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"Old man, shut your mouth! This is naturally my own research goal, what does it have to do with the Tang Sect?"
When Kong Yao mocked her, Ling Zichen's face flushed with anger. She stomped her foot in protest, but couldn't do anything else.
After all, the other party was a Limit Douluo. When she woke up a year ago, this old man had declared her allegiance had switched. Her insistence on non-violent non-cooperation and returning to the Tang Sect's embrace seemed far off.
"Hehe, accidents in scientific experiments are common, but for such an important scientific experiment, the Tang Sect didn't provide you with safety protection facilities. And yet, they still adhere to such a philosophy. Isn't that a ridiculous excuse?"
Kong Yao's face was full of sarcasm as he said lightly, "You've been in my Mingde Hall for a year, so you should know how much my Mingde Hall values talent. For experiments of the unidirectional source circulation array level, providing each research member with a nine-level spirit tool, the Mortal World's Blessing, is the minimum requirement."
"Scientific research is important, but if people die, everything is lost. And as far as this old man knows, the Tang Sect, the continent's number one Sect, has strong financial resources, but they didn't provide you with sufficient protective facilities."
"Tsk tsk—not treating you as human beings, yet still being able to develop such technology. Could this also be a low-human-rights advantage? Is it because Mingde Hall's moral standards are too high that the Tang Sect caught up?"
Towards the end, Kong Yao began to talk to himself, as if he was genuinely pondering the reasons for the Tang Sect's rapid technological development.
Ling Zichen was momentarily speechless: "..."
This old geezer wasn't wrong about one thing: Mingde Hall was very generous in spending money on the protection of researchers. She even wondered if these people had too much funding with nowhere to spend it.
As for the Tang Sect—let alone a nine-level defensive spirit tool, she hadn't even seen the shadow of a five-level one. Being equipped with a set of anti-poison and anti-radiation suits was already good.
No, this must be the other party's psychological warfare, using a money offensive to corrupt her faith in the Tang Sect!
Ling Zichen pinched her own face, reminding herself to remain loyal to the Tang Sect. Even if she was in Mingde Hall, her heart had to be in Heaven Dou City.
Kong Yao watched all of this and smiled faintly, "Alright, this old man doesn't care what your little schemes are. Mingde Hall has already established a research team for the unidirectional source circulation array this past year."
"This old man has specially approved your Family to participate as special consultants. All protective facilities will be on par with Mingde Hall's in-house researchers. I hope you won't disappoint this old man."
Ling Zichen suddenly lifted her head and exclaimed, "Do you think I'll work myself to death for you?"
"That doesn't matter, your parents have already agreed anyway."
Kong Yao took out two "Special Consultant Letters" and said with a smile, "Don't forget, when your parents returned to us, we discovered that they had contracted radiation sickness from long-term experiments, and we used the best medical technology to cure them."
"The people who died in the experiment group this time were all their old colleagues. This old man told them some things about not letting their old friends die in vain, and they agreed to my request."
"How about it? Is it a dilemma between loyalty and filial piety now?"
Ling Zichen gritted her teeth, feeling short of breath and chest tight. Her eyes rolled around, and she really wanted to slap the old geezer in front of her a few times.
Damn it, Mom and Dad, how could you betray the Tang Sect?
The cunning Kong Yao continued to press, "During this time, this old man allocated many good things for their health. They are very healthy now and can completely have another child."
Ling Zichen's face twitched, "What did you say?"
Kong Yao leaned back comfortably and said leisurely, "Your Family has high research talent, so your genes must be very good. If you are unwilling to cooperate, this old man will just have to cultivate your future younger siblings. This substitute isn't bad either."
"Perhaps in a few years, you will personally see your younger siblings' research capabilities surpass you, their elder sister, and even leave you far behind. That feeling surely won't be pleasant, will it?"
Ling Zichen was so angry that she stomped her feet, "Ah, ah, ah, old man, you're shameless!"
"Hehe, thank you for the compliment. This is how we are at Mingde Hall. If you want to switch sides, just say so. The treatment is excellent, you know."
Gu Yue, listening by the wall outside, couldn't help but grind her teeth. How come there's also 'replacement literature' here?
Are there no normal people inside and outside this academy? Did that bastard Feng Zaixing learn to be bad from these old geezers?
Pah! A crooked beam makes a crooked house!
"Little girl outside, you've been listening for a while. Aren't you coming in to take a look?"
At this moment, Kong Yao's voice reached Gu Yue's ears. This Limit Douluo had naturally discovered the outsider long ago.
Gu Yue walked in with a flutter and smiled politely, "Elder Kong."
"Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's Disciple, do you also want to do scientific research?" Kong Yao stood up, looked at her a few times, and commented, "Good mental force. Looks like a promising talent."
"Can I?" Gu Yue blinked her big, dark eyes, her face full of innocence, and asked.
