"Your Highness!"
Ju Zi hurried from Mingde Hall all the way to the Crown Prince's residence. Seeing Xu Tianran's expression, she immediately knew he was already in a towering rage.
She could only drop to one knee on the floor, not daring to look up at Xu Tianran's face.
Xu Tianran suppressed his own fury.
"Good, very good, Jing Hongchen." Suppressing the anger in his heart, Xu Tianran used his reason to make a decision this time.
Make no statement whatsoever.
Even if the Holy Spirit Cult pursued the matter, he could no longer offer them any support.
When it came down to it, this time it was the Holy Spirit Cult's own recklessness.
"This Crown Prince has not yet agreed to let them expand freely within the Sun Moon Empire."
Xu Tianran had promised the Holy Spirit Cult that after his ascension, he would declare it the state religion.
But he hadn't ascended yet!
So, logically, the Holy Spirit Cult had started expanding prematurely on its own.
"Jing Hongchen, I hope you won't regret this."
Xu Tianran gritted his teeth.
He raised a hand.
From the shadows behind him, a dark figure flashed out.
"Assemble all the Spirit Engineers directly under the royal family. Have them enter the Hall of Worship for a year of advanced study."
Cold sweat broke out on Ju Zi's forehead.
Xu Tianran's intention was clear: he felt these royal Spirit Engineers would face trouble if they stayed in Mingde Hall.
What kind of trouble?
A threat from the Evil Spirit Masters?
Could even the power of Mingde Hall not withstand the Evil Spirit Masters?
Imperial Palace.
The current Sun Moon Emperor, Xu Lingtian, wore an angry expression.
"This Jing Hongchen is truly cunning."
What was the Holy Spirit Cult's strength?
Xu Lingtian didn't know as much as Xu Tianran, but he knew far more than Jing Hongchen.
They had a Limit Douluo!
That single point was enough to cause apprehension.
Xu Tianran's introduction of the Holy Spirit Cult didn't seem like a big issue to Xu Lingtian; they could find a way to deal with it later. Conflict between the domestic Spirit Engineers and the Holy Spirit Cult was inevitable, but for it to erupt at this particular node was utterly fatal.
To secure the Crown Prince position, Xu Tianran had assassinated all the other princes. Now, Xu Lingtian's direct bloodline only consisted of two people: Xu Tianran and Xu Tianzhen.
Among them, only Xu Tianran could inherit the throne.
This was the time for Xu Tianran to reap the rewards, to slowly use the Evil Spirit Masters' power to develop himself and gradually take control of the nation.
But at this very moment, Mingde Hall exploded.
At this critical juncture, Xu Tianran could not take any action supporting the Holy Spirit Cult, and the royal family even more so must not be tainted by association with the Holy Spirit Cult.
Otherwise, if people started thinking that even putting up with this situation was worse than finding a way to install a new emperor, then his usurpation would have been for nothing.
But doing this would inevitably anger the Holy Spirit Cult, who had previously cooperated happily with Xu Tianran. When that happened, the Spirit Engineering world of the Sun Moon Empire would surely be swept into a storm of bloodshed.
The Sun Moon Empire's national power would definitely suffer significant losses.
For Xu Lingtian, this was simply a major stain on his record.
All he could do now was transfer power to Xu Tianran as quickly as possible, have the royal family remain silent for a period, and ensure Xu Tianran could smoothly ascend after his death.
But, doing so, based on his deep understanding of his son, once Xu Tianran truly grasped power, he would rapidly exert his strength and sideline him, the true emperor.
Then, given Xu Tianran's ruthlessness, he would likely sideline him without replacing him, pinning the blame for this Evil Spirit Master turmoil on him. After all, this turmoil occurred during his reign; the significant loss of the Sun Moon Empire's national power would be his fault.
Therefore, he couldn't transfer power to Xu Tianran either.
Back and forth like this, he was trapped in a vicious cycle.
"Beast!"
