"I've long heard that Marquis Qi Lin is a rare prodigy among the younger generation. Now that I've met you in person, your reputation is truly well-deserved."
Tang Yuehua praised Qi Lin with a gentle tone that made her compliments feel genuinely pleasant.
"Heh, am I really that famous now?" Qi Lin replied with a laugh.
Qian Renxue chuckled. "Brother Qi Lin, you might not realize just how valuable a thirteen-year-old Soul King truly is."
"To put it plainly, there's no one on the continent whose talent can match yours."
"That Clear Sky Douluo reached the rank of Titled Douluo at age forty-four and was hailed as the youngest Titled Douluo in history."
"But in my opinion, in another ten or twenty years, that title will likely belong to you, Brother Qi Lin."
Tang Hao is the youngest Titled Douluo?
Qi Lin raised an eyebrow. Hearing this from Qian Renxue made him want to laugh.
On the side, Tang Yuehua's beautiful eyes tightened slightly upon hearing that.
She hadn't expected the conversation to steer toward her second brother.
But considering Qi Lin's terrifying talent, it really wasn't impossible that he might surpass even her eldest brother—and the current Pope, Bibi Dong.
While it was widely believed that Tang Hao was the youngest Titled Douluo, the upper echelons of the Three Great Sects knew the truth.
The actual youngest Titled Douluo... was Bibi Dong, the current Pope of Spirit Hall!
No one knew the exact age at which Bibi Dong broke through, but it definitely wasn't past forty.
After the brief exchange of pleasantries, Qi Lin gave a simple introduction of Gu Yuena to the three visitors.
Soon after, Qian Renxue shifted the topic to the soul tool Qi Lin had developed.
"Brother Qi Lin once said he had some expertise in soul tools. Is this something you built yourself?"
"What exactly does it do?"
She asked the question casually, more out of curiosity than expectation. After all, most soul tools circulating on the continent were for daily use or storage.
Combat-type soul tools were practically nonexistent.
And the rare ones that did surface had extremely limited power.
Qi Lin smiled and levitated his sleek, futuristic-looking soul tool into the air, giving everyone a full view of the cannon-like device.
Then, with a touch of pride, he began his explanation.
"This soul cannon has a barrel diameter of thirty-six centimeters and a length of 1.2 meters. It allows the injection of soul power to fire explosive energy shells."
Qian Renxue's eyes lit up.
"Brother Qi Lin, are you saying this is an attack-type soul tool?"
Qi Lin nodded.
That immediately piqued her interest. "How powerful is it?"
"Hmm..." Qi Lin paused for a moment, then said, "I haven't tested it yet, but based on the specs, it shouldn't be weak."
"That's easy enough to verify. Just give it a try!" Qian Renxue smiled.
"Alright!"
"I'll test it now!"
Qi Lin stepped outside, carrying the dazzling golden-silver cannon. He aimed at a massive boulder two to three hundred meters away and injected his soul power into the cannon.
A brilliant golden energy sphere shot forth from the barrel, its glow blinding and majestic.
In the next moment, the golden energy ball struck the distant boulder.
BOOM!
The enormous rock exploded into countless shards on impact.
Dust billowed into the air. Shockwaves rippled outward, and the overwhelming soul power fluctuations caused Qian Renxue's expression to tighten. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"This power..."
Now a Soul Emperor, Qian Renxue couldn't help but swallow hard.
She had a feeling that if she had switched places with that rock, she probably wouldn't have survived the blast.
Did that mean... Qi Lin's soul tool could pose a threat even to a Soul Saint?
She wasn't the only one stunned—Xue Ke and Tang Yuehua were just as shocked.
Tang Yuehua managed to keep her composure, but Xue Ke stood there with her mouth wide open, her face full of surprise.
Even Gu Yuena's eyes revealed a hint of astonishment.
Seeing everyone's reactions, Qi Lin felt a great sense of achievement. He smiled. "Not bad, huh?"
"Brother Qi Lin, this is more than just 'not bad'!" Qian Renxue exclaimed.
She was already starting to regret bringing Tang Yuehua along. If she had known Qi Lin's invention was this powerful, she would have come alone.
Now Tang Yuehua also knew about it.
Qian Renxue wanted to ask whether the soul cannon could be mass-produced.
That was a crucial detail. If a soul tool with this kind of power could be replicated on a large scale, even Titled Douluo would be at risk.
But with Tang Yuehua still present, she tactfully changed the subject.
Tang Yuehua, quick-witted as ever, could guess the thoughts of this "Crown Prince" and didn't bring it up either.
Still, looking at the seemingly laid-back young man before her, she couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
If this news got out... who knew what kind of storm it would cause?
Is it really wise for San to make an enemy of such a genius?
Compared to the rude and unrefined students of Shrek Academy, Qi Lin was a total blowout victory.
As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red; one who stays near ink gets stained black."
Tang Yuehua could already tell: the conflict between Tang San and Qi Lin wasn't as simple as her second brother made it seem.
Though their interaction had been brief, she could see that Qi Lin wasn't the type to go looking for trouble.
After Qian Renxue and her party left, Gu Yuena glanced at him with a teasing smile.
"Looks like the Crown Prince wasn't wrong. You really are popular with girls!"
Qi Lin spread his hands innocently.
"Hey, I was born this way!"
He had already noticed earlier that Xue Ke looked at him like a fangirl seeing her idol.
More than that, Qi Lin could also sense something deeper.
Qian Renxue seemed to be deliberately trying to match him up with Xue Ke—and she clearly wasn't the type to care about sharing her man.
In fact, her bringing Xue Ke with her today likely had that very intention.
To her, someone as monstrously gifted as Qi Lin was someone worth drawing close by any means necessary.
And she had already figured out his one big weakness—
Or rather… his preference.
Because Qi Lin made it way too obvious. Wherever he went, there were always beautiful girls around him.
Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Gu Yuena... and now there were even rumors within the academy that he had an unclear relationship with Dugu Yan.
Qi Lin had this soft spot—and Qian Renxue fully intended to exploit it.