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Chapter 71: The Hongchen Siblings
Early the next morning, Bai Chen and his group left the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy and headed toward the mine marked on the map.
By noon, they arrived at the entrance of Qiling Mine Cave.
Although soul tool lamps illuminated the entrance, the deep cavern still gave off an unsettling feeling.
Everyone took out the searchlights they had prepared beforehand and entered the mine.
What none of them expected was that shortly after entering, they ran into another team of soul ring hunters.
"Ah…"
Seeing an old man accompanied by two children around eight or nine years old—both wearing the uniform of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy—Bai Chen stepped forward to greet them.
"Are you from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy?"
Hearing this, the boy turned his head away and snorted arrogantly.
The girl, however, replied with a cheerful smile.
"Yes. What's your name?"
"Bai Chen."
"Oh…"
The girl blinked.
For some reason, she felt like she had heard that name somewhere before.
Behind Bai Chen, Jing Ziyan tugged his sleeve and whispered,
"Hey Bai Chen… don't you recognize them?"
"…Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen?"
"You do know them!"
"…."
Actually, he didn't.
He had just guessed.
First, their distinctive white hair was too recognizable.
Second, any eight-year-old children being escorted by such a powerful-looking elder clearly weren't ordinary.
Bai Chen coughed lightly.
"Well… since we're classmates, would it be alright if we traveled together?"
"We won't cause trouble."
The old man glanced at the two children beside him.
Xiao Hongchen clicked his tongue and was about to object—
But Meng Hongchen happily replied first.
"Sure! Let's get along well!"
"Hey, Meng, you—"
"Come on, brother," she said with a grin.
"Classmates should help each other."
Her smile completely shut down Xiao Hongchen's complaint.
"…Fine. Do whatever you want."
After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Hongchen gave up arguing with his sister and fell silent with a dark expression.
With the two little masters' approval, the old man finally spoke.
"You may come with us."
"But let me be clear—we're going all the way to the deepest part of the cave. It's dangerous there, so don't cause trouble."
"Yes, sir! We'll behave ourselves."
Bai Chen nodded obediently.
Seeing his polite attitude, the old man smiled kindly.
"My surname is Ma. You may call me Elder Ma."
He began to understand why Meng Hongchen had agreed so easily.
Bai Chen's appearance and demeanor made him naturally likable.
Compared to a certain other little master in his group…
Elder Ma quietly glanced at Xiao Hongchen and sighed internally.
That child's temper was truly terrible.
He was undeniably a genius.
But he still needed to learn how to deal with people.
Of course, that wasn't Elder Ma's responsibility.
As a hired protector, his only job was to do his work well.
Before going deeper, Elder Ma suggested,
"Let's exchange information first—names, martial souls, and the type of soul rings you need."
"If we encounter suitable soul beasts along the way, I can help deal with them."
Everyone introduced themselves.
As expected, Elder Ma turned out to be an Eighth-Rank Soul Engineer from the Mingde Hall.
Although high-level soul engineers were generally weaker than soul masters of the same level, he was still stronger than most Soul Sages.
Having someone like him present in a place like this made everyone feel far more secure.
If Bai Chen's guess was correct—
He might even be Ma Rulong's grandfather.
When Elder Ma heard the names Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen, he showed clear surprise.
Jing Ziyan had once been a prodigy comparable to Xuan Ziwen.
Ji Juechen, meanwhile, was infamous as a problem child among problem children.
Both had quite a reputation in the academy.
Elder Ma couldn't understand how these two eccentric students ended up traveling with newcomers like Bai Chen and Ning Tian.
Meanwhile, the purpose of Xiao Hongchen's group was revealed.
Just as Bai Chen suspected—
They were also here to obtain a soul ring.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were eight years old, more than two years older than Bai Chen and Ning Tian.
Under Jing Hongchen's intensive training, they had already reached the threshold of Level 20.
Once they obtained a suitable soul ring, they would officially advance to the Soul Master stage.
They had come to this metal-rich region not for Meng Hongchen—
But to help Xiao Hongchen obtain his second soul ring.
While Bai Chen focused on their purpose,
And Elder Ma focused on Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen—
Someone else had a completely different focus.
Meng Hongchen was staring at Bai Chen.
When Ning Tian introduced herself, a sudden realization flashed in her eyes.
Now she remembered where she had heard Bai Chen's name before.
During a casual conversation, Jing Hongchen had once mentioned this boy from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
According to him, Ning Tian wasn't particularly noteworthy.
Instead—
The boy accompanying her, Bai Chen, possessed even greater talent.
If she remembered correctly, Jing Hongchen had said Bai Chen was already Level 16 back then.
She wondered if he had reached Level 17 by now.
Meng Hongchen glanced at Xiao Hongchen.
Seeing his usual arrogant expression, she realized immediately—
Her brother had completely forgotten about that conversation.
But even if he remembered, Meng Hongchen wouldn't feel hostile toward Bai Chen.
First, Jing Hongchen had said that if they encountered him, they could try recruiting him.
Second—
Meng Hongchen looked at Bai Chen's face and smiled slightly.
He's really handsome.
When Jing Hongchen mentioned Bai Chen before, he naturally hadn't talked about the boy's appearance.
Meng Hongchen hadn't expected this.
Even Jing Ziyan believed that when Bai Chen grew up, he might rival Ji Juechen's looks.
That said enough about how powerful his face card was.
Bai Chen had often used that face to act cute and obtain information from senior students.
But now—
He had finally encountered a true face enthusiast.
Meng Hongchen had a particular trait:
She naturally liked good-looking people.
And that tendency became especially strong when dealing with people her own age.
Originally, she hadn't cared much about this so-called genius from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
She had almost forgotten about him entirely.
But now—
Her thoughts changed.
I must recruit him to our side during this trip.
Meng Hongchen silently made up her mind.