Chapter 585 - 585: I Must Kill Dai Hao!

Kong Deming nodded with a smile and said, "Strictly speaking, the empire's existing powerhouses have made significant progress in their strength. Zhiwen is now a Rank 95 Super Douluo, and Hongchen has reached Rank 96. Given some time, they will both become Rank 10 Soul Engineers like me. In other words, before long, our empire will have three individuals capable of contending with Ultimate Douluo."

From Kong Deming's perspective, both Xuan Zhiwen and Jing Hongchen had reached the qualifications to become Rank 10 Soul Engineers. Their talent in soul engineering was considerable, and as long as they could merge their martial souls with their soul tools, it wouldn't take long for them to forge their life bound soul tools and officially advance.

Xu Tianran's expression showed shock and disbelief as he asked, "Xuan Zhiwen and Jing Hongchen both became Super Douluo? Master Kong, how could their strength improve so rapidly?"

In his impression, Xuan Zhiwen had been limited by his cultivation as a Soul Douluo and was unable to break through to Rank 9 as a Soul Engineer. Meanwhile, Jing Hongchen was merely a Title Douluo, nowhere near the level of a Super Douluo. If this information hadn't come directly from Kong Deming, he would have outright questioned its validity.

Of course, Xu Tianran's underlying message was also a request for Kong Deming to explain how he himself had reached Rank 98 as a Super Douluo.

Kong Deming naturally couldn't reveal the truth about the Qiankun Creation Pills. After all, those pills, refined by Huo Yuhao, were the most powerful medicines in the history of the Douluo Continent. If Xu Tianran learned of their existence, it would only cause trouble. Given his greedy nature, who could say whether he might join forces with the Holy Spirit Church to seize the remaining pills?

While Kong Deming wasn't afraid of the Holy Spirit Church, a direct confrontation would be troublesome. Protecting Huo Yuhao meant protecting the future of the Sun Moon Empire. Even though Huo Yuhao's spiritual power had already reached a shocking level, Kong Deming didn't want him to be targeted over the Qiankun Creation Pills.

Thus, it fell on him to divert attention elsewhere.

With a calm smile, Kong Deming explained, "Your Majesty, this all stemmed from an extraordinary opportunity. Recently, I discovered an ancient ruin and found a dragon core within it. Zhiwen, Hongchen, and I absorbed its energy together, which led to a rapid increase in our soul power."

Xu Tianran was astonished. As the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, he had read various records about dragons. It was well known that dragons were the most powerful species among soul beasts. The leader of the Ten Great Beasts, Ditian, was also a dragon.

"I see, truly a remarkable opportunity!" Xu Tianran exclaimed.

He had no doubts about Kong Deming's explanation. It was logical how else could all three of them have made such tremendous progress in such a short time? Dragon cores were remnants of a dragon's power upon death, and their potency depended on the dragon's strength in life.

Throughout history, there had been instances of soul masters discovering dragon cores in ancient ruins. Although rare, they weren't unheard of. Some soul masters who absorbed dragon core energy experienced massive breakthroughs, while others, unable to withstand the power, died in the process.

Since there were no detailed records on how soul masters absorbed dragon core energy, Xu Tianran had no way of knowing whether there were any risks involved.

Looking at the current state of the empire, he felt reassured. If what Kong Deming said was true and they soon had three Rank 10 Soul Engineers, then the so called Three Empires and Shrek Academy were nothing to fear.

Still, one of those Rank 10 Soul Engineers would need to remain in Mingdu to oversee security.

Having made up his mind, Xu Tianran declared, "Master Kong, in that case, I will put aside the issue of the Holy Spirit Church for now and continue preparing our soul engineer legions and powerhouses for war. When the time is right, we will execute Ju Zi's plan and launch a blitzkrieg against the Star Luo Empire. You will lead our forces to secure a defensible stronghold in the Ming Dou Mountain Range."

Kong Deming nodded. "Understood."

The Next Day.

Ju Zi relayed all the intelligence she had gathered to Huo Yuhao and told him that she planned to request a formal military appointment from Xu Tianran, allowing others to handle her secretarial duties for the Spirit Pagoda.

Her reasoning was simple: if she secured command over the war effort, she would have the opportunity to personally eliminate her sworn enemy Dai Hao.

Huo Yuhao pondered this. Ju Zi did indeed have a talent for military strategy. Even though her battle plans in the original timeline hadn't changed, they were highly effective in the Douluo Continent, where the tactical mechanisms were well matched.

Had it not been for Huo Yuhao's intervention in the original story, which allowed Dai Hao to quickly counterattack, the losses suffered by the Three Empires would have been even greater.

Looking at Ju Zi, he said seriously, "Ju Zi, I understand your deep hatred for Dai Hao. Unless he dies, you won't have peace of mind. I understand your feelings. Do you remember what I told you before? I, too, need to take revenge on Dai Hao. That's why I'll be heading to the battlefield with you to kill him together."

Ju Zi looked at Huo Yuhao and shook her head. "Yuhao, no matter what, Dai Hao is your biological father in the eyes of the world. Even if he has done many disgraceful things, you absolutely cannot bear the reputation of patricide! What would others think of you?

"You've already helped me so much. Leave the rest to me. Let me kill Dai Hao!

"If it weren't for you giving me the position of Spirit Pagoda's secretary, how many battles would I have had to fight to build enough prestige? How many resources would I have needed to win over the empire's military leadership?"

Huo Yuhao understood Ju Zi's point. However, revenge was something that had to be done personally leaving it to someone else just didn't feel right. Since he had inherited this body, he also bore its karma. No matter what, he had to strike Dai Hao down himself.

After all, in a way, Dai Hao was one of the culprits responsible for Huo Yun'er's death.

In the original story, under Tang San's careful orchestration, Huo Yuhao ended up living peacefully in the God Realm with Dai Hao and Huo Yun'er. There was no retaliation whatsoever against Dai Hao, which was utterly ridiculous.

When Huo Yuhao first read that part of the story, he felt deeply unsatisfied, as if Soul Land II was less about Huo Yuhao's path to godhood and more about Tang San's Guide to Taming a Dog.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1