Chapter 191: Xu Tianran's Actions

"Youyou, what on earth is going on?" Looking at the miserable state of those immortal herbs, a sense of foreboding seemed to stir in Su Yu's heart.

Could it be, Xue Di...

"Forget it, I'd better go see for myself..."

He rushed in a flurry to the location of the Yin Yang Dual Element Eye, only to find Xue Di hovering calmly above the ice spring, looking not at all like someone who had encountered an accident.

"You're back. Looking at you, it seems you haven't finished handling your affairs?" Xue Di slowly opened her beautiful eyes and let her gaze fall upon Su Yu.

"Although it was a bit tricky, it has finally come to an end. Um, there is something I would like to ask you..."

Looking at Xue Di's indifferent expression, Su Yu felt it would be better to ask.

"If it concerns those gossiping fellows outside, I think asking me is the same as not asking. For the next period of time, just stay here and cultivate properly. Put other matters aside for now; I need to use this ice spring to recover my strength, and I should be able to come out of seclusion in about a month."

Xue Di came before Su Yu and channeled a portion of her power back into his body, reinforcing the previous seal. This recovery of power also caused the seal on Xue Di herself to loosen slightly, which in turn forced her to have Su Yu stay here to use the power of the ice spring to reinforce the seal.

"I understand. Once my current affairs are resolved, I will return to the Extreme North with you. What I intend to do will not stop at the Star Dou Great Forest; as their king, you should also pave the way for your kin for the future."

Su Yu nodded, went to the place where the ice and fire converged, submerged his body within it, and entered a state of cultivation.

At the same time, Su Xinyuan had officially settled down in the Sun Moon Empire. The current situation of the Su Family could be considered stable, though only two people knew about Su Xinyuan's secret arrival in the Sun Moon Empire.

One was Luo Yu, and the other was Su Yu.

As Su Yu's strength grew, the memories and thoughts of Su Yu and Luo Yu had become completely interconnected, no longer unable to communicate due to distance.

Under Luo Yu's secret instructions, the safety of Su Xinyuan and Mu Hanyan was kept within a controllable range. Although they could not be protected perfectly, this was all that could be done for now.

Su Yu knew that for now, this was all that could be done; after all, he could not yet expose Luo Yu's true identity.

Sun Moon Empire, Crown Prince Palace.

Xu Tianran sat in his wheelchair, looking at the intelligence in his hands, and slowly said, "How is the situation with the Number Two experimental subject?"

Ju Zi hurriedly replied, "The progress of the Number Two experiment has now achieved a new leap. Mirror Hall Master said that as long as they are given another five years, within five years, Number Two will definitely be able to be deployed to the battlefield, and within ten years, Number Two will be able to achieve mass production and sweep across the Three Great Empires."

"Oh? I see. Since the Hall Master has said so, there must be absolute certainty. It seems that your junior fellow apprentice truly has an extraordinary talent for Soul Guidance Devices. Ju Zi, you are indeed my lucky star." Xu Tianran looked at Ju Zi, who was still handling official business for him, and spoke with gratification.

"Your Highness, what are you saying? Ju Zi's life was given by Your Highness; sharing Your Highness's burdens is Ju Zi's duty." Ju Zi's words were as rigid as ever, or perhaps one could say, always the same.

"I understand. Leave the subsequent matters to you. I need to recuperate for a period of time. Aside from some necessary matters, there is no need to report anything else to me. You may withdraw."

Xu Tianran watched Ju Zi's departing back and could not help but sigh silently.

Looking at the messy data in his hands, Luo Yu frowned tightly. The progress of the matter was not as smooth as he had imagined. The problem lay neither in the materials nor in the Soul Guidance technology, but every time, the data always had varying degrees of deviation. This kind of deviation made him afraid to rashly attempt the next stage of testing.

"Where exactly is the problem? Logically speaking, the deviations in the test data from the previous stages were all within a controllable range, but why is the range of data error in these few tests so large, even exceeding the specified range by several times?"

Looking at that pile of irregularly fluctuating data, Luo Yu fell into deep thought. He began to try hard to recall every step of the experiment.

He pondered repeatedly, and in his mind, he did not let go of a single detail of the experiment, but after his repeated confirmation, he was disappointed to find that there were no errors in his experimental steps.

Where exactly was the problem?

Knock, knock, knock!

Just as Luo Yu was still pondering, the door to his office was knocked.

Luo Yu thought to himself, "Who would come to knock on my door at this time?"

Just as Luo Yu was wondering who the visitor was, a crisp voice appeared outside the door.

"Is Luo Yu there?"

This was Ju Zi's voice. What was she here for?

"Sister Ju Zi, come in." Luo Yu put down the data in his hands and looked up at the door. "Is there any message from His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Ju Zi did not speak, just quietly looking at Luo Yu. Under their four eyes meeting, a strange look flashed in Ju Zi's eyes.

