Jing Hongchen said, "Once I find out any information about that Ye Guyi, I'll let you know."
Meng Hongchen nodded repeatedly and urged, "Then Grandpa, you have to hurry up and find out."
After saying that, Meng Hongchen happily left the study with her brother.
Once she was gone, Jing Hongchen sat down in his chair and let out a long sigh.
"So it's true, girls really can't be kept once they grow up."
After finding out that Wang Chen liked another girl, the first thing his granddaughter thought of wasn't to beat up Wang Chen—it was to blame him, her grandfather.
This really was...
Jing Hongchen felt helpless. To think that he, the dignified Dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, the Master of Mingde Hall, revered by countless people—
Would find himself at a complete loss when it came to handling his granddaughter's love problems.
No matter how calculating, cold, or powerful he was in front of others, before his grandchildren, he was just an ordinary old man.
Jing Hongchen sighed again, his face full of helplessness.
"Forget it, forget it. My granddaughter has grown up—she's beyond my control now. The children and grandchildren have their own fates. Whatever the future brings, let them handle it.
As her grandfather, all I can do is protect their safety. As for what happens later—that depends on the young people themselves."
He sat there in silence for a long while. At last, he had come to terms with everything. From now on, he wouldn't interfere in his granddaughter's love affairs anymore. He would just let everything take its natural course.
"Butler," Jing Hongchen called.
"Master," a man in his fifties hurried into the study. He had followed Jing Hongchen since the age of fifteen—forty years of loyal service.
He knew Jing Hongchen deeply and could immediately sense that his master's mood was quite different from usual today.
Jing Hongchen looked at the butler who had accompanied him for most of his life. After a brief silence, he simply gave an instruction.
"Three days from now, give that young girl named Ye Guyi's information to the young lady."
The butler nodded in understanding. After all, gathering intelligence took time. If the report were handed over immediately, the young lady would realize that the family had known all along but had kept it from her—and that would certainly make her angry.
Seeing Jing Hongchen looking a bit tired, the butler said with concern, "Master, if you're feeling weary, perhaps take a walk to clear your mind."
Jing Hongchen replied, "You're thoughtful," then waved his hand, signaling the butler to leave.
The butler bowed respectfully and quietly withdrew.
After all this fuss, it was already nighttime.
In Meng Hongchen's boudoir, she lay on her soft bed, her thoughts wandering endlessly.
Meng Hongchen thought to herself,
"When Grandpa finds out where Ye Guyi is, I'll go ask her what kind of relationship she has with Brother Wang Chen.
No, I can't ask her directly. What if that Ye Guyi lies? I'll have to secretly observe them, see how things are between her and Brother Wang Chen.
If she and Brother Wang Chen are just acquaintances or simple friends, then I'll pretend nothing happened.
But... if that Ye Guyi and Brother Wang Chen really are together, then what should I do?"
As she thought of this, a trace of sadness appeared on her delicate, pretty face.
But soon, Meng Hongchen's eyes grew firm.
"Brother Wang Chen and I have known each other since childhood. Even if that Ye Guyi used shameless tricks to seduce him, Brother Wang Chen definitely likes me more.
I'll definitely win Brother Wang Chen back!"
——————————
Sun Family, Southeast District of Mingdu.
Inside a spacious room came the sound of someone screaming like a slaughtered pig.
"I, Sun Jing, how did I end up with a son like you?! Ah, you've really got guts—who taught you, who gave you the courage to meddle in the Hongchen family's affairs?!
And where did you get the nerve to clash with the Wang family's young master?!
You little bastard, one of these days you're going to be the death of me!"
The moment Sun Yu returned from tattling to the Hongchen family, his father, Sun Jing, stripped him naked, hung him up, and began beating him.
With a belt in hand, Sun Jing lashed out like a storm, each strike making Sun Yu cry and wail miserably.
"Dad, I know I was wrong! I'll never dare again! Please, spare me!" Sun Yu sobbed uncontrollably, begging his father for mercy.
