Douluo Dalu 2: The True God King

Among the crowd, next to a middle-aged man, the figures of a man and a woman were particularly eye-catching.

Su Yu recognized them immediately; they were none other than Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, the siblings he had met before.

Seeing them, Su Yu instantly understood that today's match wasn't just some low-level students fooling around. It seemed likely that the participants were members of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. No wonder this match was being specially broadcasted.

As Su Yu noticed the two, Meng Hongchen casually glanced toward the entrance and immediately lit up. Su Yu's white hair and blue eyes made him too conspicuous to forget. Naturally, Meng Hongchen recognized him at once.

She said something to the middle-aged man beside her, then walked toward Su Yu and Wang Dong.

"Nice to see you again, junior," Meng Hongchen said with a gentle smile, her bright eyes scanning Su Yu.

"Nice to see you again, Senior Meng," Su Yu smiled slightly and nodded toward her. He had a good impression of her.

Standing next to Su Yu, Wang Dong scrutinized Meng Hongchen's soft, pure appearance, looking slightly confused, as if asking, Do you know her?

Su Yu smiled and said, "Wang Dong, this is Senior Meng Hongchen. She's a member of Illustrious Virtue Hall."

"Meng-senpai, this is my roommate Wang Dong, a freshman this year."

"Hello, Wang Dong. Nice to meet you," Meng Hongchen smiled warmly at the handsome Wang Dong.

Wang Dong and Su Yu had different kinds of charm, but both were undeniably good-looking. Meng Hongchen appreciated good looks. Although she wasn't as infatuated as in the original story, she still had a favorable first impression.

"Hello."

Wang Dong nodded politely, though not warmly. It was just surface-level courtesy. Wang Dong looked like a boy but inside...

So, this reaction was quite normal.

Meng Hongchen, aware of Wang Dong's distant politeness, didn't take it to heart. She was more interested in Su Yu. His aloof demeanor was more attractive to young girls than one might expect.

"Junior, I didn't get your name last time."

Meng Hongchen gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling with her eyes.

Su Yu feigned apologetically and said, "I was careless and forgot to tell you, Senior. My name is Su Yu."

"Su... Yu!"

Meng Hongchen repeated his name and suddenly remembered something.

"You're the one with the highest freshman soul level, Su Yu, right?"

Meng Hongchen said, realization dawning on her.

"Looks like Senior has done some research on me," Su Yu said with a half-smile.

At this, Meng Hongchen's face flushed slightly. She couldn't help it; she had indeed checked the list.

"Hey, who's my sister talking to?"

Not far away, Xiao Hongchen noticed that Meng Hongchen hadn't returned and was deep in conversation with someone. His curiosity piqued, and he walked over.

As he approached and saw things more clearly, his gaze locked onto Su Yu.

"You rascal, finally, I've found you!"

Xiao Hongchen gritted his teeth, striding angrily toward Su Yu and the others.

"Rascal, do you remember me?"

Xiao Hongchen growled, looking ready to settle scores, his eyes flashing with dangerous intent.

"Brother?"

Meng Hongchen was startled and quickly grabbed Xiao Hongchen's arm. "Brother, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to settle the score with this rascal. You're quite the player, aren't you?"

Xiao Hongchen glared at Su Yu, hands on his hips as if he were about to devour someone.

"You know him?"

Wang Dong frowned and looked at Su Yu.

Su Yu shrugged.

"No relation. Never met him."

"You... fine, fine! You want to deny it, huh? Don't blame me for being rude!"

Xiao Hongchen said, rolling up his sleeves, ready to fight.

Meng Hongchen quickly held him back again.

"Don't stop me, Meng! I have to teach this guy a lesson. He called me ugly!"

Xiao Hongchen couldn't stand it. How could he be ugly?

"Isn't Su Yu just stating a fact? You're not ugly?"

Wang Dong asked, puzzled. Wasn't it just the truth?

"You little brat, what did you say?"

Now Xiao Hongchen was truly triggered. It was one thing for Su Yu to insult him, but now Wang Dong too? That was too much!

"Fine, fine! If I don't teach you both a lesson today, I'll stop calling myself Xiao Hongchen!"