Seeing Ju Zi's eye signal, Luo Yu slowly returned to his seat and said, "The current experimental progress has encountered some trouble. I need some help from His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Tell me, I will convey the specific matters to His Highness the Crown Prince." Ju Zi's expression was as usual, as if nothing had happened before.

"I need His Highness the Crown Prince to mobilize Soul Masters with different martial souls to inject soul power into the Number Two experimental subject. The strength of the Soul Masters needs to be consistent, but the martial souls must not be the same. In addition, I need more experimental materials. The quantity of these materials does not need to be large, but all types of current Soul Guidance Materials must be prepared." Luo Yu handed the listed material list to Ju Zi, then returned to his position.

"I will go to the Crown Prince Palace to report on subsequent matters myself. As for the matters at the academy, just leave them to the Hall Master. Also, I suggest increasing exchanges and learning with Shrek Academy, because this concerns the future development of our Sun Moon Empire. I will discuss the specific content of this matter with my teacher and let my teacher make a decision. However, I heard recently that His Highness the Crown Prince seems to have not left the palace; has he encountered any trouble?"

…………

The subsequent small talk was also about work and the research on the Number Two experimental subject, until Ju Zi's eyes returned to normal, and only then did Luo Yu stop.

"Sister Ju Zi, tell me, is it that His Highness the Crown Prince's mood has been temperamental recently, and you are afraid that I will be implicated? If that's the case, then there's no need to worry. But I don't think Sister Ju Zi is such a dull person. I think it's because His Highness the Crown Prince thinks I am too close to him and has developed a grudge because of it, right?"

Looking at Ju Zi, who was sitting opposite him with her brows tightly furrowed, Luo Yu helplessly rubbed his brow. It wasn't that he didn't know what Ju Zi was worried about regarding him; in the years they had spent together, he understood Ju Zi too well.

"You're right, but how did you guess it?" Ju Zi tucked the slightly messy hair by her ear behind her ear, her eyes looking slightly complex.

"We've lived together for several years after all. Does Sister Ju Zi still think I'm that ignorant child who knows nothing?" Luo Yu looked at Ju Zi's eyes, which were a mix of light and shadow, and sighed helplessly in his heart.

Ju Zi took out an investigation file and placed it in front of Luo Yu. "His Highness the Crown Prince is going to purge the people around him recently. Although he has handed everything over to me now, you know his methods. However, he asked some questions about you recently. Do you want to hear them?"

Luo Yu picked up the file and opened it to look. "You've already taken it out; do you think I can not listen?"

The first thing that caught his eye in that file was Luo Yu's photo, and the content was as follows.

Name: Luo Yu.

Born in Mingdu, Sun Moon Empire, admitted to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Guidance Academy at the age of fifteen, and later became a student of Xuan Ziwen due to his outstanding aptitude...

Family background verified, no abnormalities for now.

Identity background verified, no abnormalities for now.

Social circle verified, no abnormalities for now.

…………

This series of intelligence made even Luo Yu feel cold sweat breaking out. All the intelligence above had almost investigated Luo Yu's life from childhood to adulthood cleanly.

Fortunately, no flaws were revealed; otherwise, he would likely have been captured by now and thrown into prison.

It was also thanks to the fact that his cleanup work at the beginning was done perfectly, preventing the risk of being found out later.

Luo Yu returned the file in his hand to Ju Zi and slowly said, "It is normal for His Highness the Crown Prince to be careful. After all, my appearance itself carries questions. I am not surprised by this."

"But do you know? These were all investigated by me personally, and I have also worried about you..."

Ju Zi had not finished speaking before she was interrupted. Luo Yu looked at Ju Zi's eyes, which were flickering between light and shadow, and at the very moment their gazes met, he took the initiative to look away: "Rest assured, Sister Ju Zi, I am who I am, and have always been..."

…………

Accompanied by a silence, Ju Zi also realized that the atmosphere of their exchange had become a bit too intimate, yet she still remembered the two words that Luo Yu had pronounced with extra emphasis: Sister...

"It has been a long time since we all gathered together; let's call Keke and the others as well..." In the end, Ju Zi could not bring up any other topic.

"Keke is still studying at the academy, Zi Mu is studying inside Mingde Hall and is now an official student of Mingde Hall, and Wang Shaojie is still studying under Xuan Ziwen along with Keke. Thinking back now, the last time we gathered was already more than two years ago." Luo Yu watched Ju Zi's receding back, recalling the details as if counting his own family treasures.

The light in the corridor slowly dissipated along with the extinguishing of each Soul Guidance Lamp, leaving only a blurred figure that could not be distinguished from black or white; watching Ju Zi depart, Luo Yu reached out to rub his own brow.

Between his brows was an unsoothable helplessness and complexity...