Chapter 231: Rising Winds and Scudding Clouds (Part 2)

"Hello, Teacher Menluo."

After a moment of silence, Su Yu finally opened his mouth to answer.

"Yu'er, you've come. Come over and sit."

Mu Hanyan beckoned to Su Yu, and Su Yu sat over quite obediently.

Su Yu was actually not at all unfamiliar with these teachers; one could even say he was extremely familiar with them...

This was a process of pleasant yet painful small talk. Strictly speaking, he also counted as half a Sun Moon Empire person, so to him, these were not outsiders.

After the people had arrived one after another, Su Yu also discovered that the people who had come today were all the same people from that photograph Su Yu had once seen in Mu Hanyan's manor in Mingdu. Although those people had changed slightly, they could still be recognized.

At the end of the banquet, Mu Hanyan told the Hall Master that she and Su Xinyuan had decided to remain in the Sun Moon Empire in the future. This news made the Hall Master very happy, and he expressed his welcome for their arrival.

Although Su Yu did not state his position, Jing Hongchen knew that, in fact, no matter what, it was highly unlikely that Su Yu would move to the opposite side of the Sun Moon Empire. Because, to put it another way, his parents were both in the Sun Moon Empire. Based on the Hall Master's understanding of Su Yu, it was absolutely impossible for him to let Mu Hanyan and Su Xinyuan suffer any danger.

Jing Hongchen knew this much, and that was enough; as for the rest, he did not need to care.

At nightfall, Jing Hongchen arrived at the Crown Prince's palace.

"Hall Master, what is the reason for coming to find me so late?" Xu Tianran looked at the hurried Jing Hongchen and spoke.

"Your Highness, Su Yu's parents have already decided to join the Sun Moon Empire, so we no longer need to worry that Su Yu will be an enemy of our Sun Moon Empire in the future. Regarding the Number Two matter, can it be put on the agenda?" Jing Hongchen's greatest hope now was to be able to bring the Number Two Experimental Subject out of the laboratory in his lifetime and write his, Jing Hongchen's, name into the history books of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance development!

Xu Tianran nodded and said, "The Hall Master also knows that the Number Two experiment is currently being blocked by many ministers, and the Emperor's condition is also very unstable. I don't have much time to arrange the Number Two experiment either. I think we should discuss this matter later."

Listening to Xu Tianran's words, Jing Hongchen knew that the Crown Prince was intentionally trying to stall the progress of the Number Two experiment, because he probably also knew that this moment was the best time to negotiate terms.

The current situation was that Mingde Hall was bearing the pressure to conduct research under the eyes of those court ministers. If it weren't for the full support of the Regent Xu Tianran, the research progress of Number Two could not have been so rapid, and they had a lucky star like Luo Yu adding bricks and tiles to their research.

Without these, at least half of Mingde Hall's research would never be able to enter actual combat or mass production in Jing Hongchen's generation. Moreover, ever since the last exchange and study, both Jing Hongchen and Xu Tianran had realized that the new direction of Soul Guidance lay in the combination of martial soul and Soul Guidance. Shrek Academy's teaching was too biased toward martial souls, while the Sun Moon Empire's teaching was too biased toward Soul Guidance.

As long as Jing Hongchen and Xu Tianran weren't kicked in the head by a donkey, they would definitely seize the opportunity to develop a teaching method that combined the two in the next ten or several decades, or refer to the kind of fighting style Luo Yu had that was ahead of the current era.

Although the Sun Moon Empire and Shrek Academy had conducted a two-and-a-half-year exchange, Jing Hongchen and the old Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire evaluated it as having more disadvantages than advantages. The fundamental reason was that the role of Soul Guidance could already compensate for the shortcomings of martial souls, so future exchange studies would only help Shrek's Soul Guidance Department.

However, the Body Sect and Shrek's Super Douluo gave them too much pressure. Furthermore, Shrek had even defeated the Sun Moon Empire uprightly by relying on martial souls, not losing to Soul Guidance Devices, and achieved the final victory!

This was equivalent to dealing an extremely heavy and crucial blow to the Sun Moon Empire side!

At the same time, this was also why Jing Hongchen and the old Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire agreed to the exchange between the two sides. However, since Mu En left, it had only been conducted once; subsequent exchanges would depend on Luo Yu's arrangements.

"Your Highness, since you have your own plans, why not speak plainly?" Jing Hongchen made up his mind and continued to press.

Xu Tianran spoke slowly: "I want to ask you for a person."

"Is Your Highness talking about Luo Yu?" Jing Hongchen's facial muscles couldn't help but twitch. In his heart, he had also roughly guessed who this candidate was.

"Since the Hall Master knows, then I will speak plainly. As the Regent of the Sun Moon Empire, I need someone to assist me. And your disciple, Luo Yu, is my best candidate. I can guarantee you that as long as you agree to let Luo Yu join my command, all future research matters and the arrangements for Soul Guidance Devices will be handed over to Luo Yu. Of course, Hall Master, you can also refuse; I will not force it."

