· Imperial Family Upheaval, Mingde Hall Master

With the New Year approaching, Hongchen Mansion was a hive of activity. Many servants were cleaning and decorating the courtyards, while people who rarely gathered in one place came and went. Due to Jing Hongchen's status, those visiting Hongchen Mansion were essentially the Sun Moon Empire's most prominent nobles, drawing Jing Hongchen himself into all the social obligations.

Given Chen Li's status and the Dragon Elephant Sect's influence, Jing Hongchen would normally come out personally to receive him whenever he visited.

This time, however, his arrival was poorly timed. A Prince had come to Jing Hongchen's residence under the pretext of a New Year visit, hoping to make contact with Jing Hongchen's faction.

Several years ago, an extremely violent palace coup had taken place within the Sun Moon Empire. The man currently seated on the throne had received help from an unknown force and, together with Xuanwu Gate within the Imperial Palace, assassinated his elder brother, the emperor. He had then seized the throne as a prince.

During the first few years after taking the throne, perhaps because his claim was illegitimate, he governed diligently and devoted twice the usual effort to developing the Sun Moon Empire. Just as most people were beginning to revise their opinion of him and prepare to acknowledge the current ruler—

The emperor, a Titled Douluo, contracted an incurable illness, and his condition worsened by the day...

Since his ascent had been illegitimate from the start, although the man on the throne could still control the Sun Moon Empire's overall situation, he could not restrain his children's ambitions. The various Princes formed factions and attacked one another in court, plunging it into chaos unseen for who knew how many years.

The Dragon Elephant Sect had always been a target of the Sun Moon Imperial Family's efforts to win it over, and in recent years, more than one Prince had tried to recruit them. However, the Dragon Elephant Sect had no interest whatsoever in matters where a single misstep could send even a Titled Douluo's entire clan to the grave. They simply remained neutral, waiting for the next emperor to ascend before continuing their campaign against Shrek.

Although neutrality made one an easy target for later purges, the Dragon Elephant Sect had stayed out of such matters for thousands of years. On top of that, the moment they caught their breath, they would look ready to go all out against Shrek. Thus, everyone had tacitly accepted the Dragon Elephant Sect's unique way of surviving.

Every emperor, upon ascending the throne, would try to win over the Dragon Elephant Sect in his own way. By bloodline alone, even Chen Ming had roughly one-sixty-fourth Sun Moon Imperial Family blood in his veins...

Of course, that was not because his branch of the family was especially noble. The entire Dragon Elephant Sect only had a little over three hundred members. Because their numbers were so small, practically every member of the sect shared at least a trace of negligible Sun Moon Imperial Family blood.

But for Jing Hongchen, who held Mingde Hall in his hands, this sort of matter was exceptionally difficult to handle. Any unnecessary inclination or expression of support could become a major disaster in the future.

At the same time, constrained by his own status and the power of the maternal clans behind these Princes, Jing Hongchen could not openly reject them. He could only keep smoothing things over and passing the buck.

Since he had no desire to involve himself in matters that had nothing to do with him, Chen Li did not grandly announce his presence. He merely had a servant notify the steward.

Thus, led by the nominal butler of Hongchen Mansion—a Soul Douluo who, by seniority, ought to have been Jing Hongchen's younger male cousin—Chen Li and Chen Ming arrived at a relatively secluded room.

Unlike an ordinary reception room, this chamber looked utterly plain on the surface. In reality, however, its interior structure was made of high-strength materials that neither Chen Ming nor Chen Li could identify.

Other than a few tables and chairs and the lighting fixtures in the corners, the large room contained only several silver-white workbenches with a distinctly high-tech feel.

For Soul Engineers, a place like this was even more private than a study or any other room used to receive outsiders.

Chen Li merely swept his gaze across the room before noticing something.

Though people often said he lacked talent in Soul Tools, he was still a Level 7 Soul Engineer—an experienced one with no outstanding specialties, but no shortcomings either.

Looking at those workbenches used to manufacture Soul Tools, Chen Li thought for only a moment before recalling where he had seen them before.

More than a year ago, Chen Li had been hired by a well-connected noble of the Sun Moon Empire. Along with several others, he had formed a team and entered the Star Dou Great Forest to help hunt the ninth Soul Ring. Their target had been the Thirty-Thousand-Year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear that Chen Ming later bit a finger off.

Although the thirty-thousand-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear truly possessed combat strength comparable to an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, that soul hunt had gone rather smoothly.

In addition to Chen Li, a Level 94 Titled Douluo, their party had included a Rank 9 Soul Engineer and that noble, who was himself a Level 8 Soul Master. After expending some effort, they dealt with the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.

However, Chen Li's Rank 9 Soul Tool had suffered slight wear after colliding with the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's razor-sharp claws. The Rank 9 Soul Engineer, who was not proficient with close-combat Soul Tools, then recommended that he take it to Mingde Hall for maintenance.

Naturally, since the damage had been incurred during the soul hunt, the noble paid the bill. So while having the Soul Tool maintained at Mingde Hall, Chen Li could also have it upgraded and adjusted a little.

While professional Rank 9 Soul Engineers at Mingde Hall maintained his precious Rank 9 close-combat Soul Tool, Chen Li wandered through some of the less important areas. During that time, he had seen this model of workbench being carefully dismantled by professionals outside several open laboratories.

Given his status and strength, he had learned that Mingde Hall was replacing its equipment and intended to dispose of these old machines.

At the time, he had considered whether he could take the opportunity to buy the equipment Mingde Hall was phasing out and bring it back for the Soul Engineers of his sect. He would not have minded paying a slight premium.

After all, in his eyes, those Soul Tool workbenches seemed to have been used for only a few years. Both their condition and technology were excellent. Buying them would have been a bargain.

Yet he had been refused on the grounds that they contained confidential technology and could not be sold freely.

Who could have imagined...

Less than two years later, this batch of equipment that supposedly "contained confidential technology" had merely been repainted before appearing in the home of Jing Hongchen, Mingde Hall's Hall Master.

And judging by the unfinished components placed on them and the metals being used, these had originally been professional-grade equipment intended for Soul Engineers above Level 6 at Mingde Hall. Yet their current users seemed to be merely Level 1 or Level 2 Low-level Soul Masters.

Corruption, Chen Li privately lamented, though he had no particular thoughts about it.

After all... what did it amount to for the dignified Hall Master of Mingde Hall, a Rank 9 Soul Engineer, to use his authority to get a couple of workbenches for the children at home? What was the big deal?

As long as he did not leave the blueprints for Rank 9 Soul Tools or Mingde Hall's confidential information lying around in his home's toilet or warehouse without any safeguards, then even if such a minor matter were reported to the Imperial Family, they would not bother opening their eyes to deal with it.

About half an hour after the two entered the room, a short, stout middle-aged man smiling warmly pushed open the door and walked in from outside.

This man was the master of the residence: Hongchen Douluo Jing Hongchen, Hall Master of Mingde Hall.