"Meng, let me go! I need to teach them a lesson about life. At the very least, people shouldn't lie through their teeth, right?"

Xiao Hongchen struggled and broke free from Meng Hongchen's grip. The next moment, he reached out to Wang Dong.

Su Yu frowned, stepped forward, and with a light pull and a press, pinned Xiao Hongchen to the ground.

Meng Hongchen: Σ(д|||) Wang Dong: (=^▽^=) Xiao Hongchen: ヽ(#`Д)ノ

Xiao Hongchen was stunned at first, but his anger flared as he continued to struggle. Despite using all his strength, Su Yu held him down effortlessly with one hand.

"Such brute strength!"

No matter how hard Xiao Hongchen tried, he couldn't break free, his face turning green. Meng Hongchen, recalling the information she had seen earlier, suddenly understood. Su Yu's physical strength was at the level of a Soul Sage. How could her brother possibly win in a contest of strength?

"Let go of me! Let me go!"

Xiao Hongchen struggled furiously.

"If I let you go just because you asked, wouldn't I lose face?"

Su Yu replied casually.

"If you don't let go, I'll get really angry. And when I'm angry, even I'm scared of myself," Xiao Hongchen attempted to threaten Su Yu.

"Oh, I'm terrified," Su Yu said mockingly.

"Do you... do you know who I am?"

"Education knows no class distinction."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I don't care who you are when I'm teaching you a lesson."

Su Yu raised an eyebrow and, with one hand, pressed down on Xiao Hongchen's shoulder, locking him firmly to the ground. At such close range, Xiao Hongchen couldn't even use his soul tools.

That was the weakness of soul engineers—when it came to close combat, they were far inferior to soul masters. Soul engineers needed to maintain a certain distance to pose the greatest threat.

"Meng, my dear sister..."

Realizing he couldn't break free, Xiao Hongchen began calling for his sister.

Meng Hongchen: "..."

Brother, you insisted on picking a fight, and now that you're getting beaten, you suddenly remember me?

Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes but, seeing no other choice decided to help her foolish brother.

Moreover, more and more people were gathering. If this continued, Xiao Hongchen would lose face completely.

"Su Yu, the match is about to start. Please let go of my brother," Meng Hongchen said, her eyes showing a hint of pleading.

Su Yu thought for a moment. It wouldn't be wise to push things too far—this was Jing Hongchen's turf, after all. If Xiao Hongchen had been thoroughly humiliated, Jing Hongchen might not have taken it lightly.

"Alright, for Senior Meng's sake, I'll let you off this time."

Su Yu released his grip, and Xiao Hongchen quickly scrambled to his feet, retreating several steps. He glared defiantly at Su Yu.

"Do you dare face me one-on-one like a real man?"

"Come a little closer and say that," Su Yu gestured with his hand.

"I won't! I'll say it from here. Don't change the subject—do you dare or not?"

"I want a duel with you!"

Having lost face once again, Xiao Hongchen naturally wanted to redeem himself.

"Brother, stop fooling around, or I'll tell Grandpa," Meng Hongchen pouted, giving Xiao Hongchen a stern look.

Xiao Hongchen clutched his chest dramatically.

"Meng, my dear sister! I'm your real brother!"

"And yet, you're siding with an outsider? You're breaking your brother's heart!"

"Well, it's your fault, Brother. You're a senior. How can you bully new students?"

"If everyone acted like you, the academy's atmosphere would be ruined."

Meng Hongchen puffed up her cheeks, speaking seriously.

"Who's bullying whom? Meng, be reasonable."

"It's him who's bullying me. They're ganging up on me."

Xiao Hongchen's eyes filled with grief as he looked at his sister, presenting a picture-perfect image of a wronged soul.

Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes gracefully.

"Brother, cut it out."

"You have a match today. If you don't hurry, you'll be late."

"And you don't want Ma Rulong and the others to look down on you, do you?"

Her final line—"You don't want..."—was enough to shut down whatever Xiao Hongchen was going to say.

"Hmph, you're lucky today. Next time, I'll show you the true strength of Xiao Hongchen."

Xiao Hongchen threw out a parting remark and walked away to prepare for his match.

