Chapter 119

"You all, share your own opinions."

The next day, the conference room of the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineer Academy in the Xinghuang Hotel was again filled with people, who were analyzing the strength Shilake Academy had displayed the previous day.

Shilake Academy has always been the biggest enemy of the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineer Academy; as the perennial runner‑up, it can be said that the academy's ultimate goal in entering the tournament is to defeat Shilake Academy and become first.

Therefore, logically, at the start of every tournament they should immediately begin analyzing Shilake Academy's performance.

However, because Shilake Academy's initial performance three days ago was completely blocked by the Wan Ling Forest, aside from a Soul Fusion Technique with a huge range but unclear effect they had nothing to analyze, so their analysis could not properly begin until today.

Ma Rulong said with a solemn expression:

It's obvious that Shilake still hides considerable strength; in this individual elimination tournament only three have taken the field, and they are all reserve team members, while the two main team members who came have not acted yet. I estimate they at least possess the strength of a Soul King as a base, and as the former tournament's reserve team captain Dai Yaoheng could very well have reached Soul Emperor level. We must not be careless.

Xiao Hongchen said lightly:

'Brother Ma, there's no need for more nonsense; you couldn't possibly think someone among us would look down on Shilake, could you? Analyzing those who haven't played won't yield anything, so we can only focus on the competitors who have already taken the field—what do you think of that girl named Huo Yutong? How does her strength compare to yours?'

When he asked this, Xiao Hongchen's expression was utterly serious, a rare sight without any hint of arrogance.

In the matches so far, there is no doubt that the most eye‑catching performer is Huo Yutong—whether it's her six red soul rings or her overwhelming one‑against‑four victory, people simply cannot ignore her.

Ma Rulong fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said:

Although I'm reluctant to admit it, based on what I've seen so far, I'm afraid I can't beat her.

Meng Hongchen was taken aback.

'Come on, Brother Ma, you're a Soul Emperor—she looks only eleven or twelve; how could she possibly be stronger than you?'

She didn't believe those six red rings Huo Yutong displayed; the stronger one is, the clearer it becomes what that signifies—six red rings at age twelve are theoretically impossible.

Ma Rulong explained:

'I can't believe it either, but her performance was simply too striking. The opponent in the first match was obviously frightened out of their wits, so it's not worth discussing as a reference; the things displayed in the second, third, and fourth matches were truly chilling.'

'In the second match, the student named Yan'er lost too quickly—she couldn't even force out a single soul skill. Huo Yutong merely released her martial soul and easily defeated her. I can understand that, though, because Huo Yutong's martial soul is clearly ice‑snow attributed and of absolutely high quality, giving her an absolute suppression over fire‑attributed opponents; even if Yan'er lost badly, it makes sense.'

'But the third match is off—I can't see what method she used to incapacitate Yang Yifan. Instantly killing a Soul Ancestor without any elemental advantage is something I could hardly do even at full power, yet she is clearly far from going all out.'

'As for the fourth match, this is probably where we can see the most. She was finally forced to reveal a few soul skills—whether it was resisting Yumudi's second soul skill, a defensive type, or suppressing his twin swords with that ice sword, or overcoming his fifth soul skill with that cyan light, all showed a complete domination, a posture I admit I could not achieve.'

'Throughout the four matches she never once found herself at a disadvantage; this level of suppression is definitely at the Soul Emperor level, so regardless of whether those six blood‑red soul rings are genuine, her Soul Emperor strength is absolutely real.'

After hearing Ma Rulong's analysis, the entire conference room of the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineer Academy fell into a dead silence.

Thanks to his analysis, the credibility of Huo Yutong's six blood‑red soul rings rose sharply.

If that is true, then the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineer Academy could simply surrender outright.

Only one person wore an expression of mild disbelief.

'Brother Ma, don't let others' ambition crush your own spirit; you only saw her strong side, but you missed the weakness she revealed.'

