Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

But soon, he noticed something unusual—unlike the usual noisy atmosphere before class, the classroom was unusually quiet today.

The teacher arrived so early? Or...?

He stopped in his tracks, a glint of jade-colored light flashing in his eyes.

Xu Tianzhen followed behind him with her head down, her big eyes occasionally darting around as if she were thinking about something. She didn't notice him stopping and bumped into him.

"Ouch, that hurts..."

Why is his body so stiff? She rubbed her head.

However... he smells quite nice.

"What's wrong?" Cain had been keeping an eye on Kong Tianxu's movements and immediately asked when he noticed the strange look on his face.

Kong Tianxu blinked, pushed open the classroom door, and said, "An uninvited guest has arrived—"

Upon hearing the door open, the handsome young man sitting in Kong Tianxu's seat seemed to sense something, opened his large blue eyes, and stared directly at Kong Tianxu.

He looked barely older than the silent students in the classroom, yet he wore the yellow school uniform representing the upper grades. More importantly, he wore a purple eight-pointed star badge on his chest, with five carved star-shaped diamonds inlaid on it, demonstrating his strength as a level five Soul Master.

The badge he was wearing was the Soul Master Badge, which, except for the Mingde Hall, was a uniform octagonal shape throughout the continent. However, the color and number of stars on the Soul Master Badge varied depending on the rank.

The badges for Soul Masters at levels one to three are light blue, those for levels four to six are purple, those for levels seven and eight are black, and only those for level nine are red. As for level ten, since no level ten Soul Master has ever appeared, there is currently no level ten Soul Master badge.

Kong Tianxu understood perfectly. He had sensed a spying from not far away during the entrance exam, but he was completely absorbed in carving at the time. After finishing the carving, he began a deep meditation and had no time to pay attention to this matter.

Now it seems that it was this person in front of me who was spying on me.

"Kong Tianxu, you may not know me, but you must have heard my name. I am Xiao Hongchen. I am here today to compete with you and see who is the number one genius of the Sun and Moon Sect."

Xiao Hongchen slightly raised his hand, striking a pose he had practiced countless times, and looked at Kong Tianxu, waiting for the sparks to fly when their eyes met for the first time.

That must have been a historic moment that would have been recorded in history books.

"Xiao Hongchen took the initiative to challenge me?" Xu Tianzhen was secretly surprised, but she quickly came to terms with it. Given Kong Tianxu's previous display of strength, she would believe he was a level six Soul Master. It was only natural that Xiao Hongchen was dissatisfied.

Thinking of this, her gaze toward Xiao Hongchen gradually turned pity, just like Cain's earlier expression.

"Never heard of it, not interested, please move aside."

Kong Tianxu waved his hand, ignoring Xiao Hongchen who was frozen in place, and walked sideways to his seat.

He didn't have time to play house with this idiot. Wasn't attending class much more interesting than bullying noobs? Xiao Hongchen's level 5 Soul Master was considered one of the best in the academy, but in front of him, it was nothing.

"Pfft—" Many students, including Xu Tianzhen, couldn't help but laugh out loud. After Kong Tianxu arrived, they seemed to have found their pillar of support, and the suffocating atmosphere caused by the title of the Empire's number one genius, Xiao Hongchen, immediately eased.

This isn't right, he's ignoring me?

Xiao Hongchen was instantly furious. In his mind, this should have been a friendly exchange between two geniuses, and Kong Tianxu should have gladly accepted the challenge. Instead, he pretended not to know him.

He didn't believe the other party was truly unaware of his reputation. He still vividly remembered how his grandfather had celebrated the entrance exam with drums and gongs all over the world.

"Give me some face. I've already arranged the venue and the referee. How am I supposed to save face if I don't go?"

Xiao Hongchen's face turned pale and then flushed for a while before he bent down and whispered to Kong Tianxu.

"No way. What good would it do me?" Kong Tianxu rolled his eyes and said nonchalantly.

“Uh…” Xiao Hongchen was stumped by his question. He realized that he had come here excitedly after preparing for several days, but he had forgotten the most important question—what if the other party doesn’t want to fight?

