[Days passed by. Since Meng Hongchen and her brother were born, you had two tails following you. The siblings liked you very much. Whenever Hall Master Jing Hongchen brought them to Mingde Hall, they would pester you. You didn't reject them, and tirelessly became their "Junior Martial Uncle." Although the seniority was a bit off, Hall Master Jing Hongchen didn't say anything, and Kong Deming was all smiles, so Lu Cheng accepted the title.]
[At sixteen, you successfully reached the Soul Saint rank, becoming the most dazzling new star of the entire Sun Moon Empire, and successfully led the team to defeat Shrek Academy to win the championship at the time. At this moment, you were like a rising sun, the idol of all Sun Moon Empire royal students, and also the only candidate in the Empire to succeed Kong Deming in the future.]
[But because of the talent you displayed in the tournament, you gained the favor of the Body Sect. You politely declined. Upon returning to the academy, you were targeted by another faction—Zhongli Wu, Leader of the Holy Spirit Cult. They smiled and invited you to join and become the Holy Spirit Cult Holy Son.]
Back in the familiar metal laboratory.
Lu Cheng frowned slightly.
A familiar yet disgusting aura appeared beside him. Several black-robed men emerged. The leader revealed a smiling face.
"Child, you had better reconsider. No one has ever been able to refuse the olive branch offered by my Holy Spirit Cult."
A burly man beside him twisted his neck, making cracking sounds as he stretched his muscles. His hood was blown up slightly, revealing a striking mark on his neck—a tiger head with a scorpion tail, exceptionally strange.
The black-robed man on the other side also crossed his arms, looking at Lu Cheng with interest. He was slim and exuded a rich dark aura.
Lu Cheng was naturally familiar with this group of old "colleagues."
"Then what if I insist on refusing?"
Lu Cheng's eyes were calm, meeting Zhongli Wu's gaze without a trace of fear.
The surrounding atmosphere became heavy.
"Hahahaha—"
After a long time, Zhongli Wu laughed and shook his head, patting Lu Cheng's shoulder, his eyes full of satisfaction. "Good courage. A Soul Saint dares to look me in the eye. You are worthy of being my future Holy Spirit Cult Holy Son."
"Zhongli Wu!!!"
Suddenly, a thunderous sound came from his ear.
A short, plump figure slowly emerged, face full of anger, shielding Lu Cheng behind him, staring sharply at Zhongli Wu.
"If you dare to plot against my Junior Brother again, when the teacher blames you, your Holy Spirit Cult will not be able to shirk the responsibility."
Currently, the relationship between the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult was quite ambiguous and unclear. After all, the latter's foundation was terrifyingly deep and had high utility value, so even the current Your Majesty did not dare to offend them easily. This had made these guys increasingly rampant in the Sun Moon Empire in recent years.
"Hehe, why is Hall Master Jing Hongchen so anxious? This old man was just asking." Zhongli Wu said leisurely, without any guilt about being caught poaching. Instead, he still glanced at Lu Cheng with a kind smile: "I will say it again. My Holy Spirit Cult will get the person we want, no matter what means we use—"
"You!"
Even though Hall Master Jing Hongchen was gritting his teeth, full of anger, he didn't tear his face off. Instead, he stared viciously at Zhongli Wu's retreating back, slammed his fist on the nearby metal wall, causing debris to splatter, and cursed in a low voice: "These animals."
"Xiao Cheng, are you alright—" After that, he hurriedly turned to check on Lu Cheng.
"I'm fine." Lu Cheng shook his head, his eyes showing some surprise: "Senior Brother, is this Holy Spirit Cult—so arrogant?"
"Sigh, you are obsessed with spirit tools and cultivate, so naturally you don't know about these dirty affairs in the Empire. The current Your Majesty is benevolent, but that prince who is of the same mother is ambitious. His intention to rebel is known to everyone, but only the current Your Majesty does not believe it, treating him as his own younger brother, allowing him to buy and win over hearts in the army." Hall Master Jing Hongchen shook his head helplessly.
"And that prince is now even getting quite close to the Holy Spirit Cult. Now, the situation in the court and the field is afraid to be a bit turbulent."
No wonder.
Lu Cheng nodded slightly.
In the original work, Xu Tianran "colluded" with the Holy Spirit Cult, which could be considered following in his father's footsteps. The old emperor in the original work seemed incompetent, weak, and timid, but in his youth, he was also the one who launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
He looked calm and had no intention of taking sides.
After all, the current His Majesty did not have the wisdom and means of Duke Zheng. He thought he was playing the pig to eat the tiger, but it turned out he was a real pig. Being back-bitten by his younger brother was to be expected. He didn't need to drag his own reputation into this palace struggle.
