"Who are you talking about?"
"Teacher Lin."
"Hmph." Jing Hongchen's expression suddenly changed. He said no more, swung his sleeve, and left.
"Hallmaster Hongchen!"
Ke Ke called out again and hurriedly chased after him.
"You should know his whereabouts better than anyone. Why come ask me?" Jing Hongchen saw Ke Ke blocking his path and stopped once more, though his face looked even uglier.
Jing Hongchen had quite appreciated Lin Xiao. Back then, Lin Xiao had even promised that after finishing matters with the Holy Spirit Cult, he would join the Illustrious Virtue Hall.
Because of this, Jing Hongchen had put tremendous effort into the ninth-level soul tool he gave Lin Xiao and had even intentionally arranged for his own granddaughter to get close to Lin Xiao.
However, Xu Tianran's actions had completely wasted all his efforts.
Perhaps precisely because too many Holy Spirit Cult members had infiltrated the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Xu Tianran had not even informed Jing Hongchen before taking action, simply sending him to participate in that competition in Heaven Dou City.
When he returned to Mingdu, he learned that Xu Tianran's imperial guards had stormed into the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to capture people.
Though they had shown consideration for the Illustrious Virtue Hall's face and had not penetrated deep into its interior, such obvious wariness and lack of mercy still left Jing Hongchen humiliated.
And the Lin Xiao he had favored had completely disappeared after that incident.
In Jing Hongchen's view, compared to himself, Juzi, as the frontline commander, must know far better what had become of Lin Xiao. Now sending someone to inquire about Lin Xiao naturally earned no pleasant expression from him.
"Hallmaster, you've misunderstood." Seeing this, Ke Ke hurriedly explained, "I have no other intentions. Although Teacher Lin had a special identity, he also made considerable contributions to the empire."
"For this reason, Her Majesty the Empress intends to erect a monument in Teacher Lin's memory, so she sent me to ask about some matters from Teacher Lin's life."
"You people also know he made contributions!" Jing Hongchen's voice suddenly rose sharply. "Then do you know—"
At this point, Jing Hongchen abruptly stopped speaking. He glanced left and right, seeing that their conversation had already attracted quite a few onlookers, and only then let out a heavy breath.
"Fine. Originally, keeping this matter hidden was to avoid causing Lin Xiao too much trouble. Now that he has passed away, there's no meaning in concealing it any longer. What he accomplished should not be buried."
"Come with me. I'll take you to meet Lin Xiao's teacher."
Ke Ke's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Hallmaster Hongchen."
Soon, a heavy metal door in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was knocked upon. As the door opened to both sides, what met Ke Ke's eyes were various composite materials scattered throughout the soul tool research lab.
Even in the military camps she had never seen some of these materials, yet here several kinds appeared at once.
"Jia Yi, this is someone from the Empress's side, named Ke Ke. You should have seen her before."
Hearing Jing Hongchen's voice, Lin Jia Yi finally lifted his head from the desk. "Ke Ke? I think I have some impression."
"Director Lin."
"I am no longer the director of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy." Lin Jia Yi shook his head. "Back then, Lin Xiao quietly advised me that my mind was too scattered and it would be hard for me to break through to become a ninth-level soul engineer. Now it seems he was right."
"Ever since I resigned from the director position and began researching non-metallic composite material techniques, I now feel I'm getting closer and closer to becoming a ninth-level soul engineer."
"Then… congratulations, Teacher Lin." Ke Ke forced a small smile upon hearing this. She sat opposite Lin Jia Yi and stated her purpose.
"You want to ask about Lin Xiao?" After listening to Ke Ke, Lin Jia Yi looked toward Jing Hongchen.
"Just tell the truth," Jing Hongchen nodded, also sitting to the side. "Since the Empress wants to erect a monument in Lin Xiao's memory, let them know exactly what kind of genius, what kind of 'Father of Soul Tool Materials', they destroyed."
Lin Jia Yi let out a long sigh, his gaze gradually becoming distant. "Very well. Then let's start from those strange and wonderful ideas he had at the very beginning. Actually, when he first started following me, his way of thinking didn't resemble that of a soul engineer at all…"
The sun set, and the moon rose. Juzi had just taken the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician when she heard a knock at the door. Soon, a slightly muffled exclamation came from her room.
"What did you say? The Father of Soul Tool Materials?"
Hearing the news Ke Ke brought back, Juzi suddenly stood up. She had long known that the development of soul tools in the Sun Moon Empire was entirely built upon the alloy smelting techniques Lin Xiao had first proposed, but she had never imagined the Illustrious Virtue Hall would give him such high praise.
"That's correct. This evaluation came directly from Hallmaster Hongchen himself," Ke Ke nodded, her expression equally serious as she looked at Juzi. "According to Hallmaster Hongchen, the change Teacher Lin could bring to the Illustrious Virtue Hall would even surpass that of Teacher Xuan."
Juzi unconsciously nodded. "I know, I know… he has always been a genius… What came after that? Did they say anything about his experiences?"
"They did." Ke Ke took a slight breath. "According to Director Lin, because of his identity, Teacher Lin often had to leave the academy. Before this, it seems he even went to the north and participated in that previous civil unrest."
"Northern civil unrest…" Juzi softly repeated the words. Seeing Ke Ke's somewhat puzzled look, she suddenly shook her head. "It's nothing. Go on."
"Mm. The longest time was after he became a teacher at the academy and went to the Extreme North. That trip lasted a full two years…"
Juzi listened to Ke Ke, committing everything she said to memory until Ke Ke had finished recounting all she had learned from Lin Jia Yi and Jing Hongchen.
Seeing Juzi slightly lost in thought, Ke Ke did not disturb her. She picked up the teapot nearby, poured herself a cup, and drank it in one go.
"Ke Ke, there was one more thing I asked you to inquire about."
"Mm." Ke Ke nodded. "I remember, you were asking about that Calamity Douluo who repelled the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion in the west. But I asked many people; he only appeared once, and no one knows where he went afterward."
Juzi fell silent for a long time upon hearing this. She sat back down at the table, staring blankly at the now-empty medicine bowl on it.
"Ke Ke, there is one thing I must ask of you. You cannot tell anyone."
"Sigh, go ahead." Ke Ke let out a sigh. "Who made me go through life and death with you so many times?"
"I'll point out a few places for you. Go to those places and help me pass on a message."
"To whom?"
Juzi turned to look at Ke Ke and softly spoke a name. Ke Ke's expression instantly changed upon hearing it.
At the same time, several figures appeared outside Heaven Dou City against the biting cold wind, gazing from afar at the light of the illumination soul tools shining on the city walls.
"Big Sister, you know how powerful the detection soul tools are. We can't go any closer."
The person in the lead gently lifted her cloak. Beneath it, long black hair fluttered in the wind. "I know."
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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