Facing Jing Hongchen, Xu Tianran did not hide anything and laid out his plans completely.

In fact, after Jing Hongchen said that line about speaking plainly, he had roughly guessed Xu Tianran's intentions, and he had prepared himself to bargain in his heart. But he did not expect Xu Tianran to be so generous, or one could even say, to trust him without reservation.

This fundamentally did not fit Xu Tianran's character!

Xu Tianran's uncharacteristic appearance made Jing Hongchen secretly shocked. He couldn't guess for a moment what the Crown Prince's purpose was. To give up such great power just for one Luo Yu—what kind of love potion had Luo Yu fed Xu Tianran?

To make the Crown Prince make such a huge concession?

If it were anyone else, the Hall Master would have probably waved his hand long ago, done a favor by going with the flow, and agreed directly. Even if that student didn't agree, he would have sent them over: "The Crown Prince values you; this is your honor, don't be ungrateful!"

However, Luo Yu was different. If it were before Luo Yu was admitted to Mingde Hall, Luo Yu would not have had such weight. But now, Jing Hongchen had to consider not only Mingde Hall, but also his two useless grandson and granddaughter, as well as the Hongchen Family behind him!

Luo Yu was his bargaining chip for a comeback in the future, and also the bargaining chip for the prosperity of the Hongchen Family for hundreds of years to come!

If Luo Yu were handed over to the Crown Prince, what would happen to the Hongchen Family after he passed away?

What would happen to his grandson and granddaughter in the future?

Relying on those two to manage the Hongchen Family? Are you kidding me!!

Would Mingde Hall still remain under the control of the Hongchen Family?

On the road ahead, Jing Hongchen dared not gamble. Currently, Luo Yu was his greatest capital and confidence. But could he hand Luo Yu over?

No!

This was equivalent to completely pulling out the Hongchen Family's support; this had already touched Jing Hongchen's bottom line.

Jing Hongchen was very clear about how important Luo Yu was. Was this something that could be given away casually?

Even if he lost Mingde Hall, in a dozen years, Luo Yu would take over Mingde Hall. As his teacher, he would still obtain the timely control of Mingde Hall, because Luo Yu respected his teachers very much. Among all the teachers who had taught Luo Yu, Luo Yu had been unreserved, asking for nothing in return, using his own unique vision to help them complete their research.

Almost all the researchers in Mingde Hall praised Luo Yu highly. Even that Hall Master of the Worship Hall, Kong Deming, had proposed several times that he wanted to take Luo Yu as a disciple. The future was destined to be in Luo Yu's hands, so Jing Hongchen decided he would not back down!

Even if Xu Tianran ascended the throne in the future and became the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, his Hongchen Family would still continue to prosper under Luo Yu's protection!

"Your Highness, please forgive me for not being able to agree to this request of yours." Jing Hongchen took a step back and rejected Xu Tianran's condition.

Xu Tianran's intelligence naturally would not lag behind Jing Hongchen's. He had also prepared to bargain with Jing Hongchen. Xu Tianran naturally also knew the potential value behind Luo Yu. Luo Yu's growth required time; no matter what price was paid now, it was just a high-yield investment, so it was worth it.

He knew what Jing Hongchen was worried about. He had discussed these matters with Ju Zi, and privately, he had also let Ju Zi ask for Luo Yu's opinion. But Luo Yu's reply was to throw the problem back to the Hall Master. He knew that Luo Yu did not want to get caught in the political whirlpool within the Sun Moon Empire. Moreover, Xu Tianran also knew that if Luo Yu were allowed to fall into the political whirlpool, it would be a loss for the Sun Moon Empire.

"Hall Master Jing, if you have any concerns, you can state them. I will give you a reply that satisfies you. I know that the Hall Master is willing to offend me to keep Luo Yu because Luo Yu's potential is obvious to all. Ten years from now, the next Level Ten Soul Engineer of the Sun Moon Empire is destined to be him. Therefore, for the sake of the Sun Moon Empire, I ask the Hall Master to consider the big picture." Xu Tianran's words showed his unquestionable determination.

"I think Your Highness has misunderstood. No matter where Luo Yu is, he will serve the Sun Moon Empire to the end. You must know that in order for the Sun Moon Empire to win the championship in this tournament, Luo Yu specifically put down his research to participate in this tournament, and also spent a lot of time making strategic plans for Leiqier and the others, guiding their cultivation. He has also studied Shrek Academy's teaching methods in detail and cultivated excellent students like Leiqier for us. Therefore, Your Highness need not worry."

Both knew the other's intentions, but neither could openly point out the other's thoughts, yet they both had to fight for a person who was incomparably important to them. Both sides were pretending to be ignorant while knowing the truth. However, the reason they did this was that neither side wanted to tear off the mask, because fundamentally, their interests were mutual.

Many things are best kept in one's own hands, because you cannot pray that the person cooperating with you is someone who can help you without reservation. After all, there aren't that many angels in this world.

The exchange between the two was actually not pleasant. When Jing Hongchen came out of the Crown Prince's palace, his face was quite helpless.