Early the next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, the sound of orderly footsteps on the streets of Mingdu startled many from their sleep. It wasn't until half an hour later that a piece of news spread from the imperial palace.
Last night, a soul beast riot had occurred in the Evil Demon Forest, and several surrounding villages had been attacked by soul beasts. The troops were precisely dispatched to suppress the soul beasts that had escaped from the Evil Demon Forest.
At this moment, inside the imperial palace, the door to Xu Tianran's study was tightly closed, with not a single guard at the entrance. Only Xu Tianran and Zhongli Wu sat facing each other in the study.
"Last night's events were a bit excessive," Xu Tianran said with a slight frown. "This time, I can still help you suppress the news, but if something like this happens again in the future, it won't be so easy to conceal."
"I will instruct them accordingly," Zhongli Wu replied, his expression unchanged upon hearing Xu Tianran's words, as if the previous orders hadn't come from him. He rummaged through his storage soul guidance device and took out a small package, placing it on the table. "This is Your Majesty's medicine for this month."
Xu Tianran's gaze swept over Zhongli Wu's hand, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Imperial Father is also advanced in age; in the past two years, his health has been deteriorating day by day. It's truly worrisome."
Zhongli Wu paid no mind to what Xu Tianran was really thinking and simply continued with his words. "When His Majesty was young, he left behind many old injuries from battles everywhere. Now that those old injuries are recurring, although these medicines can maintain things for a while, they cannot cure the root cause. Your Highness should make preparations early."
"Indeed, some preparations are needed. Ever since I..." Xu Tianran paused for a moment, then suddenly let out a cold humph. "In the past two years, my brothers could still endure it a bit, but now that Imperial Father's health is getting worse, they seem unable to sit still again."
"Does Your Highness need us to take action?" Zhongli Wu leaned in slightly.
"No need," Xu Tianran waved his hand. "After all, the Sun Moon Empire is still under Imperial Father's control for now. Last time, he already tacitly allowed me to deal with the second brother. If he finds out that I am closely connected with you, there might really be variables."
Xu Tianran fell silent for a moment, thought about it, and then suddenly looked at Zhongli Wu. "Just give me a few people with concealed identities who are reliable in handling matters."
Upon hearing this, Zhongli Wu's eyes flickered slightly, and then he nodded lightly.
On the other side, at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Lin Xiao had just returned to his dormitory not long ago.
Having not rested all night, although he hadn't indulged like the other Holy Spirit Cult disciples, his gains were still considerable.
Electrolux started from the "dialogue" he was most familiar with, making him understand the roles played by different syllables in the incantations.
As for Feng Shen's memories, they not only included the knowledge mastered by a level 9 soul engineer but also the experience of a soul master cultivating to nine rings.
When Lin Xiao first started cultivating, the Nightmare Douluo had given him a few pointers, and afterward, he mostly relied on his memories from his previous life to grope his way forward. But with Feng Shen as a reference, some parts of the memories that were not detailed in writing now had concrete forms.
With his current cultivation level, not resting for one night wouldn't be too exhausting. As usual, he entered the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and it wasn't long before he saw Ye Yulin walk out of his room.
That peculiar hairstyle was no longer surprising; the other disciples in Illustrious Virtue Hall had long grown accustomed to it and didn't pay much attention. However, upon seeing Lin Xiao, Ye Yulin suddenly stopped in his tracks and then waved at him.
"Teacher Ye."
"Mm, if you're free, come with me for a trip."
Lin Xiao didn't ask much and simply tidied up the materials on his experiment table before following along.
Along the way out of the academy, Ye Yulin twisted and turned, leading him to an unassuming building.
"Remember this place."
Lin Xiao nodded at Ye Yulin's words, though his expression was a bit strange. This place wasn't unfamiliar to him at all.
Ye Yulin didn't notice much and took the lead in walking inside. Just after crossing the doorway, a burst of noisy sounds came from within, seeming to make the air itself several degrees hotter.
"Hello, guest. Our matches here haven't started yet. If you're here to watch, you can come a bit later."
The person at the reception had met Lin Xiao once before, but he apparently didn't recognize Lin Xiao without his mask.
"I'm from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. I'm looking for your boss."
"Alright, please wait a moment, both of you." The receptionist glanced at Ye Yulin, then walked to the side and whispered a few words to someone nearby.
"Teacher Ye, you're coming here to...?"
This was precisely one of the Holy Spirit Cult's strongholds in Mingdu. Of course, to others, the name Duskwater Alliance was probably more familiar, and the boss here was none other than the Second Elder, Nangong Wan.
He had no idea why he was bringing him here. Could it be that he also knew he was from the Holy Spirit Cult?
Lin Xiao looked at Ye Yulin in front of him, trying to discern something from his expression.
"Although the academy provides some rare metals, the quantity isn't much. Sometimes we need to procure them ourselves. Don't be fooled by how unassuming this place looks; the boss here operates part of Mingdu's underground business."
"This isn't much of a secret among the academy's teachers. The boss here also knows the Hall Master. If you need anything in the future, you can come here to take a look."
As soon as Ye Yulin spoke, Lin Xiao knew he had overthought it. He knew far better than Ye Yulin what kind of business was being operated here.
Still, he nodded in response. "I understand, Teacher Ye."
No wonder this kind of business that couldn't be put on the surface was doing so well. On one side, there was the imperial family secretly supporting from behind; on the other, there were customers like Illustrious Virtue Hall coming to the door. It would be hard for the business not to thrive.
There were probably quite a few people playing roles in this, but the specifics weren't something Lin Xiao could clearly know.
Not long after, someone else came to lead Ye Yulin and Lin Xiao toward the back. Soon, Nangong Wan appeared before the two.
His silver hair was neatly groomed, and he wore a well-fitted, expensive outfit. The wrinkles piled on his face really made him look like a merchant. If he hadn't seen him just last night, Lin Xiao probably wouldn't have been able to connect the person in front of him with the Second Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult for a while.
"So it's the Star Sky Douluo gracing us with his presence." Nangong Wan stood up to welcome them, his eyes glancing slightly over Lin Xiao, who was following behind Ye Yulin.
"Alright, skip the pleasantries with me." Ye Yulin waved his hand, seemingly noticing Nangong Wan's gaze, and added, "This is a new disciple in the hall. In the future, he might even patronize your business."
"Good, good, good. Welcome, welcome." Nangong Wan smiled and nodded at Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao nodded back in courtesy. Only Ye Yulin, who was kept in the dark, got straight to the point. "Have you had any results with the materials I asked you to find last time?"
"This..." Nangong Wan hesitated for a moment. "The Sun Essence Stone is fine, but the Moon Marrow Ore is really hard to find."
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