Xu Lingtian truly felt some regret now, regret for allowing Xu Tianran to assassinate all his brothers, giving Jing Hongchen such an opportunity.
What was Jing Hongchen's attitude in choosing to erupt at this time?
Why did he choose this particular node?
Xu Lingtian couldn't figure it out, couldn't understand it.
"His Majesty has given no response. Xu Tianran, however, has withdrawn a group of Spirit Engineers, sending them to the Hall of Worship for 'advanced study'."
Jing Hongchen snorted coldly.
Advanced study?
For Spirit Engineers, the best place to learn was Mingde Hall.
Yes, the Hall of Worship truly represented the depth of the Sun Moon Empire's Spirit Engineering heritage, but that place was full of old men waiting out their retirement, all wanting to research more profound techniques. Who had the mind to deal with a bunch of low-level Spirit Engineers?
"It seems the Holy Spirit Cult truly makes them apprehensive."
If the Holy Spirit Cult's Evil Spirit Masters were easy to eradicate, then Xu Tianran and Xu Lingtian should be fully supporting him right now, launching a nationwide campaign to suppress the Evil Spirit Masters.
"Whatever. As long as the Body Sect cooperates and provides strength, Mingde Hall can withstand the pressure from the Holy Spirit Cult."
Jing Hongchen set aside the royal family's reaction and took out the piece of Spirit Heavy Silver Su Can had given him earlier, sensing the spirit within the metal.
"The Human-shaped Spirit Tool project can receive increased investment."
Jing Hongchen had a premonition that with sufficient Spirit Heavy Silver, many of the hurdles for Human-shaped Spirit Tools could be overcome.
Not just Human-shaped Spirit Tools.
"The power of ninth-level spirit tools can also be somewhat enhanced."
Spirit Metal opened up another system for Spirit Engineers. Even ninth-level spirit tools could progress due to this material revolution.
"Ninth-level spirit tools are immensely powerful. To better control them, Core Formations inevitably waste many slots on arrays that enhance the connection with the soul master. With this Spirit Metal, these slots can be inscribed with other arrays."
This was a revolution in ninth-level Core Formations.
It was as if flames were burning in Jing Hongchen's eyes.
"Elder Kong can exert power at the Limit Douluo level with his ninety-fourth rank cultivation. I certainly can too."
With this upgrade in materials, he could definitely produce spirit tools of the Limit Douluo level!
Half a month.
During these two weeks, the Evil Spirit Masters repeatedly attacked Spirit Engineers from Mingde Hall.
In response, Jing Hongchen directly organized an armed force within Mingde Hall.
He reported to the royal family and assembled an armed force of five hundred people. He stationed one hundred at each of the Sun Moon Imperial Capital's four main gates and another hundred within the city itself, forming teams that patrolled the capital twenty-four hours a day, announcing a thorough investigation of all underground black markets.
This, of course, stirred up a hornet's nest.
However, Jing Hongchen faced no resistance.
Because the ninth-rank Spirit Engineers also had their own thoughts. Jing Hongchen wanted to confront the Holy Spirit Cult, and the ninth-rank Spirit Engineers were happy to let him. They also issued orders to the black markets under their protection.
Let him investigate!
Were the black markets clean?
No.
The several ninth-rank Spirit Engineers backing the major black markets knew this, but they all gave Jing Hongchen the green light.
But before that, one thing had to be clear: they were giving him face now, letting him properly investigate the Evil Spirit Masters. Once he found problems, he had to give them some face in return.
Sun Moon Grand Hotel.
Su Ming, Elder Lei Zhen, Nana, and other disciples with Body Martial Souls were gathered in one room.
"After this purge, Jing Hongchen's prestige will reach its peak. The Blacksmith Association will be formally established, and the Body Sect branch will also have its footing."
As Su Ming spoke, he looked towards three individuals in the crowd.
These three had clearly become restless upon hearing the news that Jing Hongchen was going to purge the black markets. They were the ones who had studied at Shrek Academy.
***
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(Chapter End)