novel-books Chapter 228 Turbulent Times
Chapter 228 Turbulent Times
Chapter 228 A Stormy Era Begins (Part 4)
Kong Deming, a level 94 Title Douluo, titled "Silver Moon", is the Hall Master of the Sun Moon Empire's Hall of Worship, the Head of the Sun Moon Empire's Hall of Worship, and the leader of all Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire. He is known as the Father of Soul Tools.
He is also the only level 10 Soul Master in the world!
"What are your plans, Elder Kong?" The old emperor, who had been on edge, was relieved upon hearing Kong Deming's words.
Others may not have that kind of courage, but Kong Deming definitely does!
Moreover, Kong Deming also possesses royal blood!
"A few days ago, during my seclusion at Mingde Hall, I met a very interesting young man. Although his strength was average, his soul guidance talent was extremely outstanding. Why does Your Majesty think that Experiment Subject No. 2 has made such rapid progress in recent years?" Kong Deming looked at the old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire and asked.
"Wasn't this the result of your collaborative research with the soul masters of Mingde Hall, led by Master Kong?" The old emperor was clearly unaware of the era of Luo Yu.
Kong Deming smiled and said, "Since the theft of Subject One, I have rarely taken on the experiments for Subject Two. I have spent most of my time in seclusion in Mingde Hall, and I only recently heard about the Holy Spirit Cult. However, the progress in the research of Subject Two is not due to my efforts. Please allow me to explain the details slowly."
"Since Number One was stolen, I have basically stopped interfering with the research on Number Two, because I felt that I might not be able to complete the experiment on Number Two in my lifetime. So I focused on seclusion and rarely went out except for occasionally visiting Mingde Hall. Two years ago, I passed by the laboratory of Number Two and found that the person leading the experiment on Number Two was not Master Jing, but a teenager. I thought it was nonsense, but the teenager's thinking was extremely innovative. Many problems that we could not solve before were solved one by one under his guidance."
"I initially thought it was just a coincidence, but later I went to Lab Number Two several times and found that the experiments on Lab Number Two were progressing rapidly, almost catching up with the progress on Lab Number One. At the same time, I also tested that kid several times, and the results were all very unexpected. Later, I wanted to take that kid as my disciple, but he actually refused me, claiming that he was already the disciple of Master Mirror and it was impossible for him to become my disciple."
"Several negotiations have ultimately failed, but I dare say that given time, the achievements of Master Jing's disciple will surely surpass mine. So Your Majesty need not worry, there will be someone in the Sun Moon Empire to succeed me in the future." Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming smiled, his face full of satisfaction.
"Master Kong, you're talking about Shi Luoyu, right? Speaking of which, he can be considered your grand-disciple. Your disciple, Xuan Ziwen, was Luoyu's teacher at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy," Xu Tianran said respectfully to Kong Deming.
The old emperor looked at Jing Hongchen and asked with interest, "Master Jing, is that right?"
"What Master Kong and the Crown Prince said is all true. If Your Majesty wishes to know the details, you may summon Luo Yu to an audience now."
Jing Hongchen knew that he had to hand over his precious disciple today. If it was just Crown Prince Xu Tianran who brought it up, he could have made excuses. But now that Silver Moon Douluo had also brought his precious disciple to the forefront, it was almost certain that he would have to sell him to the imperial family.
Well, it's better than being forced to give it away...
The old emperor nodded and said, "Guards, summon Luo Yu to an audience immediately."
"Father, there is one more thing I would like to discuss with the ministers."
Xu Tianran looked around. He had completed the first step of his plan, and now it was time to move on to the second step.
"Your Highness, what do you wish to discuss with the ministers?" The old emperor thought that the next thing to discuss was military matters, but unexpectedly, Xu Tianran had a new question.
"Father, regarding my matter, should we continue the exchange program with Shrek Academy for the next batch of students?"
This was a matter that gave the old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire a real headache. He had originally planned to deal with other matters first before discussing this matter, but since the crown prince had brought it up, he decided to see what the ministers thought.
"I believe that the exchange and learning with Shrek Academy should continue. Judging from the results of our exchange and learning, the students we sent have made progress in terms of strength and cultivation of traditional Soul Masters. I think this is not a bad thing for us," Ye Yulin said.
"I think the best course of action is to stop this meaningless exchange and learning. Traditional Soul Masters are destined to decline, and only Soul Guidance is the future trend. If we continue to stubbornly pursue traditional Martial Souls like Shrek Academy, then as time goes by, the gap between us and Shrek Academy will eventually be narrowed through repeated exchanges and learning. After all, our Soul Guidance technology is hundreds of years ahead of Shrek Academy!"