Beside them, a middle-aged woman—Sun Yu's mother—pleaded,
"Husband, stop hitting him! Yu'er knows he was wrong! He's our only son—don't hurt him too badly."
Sun Jing glared furiously at his wife.
"Shut up! This brat turned out like this all because you spoiled him! I'm busy with work every day and have no time to discipline him—and look how you've raised him! Today I'll make sure he learns a lesson!"
After shouting that, Sun Jing threw the belt to the ground, then pulled out a whip from his storage soul tool and continued the beating, even harder than before.
"Ahhh! It hurts! Mom! Mom, please stop Dad! He's going to kill me!" Sun Yu cried, snot and tears running down his face—utterly pitiful.
Seeing her son's body covered in welts, his mother couldn't bear it any longer. She rushed forward, shielding her son, shouting,
"If you want to hit someone, hit me first!"
"Argh!"
Sun Jing looked at his wife, who was stubbornly protecting their son, then threw the whip down in frustration and stomped it angrily.
Seeing the marks all over Sun Yu's body, his mother quickly took out some medicinal salve from her storage soul tool and gently applied it to his wounds.
"Son, does it hurt?"
Sun Yu glanced fearfully at his father, too afraid to speak.
Noticing his gaze, Sun Jing snorted.
"Look at you, crying like that over a little pain.
When I was young, serving in the army—fighting against the scum of the Star Luo Empire in the Mingdou Mountains—I was wounded dozens of times.
The worst injury split my stomach open, my guts hanging out, and I didn't even groan once!"
Listening to his father rant, Sun Yu grumbled inwardly,
Here he goes again. Honestly, having him as my father must be my misfortune for eight lifetimes.
Of course, he only dared to think that silently. On the surface, he still wore a pitiful expression.
Sun Jing, born from the military, valued toughness above all else. Seeing his son's cowardly demeanor only made him angrier.
"You don't work hard at cultivation, your head is full of girls—no ambition at all!
If you lack ambition, fine, but at least have some sense! And if you have no sense, then at least have a brain!
Provoking Wang Chen is one thing, but you just had to go to the Hongchen family?!
What, did you think you could use them to deal with Wang Chen? Do you think the Hongchen family is that easy to use?
Who do you think you are? Do you even understand the situation? Do you know the relationship between the Hongchen family and the Wang family?
Just because of a few rumors, you dared to go to the Hongchen family?
If they'd been displeased, that could've been your death sentence!
This time they only sent someone to question you. Next time—they might come for your head!"
Sun Jing glared at his son with fury.
"From today onward, you'll stay home honestly. No going out anywhere. Focus on cultivation—you're not to take a single step outside.
If you dare cause trouble again, I'll disown you as my son!
I'm only forty-one. Worst case, I'll just have another one!"
With that, Sun Jing stormed out, leaving behind a dumbfounded Sun Yu and his mother.
——————————
Meanwhile, at Wang Chen's home.
After dinner, Wang Chen was sitting cross-legged on his bed, cultivating.
He had reached the peak of the Grand Soulmaster level, just a thin barrier away from breaking through to Soul Elder.
Wang Chen focused his full attention, running the Tongmai Technique again and again. With each cycle, the barrier before the Soul Elder realm grew thinner—fragile like a layer of paper, ready to tear at any moment.
As his cultivation deepened, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged around him. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, his teeth clenched tightly as he pushed through the final bottleneck.
After a long while, waves of soul power surged inside him, crashing repeatedly against that last barrier—
Until suddenly, a powerful surge of energy burst outward from his body, making the room tremble slightly.
Wang Chen's eyes snapped open, a flash of light shining within them. A stronger aura than before radiated from his body.
Level 30—breakthrough!
Wang Chen ended his meditation and slowly opened his eyes.
He could clearly feel it—he was stronger. His soul power was denser, his body lighter and more powerful.
Most importantly, reaching level 30 meant he could now absorb his third soul ring.
Once he did, his physique, soul power, and its quality would all rise dramatically.
Even more crucially, with the third ring, his secret art—Ring Tempering—would become far stronger.
