At this moment, from the outside, Meng Hongchen had already grown into a young woman.
She now stood over 1.7 meters tall, her chest full, waist slender, hips round and perky, and her legs long and straight.
Things she hadn't understood before, Meng Hongchen now gradually began to realize.
For example, why her grandfather had always obstructed her from meeting Brother Wang Chen, and even when she did meet him, it had to be in secret.
Because the Wang Family had sided with the Second Prince, becoming deeply entangled in the imperial struggle for the throne. Her grandfather didn't want her dragged into that vortex.
Now that Crown Prince Xu Tiannan had officially been appointed heir, the Wang Family, who had supported the Second Prince, would naturally face a difficult situation.
Meng Hongchen's heart clenched slightly as she began to worry for Brother Wang Chen.
Soon, she thought of her grandfather.
"If Brother Wang Chen is in danger, I'll ask Grandfather to save him. With Grandfather's strength, rescuing Brother Wang Chen would be no problem at all."
Thinking so, her anxious heart finally calmed a little.
She paced back and forth in her room, her mind constantly replaying memories of her time with Wang Chen.
"Brother Wang Chen has seemed very busy lately. I wonder how he's doing now.
Tomorrow I'll go to our usual meeting place and see if Brother Wang Chen has left a reply."
Meng Hongchen murmured softly to herself.
..................…
At that same time, inside the Ordinary Alliance branch's training ground—
As Zhang Ming's massive Martial Soul True Body collapsed heavily to the ground, sending dust flying everywhere, the entire place fell silent.
The members of both the Ordinary Alliance branch and the Evening Water Alliance branch stood wide-eyed, mouths agape.
A few seconds later, the people of the Ordinary Alliance erupted in cheers.
"My lord won!"
"My lord is incredible!!"
"Even though he looks fierce, our lord's strength is terrifying—he defeated the Evening Water Alliance's Soul Sage Zhang Ming in just a few moves!"
While the members of the Ordinary Alliance were cheering with excitement—
The people of the Evening Water Alliance branch were staring in disbelief, faces pale.
"Impossible! How could this obscure branch leader of the Ordinary Alliance be so strong?"
"Our branch leader Zhang Ming is a Soul Sage, and not an ordinary one—he's defeated several other Soul Sages before! How could he lose so easily?"
"That branch leader didn't even activate his Martial Soul True Body, yet he defeated Minister Zhang Ming—such power is terrifying!"
Wang Chen gazed calmly at Zhang Ming, who lay on the ground, his Martial Soul True Body forcibly dispelled.
Ordinary Soul Sage–level powerhouses were nothing to him anymore.
He hadn't even needed to use any of his trump-card secret techniques to win.
Next, following their prior agreement, Wang Chen took all the soul tools from Zhang Ming's body and stored them in his own storage soul tool.
As a Soul Sage, Zhang Ming's wealth was considerable—he had several Level 7 soul tools.
Though Wang Chen had no real use for them, selling them would at least earn him three million gold soul coins—a very profitable gain.
He cast a cold glance at the people of the Evening Water Alliance.
Under Wang Chen's gaze, their faces turned deathly pale, legs trembling, cold sweat dripping down as they feared he might slaughter them at any moment.
Wang Chen's voice was cold and sharp:
"Get lost."
Hearing that he wouldn't kill them, the members of the Evening Water Alliance felt as if they'd been pardoned from death. They immediately lifted the severely injured, unconscious Zhang Ming and fled as fast as they could—terrified that if they delayed even a second, Wang Chen might change his mind.
The reason Wang Chen didn't kill them was simple: the three major underground forces of Mingdu currently maintained a fragile balance.
If he killed Zhang Ming, a Soul Sage-level powerhouse, it could easily provoke retaliation from Soul Douluo or even Titled Douluo within the Evening Water Alliance.
After all, a Soul Sage was not some random nobody that could be killed without consequence.
To any major force, Soul Sages were valuable assets—losing even one was painful beyond words.
If the Evening Water Alliance lost a Soul Sage, they would never let it go easily, and that would only create unnecessary trouble.
And with Xu Tiannan now officially crowned Crown Prince, Wang Chen didn't want to stir up more complications at such a sensitive time.
After settling this minor matter, Wang Chen ordered his noisy subordinates to return to their duties and continue with their respective work.
Then, leaving the Ordinary Alliance branch, he went to check on the men he had secretly recruited.
After confirming that everything was properly arranged, he headed toward the Wang Family estate.
These past months, Wang Chen had been running around tirelessly—cultivating, expanding his influence, and strengthening his power. It had been a long time since he'd gone home.
Now that Xu Tiannan had become Crown Prince, the Wang Family would surely be in a state of panic. Wang Chen had to go back and see how his parents were doing.
...............…
Mingdu — Wang Family.
As the news of Xu Tiannan's ascension to Crown Prince spread, the Wang Family's atmosphere grew heavier and heavier.
The family members weren't fools—they all understood what this meant.
Once Crown Prince Xu Tiannan ascended the throne, their Wang Family, who had supported the Second Prince, would inevitably face a grim fate.
Under such circumstances, many within the clan began to harbor resentment toward the family patriarch, Wang Yan.
After all, when Wang Yan had decided to support the Second Prince, many in the family had opposed the idea—some even quite strongly.
Many clansmen had no wish to be drawn into imperial politics; they only wanted to develop the family's strength steadily and peacefully.
But Wang Yan's authority and prestige within the family had been overwhelming, and his personal strength unmatched.
By sheer force of power and influence, he had crushed all opposition and insisted on supporting the Second Prince, dragging the Wang Family into the imperial struggle.
And now that the Second Prince had lost the battle for the throne, Wang Yan's decision had brought an enormous crisis upon the Wang Family.
In an instant, Wang Yan's prestige plummeted.
The elders who had originally opposed his decision now stood tall, emboldened.
They demanded an immediate family meeting with the patriarch.
...............…
Inside the Wang Family ancestral hall—
Wang Yan sat at the head of the main hall, while the twelve elders of the Wang Family gathered on both sides, seated according to rank, facing the ancestral tablets of their forebears.
Each of the twelve elders was a Soul Sage-level powerhouse, possessing strength at or above Rank 70.
The strongest among them—the Great Elder—had broken through the Soul Douluo bottleneck last year, reaching Rank 80.
He had also been the most vocal opponent of Wang Yan's decision to support the Second Prince in the first place.
The atmosphere inside the hall was tense and heavy, as oppressive as the calm before a storm.
No one spoke for a long time.
Finally, the Great Elder broke the silence.
His eyes blazed like torches as he stared at Wang Yan, his voice deep and filled with suppressed fury:
"Patriarch, we advised you not to meddle in the affairs of the royal court. Yet you refused to listen and acted willfully.
Now that the Second Prince has fallen and Crown Prince Xu Tiannan has triumphed, he surely won't spare our Wang Family.
Have you considered how our family is to weather this crisis?"
The Third Elder followed up immediately, his tone equally sharp:
"Patriarch, the foundation our Wang Family has built over so many years—will it all be destroyed because of your decision?
What of the futures, the lives, of our clan's younger generation? How are we to protect them now?"