Chapter 446

The elder whom Xu Tianran called "Kong Lao" gently nodded, stepped forward, and examined closely.

He pondered for a moment, then said:

"The outer shell is more than eighty percent shattered, the core formation array is about forty percent damaged; for a typical Nine-level Soul Guide Device this already counts as fatal damage. If you hadn't already fused it with your own power, it couldn't have held up until now. So, it seems you truly didn't lie."

Xu Tianran's expression instantly turned sour.

He believed the words of this Kong Lao with absolute certainty.

People generally think that the strongest Nine-level Soul Guide Master in the Ri Yue Di Guo is the Death God Douluo Ye Xi Shui, and that the strongest Nine-level Soul Guide Device is the Death God Tower, but that is actually incorrect.

The true strongest Soul Guide Master of the Ri Yue Di Guo is actually this Kong Lao—Kong Deming.

Kong Deming is the Hall of Worship Master of the Ri Yue Di Guo, with a quarter royal bloodline, and is loyal only to the royal family.

Kong Deming is over one hundred and fifty years old, the foremost among the Ri Yue Di Guo's Nine-level Soul Guide Masters, and also a ninety‑fourth‑level Honored Douluo. Few know that this ninety‑fourth‑level Honored Douluo possesses a Twin Soul, making him not only a powerful Soul Guide Master but also a formidable Soul Master.

If he hadn't devoted most of his energy to researching Soul Guide Devices, his achievements in martial souls might not have been inferior to those of Ye Xi Shui, Long Xiaoyao, and other extreme Douluo.

He is still the closest to a Ten‑level Soul Guide Master.

Although it's hard to say who is stronger in combat between Kong Deming and Ye Xi Shui, when it comes to mastery in the realm of Soul Guide Devices, Ye Xi Shui falls far, far behind.

Ye Xi Shui's research on Soul Guide Devices is not deep; after all, she is still a Soul Master, and many crucial components of her Death God Soul Guide Device were crafted by Kong Deming.

Therefore Ye Xi Shui always harbors reservations about Kong Deming; she knows well how powerful this Soul Guide Master, who is closest to Ten‑level, truly is.

If Ye Xi Shui were to evaluate Kong Deming, she would use the four characters "deeply unfathomable", because for at least fifty years no one has seen Kong Deming act, and no one knows how strong he truly is. Yet whether it's Long Xiaoyao or Ye Xi Shui, neither has a guaranteed victory when facing him.

Originally Kong Deming did not appear in the Worship Hall; he devoted all his energy to researching Soul Guide Devices, and only after recently succeeding in creating a humanoid Soul Guide Device did he reappear in people's sight.

What Ye Xi Shui never expected was that Kong Deming was extremely supportive of Xu Tianran, fully standing on Xu Tianran's side. This made Ye Xi Shui cautious, and her attitude toward Xu Tianran had to change; with Kong Deming by Xu Tianran's side, Ye Xi Shui realized she no longer had the power to threaten the emperor's life.

He is truly the number one Soul Guide Master of the Ri Yue Di Guo; even the Ming De Hall Master Jing Hong Chen must observe disciple etiquette before him, and Ye Yulin as well.

At this moment, Kong Deming personally judged that the Death God Tower was severely damaged, essentially confirming that Ye Xi Shui was telling the truth; she indeed suffered great injury in her battle against the newly appointed Sea God Pavilion Master.

This was undoubtedly a matter very hard for Xu Tianran to accept.

He cannot accept that Ye Xi Shui truly suffered great injury; he has always been wary of these two extreme Douluo of the Holy Spirit Sect, and the more wounded they are in war, the better.

What he finds hard to accept is that, if Ye Xi Shui is telling the truth, then Tang Wulin, as the Sea God Pavilion Master, and his partner Huo Yutong truly possess extreme Douluo‑level combat power at such a young age.

If they have such strength at this age, give them a few more years to grow, and what then? By then, the unification of the Ri Yue Di Guo would truly be hopeless.

Seeing Xu Tianran's expression, a barely perceptible smile flashed in Ye Xi Shui's eyes.

【5】 Got him.

It's hooked.

Being treated so badly by Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong, she truly cannot relieve her hatred without a proper revenge.

However, now her strength is compromised, and Long Xiaoyao may not be willing to go with her to Anlu to avenge Mu En's disciples, so the only power she can rely on is that of the Ri Yue Di Guo.

As long as Xu Tianran is informed of Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong's current strength, these two will inevitably become his greatest worry, and there is no doubt he will spare no effort in dealing with them.

The depth of the Ri Yue Di Guo should not be underestimated; whether it's the Ri Yue Royal Soul Guide Corps or Kong Deming, both are powerful forces that Ye Xi Shui cannot ignore. Just as Xu Tianran constantly seeks ways to weaken the living forces of the Holy Spirit Sect, Ye Xi Shui also looks for opportunities to diminish the Ri Yue Di Guo's power. If the Shilake Academy and the Ri Yue Di Guo clash, the best outcome would be mutual destruction, allowing the Holy Spirit Sect to reap the benefits.

In the most ideal scenario, perhaps a nation ruled by an Evil Soul Master could truly be created.

Xu Tianran looked at Kong Deming and asked with some difficulty:

"Kong Lao, if Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong truly possess that level of strength, what should we do?"

Kong Deming gave a faint glance at Ye Xi Shui and said, "It is not something to fear. Even if they truly have extreme Douluo strength, they are still far from us now. They have dual extreme Douluo—do we not? Moreover, we also have an invincible Soul Guide Corps. But this means we must accelerate the pace of the war; we must settle the overall situation before they fully mature."

Xu Tianran was stunned for a moment, then his expression brightened.

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm." Kong Deming's eyes flashed with a cold light. "It is time for the Ri Yue Royal Soul Guide Corps to step in; the Imperial Dragon and Fire Phoenix cannot stay idle. With a thunderous offensive, we will seize the Celestial Soul and Douling Empire."

The Star Net Empire's strength is overwhelming; even with the Ri Yue Di Guo's full force, it is difficult to capture them in a short time.

But the Celestial Soul and Douling are different; even combined, their national power is less than Star Net's, making it very easy to quickly seize them.

Kong Deming looked at Ye Xi Shui, with a forced smile, and asked, "Your Holy Spirit Sect will also intervene, right, Supreme Offering?"

The Holy Spirit Sect thinks it can stay out of this? Dream on!

Ye Xi Shui clicked her tongue inwardly, then finally nodded.

"Of course, but I also hope the Empire will not be stingy with the use of Soul Guide Devices; the stored pre‑set Soul Guide cannon shells should be deployed, otherwise those two little Shilake kids truly growing up will be detrimental to us both."

"Fine."

Kong Deming readily agreed to Ye Xi Shui's request.

Xu Tianran breathed a sigh of relief.

Regardless, Ye Xi Shui finally provided an explanation for her retreat and the total annihilation of the Fear Claw Soul Guide Corps; with Kong Deming's courtly prestige, getting through this difficulty should not be a problem.

At that moment, his and Kong Deming's Soul Guide Communicators suddenly began buzzing and vibrating together.

He and Kong Deming exchanged a glance, then both pulled out their Soul Guide Communicators to check.

Given their positions, any message conveyed to them was already of great significance and could not be casually ignored.

After reading the incoming message, their expressions both changed.

Ye Xi Shui frowned, a sudden bad premonition arising in her heart.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

The thing that could cause both of them to change color at once could not be a trivial matter.

Xu Tianran's eyes stared blankly at Ye Xi Shui and said:

"The Shilake Academy has activated the Shilake Summons."

(End of chapter)