Ma Rulong furrowed his brows.

'Xiao Hongchen, what do you mean?'

Xiao Hongchen sighed helplessly. 'Brother Ma, think about it: the captain of Shilake's reserve team is merely a Soul Ancestor, and it's likely the others aren't much better. You should recall that among the three remaining members of Zhengtian Academy at that time was Ye Wuqing, a Soul King nearing Soul Emperor level—why would she send her own Soul Ancestor to fight against their Soul King? Even a fool could see that there's no chance of winning.'

Saying this, his gaze turned serious.

'There's only one answer: her condition at the time could no longer support continued fighting; persisting would only expose her flaws, letting us see through her true nature.'

Ma Rulong's eyes flickered slightly.

'You mean she had run out of soul power then?'

'Yeah, that's most likely the case.'

Looking at the nodding Xiao Hongchen, Ma Rulong fell into thought.

If what Xiao Hongchen said is true, then Huo Yutong's endurance must be shockingly lacking.

Of the four battles, only the fourth can be called a proper head‑on clash; if she exhausted her soul power after that fight, it's very possible she doesn't even have the cultivation of a Soul King.

The problem is how someone without Soul King cultivation could block Yumudi's Soul Emperor‑level ultimate move; thinking of this, Ma Rulong sighed.

'Perhaps what you say is true, but the fact that she swiftly defeated a Soul King is undeniable—this burst of power even exceeds mine, so I advise you not to underestimate her.'

'How could that be?' Xiao Hongchen laughed brightly. 'She's probably the strongest member of Shilake's reserve team; in other words, she'll be my biggest rival in five years. I won't just not look down on her—I'll take in every bit of information she reveals, preparing to trample her underfoot five years from now.'

His tone was extremely arrogant, yet no one present dared to refute him.

Everyone knows Xiao Hongchen's strength; although as reserve team captain he only has five rings, his power already surpasses that of a fifth‑tier soul engineer, and even compared to Ma Rulong he is not necessarily much weaker—at just fifteen years old he already counts as the second‑strongest fighter of the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

He is a genuine genius.

By the way, Xiao Hongchen is actually rather tragic.

In the first tournament he used his abilities twice; the second time was while he was heavily injured, so it doesn't count—we only look at the first match.

In the first match he first expended half of his soul power to defend against Ma Rulong's strike, then fired a single shot and went offline.

The problem is that even after being weakened layer by layer, that shot still had the power to shatter Dai Yaoheng, a Soul Emperor; in terms of pure attack power it is already close to that of a Soul Sage.

With half his soul power he burst forth with strength approaching that of a Soul Sage; even among Soul Emperors that is a formidable tier.

His tragedy lies in encountering Jiang Nannan; my evaluation of the Invincible Golden Body ability is that it's something a Buddha thought up by slapping his forehead. Although the Invincible Golden Body in Douluo II is obviously much weaker than in Douluo I, it still left Xiao Hongchen empty‑handed, and then he was struck down by Dai Yaoheng in one blow (under the condition of having no blue soul power, resisting the three‑piece set boost, Dai Yaoheng's White Tiger Annihilation Extermination Kill doesn't die; his performance is already far better than Dai Yaoheng's).

This was his performance in that tournament; all the earlier buildup amounted to clowning, and finally he was knocked out of the arena by those two—Lao Huo and Wang Dong—with their two‑ and three‑ring soul powers, a case of clown upon clown.

But this still doesn't compare to the second tournament; Xiao Hongchen's clownishness there simply reached its peak.

Taking drugs to burn potential aside, the problem is that he's purely a filler, rated the weakest of the four great Soul Sages—anyone can come and kick him.

Clearly his talent is no less than Meng's; I've previously compared Meng's talent to that of Zhang Lexuan, and it can be said that this brother‑sister pair truly are once‑in‑a‑millennium geniuses of the Ri Yue Di Guo.

What a pity.

(End of chapter)