The difference between a hundred-year yellow ring and a thousand-year purple ring was vast. Once he used Ring Tempering on a purple ring, his combat power would soar to another level.
However, Wang Chen didn't plan to hunt for a soul beast just yet. He wanted to wait until he obtained the Gold of Life to strengthen his body first—then he would absorb his third soul ring.
A stronger body meant he could endure a higher-year soul ring.
And the higher the soul ring's age, the more soul power it contained—enough to push his cultivation up by at least one more level, to around level 32.
Moreover, the higher the ring's age, the greater the boost to physique and attributes.
So compared to rushing to hunt a 2,000-year-old soul beast now, Wang Chen didn't mind waiting a few more days.
After all, with a little patience, he might be able to absorb a ring over 5,000 years.
A few days of waiting was a small price for such great benefits.
Besides, even without a new soul ring, cultivation of soul power itself wouldn't be hindered—there was nothing to lose.
Wang Chen thought to himself,
"The purification of the Soul-Devouring Dagger must be done soon.
But that shouldn't be a big problem. That little angel Ye Guyi might act proud, but she doesn't seem too sharp.
If she were clever, she wouldn't have revealed her Angel Spirit in front of all those Titled Douluo and Super Douluo-level evil soul masters just because she thought the Plain Alliance's leader, Shangguan Wei'er, had her back.
With some effort, I'll be able to befriend Ye Guyi soon enough—and then convince her to help purify the dagger."
Rubbing his chin as he gazed at the bright moon outside the window, Wang Chen decided to spend the night thinking—
How to quickly close the distance between himself and a proud girl like Ye Guyi.
——————————
Time passed quickly. Seven days later—
Ye Guyi's home.
After seven days of effort, Wang Chen, using the good impression he'd earned earlier when helping Ye Guyi get rid of Sun Yu's harassment—combined with his maturity beyond his years, handsome looks, and interesting personality—had successfully gotten close to her.
Now he could even visit her home freely. It was fair to say they were friends.
At this moment, Wang Chen and Ye Guyi were sparring.
Ye Guyi wasn't using her soul skills in battle—only her soul tools and soul power. Clearly, she didn't want to expose that her martial soul was the Angel, nemesis of evil soul masters.
To the outside world, Ye Guyi's label was that of a third-class close-combat Soul Engineer with an average martial soul.
She flipped her wrist, summoning a third-rank close-combat soul tool longsword into her hand.
The sword was about 1.1 meters long, its blade three centimeters wide, radiating a golden gleam. Three stars were engraved on it, its three core formations built into the hilt.
With a swift motion, Ye Guyi slashed toward Wang Chen. The sword danced in the air, leaving behind a haze of shimmering sword shadows.
Wang Chen's eyes narrowed, his spiritual power sharply focused. His heightened perception allowed him to clearly trace the sword's trajectory.
He swung his soul tool spear in a single fluid motion—not only blocking Ye Guyi's strike but also using the spear's superior reach to thrust toward her abdomen.
As the saying goes, "An inch longer, an inch stronger." In close combat, a spear's reach was an absolute advantage over a sword.
Ye Guyi reacted quickly, twisting her body to dodge. Using the speed advantage of her Soul Elder cultivation, she avoided the strike and immediately counterattacked—her sword sweeping upward toward Wang Chen's chest.
Wang Chen quickly raised his spear horizontally, blocking the sharp blow. The sound of metal clashing rang out crisply as sparks scattered in the air.
The two exchanged moves fiercely, neither gaining the upper hand.
Ye Guyi secretly marveled at Wang Chen's strength.
She could clearly feel that her cultivation was higher, her speed faster, her power greater—yet Wang Chen, relying purely on skill, was able to fight her evenly.
Her opinion of Wang Chen changed drastically—from thinking he couldn't fight at all, to recognizing him as a combat genius with exceptional technique.
Meanwhile, not far away, a beautiful, delicate figure was quietly observing them from the shadows, her eyes filled with a faint, complex emotion.
That person was none other than Meng Hongchen, who had come secretly to watch Ye Guyi...