Frustrated, Xiao Hongchen scratched his smooth black hair, then suddenly remembered something and said solemnly with a burning gaze:

"Junior Brother Tianxu, you're definitely going to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament next year, right? How about we wager the position of reserve team captain? Even if you don't agree today, we'll still have to have a match on the day of the battle."

This stubborn mush... Kong Tianxu sighed helplessly.

What he said wasn't wrong. Since we're going to have to do it eventually, let's do it today. And perhaps we can take this opportunity to try out some things.

He gave Cain a look, and the girl immediately understood, quietly leaving the classroom.

Xu Tianzhen was wondering where she was going, but Kong Tianxu suddenly called out to her:

"Innocent."

Xu Tianzhen was suddenly taken aback. Tianzhen? Why is he suddenly calling me by my name? I wasn't ready...

"Naive, I'll call you Naive from now on. When I'm not around, you'll be the acting class monitor. If the teacher asks, help me explain."

As he spoke, Kong Tianxu flicked his wrist, and a golden light swirled around his fingertip before he grasped it in his hand.

Xiao Hongchen saw it clearly; the leaping golden light was a carving knife.

"Tell me, where are we going?"

"It's finally about to begin," Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath and solemnly said.

Mingde Hall.

Chapter 50 Sword Maniac, Intertwined, Three-Legged Golden Toad

Mingde Hall, the Soul Guidance Trial Ground.

This building, located in the heart of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, appears unremarkable on the surface. However, once you delve deeper into the complex and descend over a hundred meters underground, you'll discover a hidden world within.

This was a world entirely of metal. In a vast hall, apart from the silver-white floor and walls on both sides, the enormous, arched dome was also covered in metal, reaching a height of twenty meters. A strong metallic smell permeated the air, and the faint humming of soul-guided devices could be heard in the distance.

"Did that first-year student really say that?" A deep male voice asked from the same silver-white metal room.

He was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, with a burly build and short, stiff brown hair, but his fair skin seemed incongruous with his physique. Sitting there, he seemed shrouded in a shadow.

Xu Yunhuang said with absolute certainty, "Yes, Brother Muzhe, that's what that first-year student said. He said that Mingdetang should just go to his place and level up backwards."

"Hmph! Arrogant! I'd like to see how he tests me. Yun Huang, what about you? How did you manage to fight so miserably and get yourself into this state? A first-year student is at most a Soul Master, maybe a Level 4 Soul Instructor, and you actually got ambushed by him."

Xu Yunhuang blushed, but Su Muzhe's words weren't directed at him. The sixth-level soul master from Mingde Hall turned around and said:

"Sister Ziyan, are you going or not?"

The woman he called Sister Ziyan was of very ordinary appearance and figure. At first glance, she probably looked to be over thirty years old, the kind of person you would easily lose in a crowd.

Beside her sat a handsome young man with an unusually pale face, holding a black longsword that looked like a fire poker, his eyes closed and silent.

"Go, of course!" Jing Ziyan looked excited. She was a person who didn't take things too seriously. She would not refuse a fight, let alone such a new thing. Mingdetang was beaten by a new student? Unheard of!

As she spoke, she nudged Ji Juechen beside her with her elbow:

"Old Ji, let's go, let's go and meet this kid."

"I'm not going." The young man finally opened his eyes, but they looked dull and lifeless, and even his movements seemed slow.

"Hmm? This isn't like you." Jing Ziyan was a little surprised. Would a sword fanatic, the chief disciple of the Soul Control Department, refuse to spar?

"The sect leader said I can only challenge once a month, and I've already done it this month," he said succinctly.

“Ji Juechen,” Xu Yunhuang said suddenly, seizing the opportunity, “the method that young man used when he attacked me was very similar to your sword technique, very similar.”

Ji Juechen abruptly stood up, his previous slow and sluggish demeanor completely gone, his eyes flashing with a sharp light—

"Walk."

Success! Xu Yunhuang followed the three into the elevator, a smug look flashing in his eyes.

His cousin, Su Muzhe, was a martial arts fanatic with a strong sense of collective honor and a strong sense of hierarchy. It would be easy for him to incite Su Muzhe using Kong Tianxu's words. However, he always felt that a level six soul master might not be a reliable choice. It would be better to send Ji Juechen, a sword fanatic.