A minister of the Sun Moon Empire spoke up in rebuttal, and his words were accepted by the majority of people.
The old emperor nodded and asked, "Master Kong, what are your thoughts?"
Silver Moon Douluo paused, glanced around, and said, "I'm only in charge of soul guidance matters. These issues aren't my forte. However, I think there will be a new answer to this matter soon."
The ministers debated these matters endlessly. Some believed that the reason Shrek Academy was so powerful was that traditional martial spirit cultivation was absolutely useful. If they could learn the essence of Shrek Academy, the strength of their Sun Moon Empire would be enhanced once again.
Some argue that Shrek Academy's gap with the Sun Moon Empire is narrowing, and they no longer need Shrek's outdated fighting style. Continuing to exchange ideas would only lead to the loss of more of their soul-guided technology. Once the gap between Shrek and the Sun Moon Empire narrows, their soul-guided technology will no longer be a powerful tool to overpower the three great empires.
The two ideas were hotly debated in the meeting room. The old emperor felt that both sides had their reasons, and it was precisely because both sides had some merit that the current debate had taken place.
Just then, a deep voice came from outside the door, "Your Majesty, Luo Yu has arrived."
"Bring him in." The old emperor coughed lightly.
The door slowly opened, and Luo Yu's clothes were slightly disheveled. The moment he entered, everyone's eyes were drawn to him.
"Luo Yu, why don't you quickly greet His Majesty and the ministers?" Jing Hongchen carefully reminded him.
"Luo Yu greets Your Majesty, the ministers, and His Highness the Silver Moon."
Because of Luo Yu's special status, the old emperor did not require Luo Yu to perform the kneeling ceremony.
"I heard from Master Kong that you were in charge of Experiment Number Two, is that right?" The old emperor squinted, scrutinizing the seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy in front of him.
"I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's favor. The research on the second test subject was conducted by the seniors of Mingde Hall. I was merely assisting them and may have had some ingenious ideas occasionally. Your Majesty, two years ago I was just an ordinary level six soul master. How could I have been able to lead the research project on the second test subject, which was almost beyond level nine? I suppose it was just that I had a good appearance and was favored by the seniors. I hope Your Majesty can see through this."
Luo Yu knew that the old emperor was cautious and his style of doing things was mainly steady. If Luo Yu acted too flamboyantly, he would not only fail to gain the old emperor's favor, but he might even fail to gain the favor of Silver Moon Douluo.
"You don't need to be modest; Master Kong's judgment is never wrong." The old emperor's expression remained unchanged, even his tone was the same as before. He was extremely adept at controlling his emotions in front of outsiders. "What are your thoughts on the exchange and learning with Shrek Academy?"
Luo Yu was taken aback. He had been pondering how to resolve the exchange program, since it was something the old emperor had agreed to under pressure from Elder Mu of Shrek Academy. Now that Elder Mu had passed away, the exchange program was over. Whether or not to continue the exchange program was a troublesome matter; whether or not to agree was a headache.
It seems the old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire is using this to test me.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me if I have said anything wrong."
One must speak politely and respectfully, as this is a court meeting where etiquette is strictly observed; any transgression would be a serious crime.
"Granted." The old emperor waved his hand.
"I believe that the exchange program can continue, but we also need to make corresponding changes. Shrek Academy's eagerness to force us to agree to the exchange program was simply to plunder our precious soul guidance knowledge from our Sun Moon Empire. In fact, if we carefully examine the original experimental reports, we can find that there was a student named He Caitou at the time. His physical qualities were extremely outstanding, and his strength was also extremely terrifying among his peers. Shrek Academy's intention in sending such a student to our Sun Moon Empire has long been self-evident."
"Those students who returned from our exchange program at Shrek Academy, while they improved, cannot be transformed into the experience and methods that our Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy and the Sun Moon Empire use to cultivate the next generation. However, the valuable soul guidance knowledge they gained from us can permanently bring about a qualitative leap for Shrek Academy's soul guidance department. Fundamentally, this is a trade with a huge loss. Therefore, I think we need to make corresponding changes to achieve a fair trade."
At this point, the old emperor remained silent for a long time before slowly asking, "What would happen if we stopped the exchange and learning program? According to you, as long as we immediately stop the exchange and learning program, we can immediately stop the losses and Shrek Academy will not gain any benefits."
The moment the old emperor uttered his words, the conference room erupted in cheers. His words were undoubtedly the greatest encouragement to them!
Heavily in debt and the "forever" series.
I was very busy and annoyed before the Lunar New Year. There were so many things to do at home, and I also had to take care of my grandfather.
(End of this chapter)