Xu Tianzhen blinked curiously, her gaze falling upon the god-locking ring that shimmered with faint, swirling light on the stone table.
She looked up at Xu Tianran and asked in a crisp voice, "Big Brother, how do you intend to deal with this Zhang Lexuan? We can't just keep her locked in this god-locking ring forever, right?"
Hearing this, Xu Tianran slowly replied, "I have already sent someone to notify Elder Kong immediately."
"Since it is highly likely that Zhang Lexuan is a descendant of Elder Kong, it is only reasonable and proper that we let Elder Kong see her first to confirm the bloodline connection before making any further plans."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Tianran turned his gaze to Xu Tianhao beside him, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry and expectation:
"Tianhao, if you were to use your Fourth Soul Skill, the moon reading space, how much confidence do you have right now?"
Xu Tianran did not spell it out completely, nor did he explicitly state what he wanted Xu Tianhao to do with his Spirit Ability.
But Poison Immortal, Xu Tianzhen, and even Xu Tianhao himself, who were present, understood perfectly well.
Xu Tianran's intention was obvious; he simply wanted to use Xu Tianhao's heaven-defying moon reading space to guide and reshape Zhang Lexuan on a mental level.
To subtly change her stance and cognition, making this top genius of Shrek willingly serve the Sun Moon Empire and become a major asset to the Sun Moon Empire.
It was a pity, however, that while the ideal was good, reality had insurmountable barriers.
Xu Tianhao calculated inwardly that while his moon reading space was indeed formidable, it was ultimately limited by his current strength.
He was currently only a level 44 Spirit Ancestor, and although his mental force far exceeded that of his peers and could even rival a Spirit Emperor,
the effect of the moon reading space would be greatly diminished, or even completely ineffective, when facing a Spirit Master whose cultivation was far higher than his own.
If Zhang Lexuan's mental force were not so strong, Xu Tianhao would have full confidence, even if she were a peak Spirit Emperor above level 60.
He could slowly guide her in the moon reading space, gradually dismantling her loyalty to Shrek and reshaping her values.
But as it happened, Zhang Lexuan was now a Quasi Soul Douluo with a cultivation of level 80, just one step away from becoming a Spirit Douluo.
Whether it was her spirit power foundation or the strength of her mental force, it was far beyond what the current Xu Tianhao could compare to.
With Xu Tianhao's current strength as a Spirit Ancestor, trying to forcibly drag Zhang Lexuan into the moon reading space and transform her was akin to striking a stone with an egg; it was simply impossible.
Understanding this in his heart, Xu Tianhao did not hide anything and spoke truthfully to Xu Tianran:
"Big Brother, with my current strength, the moon reading space is basically ineffective against Spirit Masters at the Spirit Saint level or above."
"Not to mention that Zhang Lexuan is already an 80th-level Quasi Soul Douluo; her mental force strength far exceeds mine. If I were to forcibly drag her into the space, I wouldn't be able to defeat her, let alone reshape her cognition."
After a brief pause, Xu Tianhao added, "However, Zhang Lexuan is now in our hands. Here, even if that group from the Sea Gods Pavilion were to come personally, it would be impossible for them to rescue her."
"We don't need to be in a rush. We can keep her properly detained for now, and it won't be too late to deal with her slowly after my strength increases and my mental force becomes powerful enough in the future."
Xu Tianran nodded slightly upon hearing this, with no hint of disappointment on his face; clearly, he had already anticipated this.
He smiled indifferently and said in a relaxed tone, "That's true, you are right; it's just a matter of time anyway."
"Anyway, Shrek has no concrete evidence. Even if they guess that Zhang Lexuan's disappearance is related to us,"
"without evidence, they wouldn't dare to come and demand her release openly, let alone provoke a conflict between the two nations."
Xu Tianran had full confidence in this. He was certain that his actions this time were clean and swift, and he would never leave any traces that Shrek could follow.
Back at the scene, the process of them engaging with Zhang Lexuan and taking her away had taken only a few short minutes—a quick, decisive victory without any hesitation or messiness.
To avoid exposing his identity, Poison Immortal hadn't even used his signature life-bound poison, leaving not a single trace or aura throughout the entire process.
Furthermore, before leaving the scene, Xu Tianran had specifically and meticulously tidied up the battlefield, deliberately leaving behind some eerie traces of an Evil Soul Master's handiwork.
In this way, even if Shrek were to investigate with all their might, the first subjects of their suspicion would be those Evil Soul Masters who acted in secret and committed all kinds of evil.
In any case, they would not directly suspect the Sun Moon Empire.
It could be said that as long as they didn't proactively leak information, Zhang Lexuan could be kept in their hands indefinitely, becoming the most crucial chess piece they held.
Taking a step back, even if they couldn't make Zhang Lexuan submit to the Sun Moon Empire,
permanently imprisoning this top genius, whom Shrek pinned their hopes on, was equivalent to crippling a future pillar of Shrek and severing an arm of Shrek's younger generation.
No matter how one calculated it, the Sun Moon Empire was guaranteed to profit without any losses.
Just as everyone was talking, the figure of Kong Deming walked into the courtyard.
For some time now, Kong Deming had been immersed in the Spirit Guidance Research Institute, wholeheartedly studying spirit guidance technology.
Because of those wild yet highly feasible, ingenious ideas that Xu Tianhao frequently proposed,
Kong Deming had achieved major breakthroughs one after another in his research in the field of spirit guidance, successively overcoming several difficult problems that had plagued the spirit guidance world for decades.
His entire mental state now appeared exceptionally excited.
Upon suddenly hearing that when Xu Tianran returned from his outing, he had actually brought his, the Kong Family's, descendant Zhang Lexuan back to the Sun Moon Empire,
Kong Deming immediately put down the vital spirit guidance research in his hands, without a moment's delay, and hurried from the Spirit Guidance Research Institute to the Eastern Palace.
Seeing Kong Deming arrive, the four of them—Xu Tianran, Xu Tianhao, Xu Tianzhen, and Poison Immortal—all stood up to salute him.
"Teacher." Xu Tianhao spoke respectfully.
"Elder Kong." Xu Tianran and Xu Tianzhen called out in unison.
"Brother Kong." Poison Immortal also nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Kong Deming waved his hand, signaling that there was no need for formalities; his mind was now completely filled with information about Zhang Lexuan.
Kong Deming's gaze landed directly on Xu Tianran, and he asked straightforwardly:
"Your Highness, no need for formalities. Tell me quickly, what is the specific situation?"
"That child, Zhang Lexuan, has she really been brought back by you?"
Seeing this, Xu Tianran did not dawdle any longer and recounted how he had encountered Zhang Lexuan, who was fighting a fierce battle with a Spirit Beast and had been seriously injured, while he was out obtaining his eighth soul ring.
He detailed without reservation how he had subdued her, brought her back to the Sun Moon Empire, and his intention to recruit her to serve the Sun Moon Empire, explaining everything to Kong Deming in detail.
After listening to Xu Tianran's complete account, Kong Deming was silent for a moment, a trace of complex emotion flashing through his cloudy eyes.
Kong Deming took the porcelain bottle handed over by Xu Tianran, which contained Zhang Lexuan's fresh blood.
Taking the blood, Kong Deming immediately began testing it with his own bloodline.