Capítulo 125: Chapter 125: The Hidden Secrets of the Sun Moon Emperor
"What? You want me to be an exchange student?" He Caitou's expression was priceless.
With a long face, he muttered, "Teacher, I'm from the Sun Moon Empire. If they find out..."
"What are you afraid of?!" Fan Yu looked at his most prized student with confusion. "Since it's an exchange program, the Sun Moon Empire is definitely sending students to Shrek as well. From what I heard, the disciple of Mingde Hall's Hall Master, Xiao Hongchen, is already confirmed to be on the exchange list. You're just one person from the Sun Moon Empire. Even if you were from the imperial family itself, they wouldn't dare do anything to you!"
"..."
He Caitou lowered his head.
Teacher, you actually guessed right. If it were before, he wouldn't have been afraid to go to the Sun Moon Empire. But at the tournament, that most powerful figure in the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Cheng—his cousin—had already recognized him!
Xu He—his real name had already been called out...
If he went now, wouldn't he be walking straight into a trap?
"Enough, it's settled. What's a grown man afraid of..." Fan Yu shot a suspicious glance at his disciple before hurrying off to the Martial Soul Department.
After all, according to the plan he and Qian Duoduo had devised, it would be best if a few Martial Soul Department students joined the exchange as well...
Yan Shaozhe shouldn't have the face to refuse now, right?
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"Hey, didn't we still have rewards to claim?"
At the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Academy, Xu Cheng raised his head and looked around in confusion.
Xiao Hongchen twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Claim what? You tried assassinating the Xingluo Emperor in broad daylight. You think those rewards are still waiting for you?"
"Such a waste." Xu Cheng sighed. "At the very least, it was a soul bone. With Xingluo Empire's standards, it should've been at least 30,000 to 40,000 years old. What a pity..."
The Sun Moon Empire was most lacking in soul bones. This was a real loss.
"If I had known, I would have waited until after the rewards were handed out before taking action."
"No matter." Nana comforted him. "We already won first place in the tournament. While those rewards are unfortunate, compared to our honor, everything else is secondary."
"Yeah, Grandpa said that after this tournament, several hidden clans from the three empires have started making moves. The quality of the next batch of students at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy will probably improve dramatically." Meng Hongchen smiled.
"..." Xu Cheng nodded.
His final provocation against the White Tiger Duke wasn't just to spite the Xingluo Empire.
It was also a clear message to the noble families:
If you join the Sun Moon Empire, as long as you are loyal, you are family! I, Xu Cheng, will protect you!
Even a mere illegitimate son of a Xingluo Duke could receive his support and be granted immense opportunities—so what about the others?
What the Sun Moon Empire lacked the most right now was talent!
Scientific researchers for soul tools to drive technological advancements—that was soft power.
And those with powerful innate talent, the future Title Douluo and Limit Douluo—that was hard power!
Even in the future age of mechas, they would still be an integration of people and soul tools. Pure mechanization? The current level of soul tool technology was nowhere near advanced enough for that...
As for war?
The Second Continental War wasn't going to break out yet.
What? You heard I planned to start the war within three years? Oh, that's three years after I ascend the throne.
What? Why haven't I ascended yet? What's the rush? My father is still alive, isn't he?
What? You want to help me speed things up?
Now that's a hell of a joke.
Since war wasn't urgent, preparation was key.
Do you know what boiling a frog in warm water means?
This is it.
Stealthily developing core soul tool technologies—Building an air force (including any flying capabilities, aircraft capable of long-range firepower, and soul masters using flying-type soul tools)—Establishing ground forces (traditional tanks, Xuan Ziwen's autonomous machines, lightweight mechas, and more).
These were the foundation of his power—his hard strength—which would allow him to execute blitzkrieg tactics.
When the time came to attack Xingluo, the plan was to strike the capital in the shortest time possible and pierce straight into its heart.
In this era, warfare was still largely medieval in nature. With Tang Sect's hidden weapons declining and soul tools on the rise, battles mostly revolved around soul cannon bombardments and human-wave tactics.
But once Xu Cheng fully industrialized and weaponized his empire…
That would be like the Trisolarans fighting primitive humans.
"By the way, Juzi, with all the money we made from betting, invest it into Mingde Hall's soul tool research." Xu Cheng waved his hand generously.
Military expenses?
The biggest cost of maintaining a soul tool legion was never the soldiers' salaries—it was the constant upgrades to weapons and equipment.
Besides, with his current power, he could already fully control two soul tool legions—Fire Phoenix and Evil Monarch.
The other two beast soul legions were slightly ambiguous in allegiance, but on the surface, they leaned toward Xu Cheng.
Only the Royal Soul Tool Legion remained largely under the Sun Moon Emperor's command—though even there, Xu Cheng had gained control over a quarter of its forces.
As for Mingde Hall, on the surface, Jing Hongchen remained neutral.
But in reality, he had already made his bet.
Mingde Hall's future belonged to Xiao and Meng Hongchen.
One was his brother.
The other… was likely his wife.
Mingde Hall standing with Xu Cheng was an inevitability.
Besides, Old Cheng, the true boss of Mingde Hall, had always remained silent.
In truth, he was the biggest heavyweight in Mingde Hall. If it weren't for his lack of interest in politics, he could have easily overpowered Jing Hongchen.
Once he got serious, Mingde Hall could change sides in an instant.
These two factions—the military and Mingde Hall—formed Xu Cheng's core power base.
And it was around this base that he would begin his true expansion.
In the Fire Phoenix Legion, Qing Yi had broken through to a Rank 9 Soul Engineer with Xu Cheng's help.
As a result, the former regiment commander voluntarily stepped down (though he didn't retire—he became Vice Commander instead).
Her reasoning?
"We are all sisters. Qing has greater potential. It's better for her to take over early, and I'll assist her from behind."
Clearly, after experiencing war, the sisterhood within Fire Phoenix was pure—no plastic relationships here.
Or maybe the former leader simply understood the bigger picture and refused to waste energy on infighting—especially since Xu Cheng's dominance was inevitable.
On the other hand, the Evil Monarch Legion's commander, Wang Yiheng, was an interesting case.
This commander was actually a loyalist to the Emperor.
On the surface, the Sun Moon Emperor seemed carefree, as if he had no control over his empire.
But in reality, anyone who could seize the throne through a bloody coup was no ordinary man.
Even if he had lost his youthful ambition, he was still testing his heirs.
And Xu Cheng's actions had caught his eye.
When Xu Cheng left the palace, the Emperor had been watching him all along.
Even Xu Cheng's "dealings" with Holy Spirit Church—his ability to balance his empire's interests with them—were far beyond his years.
So, as a test, the Emperor gave Xu Cheng command over the Evil Monarch Legion.
And the most interesting part?
Qing Yi told him that the Emperor and his mother… were not just first loves.
They were true love.
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