Learning from Hall Master Jing Hongchen and passing through stably was what he should do.
Passed a major node.
The screen continued to flicker.
[You chose to reject the Holy Spirit Cult. After Kong Deming learned of this, he was extremely angry and even went to the Holy Spirit Cult leader to demand an explanation. But the latter brought out Long Xiaoyao. Kong Deming did not back down at all and challenged him to a battle. The final result was unknown, but since then, the Holy Spirit Cult never harassed Lu Cheng again.]
[At eighteen, you advanced to Soul Douluo, becoming a true Level Nine Soul Engineer, and relying on the Blood Pupil's precision guidance, successfully joined the core of Mingde Hall, serving as one of the most important researchers. In the same year, the two little brats who followed you also finally reached six years old and awakened their martial soul, both being Level Nine, with excellent talent.]
[At twenty-one, you successfully condensed a martial soul core, becoming a powerhouse at the Titled Douluo level, shocking the entire Mingde Hall. After all, it is well known that even the strongest person in Mingde Hall, Hall Master Jing Hongchen, was only at level ninety-three, and the Empire's pillar, Kong Deming, was only at level ninety-four. Looking at the entire Empire, there was not a single Super Douluo.]
[And if one breaks through to Super Douluo, it means having the qualifications to enter the legendary Level Ten Soul Engineer. This is a height that Kong Deming and Hall Master Jing Hongchen could never reach in their lifetime. After all, only at the level ten can one forge a "life-bound" spirit tool. Supreme Elder Ye Xishui is also a spirit tool genius, and even counts as a "pseudo" Level Ten Soul Engineer, but her life-bound spirit tool, the Death God Tower, does not rely on spirit tool technology, but is purely piled up by human lives, so strictly speaking, it cannot be counted as level ten, nor does it have the power of the level ten.]
[The following year, you became a legend of Mingde Hall and served as the Deputy Hall Master of Mingde Hall, in high martial souls. But a scheme targeting you followed.]
Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy.
Mingde Hall Research Institute.
At the highest point.
Lu Cheng wore a monocle, his hands behind his back, looking at the academy, his eyes becoming more and more certain. "It seems that this simulation does not have a clear target, so the result is probably between Meng Hongchen, Ye Guyi, or even Nana."
As for Meng Hongchen, there is no need to say more. That girl's look at him is obviously wrong; it's almost pulling silk.
Raising someone is not bad either.
And if he wants to raise the score, it's not enough to go on plainly.
Lu Cheng pondered.
However, recently, he also vaguely smelled something wrong. The mice in the Holy Spirit Cult have been too quiet recently. Based on his understanding of Zhongli Wu, that guy would not be timid because of Kong Deming's warning.
Either they are holding back a big move.
And he also tried to find Ye Guyi's whereabouts, but still found no traces, so he gave up for the time being.
"Junior Martial Uncle!"
A crisp voice came from his ear. Wearing a princess dress, with a sweet and cute face, and long snow-white hair draped over her shoulders, her ice-blue eyes looked at Lu Cheng brightly. She held her princess skirt with both hands, as agile as a little deer, turned around in place, her pretty face full of joy: "Is A Meng beautiful?"
"Cute."
Lu Cheng pondered for a moment and gave an accurate answer.
"A Meng is asking if it is beautiful." Meng Hongchen said relentlessly.
"Cute." Lu Cheng stuck to his principles and continued to nod.
The little girl's eyes gradually dimmed, a little disappointed, and the whole person began to wilt.
Lu Cheng couldn't bear it: "Okay—actually A Meng is also very beautiful."
"Really?!!!"
Meng Hongchen instantly seemed to be full of chicken blood, jumped up, and the smile on her face could no longer be hidden.
Lu Cheng saw this and smiled helplessly.
She even learned how to cheat.
I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with growing up. She was already a beauty embryo. He had seen the young girl five years later, and she was also very beautiful—
"Hee hee, if not like this, Junior Martial Uncle would not praise A Meng." Meng Hongchen said with a smile, two dimples appearing on her face, extra cute, like an exquisite doll.
"The spirit tool I gave you—are you wearing it properly?" Lu Cheng smiled and rubbed the girl's head.
"It's here!" Meng Hongchen raised her wrist, and an ice-blue wristband was reflected in Lu Cheng's eyes. Her little eyes were quite smug: "This spirit tool was only forged by Junior Martial Uncle for me and my brother, so A Meng will naturally keep it well."
"Hmm."
Lu Cheng glanced at it and didn't speak again.
