiao Hongchen placed more importance on this, always saying that even though he spent less time researching Spirit Tools than Meng Hongchen, his progress was similar, meaning his innate talent was higher by comparison.
Meng Hongchen never really argued with him about it, so the public Spirit Engineer records continued to be broken by Xiao Hongchen.
"Stop gloating. First, tell me who that person is and what the situation is."
"Hmm... I think he's called Su Ming. He just enrolled today. He's the grandson of Researcher Su, who joined Mingde Hall a while ago."
Researcher Su?
Xiao Hongchen understood.
Su Can.
That Spirit Douluo was attempting to break through to become a Class 9 Spirit Engineer.
Within the Sun Moon Empire, the correspondence between Spirit Master and Spirit Engineer ranks was quite strict. Starting from Class 5 Spirit Tools, it was rare to create a Spirit Tool above one's level. Generally, a five-ringed Spirit Master being able to create a Class 6 Spirit Tool was already considered genius, let alone an eight-ringed Spirit Douluo attempting to create a Class 9 Spirit Tool.
Therefore, when Su Can announced his attempt to break through to Class 9 Spirit Engineer and submitted an application to Mingde Hall requesting various support, it caused quite a stir within Mingde Hall.
The key point was that Mingde Hall's Master, Jing Hongchen, personally approved his application and agreed!
"Anything else?"
Understanding Su Ming's background made Xiao Hongchen even more curious about the specifics.
"He's eleven and a half years old. During the assessment, he produced three Class 4 Spirit Tools on the spot, consecutively without rest, and the Spirit Tools he made were all considered top-quality."
"Martial Soul?"
"His Martial Soul is supposedly... Spirit Power."
"Spirit Power?"
"Yes, just Spirit Power. It's hard to understand, but that's what he registered."
Xiao Hongchen showed a puzzled expression.
"Is that the hidden file?"
"No, I was right there with Grandpa. His hidden file is 'Star Tree', his real Martial Soul is Spirit Power."
Xiao Hongchen scoffed.
"Heh, so you went to Grandpa for special privileges again."
Hearing Xiao Hongchen say this about her, Meng Hongchen widened her eyes and put her hands on her hips.
"Who told you not to go? It's not like Grandpa wouldn't tell you."
"An excellent Spirit Engineer must rely on themselves to research new things."
Xiao Hongchen shook his head, turned sideways, and looked up at the sky, posing as if he were a transcendent master.
Of course, at this moment, with his sunken eyes, severe dark circles, bloodshot eyes, a seemingly somewhat depleted body, and disheveled hair resembling a bird's nest, he didn't look the part at all.
"Then may I ask our excellent number one genius, oh, no, perhaps the former number one genius, what new things have you researched?"
"The core formations for all my Spirit Cannons are combinations I created myself!" Xiao Hongchen said confidently.
"Then, may I ask, can I produce a Spirit Cannon with the same power as yours?"
"You can't calculate it like that!"
Xiao Hongchen's face turned bright red.
"Progress in Spirit Tools requires innovation, new combinations, new formations, extracting more resources from the unknown. I'm just still in the accumulation phase, adapting for innovation."
"Then adapt slowly."
Meng Hongchen yawned; she had heard this too many times.
She understood what Xiao Hongchen meant, of course, but she didn't incline to that.
Being strong was enough.
This was also why she never truly competed with Xiao Hongchen for the title of number one genius – she focused more on practicality.
"So, are you going to go see this Su Ming?" Meng Hongchen asked.
"No."
Xiao Hongchen shook his head decisively.
"Why not?"
"When he joins the team, there will naturally be an opportunity."
Xiao Hongchen sneered inwardly.
Heh, what's the point of seeking out Su Ming now? Challenging him?
That would make me, the number one Spirit Engineer genius, lose face.
BANG!
Xiao Hongchen pushed Meng Hongchen out of his research room and slammed the door shut.
Then, he found a mirror.
"Have I become so haggard?"
Xiao Hongchen looked 'shocked' at his reflection in the mirror.
Although his expression was one of shock, his eyes held a sense of pride.
He really was too dedicated.
Jing Hongchen had told him that realizing time had passed unnoticed during research and finding himself in such a haggard state was a sign of his love for Spirit Tools. But when he knowingly continued to persist despite this, the nature of it changed.
Xiao Hongchen didn't understand the second part, but he understood the first part.
"Hehe, that's just the kind of person I am. A born Spirit Tool genius!"
Clearly, he equated loving Spirit Tools with being a Spirit Tool genius.
Perhaps it was because he had never experienced loving something but being unable to learn it...
"Hmm, since I'm so haggard, I can't continue researching. I can rest for a while."
Xiao Hongchen went through the motions, temporarily suspending the project he had been researching, organized and saved the materials, and began recuperating, popping a pitch-black pill into his mouth.
"Yue—"
Su Ming was assigned a single dormitory, a very luxurious setup with a cultivation room and a room for researching and producing Spirit Tools. After familiarizing himself with the dormitory's layout, seeing that it was already late, he closed his eyes and began meditating.
"After absorbing the ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Wolf King's Spirit Ring, my Spirit Power surged quite a bit."
Su Ming had only broken through half a year after the Blacksmith Association reforms. From then until acquiring the Spirit Ring was a full ten months or so. The Spirit Power accumulated during this period, plus the ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring, directly propelled him to level 37.
"That's a bit intense. Getting closer to condensing the second Spirit Core again." Su Ming felt a headache coming on.
He estimated that for the next two years at least, he would need to seriously study the techniques for condensing the second Spirit Core. Fortunately, knowledge in this area from Douluo 3 was sufficient; he just needed to consider how to obtain it.
The night passed.
When Su Ming opened his eyes, he received a notice from the Dean of Students instructing him to go to the principal's office.
"If I remember correctly, the principal is Jing Hongchen, right?"
Although he knew he would attract attention, he didn't expect to be summoned for a talk so quickly.
What he didn't know was that he had been noticed yesterday as soon as he started producing the second Class 4 Spirit Tool during his test.
Principal's Office.
When Su Ming arrived, the office door was open. Inside sat a middle-aged man with an imposing presence, who was somewhat portly.
Although he was Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen's grandfather, Jing Hongchen didn't look very old. What was more prominent about him was a certain inexplicable authority.
Seeing Su Ming, Jing Hongchen's eyes lit up.
"You must be Su Ming. You look just like your grandfather. Come in, come in, have a seat."
After Su Ming sat down, Jing Hongchen went straight to the point, smiling warmly. "Your grandfather mentioned you to me before, said you'd be coming to our academy. So, what are your impressions of the academy after your first day yesterday?"
"Principal, please speak directly about what you need."
"Then I'll be direct. What do you think of me?"
Su Ming: ???
"What I mean is, have you considered taking me as your master?"
"I refuse."
(Chapter End)