Chapter 4735

Su Han raised an eyebrow, gazing at the sky with keen interest. "Interesting."

In the next instant, a crisp task notification echoed in the ears of all Gonghui Society members.

"Ding! Gonghui Society task completed! Gonghui Society Leader Su Xiao Xiao gains 10,000 points! Hai Rui gains 10,000 points! Ying Quliang gains 80,000 points."

"Xiao Chi gains 150,000 points."

"The rewards from this... truly exceeded expectations."

Xiao Chi's voice, tinged with reflection, sounded out.

Arceus appeared beside Su Han and his group.

Arceus casually scanned Su Han and the others, then stared blankly at Su Han.

Though Su Han had exerted great effort to suppress his charm, even the residual charm still profoundly affected Arceus.

Xiao Chi's lips twitched several times, unsure what expression to wear.

After a long sigh, he raised his Poké Ball and retracted Arceus once more.

Xiao Chi rubbed the Poké Ball, his expression utterly complex, then spoke softly, "Though I'd already considered several ways to re-capture Arceus, I never imagined... it would end up being the Leader using this method."

The Poké Ball began to shake; Arceus had clearly regained awareness and was resisting.

"Alright... I understand."

"I have no intention of breaking my previous promise!"

Xiao Chi patted the Poké Ball and smiled bitterly. "When we return, I'll let you out... then let's have another battle. Just one more battle."

"This world isn't the Pokémon world... and I imagine you can't return on your own, either."

With those words, the Poké Ball stopped shaking—clearly, Arceus accepted Xiao Chi's words.

"Your life with the Divine Beasts and Pokémon must truly be rich and colorful."

Ying Quliang gazed at Xiao Chi with deep reflection.

Xiao Chi said nothing, simply retracted each Pokémon as they reappeared in midair into their Poké Balls.

Su Han raised an eyebrow and snapped his fingers.

With a sharp hum, the void cracked open, and the group returned to the imperial palace hall.

After a pause, Hai Rui turned his head and gazed at the Jiajing Emperor with concern, finding the emperor still dazed.

He opened his mouth, but after much hesitation, he said nothing.

A look of weary resignation settled on his face.

"Since the task here is done, we should return."

Su Han smiled and spoke.

"Safe travels."

Hai Rui turned to Su Han and the others and bowed.

He hesitated, then whispered, "Thank you immensely for your help."

"Though I've said this many times before, I'll say it again... this is what we're meant to do."

Su Han waved his hand casually, then clicked "Return" in his mind.

A brilliant light enveloped the scene, wrapping around everyone's bodies.

When the light faded, all figures vanished.

Hai Rui stood with his hands behind his back, neither leaving the palace hall nor speaking, simply waiting quietly.

He waited until the Jiajing Emperor came to his senses and spoke, "Minister..."

"Your Majesty!"

Hai Rui spoke softly.

"What I said earlier."

The Jiajing Emperor opened his mouth, yet failed to use the imperial "I" even before Hai Rui—he simply lacked the confidence.

"No problem, Your Majesty."

Hai Rui's tone remained unchanged; he hadn't fought much... so he'd already planned what to do after the task ended.

He spoke softly, "Then let's proceed further... first, reform of the education system."

"Hmm... it's not quite reform—it should be called having the civil officials revise themselves... but personally, I advise Your Majesty to let me assess the moral integrity of these civil officials... to prevent traitors from harming the state."

"By the way... you must cultivate as well."

"And the things you control—the two factories..."

Hai Rui hesitated; honestly, he despised eunuchs.

After all, he was a civil official.

But Hai Rui finally spoke: "Eunuchs... I also have a specific cultivation method for them! It can allow them to balance the civil officials to some extent."

There was no choice... the history of the Ming Dynasty, its collapse, had struck him too deeply.

Even as a civil official, he hated the so-called Donglin Party! He hated those... who, at the Ming's final hour, willingly led the enemy, causing the fall of the Central Plains... The eunuchs surrounding them, who had dared not breathe, all froze.

After a brief silence, the Chief Eunuch serving beside the Jiajing Emperor knelt first, kowtowing repeatedly to Hai Rui, voice trembling: "Thank you... thank you for giving us a path to live."

The Jiajing Emperor said nothing on the matter, unnervingly calm.

Normally, if a eunuch serving beside him knelt before a civil official—even one as famed for integrity as Hai Rui—both would be executed. Collusion between outer ministers and the inner court? What was this? Treason? It crossed the emperor's absolute line! But after witnessing what had just happened, the Jiajing Emperor fully understood the gulf between himself, even the entire Ming Dynasty, and Hai Rui and his group... Under these circumstances, Hai Rui still maintained his role as a subject—truly, he was granting the emperor face.

If he clung stubbornly to his pride, that would be self-destruction... In the blink of an eye, Su Han appeared in his room. He stretched lazily, then lay on his bed and closed his eyes, entering the Gonghui Society chat room.

He found 99+ unread messages in the chat room.

Fallen Angel Twelve-Winged Black Cat Clan: "... I'm thinking—Xiao Chi said he'll fight Arceus again when we return! Does that mean he's going to borrow Xiao Zhi's Pokémon again?"

Wugeng Liuli frowned, her expression turning strangely peculiar.

Gao Ban realm: "Xiao Zhi: Who actually captured the Pokémon—you or me?"

Sakata Gintoki: "But then again, although the president has always said that Satoshi and Red are the same person from different worlds! After spending this time together though, I think the difference between Satoshi and Red is still pretty huge."

Sakata Gintoki: "Red, when it's time to catch a Pokémon, he catches it! But Satoshi... he's the kind of genius who, even when a Pokémon jumps right into his arms, can still let it go." facepalm.

"

Yukinoshita Yukino: "High-end combat power, released just like that! A pseudo-legendary baby, tossed aside just like that... Under heaven, besides our Satoshi, who else could do it"

Elnesetie: "Anyway... by the time you reach the next region, your level resets anyway, forever ten years old! So just do whatever you want..."

Elnesetie delivered her retort with an expressionless face.

Satoshi: "I..."

Satoshi indicated that there was one line he didn't know whether he should say or not.

Red: "... I would never do something that excessive! Once was already the limit."

Red gave a bitter laugh. If he kept relying on other people's strength in battle, how could he, as a Champion, still have the face to go on? Shaking his head, Red forced himself to rally his spirits and continued to speak.

Red: "I'm planning to do a gacha pull first! Maybe this time I'll get something good... and then I can beat Arceus within an inch of his life."