Hearing Ditian's question, Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong exchanged a glance before nodding.
"You may think of it that way," they replied.
Ditian continued:
"Letting them leave was a wise choice. With those two Ultimate Douluo present, I couldn't lend you a hand. And as for the remaining two evil soul masters—even in your previous state, dealing with them would not have been so simple."
Jiang Shengyu inclined his head in agreement.
After Zhongli Wu had devoured all those Titled Douluo, his strength had already surpassed Du Busi's—making him the human closest to becoming an Ultimate Douluo in the world.
Adding Feng Ling to the equation, even the God of Destiny would have struggled to cope.
What's more, their soul power wasn't enough to sustain the martial soul fusion for too long.
The duration of their fusion depended solely on their total reserves of soul power. As long as they had soul power, they could maintain it indefinitely—but once depleted, the fusion would end.
"Even so," Jiang Qingtong reflected aloud, "the Holy Spirit Cult has lost at least seventy Soul Saints and Soul Douluo, plus more than ten Titled Douluo. Even their Vice-Cult Master, Feng Ling, is gravely wounded. With such devastating losses, they won't be flaunting their power again anytime soon."
Ditian shook his head.
"Your human evil soul masters are of no concern to me. As long as you're safe, that's enough. I'll be leaving."
Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong immediately bowed.
"Safe travels, Senior."
From start to finish, Ditian never once spared Xiao Hongchen or Meng Hongchen a glance.
And the siblings were all too glad—few could face the Beast God, Ditian, with the calmness of Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong.
Only after Ditian's departure did Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen breathe freely again.
Gasping, Xiao Hongchen exclaimed:
"Good heavens, that scared me half to death! I almost lost control of my flying soul tool and dropped out of the sky!"
Seeing his shaken state, Jiang Qingtong suggested gently:
"Why don't we land for a while?"
"Qingtong, you're the thoughtful one." Xiao Hongchen nodded quickly. The four of them descended and found a place to rest.
Holding Jiang Qingtong's hand, Meng Hongchen asked in bewilderment:
"Tell us quickly—how do you even know the Beast God, Ditian? For him to actually help humans against humans—that's unheard of! Isn't this terribly dangerous for you?"
Even now, her first thought was for Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong's safety.
Jiang Qingtong shook her head softly, reassuring her.
It was best for her to explain.
When Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen heard how Jiang Qingtong had encountered Ditian in the Star Dou Forest, and, by revealing her uniqueness, managed to forge an alliance with the ferocious beasts, both were stunned—their eyes full of disbelief.
Xiao Hongchen stared blankly at her.
"You're not trying to trick us by claiming to be some gods reborn, are you?"
Hearing that, Jiang Qingtong looked at him with a mix of fondness and exasperation.
"Brother Hongchen, if we really were gods reborn, do you think we'd waste our time tricking you? Wouldn't it make more sense to go deceive the true big shots instead?"
The moment she finished, Xiao Hongchen clutched his chest dramatically, groaning in pain.
"It's over! Little Qingtong's growing up more and more like that brat Jiang Shengyu! Qingtong, you mustn't become like him—there's nothing cute about that at all!"
"I don't see anything wrong with Qingtong being like Shengyu," Meng Hongchen muttered from the side.
"How could that be okay!" Xiao Hongchen protested, shaking his head.
"If she turns out like that brat, Qingtong will just attract more and more people in the future!"
"And what's so bad about that?" Meng Hongchen retorted.
"Of course that's bad!" Xiao Hongchen blurted.
At those words, Jiang Shengyu, Jiang Qingtong, and Meng Hongchen all turned to stare at him. Jiang Shengyu's eyes were shadowed, carrying even a trace of danger.
Xiao Hongchen coughed hastily, backpedaling:
"Cough—cough—I meant, the more people, the more troublesome it gets! Just look at that Shrek brat!"
"You mean Beibei?" Jiang Qingtong arched her brow.
"He's Mu En's great-great-grandson."
Xiao Hongchen nodded solemnly.
"Exactly. A Shrek grandson. Did I say anything wrong?"
Jiang Shengyu: "…"
Jiang Qingtong: "…"
Meng Hongchen sighed helplessly.
"All right, this place isn't safe. Let's rest a bit, then head back quickly. We've been gone so long—Grandfather and Lord Silvermoon must be worried sick."
The others all agreed.
To Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen, the four of them were more important than the advancement of soul tools. With their talent, each of them was destined to become a Super Douluo, and Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong might even one day step into the realm of the Ultimate Douluo.
If the four of them rose to power, the Sun Moon Empire and Mingde Hall would surely surpass Shrek Academy—whether in soul tool development or in soul masters themselves.
The Hongchen siblings returned the ninth-rank soul tools to Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong. After a short rest, they set out once more for the Sun Moon Empire. Xiao Hongchen insisted on taking the lead, placing the Jiang siblings behind him protectively—even though he knew they were stronger than him.
It wasn't until they crossed into Sun Moon Empire territory and boarded the soul train bound for Mingdu that they finally relaxed.
Seizing a moment, Jiang Shengyu pulled Xiao Hongchen to the space between two carriages and asked in a low voice:
"What did you mean by that?"
"Mean by what?" Xiao Hongchen still hadn't caught on.
Jiang Shengyu clenched his fist.
"Qingtong. What else could I mean?"
Realization dawned on Xiao Hongchen. He cleared his throat, glanced back into the carriage, then whispered:
"Look, I'm doing this for us. You know as well as I do about Shrek's sneaky little moves."
Jiang Shengyu narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"So?"
"Well, my sister likes you, right? And I think Qingtong's great too. We've grown up together, she's beautiful, and me—I'm not bad either, right? Here's how I see it: from now on, you and I are equals. I'll call you brother, you call me brother. How about it?"
He even clapped a hand on Jiang Shengyu's shoulder, speaking with mock sincerity.
The moment he finished, Jiang Shengyu stepped back—and kicked him squarely on the backside.
"Ow!"
Xiao Hongchen yelped, clutching his rear.
"What was that for!?"
Jiang Shengyu cracked his knuckles.
"I treated you like a brother, and you dare set your sights on Qingtong!?"
Xiao Hongchen protested:
"I was just thinking, why let benefits flow to outsiders? You'd really stomach those Shrek brats becoming your brother-in-law!?"
"Enough nonsense. Take this!" Jiang Shengyu ignored him and swung a fist straight at his face.
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