This tactic is called "using someone else's knife to kill someone else".

Unbeknownst to him, as the elevator they were riding slowly ascended, another elevator was passing them by, heading straight down.

The person he longed for was among them.

"This is it."

The metal doors of the elevator slid open, and Xiao Hongchen nodded to Kong Tianxu before stepping out first.

After walking through a long corridor, Kong Tianxu looked around. This was clearly an underground competition arena, with walls made of a special one-way transparent material. Two soul tool crafting tables were placed on them. Compared to the standard crafting tables in Mingde Hall, these two were twice the size in volume.

Various precision instruments and a dazzling array of rare metal raw materials were already prepared. On the platform, a tall, bearded old man beamed with joy upon seeing the two arrive and rose from his seat to greet them.

Originally, the hair at his temples and his bushy beard, which were connected together, made him look rather fierce, but this smile revealed a strangely kind appearance.

"Old Ma," Xiao Hongchen greeted him, then said seriously, "This is Kong Tianxu. We can begin now."

"Hmm." Old Ma responded, then turned to Kong Tianxu and smiled, "Tianxu, hello. You may not recognize me, I am Ma Jinlong, an eighth-level Soul Master. I once trained under Old Master Kong for a period of time. How is Old Master Kong doing lately?"

Are there also Grandpa's former students and officials here? Kong Tianxu was surprised. His grandfather had once mentioned to him that more than half of the high-level Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire had very close ties with the Kong family. It seems that "more than half" probably means more than just "more than half".

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Hongchen had already walked to the center of the two crafting tables and adjusted the precision timing soul tool to its optimal state.

"You will have one hour to use any of the materials on the table. Each of us will make a soul tool. After Elder Ma has evaluated and confirmed the finished product, we will use our respective soul tools on this competition stage to determine the winner."

As he spoke, he walked to his own workbench, a dark gold carving knife appearing in his hand without him noticing. Kong Tianxu suddenly noticed that the man standing before the metal workbench had undergone a subtle change in demeanor; his eyes seemed to hold nothing but metal.

interesting.

Kong Tianxu smiled slightly, walked to the workbench opposite him, and placed the golden carving knife in his hand on the surface of the metal table.

The carving knife, which was only as thick as a finger, made a dull "thud" the moment it touched the workbench.

What kind of carving knife is this? It's so heavy!

Old Ma's pupils contracted slightly, but he did not inquire. Asking for the carving knives of other Soul Masters was an extremely impolite act, and he would certainly not overstep his bounds with the disciples of the Kong family, whom he greatly respected.

"Timer started! Soundproof shield, raise!"

With a loud shout from Elder Ma, a faint white light shield rose from around the two crafting tables, quickly converging in the air and enveloping the entire area. The outside noise was completely shut out.

Old Ma channeled a gentle stream of soul power into the timing soul tool, then sat back down in his seat, watching intently as the two began to move.

The moment Boss Ma shouted "Start," Xiao Hongchen moved. He spread his hands out simultaneously, each grabbing a piece of rare metal. No one knows what he did, but the two pieces of rare metal with different properties softened instantly and were kneaded into a ball by his hands.

The top-tier martial soul, the Three-Legged Golden Toad, possesses divine beast bloodline and an innate ability to control metal. Theoretically, as long as his cultivation level is sufficient, he can control any type of metal.

Chapter 51: Competition, Gathering, and Control?

But that was only in theory. Kong Tianxu knew that the bloodline of divine beasts was not as unattainable as it sounded.

Even if Xiao Hongchen were to achieve the ninth ring one day, if he were given a piece of Life Gold, or even an Ice Extreme Divine Crystal, he would probably be left staring blankly. This is a fundamental difference in their levels.

Thinking about all this, Kong Tianxu remained calm and, like Xiao Hongchen, took out two pieces of metal. One of them was titanium, a rare metal produced only by the Sun Moon Empire, known for its hardness. The other piece, however, was just ordinary iron essence, not even a rare metal.

Unlike Xiao Hongchen, who used the two mixed rare metals to create the core magic array while he was at his peak, Kong Tianxu started by creating the outer shell.

His hands flew across the screen with incredible speed as he skillfully pulled over the stamping device on the soul tool making table and began to create different shapes.