Douluo Dalu 2: You are an Evil Soul Master, but also a good person ?

Soul Masters are not Soul Masters, and Soul Engineers are not Soul Engineers.

They try to find a strange balance, or even a fusion, between spiritual power and soul power.

A sword fanatic, Ji Juechen.

Xu Cheng pondered quietly in his heart.

In the original story, his talent was ordinary, with only a third-level soul power at birth and a very common iron sword as his martial spirit. Yet, he practiced diligently day after day, and by the age of eight, he reached level ten. He went alone into the forest, and with his blood burning in white clothes, he gained his first soul ring.

He walked a path unlike anyone else and created his own swordsmanship.

Of course, the current Ji Juechen was far from the fierce character he was in the original story, and he even seemed somewhat ordinary.

Xu Cheng could see at a glance: it was a flaw in his soul power.

Only later, when he fused spiritual power with soul power, would he be able to wield the devastating sword, reaching the peak of his power...

"Boom!"

The dark blue silver grass whipped wildly again, striking Ji Juechen's body.

He was sent flying backward, slamming heavily into the metal partition.

Xu Cheng nodded slightly.

Even without using a Soul Engineer weapon, after the blackening, Tang Ya's strength was definitely among the top in their age group.

By devouring the lives of hundreds of people, her Blue Silver Grass would gradually transform into nutrients to nourish herself.

Therefore, Ji Juechen's defeat was anticipated.

"What are you looking at? Is this sword fanatic worth your attention? Or are you just looking at the beautiful girl..." Xiao Hongchen teased with a sly smile. "After all, Tang Ya is the most beautiful girl ranked first in our new class. It's normal for you to like her."

"..."

Xu Cheng was stunned. "What ranking?"

"You really don't pay attention to this, do you?" Xiao Hongchen shrugged. "There's a beauty ranking compiled by the entire grade. Look..."

Saying this, Xiao Hongchen handed over a ranking list.

The first place on the list was Tang Ya.

Then there was Meng Hongchen...

Ranked seventh was Nana. Xu Cheng continued looking down the list and found a few "old acquaintances," like "Keke" at rank seventy-two and "Jing Ziyan" at one hundred seventy-two...

Xu Cheng flipped through it.

This was not just a ranking; it was like a handbook.

It had not only names but also photos and personalities, thick like a book.

"Who made this? So free?" Xu Cheng furrowed his brow.

"It's from the trendy guy in our class, the one using the long-range Soul Engineer weapon in the eleventh test area," Xiao Hongchen said casually.

Then he handed over another book.

"What is this?"

"The boy's ranking list..." Xiao Hongchen said with a sly grin.

Xu Cheng: "..."

If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have been interested, but now that you mentioned it, I can't resist taking a look.

"Heh, you want to see how you rank, don't you?" Xiao Hongchen laughed wickedly.

Xu Cheng smiled and flipped through the book.

What caught his eye was Ji Juechen.

As for his own ranking...

Second.

And Xiao Hongchen... twenty-seventh.

"Quite objective," Xu Cheng nodded.

"Damn, what do you mean by that? You're saying I should be twenty-seventh? Where am I not handsome? What's wrong with these girls' taste!" Xiao Hongchen immediately blushed.

"I'm talking about this Trendy guy..." Xu Cheng cleared his throat. "He's quite interesting."

As he said this, he remembered the original plot.

In the full continent Soul Master competition held in Mingdu, Trendy was killed by Princess Tang in less than two minutes.

A character who was quickly killed, but his death exposed the hypocrisy of the Tang Sect.

Xu Cheng had felt sorry for this character at the time.

He also gained a new understanding of the Tang Sect's moral bottom line.

"This person is interesting."

Xu Cheng weighed the two books in his hand, curiously observing Trendy down below.

In his eyes, Trendy's talent seemed average. By the end of the first semester, he barely reached the level of a second-ring Great Soul Master, and his soul power was obviously unstable, suggesting it was boosted by pills.

But Xu Cheng was more interested in his talent for intelligence gathering...

He had a feeling he was like Fingal.

Moreover, in the future, an organization would need a structure similar to an intelligence bureau.

Xu Cheng pondered for a moment.

No rush; take it step by step.

It's no wonder this new class is full of "talents"...

Day Seven.

Most people had been eliminated.

Only two remained standing on the stage.

Xiao Hongchen and Xu Cheng.

The two faced each other from afar.

After seven days of continuous assessments, and several rounds of elimination, only the first and second places remained. The top twenty had already been decided.

Third place was Meng Hongchen, fourth place was Tang Ya, fifth place was Nana, and tenth place was Ji Juechen...

Most of the people Xu Cheng knew were in the top rankings.

The final test would decide the first place among the freshmen.

And because of this, the Soul Engineer test venue was crowded, with nearly 10,000 people watching.

Everyone came to observe one of the most renowned "Soul Engineer geniuses" and a "low-profile" yet terrifying black horse who had suddenly emerged.

Who would be the first freshman? The hype was at its peak.

"Betting!"

Trendy squeezed through the corridor.

"I bet Xiao Hongchen will win! The first genius is well deserved!"

"I think Xu Cheng is very strong too. I've never been able to figure out his moves. He seems to be hiding something..."

"Indeed, Xiao Hongchen's strength is out in the open, everyone knows his moves, but Xu Cheng... he's mysterious, and his strength is hard to fathom. He's made a shocking appearance, and no one can guess what he's really capable of."

"I bet Xu Cheng!"

"..."

Betting, a traditional game in the Douluo Continent.

From the competitions of Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei in the arena to the full continent Soul Master competition, there were always such activities.

Gambling enthusiasts were everywhere.

In the crowd.

Ji Juechen stared intently at Xu Cheng.

Yesterday, he had been defeated by him.

That feeling of helplessness was unforgettable.

If it were someone else, the blow might have been too much to bear, but he was a sword fanatic, never caring about wins or losses, only about growing from them.

Recalling yesterday's defeat, after Xu Cheng easily overcame him, his lighthearted tone still lingered in his ears. "Integrating the soul into the sword, is this sword aura? Fusing spiritual power and soul power is the right path, but the key is to find the balance. If you want to catch up to me, first reach this point..."

A kindred spirit was hard to find.

For the first time in eleven years, a ripple stirred in Ji Juechen's heart.

He became even more curious about Xu Cheng's strength today.

At the viewing stand.

Elder Cheng and Jing Hongchen were also sitting.

They were both very curious about this battle for the new class's first place.

"Elder Cheng, what do you think of this match?"

Jing Hongchen asked.

"This child is strong in strategy, but as for actual combat... I can't say for sure." Elder Cheng pondered for a moment and then slowly replied.

He hadn't interacted much with Xu Cheng yet; they had only just formed a master-student relationship.

He knew Xu Cheng's research on Soul Engineers was beyond genius, a real prodigy.

But as for actual combat...

If Xiao Hongchen avoided falling into Xu Cheng's traps, it might be an evenly matched battle.

(End of Chapter)