Kong Deming slowly opened his eyes, realizing that he was in his office. He glanced at his window and noticed that the sky had darkened.
"...Did I fall asleep?"
"Hm. I might've overdone it a little this time. While researching soul tools to breakthrough to becoming a True Class 10 is important, balancing work and relaxation is equally necessary to achieve great results much smoothly." he muttered, rubbing his temples.
Suddenly, he heard a knocking sound from the door.
Kong Deming raised an eyebrow. 'Who could that be at this time?' He pressed a button on his desk and a small screen appeared from under the surface of his desk, showing an image of a person on the other side of the door.
'The crown prince? Why is he here? Ah, he's trying to persuade me to join his faction again.' He sighed and pressed the button again, hiding the soul light screen back into the desk.
Although he and many had claimed that he was part of the royal family, in truth, he was simply an honorary one. The true royal family are those with close relations to the Xu family.
Kong Deming only had a small percentage of blood that marked him related to the royal family. He was given status equal to true royalty because of his immense contributions, and strength, for the empire.
Moreover, he doesn't really care for the crown.
He didn't intervene in the coup that the current emperor had done to the previous emperor, he really doesn't care who runs the nation as long as there's a royal family and continue on developing the country.
Because of the declining health of the Emperor, numerous princes have started maneuvering behind the scenes—pulling strings, cutting deals, and rallying support from influential figures within the military, nobility, and especially with soul engineers.
And of course, Kong Deming was at the top of every list. After all, as the so-called "Father of Soul Tools" he had a lot of influence with soul engineers.
Currently there were two factions leading the race of becoming the next Emperor: the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. And between the two, the Crown Prince has the biggest influence.
"Come in."
The door slowly opened and entering in a wheelchair was a young man who seemed to be in his late twenties. He wore the royal robe, and his eyes were full of energy. Although he wasn't very handsome, he had the aura of an authoritative figure. His tanned skin revealed a healthy glow.
The crown prince, Xu Tianran!
Don't be fooled by his calm, patient, and seemingly kind personality on the surface. Some know him to be a genius and extremely ruthless.
When he lost his legs in a failed assassination ordered by the Second Prince when he was young, after recovering his health, he quickly captured the Second Prince and his charges in one fell swoop—resulting in their execution.
Not only did this reaffirmed his position as the Crown Prince, even though he became disabled, but it also showed to many neutral groups of what happens if they go against him.
However, that kind of fear tactic only worked for those who are weak. The Third Prince wasn't no ordinary as well and continued on fighting for the throne.
As his wheelchair rolled forward into the office, Xu Tianran offered Kong Deming a polite smile.
"Elder Kong. It's been a while," Xu Tianran said politely, cupping his hands. This kind of gesture from the crown prince was unheard of, but it was necessary when greeting the number one soul engineer in the empire.
Kong Deming offered a slight nod, something that would've earned a lesser man execution, gesturing for him to sit. "Your Highness. I wonder what brings you at this hour?"
Xu Tianran kept smiling and bowed his head, "Why, I've come here to congratulate in Elder Kong's successful breakthrough to being a Class 10 Soul Engineer!"
"..." Kong Deming's eyes blinked, confused. He wanted to ask what he was talking about when groaned, a splitting headache pierced his head for a moment.
'I...Yes. I had managed to successfully break through to Rank 95 a couple weeks ago when that strange lump in my spiritual sea transformed into a ball—or should it be appropriately called the Spiritual Core?
I developed a domain skill and after consolidating my foundations, I then began integrating my Transcendent Douluo abilities with my soul tool research—thus finally succeeding in creating a true class 10 soul tool!' Kong Deming was so excited that he almost stood up and shouted in joy. But with his disciplined mind and spirit, he quickly took control of his emotions.
Although he was keeping his emotions in check, there was no denying the wide smile on his face as he said. "Ah, thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. I will be honest, it wasn't easy.
For more than 20 years I've been stuck at the peak of Class 9, rewriting theory after theory, discarding hundreds of models, chasing after a threshold that even I began to think might be a myth."
He let out a quiet, almost nostalgic chuckle.
"But breakthroughs come in strange ways. I have successfully created a class 10 soul tool, a powerful spatial manipulation device that can block and redirect almost any attack, casts an almost impenetrable barrier in at least a thousand meters, and even teleports one to long distances with minimal soul power consumption."
Xu Tianran's eyes widened in awe and shock. "That's unbelievable... a single device that combines defense, counterattack, and mobility? That's utterly a divine-level tool! It might even rival those tools depicted in the stories of the Legend of Tang San and Spirit Hall..."
Kong Deming wryly chuckled. "Divine level? Hahaha. How could that be easy? The soul tool I created might be able to deal with Limit Douluos, but a God? They've never appeared for thousands of years but considering that Limit Douluos could manipulate space and the laws of the world, I'm afraid they could easily tear apart my soul tool with a snap of their fingers."
