Jiang Shengyu shook his head and corrected:
"Strictly speaking, Ditian is not my protector. Between us, it's more of a cooperative relationship."
Jing Hongchen drew in a deep breath, his voice filled with shock:
"Even so, it's still unbelievable! I never imagined that the King of the Star Dou Great Forest would actually cooperate with a human!"
"After all, what I'm doing—once successful—will only benefit soul beasts, not harm them." Jiang Shengyu smiled as he spoke to the two of them.
Both nodded in agreement, but Kong Deming still warned:
"Even so, Ditian is ultimately the Beast God. What he values above all else are the interests of the soul beasts! Working with him, you must remain cautious."
Jiang Shengyu nodded.
"Mm, I understand."
Though he said he would be careful, Kong Deming still felt uneasy. He said:
"No, I should still provide you with a few more ninth-rank soul tools! This ambush from the Holy Spirit Cult reminded me—your defensive capabilities are still too limited! The two of you from the Hongchen family should also carry more with you when you go out!"
Hearing that equipment distribution also included himself, Xiao Hongchen blinked and subconsciously asked:
"Do we even have that much stock?"
After all, just Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong together already carried twenty ninth-rank soul tools. Adding in those with Huo Yuhao, the total reached twenty-five! That was probably enough to clean out nearly all of the defensive-type ninth-rank soul tools the Sun Moon Empire currently possessed.
If not for Kong Deming's immense authority within the royal court and the empire, such behavior—parading so many ninth-rank soul tools around at Shrek Academy—would long ago have been condemned as "arming the enemy."
But come on—who set up the defensive array linkage?
It was Kong Deming himself! The man closest to becoming a tenth-rank soul engineer in the entire Douluo Continent. With defensive arrays personally configured by him, apart from beings like Ditian or the Silver Dragon King—existences that were simply beyond reason—who could possibly break through?
Jing Hongchen shook his head.
"There's no stock left. Even the ninth-rank soul tools Shengyu and Qingtong obtained later were forged only because Teacher had several other ninth-rank soul engineers working overtime."
Mingde Hall had always had a limited reserve of defensive ninth-rank soul tools. Coupled with technological advancements, many devices once considered ninth-rank centuries ago had long since been downgraded to eighth, even seventh-rank.
"Overtime, huh… tsk, those poor guys." Xiao Hongchen sighed, feeling a little sympathy for those ninth-rank soul engineers.
"Don't let them hear you say that," Jing Hongchen cautioned him.
Xiao Hongchen bobbed his head quickly.
"Of course. Saying that in front of those venerable masters? I'd just be asking for a beating."
While Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen busied themselves seeking help from other ninth-rank soul engineers to produce more defensive soul tools, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen also had their own tasks. Before they parted, Jiang Shengyu suddenly called out to Kong Deming.
"Teacher! I have another matter concerning the Holy Spirit Cult to tell you."
Kong Deming looked at him.
"What is it?"
"Crown Prince Xu Tiannan is working with the Holy Spirit Cult." Jiang Shengyu said directly.
As Jiang Shengyu expected, Kong Deming was not especially surprised upon hearing this. He merely nodded.
"I already knew."
"Teacher, when did you find out?" Jiang Shengyu frowned, puzzled.
Kong Deming replied:
"Because of his frail body, Xu Tiannan's position as crown prince was never stable. Some ministers once opposed his succession, but afterward, a number of those ministers conveniently died. The Emperor did order investigations, but nothing was ever uncovered."
"It was the Holy Spirit Cult?" Jiang Shengyu immediately grasped the implication.
Kong Deming inclined his head.
"Though at that time I did not yet know of the Holy Spirit Cult's existence, I could already confirm that Xu Tiannan was secretly cooperating with a powerful organization! To prevent the Emperor from growing suspicious of him, Xu Tiannan even eliminated one or two ministers who had supported him."
At this, Jiang Shengyu frowned deeply, inwardly repulsed by such methods.
While he was still pondering this with furrowed brows, Kong Deming continued:
"In fact, Xu Tiannan once approached both myself and your senior brother. But at that time, all of my focus was on you and Qingtong, so I rejected him."
Jiang Shengyu suddenly understood, nodding in realization.
So it was because of his and Jiang Qingtong's arrival that Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen never had to consider cooperating with the Holy Spirit Cult in hopes of securing a future.
"Fortunately, with the heavy losses the Holy Spirit Cult suffered this time, they won't be able to stir up trouble again anytime soon." Kong Deming patted Jiang Shengyu's shoulder. "Well done."
Jiang Shengyu grinned.
"As the disciple of the greatest ninth-rank soul engineer in the world, of course I had to handle things beautifully!"
"You brat…" Kong Deming chuckled and scolded lightly at his display.
After Jiang Shengyu departed, Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen walked side by side toward Mingde Hall's secret underground research facility. Staring straight ahead, Kong Deming said calmly:
"I've watched Shengyu and Qingtong grow up from childhood. Though they are my disciples, in my eyes they are like my grandchildren."
Jing Hongchen nodded.
"I know. Teacher's care for the two of them—I've seen it clearly."
"It makes little difference to me who sits on the Sun Moon Empire's throne. But Xu Tiannan's one unforgivable mistake was trying to scheme against those two!" Kong Deming's voice dropped, heavy with intent.
At the mention of this, Jing Hongchen's expression also darkened. After all, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had also been targeted in the ambush. If Jiang Shengyu hadn't summoned the Beast God Ditian to turn the tide, who knew how disastrous the outcome might have been?
"But within the imperial clan's close bloodline, Xu Tiannan has already cleared out almost everyone over these years." Jing Hongchen reminded.
"There will always be someone left to find. This matter, I leave to you. Whatever resources you need, tell me. I'll provide them." Kong Deming said evenly.
Jing Hongchen bowed his head.
"Understood."
Elsewhere, Jiang Qingtong and Huo Yuhao caught up with the departing Du Bushi. She waved and called out cheerfully:
"Senior!"
The Poison Immortal turned his head at the crisp call, looking back.
"So it's you—the brat's little sister? What are you doing here?"
"I came to apologize to Senior! For Yuhao's sake, please don't stay angry!" Jiang Qingtong said with a smile, pulling Huo Yuhao forward as she spoke.
As the saying goes, one does not strike at a smiling face. Coupled with the little girl's good-natured attitude, Du Bushi only snorted.
"Hmph. This old man isn't so unreasonable. Why would I be angry at you, little lass? Did your brother send you here?"
Jiang Qingtong shook her head.
"No, I brought Yuhao here myself."
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