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Meteor didn't really know Xu He that well, so the two of them just chatted briefly about Xu Tianzhen before each heading off with their trays of food.
Xu He had his own little crew too—students around his age who all kept calling him "Big Bro Xu." Clearly, His Royal Highness was starting to gather a little squad of his own.
Meteor carried his food back to where Liu Ying and the others were sitting, only to find two more people had joined them—familiar faces, no less.
"Big sis Meng, Xiao Hongchen. You guys are here too?"
Meteor set his tray down and began placing the dishes on the table one by one. He looked at the brother and sister pair, both wearing the Mingdu Junior Soul Engineering Academy uniform just like him.
"What? Not happy to see me, Meteor?"Meng Hongchen stared at Meteor without blinking, like she was looking at some rare treasure. It made Liu Ying instantly annoyed—her tiny hand instinctively curled into a fist.
"Of course I'm happy! I couldn't be more thrilled!"Meteor had already gotten used to Meng Hongchen staring at him like that. He figured she was a sucker for good looks. Since he seemed to fit her type, he just ignored it.
"You call my sister 'big sis' but call me by my name directly?"Xiao Hongchen's face darkened as he ground his teeth. Watching Meteor and his love-struck sister chatting away was seriously getting on his nerves.
"Huh? Are we that close?"Meteor gave him a genuinely confused look.
"Pfft—"Meng Hongchen couldn't help but giggle, covering her mouth. Xiao Hongchen's face turned even darker, rage bubbling up inside. He just felt like he and this brat were destined to clash.
If they were the same age, Xiao Hongchen would've definitely taught him a lesson for sure. But he was too proud to bully someone younger and weaker than him.
"Alright, alright, Xiao. Meteor's just messing with you,"Meng Hongchen quickly tried to smooth things over. She really didn't want her brother and Meteor getting into a fight. She knew her brother's temper—under normal circumstances, he would've already dragged someone off to the battle stage by now.
Meteor scoffed quietly. There was no way he'd call someone else "big bro." Not happening. Xiao Hongchen might be a rank-20 Grand Soul Master, but Meteor didn't think he'd lose to him.
Even that crown prince Xu He tried to buddy up to him and asked him to call him "big bro," but Meteor had politely declined and just called him "senior."
Same thing with Xu Tianran—despite a few run-ins, he always addressed him formally as "Your Highness."
As for Xiao Hongchen? Dream on if you think I'm calling you "bro."
That damn brat... Xiao Hongchen clenched his teeth as he watched Meteor's casual attitude. He was two years older—was it really so hard to call him "bro"? Wasn't it perfectly normal?
Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes at Meteor helplessly. She had no idea why, but every time these two met, it was like flint meeting steel. They had to butt heads.
Even though Meteor wasn't a fan of Xiao Hongchen's smug, stuck-up vibe, he still handed him a bowl, chopsticks, and a fork and knife—more or less letting him join the table for Meng Hongchen's sake.
"Tianzhen, what's your relationship like with the crown prince?"Meteor casually dropped a piece of soul beast meat into Liu Ying's bowl, then bit into the chicken leg Meng Hongchen had handed him as he turned to look at Xu Tianzhen, who was busy chowing down.
"Hm? Crown Prince brother? We get along fine, I guess. Why do you ask?"Xu Tianzhen tilted her head, confused.
Xiao Hongchen—already sulking because his sister was giving food to Meteor but not him—perked up his ears. Why's this guy suddenly bringing up the prince?
"Oh, nothing much. Just ran into him in line earlier. Chatted for a bit. He seemed alright."Meteor said casually, then glanced down at his bowl. His eye twitched—it was piled high with soul beast meat and vegetables. Liu Ying and Meng Hongchen were clearly having some kind of quiet food war, constantly adding more to his bowl.
Watching this unfold, Na Na looked like she was witnessing two bolts of lightning clashing in mid-air. Terrified, she kept her head down and focused on eating. She didn't dare say a word. One wrong move and she might get caught in the crossfire and wiped out instantly.
"Crown Prince is a really good guy. And he has the same Sun Martial Soul as me!"Xu Tianzhen had long gotten used to this kind of silent rivalry between Meng Hongchen and Liu Ying. While nibbling on her favorite dish, she gave it some thought before replying.
"I've heard of him too. Seems like a decent person. He's in our year, right? Third-year in the Soul Engineering Department? Too bad we're not in the same class."Meng Hongchen finally stopped fighting Liu Ying—mostly because Meteor's bowl was now full to the brim.
"Got it."Meteor didn't press further. He wasn't actually interested in the crown prince or anything—just figured he'd ask since they ran into each other.
Life at the academy wasn't all that exciting for Meteor. Mostly just classes, learning new stuff, meditating and cultivating at night. Now and then, he'd have a good fight with Ye Guiyi or Xu Tianzhen, and he'd ended up with a bunch of lackeys tagging along too.
It had already been a month since Meteor and the others enrolled at Mingdu Junior Soul Engineering Academy. And in that one month—they'd become famous.
Everyone at the school, teachers and students alike, had heard that five students in the new Soul Tool Control class were born with full innate soul power—basically prodigies.
As the saying goes, "Fame invites trouble." Once they got popular, of course there were people who wanted to challenge them. After all, on the Douluo Continent, fighting was as common as having breakfast.
For Soul Masters, if you had beef with someone—or just didn't like their face—no problem. Settle it in the battle arena.
There's nothing a good fight can't solve.
And Meteor's crew never backed down from a challenge. Even if it was a third-year senior—they welcomed it.
Fighting in school was actually a great opportunity. Teachers were there to supervise, so injuries were rare. It was perfect for sharpening their skills and improving soul power control—better to make mistakes now than get wrecked in a real fight outside.
All the challengers came from the Soul Engineering Department. The Control class only had one group—and everyone in it had already been thoroughly beaten into submission. They now respectfully called Meteor and Liu Ying "big bro" and "big sis."
Even the aloof, cold Gu Yue Na had a couple of fangirls following her around now.
In the Soul Engineering Department, very few students ever became proper Soul Engineers, and even fewer could use soul tools proficiently. So among the first-years, nobody could compete with Meteor's team. Same for second-years—almost no one could even pose a threat.
Only third-years had a slight edge when it came to soul power.
Of course, most of them were still only around level 15 to 19. Very few had broken through to level 20 and become Grand Soul Masters.
As far as Meteor knew, only Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had reached that level. Even Crown Prince Xu He was still at level 19.
Out of the five of them, Meteor and Liu Ying had a perfect win streak so far. Ye Guiyi and Xu Tianzhen were also super strong, but they'd lost to third-years a couple of times. The soul power gap was just too much, and their bodies were still too young—they couldn't fully bring out the advantages of their top-tier Martial Souls yet.
"....."