'Although...It might be possible to go against a God if I construct a Class 11 soul tool.' Kong Deming thought, his breakthrough to Transcendent Douluo had brought him many benefits than just an increase in strength. His mind and spirit had sharpened beyond what he thought possible.
It was as if he had returned to his youth, full of vigor and burning curiosity.
That same fire had reignited inside him now, but with the clarity and discipline of a master.
There was a beat of silence until Xu Tianran spoke up.
"...Elder Kong, I didn't just come here to congratulate you on your successful breakthrough. My father has a message for you."
"A message?"
Xu Tianran nodded, an unwilling look flashed momentarily in his eyes as he said, "Elder Kong Deming, in the light of your newfound achievement that would result in the massive progression of soul engineering of our empire, the emperor wishes for you to take on the titles of Grand Regent and Supreme Guardian of the Empire!"
"I—"
"Well, this should be enough." A familiar voice sounded out that made Kong Deming's eyes widened.
In the blink of an eye, Xu Tianran disappeared and sitting casually on the sofa with a smirk on his face was Huo Yuhao.
"Y-You! What did you do?! Where's—" He froze, and his true memories of what was happening returned. He grasped his head, feeling a splitting headache for a moment.
He wanted to deny that it was all a dream, but not when he could feel his cultivation was—?!
"Rank 92?! What happened to my cultivation?!" Kong Deming stared in disbelief at his hands, a wave of cold dread washing over him.
His spiritual sea, once calm and vast, now felt hollowed out, as though a chunk of it had been siphoned away. His soul power had clearly receded from Rank 94 to the early stages of Rank 92. A 2-rank drop. Not fatal—but crippling for someone of his level!
Even drugs have limits to help increase one's cultivation. For someone at his level, only high quality drugs but with severe side effects could help him regain his previous cultivation in a short amount of time.
Standing on the side was Xuan Ziwen, visibly shaking. He too had his cultivation dropping severely by a few ranks.
"You two were inside my domain for less than five minutes," Huo Yuhao said with casual cruelty as he unwrapped a candy wrapper, one of many snacks he has in his storage device.
He tried hard to keep his glee from showing on his face. After draining both of their energies and refining it with the use of Heavenly Tempering Soul Technique, his soul power had skyrocketed from rank 65 to rank 70!
Most of it came from Kong Deming. While three ranks might sound insignificant to an outsider's perspective, for a powerhouse on the verge of becoming a Transcendent Douluo, each rank was a mountain. Draining even one was as vast as an ocean, let alone three.
And now, Huo Yuhao just needed a seventh soul ring to officially become a Soul Sage.
And he already had the perfect target in the Sun Moon Empire for it.
"How long have you both been enjoying your dreams... Weeks? Months? Enough to achieve almost all of your dreams. How does it feel, to achieve a blissful fantasy—only to wake up to reality, in which cruelty blooms beautifully."
Kong Deming's breathing turned sharp and irregular. "You.... you violated our minds!"
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow. "No, Elder Kong. You accepted a dream. A dream that showed you what your heart truly desired. Now, tell me, will you reject my offer once more?"
"Are you kidding me?! After what you pulled on me? I should just kill you on the spot!" This time, numerous soul tools came out from his body and other spots in the room.
Xuan Ziwen didn't stop his teacher. He too was furious at what Huo Yuhao had done to them.
Huo Yuhao was nonchalant and said,
"Ah, calm down Elder Kong. Don't you understand what I'm trying to do?"
Kong Deming scoffed. "That you're trying to kill me?"
Huo Yuhao's lips widened into a grin.
"I can make it happen. That false reality I showed you? I can make it real."
His voice was steady, almost gentle, but the weight behind it was undeniable. His light blue eyes scanned the humming soul tools aimed at him like a dozen loaded cannons, yet he remained seated, arms draped lazily across the back of the chair.
"I know you're angry," he continued. "You should be. I trespassed where most wouldn't dare. But I did it to prove a point."
He slowly raised a hand. Not to attack, but to point to his own head.
"You chase Class 10. I showed you Class 10. You want to reshape the empire. I gave you a taste of what that would feel like. You've been chasing a dream for decades. I let you live it."
The grin faded.
"And now you can't unsee it."
Kong Deming's soul tools buzzed louder, the room thick with soul power. But his face no longer burned with fury—conflicted he was now.
Xuan Ziwen swallowed, torn between loyalty to his teacher... and the impossible vision he himself had glimpsed.
"Kill me if you want, not as if you could." Huo Yuhao said calmly. "But know this: if you pull that trigger, you'll go back to tinkering in your lab and meditating for decades more while I build the future with someone else."
He leaned forward, voice dropping to a whisper.
"You lived the dream. You loved the dream. Now ask yourself: do you really want to wake up from it?"
Silence.
Only the low hum of soul tools remained.
Then, one by one, they began to power down.