At this point, Wang Dong leaned in close to Su Yu's ear.

"Where did this weirdo even come from?"

"You'll get used to it," Su Yu chuckled, then looked at Meng Hongchen.

"Su Yu, don't take it to heart. My brother is just like that—jumpy and excitable, but he means no harm," Meng Hongchen said, a little embarrassed.

"I understand. We didn't take it personally," Su Yu reassured her.

Only then did Meng Hongchen smile, her expression brightening.

"Let's find a seat. The match is about to start."

"Mm!"

Su Yu nodded.

Meng Hongchen led the way, with Su Yu and Wang Dong following behind.

"Hey, are you close with this sister?"

Wang Dong nudged Su Yu, his light blue eyes staring at him.

"We've only met once."

Su Yu replied casually.

"Really?"

Wang Dong sounded skeptical.

"Of course, otherwise, why wouldn't she even know my name?"

Su Yu shrugged.

"True."

Wang Dong thought for a moment and found it reasonable, so he didn't press further.

The two followed Meng Hongchen and sat in the middle of the second row. The seats were excellent, providing a clear view of the combat in the square.

"There are two matches today. One is between my brother and Mi Jia. The other is between Lin Xi and Li Yan."

"They're all fifth-level soul engineers, including my brother. I believe today's matches will give you a lot of insights."

"If I'm not mistaken, both of you are soul masters, right? You're probably not too familiar with how soul engineers fight."

Meng Hongchen looked at them as she spoke.

Su Yu nodded, not denying it.

Wang Dong also tacitly agreed. Indeed, neither of them had much experience fighting against soul engineers.

"At the same level, we soul engineers are much stronger than soul masters," Meng Hongchen said confidently.

Wang Dong frowned, feeling a bit displeased, but said nothing.

Su Yu, however, remained calm, his expression unreadable.

"Senior Meng, if I'm not mistaken, these participants are all from Illustrious Virtue Hall, right?"

Su Yu asked.

"Yes, they are all elite members of Illustrious Virtue Hall. They reached the fifth level as soul engineers before the age of twenty. They're all geniuses," Meng Hongchen replied.

Su Yu nodded. No wonder their names sounded familiar.

It seemed these people were part of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy team that would participate in next year's All-Continent Soul Master Tournament.

Now, his suspicions were confirmed.

However, in the original story, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy team suffered heavy casualties. Three of their seven official members died, and yet Shrek Academy showed no remorse.

But when Ma Xiaotao's evil fire erupted, Shrek Academy used their strength to intimidate others, forcibly seizing the Judgment Sword.

To say that Shrek Academy followed the rules was nonsense. They bent the rules to their benefit whenever it suited them.

So what if three students had died? Shrek had one experiencing an evil fire outbreak!

No wonder Jing Hongchen later set up Shrek Academy, using the Holy Spirit Cult to abduct Ma Xiaotao.

In the end, Shrek Academy had it coming.

If Su Yu had been on the Sun Moon team and his teammates had died, Shrek Academy wouldn't have walked away unscathed.

But that was all part of the original story. This time, he was here.

Shrek Academy, prepare for a reckoning.

While Su Yu was lost in thought, a transparent shield rose over the square, enclosing it completely.

This was a linked defense system made up of multiple defensive soul tools, requiring only one person to control the entire system.

Just this feature alone was something the three nations of the original Douluo Continent couldn't achieve.

As the shield finished rising, two figures entered the square.

One of them was instantly recognizable—Xiao Hongchen.

The other was a young man with a gentle demeanor.

"Senior Meng, who do you think will win?"

Su Yu asked, glancing at her.

In some ways, Meng Hongchen's strength surpassed Xiao Hongchen's.

Her poison was extremely troublesome, and her proficiency with soul tools was no less than her brother's.

"It's hard to say. My brother's soul engineering skills are indeed at the fifth level, but his cultivation is only at the forty-ninth rank, a Soul Ancestor."

"Mi Jia, on the other hand, is a solid fifth-level soul engineer with the cultivation of a Soul King."

"Still, my brother has a unique talent with soul tools, so the outcome is uncertain."

"Of course, I'm rooting for my brother to win."