"Of course, but you must do a good job with protective facilities and also be familiar with the experimental rules here." Kong Yao nodded and said,
"I know the Spirit Pagoda also has some research. Sharing knowledge is a good thing; I can't let you come for nothing."
"Thank you, Elder Kong." Gu Yue was overjoyed, already imagining herself mastering Mingde Hall's technology with her super mental force, then returning to the Spirit Pagoda to become a research expert and complete various plans.
As the number one mental force user on the continent, she could confidently say that everyone present was trash.
"When I become the Mingde Hall Master and see Feng Zaixing, I will definitely make him understand what's important."
Her thoughts drifted to the future, and she seemed to see herself using Mingde Hall's technology to suppress Feng Zaixing, thoroughly defeating him, and then leaving triumphantly.
Dream accomplished!
Ling Zichen eyed the newcomer, Gu Yue, warily, thinking, 'Damn, the Spirit Pagoda people are coming here to learn technology. Can I also secretly learn some, to use when I return to the Tang Sect in the future?'
She lowered her face, deep in thought and conflicted.
A faint smile gradually appeared at the corner of Kong Yao's mouth. 'How can I let those who enter my Mingde Hall leave? As expected, competition creates pressure. Plan accomplished.'
Time flew, and another year passed in a blink of an eye.
This year, Mingdu was calm, but noticeably more festive than usual. The source was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, where people visited almost daily with a pilgrimage-like mindset.
Eventually, the academy specially approved and designated a small tourist area at the request of the public, satisfying the spiritual needs of Mingdu's populace while earning some funds.
This year, thunderous laughter often erupted from Dean Hongchen's office, and the Hongchen Family's grand ancestral worship ceremony was in full swing, celebrating the cleansing of a ten-thousand-year shame.
This year, the War God Hall, situated thousands of meters above sea level, suddenly saw a heaven-piercing Sword Light shoot into the sky. Many top powerhouses sensed it that day and went to investigate.
The War God Hall's Second War God, Emperor Sword Douluo Long Tianwu, emerged from seclusion, breaking through the Limit with a single sword strike, and unhesitatingly advanced from Second War God to First War God.
Perhaps influenced by her husband, his wife, Sword Douluo Su Mengjun, also made great progress in her cultivation, breaking through to rank ninety-four and currently striving for the Super Douluo level.
From then on, the War God Hall had four Limit Douluo standing side by side. After the two Sect Leaders of the Tang Sect, the continent gained another Spirit Fusion skill involving Limit Douluo, greatly increasing the War God Hall's strength.
At the end of this year, Heaven Dou City, one of the continent's oldest cities, experienced a world-shaking earthquake.
Five hundred meters underground, terrifying energy erupted, shaking the heavens and earth. The shockwave destroyed all underground matter. Forces that favored building underground villas suffered heavy losses, with the Spirit Pagoda being the most unlucky.
Hundreds of layers of the underground Spirit Pagoda were largely destroyed, suffering immense losses in manpower and resources. The news reached headquarters, almost making Qiangu Dongfeng faint from anger, and he personally led people to Heaven Dou City.
The only fortunate thing was that this "earthquake" seemed to have its energy blocked by some underground structure, and not many shockwaves reached the surface.
Mo Wu, Zhen Hua, and others organized manpower and resources to quickly carry out disaster relief efforts. Aside from a few unlucky individuals who died from falls, this strange disaster, which only shook the underground and not the surface, caused no fatalities.
However, the Spirit Pagoda's tragedy still attracted countless eyes across the continent. Various forces were shaken, and all dispatched investigators to the scene for geological exploration, to investigate the underground of Heaven Dou City.
The ground shifted, and the culprit was quickly identified: an extremely ancient force—the continent's number one Sect, the Tang Sect.
"Zang Xin, you bastard! I, Qiangu Dongfeng, will fight you today! Come and pay with your life—!"
The shadow of the Coiling Dragon Rod spanned the sky. Qiangu Dongfeng truly went mad, wielding a thousand-meter-long rod to sweep across the firmament, smashing the headquarters of the Tang Sect's Xuan Shi Tang Sect Company in Heaven Dou City with one strike.
"Brother Qiangu, calm down. Things aren't as you imagine—"
Zang Xin, also full of grievances, passively met the attack. He raised his Sentimental Sword, defending while fighting, trying to explain something.
"Not your head! Your Tang Sect's underground experiment blew up my Spirit Pagoda! This Pagoda Master must get an explanation today!"
With his four-word battle armor donned, Qiangu Dongfeng swept his rod across the sky. The Evil-Breaking Dragon was ferocious and mighty, and the Coiling Dragon Rod's Battle Intent was overwhelming, as if it would smash the Sentimental Sword into pieces.
Among the investigation team from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Feng Zaixing was pensive.
The impact of taking Ling Zichen away was even greater than he had imagined.