"Oh? Father?"
Xu Muchen was a little surprised. What could his father need to speak about that required him to come in person? After all, his father, Prince Xu Yi, had always stayed in Yaori City near Mingdu. If there were any matter, sending a servant or transmitting a message via a soul communication device would have sufficed.
Now that his father had summoned him directly, something serious was clearly afoot.
Vaguely, Xu Muchen sensed something was off.
"Pack my things. Take me to him."
---
Yaori City – Prince's Residence
After exchanging a few pleasantries with his father, Xu Muchen couldn't hold back any longer.
"Father, what did you call me here for?"
Hearing this, Xu Yi took a slow sip of tea, then spoke with meaningful calm.
"Muchen, how do you think you're doing over there in Mingdu?"
At this question, Xu Muchen fell silent.
Prince Xu Yi wasn't considered one of the powerful figures in the Sun Moon Empire's royal family. That meant he couldn't enter the central circle of power in Mingdu and could only remain in the nearby Yaori City.
As the prince's son, Xu Muchen had once been a bold, fearless youth. Dissatisfied with the stagnant status of their household, he had dreamed of carving out his own legacy within the imperial court at Mingdu.
But the reality was harsh. With mediocre cultivation talent, average skill in soul engineering, and little aptitude for political maneuvering, he had relied solely on his princely background and minor support from the Third Prince to earn a lowly post as a captain of the Royal Inspection Corps in Mingdu—leading only a handful of Soul Kings and Soul Emperors while running errands for others.
Now past thirty, his youthful ambition had long since faded. He had resigned himself to mediocrity.
"...Not well, Father," Xu Muchen sighed.
Xu Yi narrowed his eyes at the answer.
"Muchen, is this really how you want to live your life—just scraping by like this? I'm old now. I no longer have the ability to revive our household. But you, you're still young."
At those words, Xu Muchen instinctively shook his head. As the son of a prince, he had always craved power. But how could he compete for it, with so little to his name?
Wait...
"Muchen, let me be frank. I'm old now, and you're basically the master of this household. Do you want to follow the Third Prince with absolute loyalty? If you do, then our whole family will commit. If not, then we'll just keep living as we are now."
Xu Muchen's gaze sharpened. Now he understood his father's meaning completely.
Only by aligning closely with the Third Prince—and banking on him ascending to the imperial throne during the eventual power reshuffle—could their family hope for a complete reversal of fortunes.
But if the Third Prince failed, then simply avoiding extermination would already be considered a lucky outcome.
It was an incredibly difficult decision. Xu Muchen hadn't expected that today's visit would force him to make such a terrifying choice.
"Father... don't you have an opinion of your own?"
Xu Muchen smiled bitterly.
Xu Yi sighed.
"My cultivation isn't high. I barely made it to Soul Emperor. If it weren't for that, our family wouldn't be stuck in this position. Now I'm nearly seventy. I don't have much time left. Whether I live or die doesn't matter anymore. But I worry for you... so this decision—I can only leave to you."
He paused, then added, "But I've gathered some intel about the Third Prince. What I can tell you is this: his power is far greater than you imagine. From what I know, even the Grand Duke of the northern frontier supports him."
Xu Muchen nodded thoughtfully.
'Perhaps... if we secure our backup plans, this really might work.'
"...This time, I'll take the gamble, Father," he said with determination.
He didn't want to live like a coward any longer.
Hearing his son's answer, Xu Yi nodded with satisfaction. His son might not have many strengths, but this boldness—he appreciated it.
"Do you know Xu Rong?"
Xu Muchen blinked. Xu Rong?
"Of course I do. During that past royal conflict, his father was executed for causing the death of Jing Hongchen's son. Their princely title was revoked, and they were banished to the eastern frontier. Father, why are you bringing him up?"
Xu Yi slowly explained.
"Xu Rong may only be a borderland count now, but don't underestimate him. He inherited the royal bloodline's Sun Martial Soul. He's talented in cultivation and a prodigy in soul engineering. At thirty, he's already a rank-seven soul engineer. He's also a subordinate of the Third Prince and enjoys considerable favor."
"If you truly intend to follow the Third Prince, then you should head to Wangyue City in the eastern frontier and build a good relationship with Xu Rong, who's about your age. Meanwhile, I'll discuss with His Highness about transferring our forces near Mingdu to Xu Rong's territory."
"Yes, Father."
Forty-five days later, the reconstruction of Mingde Hall was complete.
At that moment, Jing Hongchen was touring the newly renovated Mingde Hall alongside Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen, the head of soul tool development and current chief researcher at Mingde Hall.
"Excellent. Truly excellent."
Jing Hongchen was very pleased with the outcome of the overhaul—especially with the improvements to Mingde Hall's soul tool production efficiency.
To put it in perspective: before the reconstruction, the entire Mingde Hall could produce at most 500 rank-seven stationary soul cannon shells per day. Now, a single production sector alone could manufacture up to 5,000 per day.
With this level of production, the Sun Moon Empire was becoming completely reliant on Mingde Hall. The very thought thrilled Jing Hongchen.
Xuan Ziwen, however, had little interest in mass production. What intrigued him was the soul tool research division.
The current system used in research was team-based. Within the research sector, there were numerous laboratories focused on different soul tool types. Each lab had a team leader with outstanding research ability, supported by research staff and students from both Mingde Hall and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy. These teams were tasked with conducting a wide array of research projects.
Xuan Ziwen was especially fond of this division-based development model. He believed that soul engineers who specialized in specific areas should lead projects in their own domains. In his opinion, his peers who tried to be proficient in every aspect of soul engineering were simply "a bit slow" and couldn't match his versatility.
After completing the inspection, Xuan Ziwen stayed behind to work on selecting new team members for ongoing research. Jing Hongchen turned to Huo Yuhao and said,
"Yuhao, your contributions to the reconstruction of Mingde Hall have been enormous. Do you need anything? Consider it a reward from your teacher."
(End of Chapter)
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