Ice Empress was too lazy to move; she was truly exhausted. Only now did she realize that being proactive was also so tiring. She really didn't know why that guy always acted as if nothing had happened. But it didn't matter, her anger had subsided. Hmph, he even deliberately tried to snatch it, right? And directly carried her away, right? In the end, wasn't she the one who truly got to enjoy him?
As she thought about it, Ice Empress's mood inexplicably improved. She reached out and pulled over the pillow the certain someone had slept on, hugging it tightly to her chest. Breathing in the reassuring, familiar scent, she quickly fell back into a deep sleep. Kong Mingan looked at Ice Empress, who had fallen asleep in seconds, a hint of helplessness on his face.
Getting up, Kong Mingan dressed neatly and quietly left the room. Glancing at the time, Kong Mingan was about to go find Xiao Hongchen to see the results of his work during this period. However, he hadn't gone far when the first person to seek him out was one of the Team Leader Teachers from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Elder Ma. "Young Master Kong."
Elder Ma's attitude was exceptionally respectful. He went straight to the point: "The discussion meeting is about to begin. Young Miss Meng instructed me to inform you."
.
"A meeting?"
"It's a meeting with Star Luo Empire."
Pushing open the conference room door, Kong Mingan walked behind Elder Ma and entered the conference hall rather casually. As soon as he entered, the conversations within the hall immediately fell silent. Gaze after gaze converged, most of them falling on Elder Ma, who was in front of him to draw attention, and a small portion on himself. Kong Mingan's expression remained normal, his eyes casually sweeping across the entire room. On the left side, seated in the main position was a young girl with deep purple hair. Behind her, several officials and elders sat upright, their gazes slightly scrutinizing. On the right side, it was more familiar: several Rank 9 Soul Engineers from the Sun Moon Hall of Worship whom he had met a few times, as well as Young Miss Meng seated behind them, and Your Highness the Princess who had come to watch the excitement.
With numerous gazes converging on him, Kong Mingan didn't speak. He casually walked to an empty seat in the back row on the Sun Moon side and sat down, his posture relaxed, looking like someone who had come to observe and watch the show.
The gazes of the crowd slightly retracted, no longer paying too much attention to Kong Mingan. After all, he looked too young; he didn't seem like someone who could preside over matters. They probably thought he was just here to observe.
As soon as Kong Mingan sat down, Xu Tianzhen, who was beside him, moved her chair, preparing to lean over, but was stopped by a glance from Meng Hongchen, who was seated in front. Pouting, Xu Tianzhen reluctantly straightened her body, but she was still secretly inching her stool closer.
Kong Mingan looked up at the deep-purple-haired girl in the main seat of the opposing party and recognized her identity: Star Luo Princess, Xu Jiujiu.
Not long ago, in the handling of that assassination attempt, she was one of the bystanders. He didn't expect to meet her here again.
His gaze did not linger. Kong Mingan retracted his sight, his eyelids slightly lowered, his attention focused on the "Spiritual Pivot Network" interface before him. Not long ago, he had been pulled into a temporarily created group chat, which included all the important members of the Sun Moon faction present.
"Meng Hongchen": Everyone is here, the meeting can begin.
After the message was sent, Elder Ma, who was seated in the main position to draw attention, straightened his body slightly. Then, facing the Star Luo side, he spoke in a deep voice: "Since all personnel from both sides are present, let the meeting begin."
Opposite, Xu Jiujiu nodded slightly. After a brief adjustment of her breathing, she spoke with graceful poise: "Today, I have invited all of you here to discuss a matter concerning whether a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship can be established between my Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire…"
Xu Jiujiu began to elaborate on the Star Luo Empire's intentions and initial ideas, her voice clear and articulate. Only her voice echoed in the conference hall. The Sun Moon Everyone listened in silence, their faces showing little emotion. After a long while, Xu Jiujiu finished speaking and quietly waited for a response, her heart inevitably feeling uneasy.
This cooperation discussion had actually been planned for a long time, but initially, the Star Luo Empire only held a probing attitude and wasn't as serious as they were this time.
There was no other way; the situation on the Douluo Continent had changed too rapidly recently. The stable situation that had lasted for thousands of years suddenly shifted. Now, Star Luo, seemingly peaceful, was actually surrounded by enemies. Previously, the increasing pressure from the combined forces of the Body Sect, Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce, and Heavenly Soul Empire, although seemingly fine for the time being, prompted Star Luo to proactively seek reliable allies to prevent future troubles. On the Douluo Continent, there were only three choices for allies: first, Shrek Academy, but unfortunately, Shrek itself had been embroiled in continuous turmoil recently and consistently declared that it would not interfere in imperial affairs, so it had to be excluded. Second, the Douling Empire, though the weakest of the three Empires, still possessed profound foundations; however, their attitude was ambiguous, explicitly stating neutrality and appearing unwilling to help anyone, so this path was also blocked. Third, was the Sun Moon Empire. To ordinary people, cooperation between Star Luo and Sun Moon was nothing short of a fantasy; the two nations harbored deep-seated enmity. However, for the high-ranking officials, hatred was never an insurmountable obstacle. The sacrifices of border soldiers were, in the eyes of emperors, more a normal loss of national strength and bargaining chips. If the Sun Moon became weak in the future, this hatred would be an excellent excuse for Star Luo to seize benefits. But if the Sun Moon displayed powerful potential and value, then the so-called hatred could naturally be set aside and transformed into a possibility for trade.
Previously, Star Luo's intention for cooperation wasn't particularly strong; it was more a conventional diplomatic strategy to disperse pressure. However, the Sun Moon Empire's sudden isolation years ago gave Star Luo a glimpse of potential profit, and for profit, as well as to gather intelligence, this meeting was arranged.
However, the assassination attempt on Shrek in the Mingdou Mountains the day before yesterday completely changed the situation. Not only did they fail to subtly eliminate a future threat, but they also offended Shrek. No allies were found, but a potential enemy was added. This significantly increased Star Luo's emphasis on this meeting. Before coming, Xu Jiawei had specifically instructed that even if the deal couldn't be made, they must leave a good impression and not create new enemies, and perhaps even discuss a ceasefire and establishment of diplomatic relations.
However, at this moment, looking at the completely silent and terrifyingly calm Sun Moon people opposite, Xu Jiujiu felt uneasy. Didn't they even discuss a little? Not a single word?
Xu Jiujiu inexplicably felt a sense of unease.
However, what she didn't know was that their so-called silence was actually just their attention being entirely focused on the group chat, leaving them no time to bother with anything else.
"Elder Ma": Young Miss Meng, how do you think we should respond?
"Meng Hongchen": The other party indeed has an intention to cooperate, and they are more urgent than expected.
"Xu Tianzhen": Do we really want to cooperate with Star Luo?
"Meng Hongchen": Times have changed. They just offended Shrek, and a certain rift has formed between the imperial family and the White Tiger Dukes Mansion because of this incident. Under internal and external pressure, seeking external cooperation is an inevitable choice.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +40 Extra Chapters on - P@tr3on "RinBlaze"]
[Every 15 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]