Kong Deming chuckled and waved his hand. "No need for formalities! Just learn well from your teacher. Though the path of soul tools is looked down upon by the three original Douluo Continent nations, it is the true future!"
Huo Yuhao nodded respectfully. "Understood, Grandmaster."
"Alright, let's get to business." Kong Deming turned toward Jing Hongchen seated beside him. "Hongchen, how are preparations going?"
Jing Hongchen replied, "Everything is ready. My team and I, including three Title Douluos, plan to depart tomorrow for the Far North to conduct extreme cold tests for the soul-guided satellite."
Kong Deming reminded, "The Far North is an untouched region for humanity—home to terrifying soul beasts, including two of the Ten Great Savage Beasts: the Snow Empress and Ice Empress. Be careful."
The experiment would cause considerable disturbances, inevitably affecting the soul beast population in the region. That's why Kong Deming insisted Jing Hongchen personally lead the mission, accompanied by three other Title Douluos.
Four Title Douluos plus high-grade soul tools—Kong Deming believed that should be enough to hold off even the Snow and Ice Empresses.
As Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen conversed, Huo Yuhao's expression flickered. In his spiritual sea, the voice of the Skydream Iceworm shouted in alarm:
"Why are they going to the Far North? Are they trying to kill my Ice Empress?!"
Frowning slightly, Huo Yuhao tried to calm him down. "Skydream, I think they're just doing research."
"What kind of research needs four Title Douluos?! That place is way too remote—they're obviously hiding something!" Skydream grumbled angrily.
From his point of view, mobilizing four powerhouses just for testing was completely suspicious.
Even Jiang Shengyu, standing to the side, asked, "Are we really that short on manpower? Why does Senior Brother have to go himself?"
The moment he spoke, Kong Deming, Jing Hongchen, and Xuan Ziwen all looked at him—expressions that clearly said, "Are you being serious right now?"
Jing Hongchen chuckled dryly. "This is all thanks to our Junior Brother."
Xuan Ziwen added, "You're the one who proposed all these new projects. Mingde Hall has been short-handed for ages. Senior Brother only just returned from the border this morning."
"Ahem... Hard work for the capable," Jiang Shengyu muttered, unable to hold back a grin.
"Shengyu, stop teasing your Senior Brother," Kong Deming sighed. He cleared his throat and concluded the gathering. "That's all for today. Hongchen, stay a moment."
"Yes, Teacher."
The others nodded and took their leave, with Jing Hongchen remaining behind. As the group stepped out into the courtyard, they ran into a pair of silver-haired siblings—Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, Jing Hongchen's grandchildren.
"Hey! Jiang Shengyu, where's my grandpa?" Xiao Hongchen called out.
Jiang Shengyu pointed inside and smirked. "Your grandfather and I are from the same generation. Show some respect—come on, call me Grandpa Jiang."
"Keep dreaming," Xiao Hongchen said with a disgusted look. "I'm two years older than you. If I called you Grandpa, I'd fall into a pit the moment I left the house."
Meng Hongchen tugged her brother back and smiled sweetly at Jiang Shengyu. "Shengyu, is Grandpa still meeting with Silvermoon Douluo?"
"Yup." Shengyu nodded.
Xiao Hongchen huffed, "If you hadn't come up with so many crazy research ideas, Grandpa wouldn't have been so busy he couldn't come home for half a year! What's so great about soul tools anyway? With your talent, if you focused on cultivation, you'd be much stronger by now. You're still just a Grandmaster! I'm almost a Soul King!"
In the Sun-Moon Empire, Xiao Hongchen was a rare genius in both soul master and soul engineer cultivation—on par with the so-called "monsters" of Shrek Academy. As Jing Hongchen's grandson, his pride was well-earned. Jiang Shengyu was one of the very few peers he acknowledged.
Shengyu shrugged. "I call it all-around development: intelligence, strength, elegance, aesthetics, and labor."
"All-around?"
Xiao Hongchen gave him a once-over, then raised his hand. "Come on! Let's have a match—see if you're really all that well-rounded. Don't worry, I'll only use my first two soul skills. Since your soul rings are higher quality, it's not bullying."
"Brother!"
Meng Hongchen tugged her brother again, then turned to Shengyu with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, my brother's always like this. We were just looking for Grandpa. Since he's busy, we'll head out first."
"Not going anywhere!"
Xiao Hongchen broke free from her grip and pointed at Jiang Shengyu. "Come on! You dare or not?"
Shengyu twitched. "Fine! Let's go—arena it is!"
"…How did that escalate so fast?" Huo Yuhao stood there, utterly confused.
Jiang Shengyu patted him on the shoulder and said solemnly, "Welcome to Douluo Continent."
At the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's battle arena, Jiang Shengyu and Xiao Hongchen stood at opposite ends. Meng Hongchen, Huo Yuhao, and others watched from below as more students arrived—word of the match spreading like wildfire.
Some even cut class just to witness it.
Classes could wait, but a match between the Dean's grandson and the Dean's junior brother? That was a once-in-a-lifetime show!
Huo Yuhao looked at the arena and asked Xuan Ziwen beside him, "Teacher, who do you think will win—my cousin or Xiao Hongchen?"
"Hard to say," Xuan Ziwen shook his head. "Xiao Hongchen is a Rank 48 Battle Soul Sect expert, while Shengyu is only at Rank 25. That's a big gap. But Shengyu has extremely high-quality soul rings—so it's not impossible."
"I believe in Shengyu."
Suddenly, Meng Hongchen spoke up beside them. She glanced at Huo Yuhao and whispered, "Between you and me, they've fought several times in private—and my brother's never won once."
"Then why fight again? Isn't that just…" Huo Yuhao blinked, stopping short of saying 'asking for punishment'.
Perseverance, maybe?
Meng Hongchen giggled. "That's just my brother. He enjoys it."
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow. This is how siblings treat each other? He had no idea if this was normal—he'd never had a sibling.
Back on stage, Jiang Shengyu looked at Xiao Hongchen. "Want to trade trash talk before we start?"