Nothing is more unbearable than suddenly finding out you might have an extra "fiancée."
At least, that was the case for Kong Ming'an.
After repeatedly confirming that his grandfather wasn't joking with him, Kong Ming'an completely lost his composure.
His mind was in a mess, and Kong Ming'an rubbed his temples, a headache throbbing, his tone full of confusion: "I'm not even seven yet."
"Many people already have children in their teens. For you, it's only a few years, not too late."
Kong Deming said calmly.
...Uh.
Influenced by the memories of his previous life's twenty-plus years, Kong Ming'an found this somewhat unacceptable.
Kong Ming'an tried to struggle again, "Is it mandatory?"
Kong Deming glanced at Kong Ming'an: "What do you think?"
...Alright.
Kong Ming'an understood.
The so-called "betrothal of a princess" was probably not just the Sun Moon Emperor's idea; his own grandfather probably tacitly agreed to it… Seriously… he just got a fiancée?
Kong Ming'an fell into deep thought… Kong Deming looked at Kong Ming'an's slightly dejected expression, but chuckled and comforted him:
"Ming'an, you don't need to worry. Your Majesty hasn't decided which princess to betroth to you yet, so you are very free during this time."
"Moreover, it's just one princess. Your Majesty knows that our Kong Family Bloodline is scarce and will definitely not hinder you. Of course, if there are many, it's best not to be open about it. At least, you still have to consider the imperial family's reputation…"
"No, wait…" Kong Ming'an raised his hand to interrupt his old man's rambling, a bewildered look on his face:
"When did I say I wanted to find many?"
Kong Deming was puzzled, "Then you don't want that little girl from the Mortal World family?"
"She's an assistant I want to cultivate!"
..." Kong Deming paused for a second or two, then narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone becoming nostalgic: "Your father said the same thing back then."
???
Kong Ming'an was full of question marks.
So, this is how my production preparation process goes?
...Regarding the betrothal of a princess, the grandfather and grandson talked for a long time but ultimately didn't come to a conclusion.
Of course, for Kong Ming'an, he didn't really care. The reason he lost his composure earlier was more because he found it absurd.
Something he couldn't achieve in over twenty years in his previous life was settled in less than ten years in this life… This is truly hard to comment on.
Fortunately, such unexpected events didn't happen every day, and Kong Ming'an's life quickly returned to normal.
In the daily arduous cultivation, Soul Engineer experiments, and exploration of the mysteries of the spirit ring, time slipped away like sand through fingers.
In a blink of an eye, Kong Ming'an was already seven and a half years old.
At this moment, deep within the Hall of Worship, in a highly specified laboratory, the air was heavy, and various Energy monitoring instruments around flashed with dense lights.
Around them, white-robed experimenters were each adjusting the instruments about to be used.
And in the center of the experimental field, a strong and capable officer stood with a solemn and meticulous expression.
This was Wang Meng, the ambitious officer Kong Ming'an met when he first went to the Soul Engineer Legion's reserve soldier station in the suburbs.
At this moment, six spirit rings, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, and black, slowly rotated beneath his feet, his Spirit Emperor aura undeniably revealed.
Kong Ming'an stood not far behind him, his small figure appearing exceptionally tiny in the vast experimental field, yet he exuded an aura of being in control of the overall situation.
Beside him, Meng Hongchen wore a fitted white lab coat, holding a clipboard, her ice-blue eyes fixed on the experimenter in the center of the field.
Her focused expression clearly showed her to be a capable assistant.
After nearly a year of study and someone's personal guidance, Meng Hongchen had gradually developed a hint of a "researcher's" demeanor, calmly following Kong Ming'an.
Glancing at his old man on the second-floor observation deck, Kong Ming'an's eyes were calm, and his voice was clear,
"Begin."
As his voice fell, Wang Meng understood, closed his eyes to adjust his state, took a deep breath, and then sharply opened his eyes.
Without Spirit possession or using Spirit Abilities, he simply took a stance, and then… "Bang!"
A crisp and powerful sound suddenly rang out, and a yellow spirit ring beneath Wang Meng's feet instantly exploded!
Under intentional guidance, immense power permeated Wang Meng's body, and he merely frowned slightly at this, but quickly adapted.
Without any hesitation, he moved his mind, and three spirit rings—yellow, purple, and purple—beneath his feet successively exploded!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Almost visibly, the Energy generated by the Ring Explosion of four spirit rings filled Wang Meng's body, causing his body to almost instantly swell by a circle.
Gritting his teeth, he took a powerful step forward and then threw a heavy punch forward!
"Boom!"
The sound of his punch was like a thunderclap, and Wang Meng began to practice the Body Tempering Method's Supporting combat skills with punch after punch.
Every exertion of force, every extreme stretch and contraction of his bones and muscles, was like an invisible pump, forcefully guiding and squeezing the violent Ring Explosion Energy within his body, forcing it to scour, penetrate, and integrate into deeper layers of his body!
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!"
Hot and scorching "Qi and Blood Power" mixed with wisps of violently escaping Energy, gushed out like smoke from every pore around his body.
Wang Meng's eyes were wide with rage, feeling the surging Qi and Blood around him, seemingly trying to control it.
However, with each successive punch, his swollen body, like a deflating ball, began to visibly shrink and recover little by little, his bones making popping sounds.
This process lasted for nearly fifteen minutes.
When Wang Meng delivered his final move, planting himself firmly in place like an iron tower, the violent Energy fluctuations around him finally slowly subsided.
The abundant Qi and Blood were fully contained within his body, revealing Wang Meng's seemingly more solidified physique, showing a sense of heaviness imbued by Qi and Blood in his every movement.
The experiment concluded.
Kong Ming'an calmly "looked" at the much stronger life aura that had settled within Wang Meng's body, showing no joy, but rather a hint of disappointment.
"It failed again…"
Nearly a year ago, after he initially mastered the Ring Explosion technique, he decisively began researching a method to assist Body Cultivator cultivation by using Ring Explosion.
It involved using the vast spirit power obtained from Ring Explosion to scour the body, with the body's self-adaptability actively harmonizing with the Body Tempering Method.
Under this dual enhancement, the body would repeatedly break its limits within an acceptable subtle range, solving the problem of the Body Tempering Method's reduced efficiency once Body Refining began at the Spirit Ancestor stage.
He temporarily named this method the "Ring Tempering Method."
And half a year ago, during an experiment to collect data for improving the Ring Tempering Method,
When he had the experimental subject repeatedly break their physical limits using the Ring Tempering Method… "Qi and Blood" naturally appeared.