After the intense cultivation session, there was a specially prepared medicated meal waiting for them. This meal was designed to replenish the consumption of the body after such hard work. Xiao Hongchen ate his food weakly, looking much worse than Miss Meng who was sitting beside him.
Because Kong Mingan had finished his session early, the competitive spirit of Xiao Hongchen made him push himself too hard. He had slightly broken through his limits while accelerating his cultivation of the Body Tempering Method. The result of this was complete exhaustion afterward.
Kong Mingan noticed his friend struggling and decided to speak up. He told Xiao Hongchen that there was no need to push himself so hard. He reminded him that with his great talent and a step-by-step approach, things would go well. He explained that by combining regular practice with the Body Tempering Method, reaching Level 20 by nine years old and getting a thousand-year spirit ring would not be difficult.
Xiao Hongchen replied that he knew this, but he felt an inexplicable headache. He told Kong Mingan that he just did not understand some things. Xiao Hongchen was born with innate full spirit power and possessed a top-tier spirit known as the Three-legged Golden Toad, which had a Divine Beast bloodline.
He also had a spirit talent for metal control, making him a natural fit to be a Soul Engineer. From the moment he had the awakening of his spirit until two months ago, he truly believed he was the number one genius of the Sun and Moon Empire. He felt he was destined to be famous across the entire continent.
This was not an empty boast because he really had that potential. However, ever since he followed his grandfather, Jing Hongchen, to see more of the world two months ago, he began to doubt his life. He looked at the person in front of him and wondered what kind of person he was.
He initially thought Kong Mingan was just like him, a powerful talent with innate full spirit power. But after they met a month ago, he had challenged him to a duel. He was beaten so badly by the physical strength of Kong Mingan that he could not even get up. During their conversation later, he learned that this guy only had 0.5 innate spirit power.
Xiao Hongchen sighed lightly and looked at Kong Mingan. He could see that the cultivation effect of the Body Tempering Method for Kong Mingan was several times better than his own. He also knew that the pain the body of Kong Mingan endured was also much greater. But looking at Kong Mingan, who seemed perfectly fine, and then looking at his own powerless hands, he had to speak. He told Kong Mingan that even now, he still could not believe that his innate spirit power was only 0.5.
Kong Mingan looked at him and calmly said that the level of innate spirit power has nothing to do with intelligence. Xiao Hongchen whispered the word intelligence to himself. He pondered the word but felt a strange itch in his brain. It was an indescribable feeling. Beside him, Miss Meng blinked her eyes. Her expression changed in a subtle way to one of oddness. She wondered if Mingan was trying to say that her brother was not very intelligent.
Miss Meng lifted her ice-blue eyes and naturally met the gaze of Kong Mingan. With a hint of curiosity, she blinked at him. Kong Mingan was a bit startled at first, but then he blinked back at her. A faint smile appeared on his lips as he quietly nodded in response.
The eyes of Miss Meng brightened. She quickly looked away and cleared her throat to keep herself from laughing out loud. She thought that her older brother sometimes did not use his brain very much. She knew she could not laugh, or the pride of her brother would be hurt again.
Beside them, Xiao Hongchen stopped rubbing his head and noticed his sister and Kong Mingan exchanging glances. He felt that something was very wrong. He thought to himself that he treated Kong Mingan as a rival, but Kong Mingan was hitting on his sister. In an instant, the eyes of Xiao Hongchen blazed with battle intent once more. Kong Mingan saw this and wondered if the guy had taken the wrong medicine again.
With intense battle intent in his heart, Xiao Hongchen went back to cultivate immediately after lunch. He set a very busy schedule for himself. He would do the Body Tempering Method in the morning, meditation cultivation in the afternoon, and spirit tool studies in the evening. He even planned to let meditation replace his sleep time. He resolved to challenge Kong Mingan again after he acquired his second spirit ring.
Watching Xiao Hongchen leave so quickly, the mouth of Kong Mingan twitched. He looked at Miss Meng who was still standing there. He asked her what was wrong with her brother. Miss Meng massaged her forehead and said it was normal.
she told him he would be fine after a while. She spoke with the air of someone who had seen this many times before. Then she turned to him and reminded him that he promised to study with her today. She told him he could not go back on his word.
As she spoke, Miss Meng reached out and naturally grabbed the hand of Kong Mingan. Without waiting, she pulled him toward the laboratory. Xiao Hongchen had not gone very far and turned around to see his sister pulling Kong Mingan away. He was shocked and felt like a pig had snatched a good cabbage.
While Xiao Hongchen was doubting his life, the other two arrived at the laboratory. The room was brightly lit and had all the best equipment. Since it was a lab used by the grandfather of Kong Mingan, its quality was very high.
It was on par with the standards of a ninth-grade Soul Engineer. Miss Meng looked around with curiosity, but she did not look for long. She had visited the laboratory of her grandfather, Jing Hongchen, many times when she was little.
Most of the facilities looked similar to what she knew. However, she soon noticed cages stacked neatly beside an experimental platform. Inside each cage was a Soft Bones Rabbit with snowy white fur. She asked what they were for. Kong Mingan calmly replied that they were materials. He was silently watching how the expression of Miss Meng changed.
It sounded strange to say it that way, but he really wanted to train an assistant. Most research cannot be finished by just one person. If he had an assistant, his work would be much easier. For example, if he had assistants during the early stages of making the Body Tempering Method, he would have finished much faster. His three months of hard work could have been just one month. This was a big jump in efficiency.
When he was researching the method before, he was too busy to find help. Now he had some free time and his grandfather had sent him two playmates. Naturally, after a month of being together, Miss Meng was becoming his assistant in training. As for Xiao Hongchen, he was better at doing practical tasks. Doing research was a bit too much for him.
Now, he was checking the basic qualities of Miss Meng. Under her puzzled gaze, he walked forward and took a white Soft Bones Rabbit from a cage. His own breeding farm was not ready yet, so these rabbits were caught from the spirit beast forest for him.
This rabbit was strong and agile, and its eyes showed it was a spirit beast. Sensing a threat, the rabbit struggled hard to escape. Kong Mingan ignored this and quickly twisted its neck, ending its life.
Miss Meng was confused by this. However, a moment later, a circle of soft light and spirit power appeared. A white spirit ring rose from the body of the rabbit. Then, it was gently grabbed by a hand and held up.