Giving the two children defensive spirit tools was purely because he was worried that the Holy Spirit Cult guys would cheat. He was the Junior Martial Uncle of the two children. The closest people besides the teacher and Senior Brother were these two children. Of course, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen could also be considered as growing up under his watch.
The feelings were the deepest.
In case they really attack him, who knows—
After all, you can expect these Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult to have any bottom line. Wanting to force him to Liangshan, hehe.
Lu Cheng shook his head. The timeline has progressed to now. If he guessed correctly, the big one is coming.
That's right, killing brothers and usurping the throne, fighting for the throne.
It must be a bloody drama. He was not interested in this, so he stayed inside Mingde Hall and didn't want to get involved.
Meng Hongchen skipped away.
Days passed by. Just when Lu Cheng suspected that the simulator had been modified and that the usurpation of the throne would not happen.
A rainy night.
Heavy rain poured down, and the street was empty.
Lu Cheng was in the room researching and designing his own Level Ten life-bound spirit tool when the communication spirit tool on his wrist vibrated slightly. He was stunned for a moment, then connected. A hurried voice came from the other side: "Xiao Cheng, something happened in the imperial city. The prince seems to have launched a coup. I don't know when he bought over the Royal Soul Engineer Legion Commander Commander Xu Jiangliu. The latter did not lead troops to intercept, and the soldiers under his command just returned from the front line and inserted straight into the palace. And—this time there seems to be people from the Holy Spirit Cult involved."
"You must not go out. Just stay in Mingde Hall honestly. Even if the entire Mingdu explodes, it has nothing to do with you." Hall Master Jing Hongchen said with a comforting tone: "Don't worry, after this matter, the new emperor will inevitably not do anything to us for the sake of appeasement. This old man will still be the Hall Master of Mingde Hall, and you will also—"
"Don't worry, Senior Brother, I know the measure."
Lu Cheng said with a smile.
The tone was leisurely.
He was not stupid. Why should he get himself involved in such a sensitive moment? The top priority is to break through to level ninety-five Super Douluo and become a Level Ten Soul Engineer. Only then will he have the qualifications to lay out behind the scenes.
He had already experienced once how disgusting this world was. A group of old immortals were more sinister than each other.
Hanging up the communicator, he let out a long breath.
Looking at the sheets of draft paper on the table, the pale gold fountain pen in his slender fingers spinning, one could vaguely see it was a battle armor, but it didn't look heavy, rather light, a neural operating System, a metal shell.
Strictly speaking, this was a Battle Armor.
Similar to the first-generation Battle Armor of Huo Yuhao's Divine Ice Crystal armor, he planned to use it as his Level Ten spirit tool, that is, his future life-bound spirit tool.
It's just that he underestimated the difficulty.
In this life, he did not have the Ultimate Ice attribute martial soul, only the Seraphim martial soul, so he could not use the Divine Ice Crystal, skipping the forging step, and finding suitable metal became a problem.
Of course, there is also the neural operating System.
He found Xuan Ziyun, but in the original work, it took several years to get it done. It was definitely not done overnight. Now he and Xuan Ziyun have undertaken this subject together, picking up the things that Hall Master Jing Hongchen and others discarded and doing them again. It can be considered a slight achievement, but there is still a considerable distance from the actual finished product.
"Difficult to handle…"
Lu Cheng frowned slightly, rubbing his fingers.
Beep beep—
Suddenly, a harsh sound rang out. Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then his pupils shrank suddenly. A vast and terrifying mental force, like the ocean, instantly poured out in all directions.
Lu Cheng closed his eyes.
A huge crimson Blood Pupil slowly opened above Mingde Hall, overlooking the bottom.
No trace of the two.
Continue to expand the search range, still nothing.
More than half of the Mingde Hall members were awakened in front of this almost materialized terrifying mental force, and then looked at the core area with stunned and shocked eyes.
What an exaggerated mental force…
At least it is a powerhouse above Titled Douluo.
And the Blood Pupil martial soul, only one person has it.
"Wrong!"
Lu Cheng's face looked a bit ugly.
The defensive spirit tools of Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had obviously left the scope of Mingdu and were moving rapidly towards the outside of the city.
At this time period—It's definitely ill-intentioned.
Because of the major event, Hall Master Jing Hongchen is likely not in the mansion at this moment, so the defensive power at home is seriously insufficient, which also gave those guys an opportunity.
"Damn it."
Lu Cheng gritted his teeth.
Where could he care about too much? A pair of flaming red wings behind him popped open, instantly breaking through the roof like a cannonball, turning into a fiery red meteor and flying straight towards the outside of the city.
A trap aimed at him, it was obvious.
But he had to go.
Whether it is a simulation task or the real feelings of these years, he cannot give up the two little guys.