I'll Take Responsibility

Xu Yuan remained silent, still not uttering a word.

He understood why that father had entrusted him with Xu Xinyao's matter.

The father knew very well that the path his Fourth Sister had found, while feasible, was also a dead end.

Because it's too late.

The current situation is such that the die is cast and cannot be cast.

If the imperial court were a one-man show by the Prime Minister's Mansion's household, then there might still be a sliver of possibility for this matter. But the imperial family still exists within the court, along with that dying emperor.

Li Yaoxuan will not agree.

From the very beginning, the old man and the emperor had set a policy of ending the war, and for decades of their rule, they had been working towards this goal.

Even if his father told him about the plan, it would likely only result in an unpleasant ending.

If this plan were told to Li Yaoxuan when he was on his deathbed, he would only feel that it was a betrayal, a complete and utter betrayal.

Even if all of Xu Xinyao's current research data were presented to Li Yaoxuan, it would still be impossible to prove the feasibility of the Soul Nourishing Ring, let alone determine how long it would take for the Soul Nourishing Ring technology to mature.

Li Yaoxuan couldn't wait.

After his death, with Xu Yinhe at the helm, no one will be able to control the Prime Minister's Prime Minister's Mansion.

Xu Yinhe's prestige over the past few decades has been too great. Once he agrees to the plan, without Li Yaoxuan's constraints, everything in the court will be gradually devoured by him during the long process of developing the Soul Nourishing Ring.

Therefore, this matter cannot be told to the Prime Minister's Mansion's only ally at this stage.

And this is something that cannot be solved.

The situation is now clear: the emperor named Li Yaoxuan wants to do something to maintain the rule of the royal family before he dies.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to annihilate the Barbarian Tribe, nor would he have been so eager to attack the sects in the Northern Border.

For the past year or so, Emperor Li Yaoxuan has been making the first moves, while his father has simply followed suit.

But every move Li Yaoxuan made was a risky one.

One wrong step, and it's all over.

In the war against the Barbarian Tribe, if it weren't for the supplies he brought through the Sumeru Ring provided by the Qionghua Secret Realm, and if it weren't for the information he obtained through Cangyuan, the Barbarian Tribe, under the leadership of the Barbarian King Chi Feng, would have already breached the giant Beifeng City, which lies between the Utterdark Lands and the Three Northern Prefectures.

The war to annihilate the sects in the Northern Border is a dangerous fuse. If the Sect Alliance does not appease them and is unwilling to give up the sects in the Northern Border, then the entire world will be plunged into war in an instant.

At this point, it's simply impossible for him to stop.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan wanted to tell his fourth Fourth Sister what had happened, but he swallowed the words back down.

I felt a little reluctant.

The Fourth Sister had gone to great lengths to finally find the right path, only to be told it was a dead end. This was undoubtedly too cruel for her.

Looking into those cautious, hopeful eyes, Xu Yuan took a deep breath and asked softly:

"With the full support of the Institute of Investigation, Xin Yao, how long do you think it will take you to create a sample?"

Xu Xinyao's eyes lit up slightly:

"I haven't yet come into contact with Senior Luo's Soul Nourishing Ring, so the timing is still uncertain."

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then continued to ask:

You just need to give a general overview.

Upon hearing Xu Xinyao Xu Yuan's softening words, the tears in Xu Xinyao's eyes lessened considerably, and her hoarse voice regained its composure as she quickly said:

"It can take anywhere from one year to more than ten years."

"Smack."

Xu Yuan clapped his hands, straightened up, and spoke with a serious tone:

"This is taking too long."

"Regardless of whether it can be successfully made, if it takes this long to produce a single sample in your conception, then doubling the time required to reduce the cost to mass production is not unreasonable. This back and forth would take more than ten years."

"More importantly, even if mass production is possible, the biggest problem is preparing the supporting facilities."

Upon hearing these words, Xu Xinyao's bright eyes suddenly dimmed.

As a top-tier array master, she was naturally well aware of these things, but she selectively ignored them.

All current facilities, array patterns, and tools are powered by Source Qi, while the energy source of the Soul Nourishing Ring comes from the yin source generated by demons and ghosts.

These are two completely different energies; their interoperability isn't so much bad as it is practically nonexistent.

To implement this plan, a large-scale and cumbersome renovation plan is still needed.

Modify the energy-absorbing array patterns of the city's protective formation, modify the energy supply methods of the equipment, and determine which equipment can be recharged with Yin energy.

More importantly, it is also necessary to cultivate a large number of Yingui as a source of energy.

All of this is a long process.

"Well"

Xu Yuan sighed softly and said in a low voice:

"Xin Yao, all the resources within the Prime Minister's Mansion are being used to prepare for the possible war. There is simply no room to support your massive project. This is probably why your father rejected you."

Xu Xinyao lowered her head helplessly, like a wounded little animal, her delicate body trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan gently placed his hand on the girl's soft hair and said softly:

What your father cannot give you, I will give you myself.

Xu Xinyao stood up abruptly, her beautiful eyes shining brightly:

"Brother, would you be willing to help me persuade Father?"

Xu Yuan looked away and whispered:

"I've already said, my father will never agree, and it's impossible for me to persuade him."

The girl's exquisitely beautiful face froze in surprise. She pursed her lips and said cautiously:

Coco Xin Yao remembers you don't have any money right now.

"Clatter."

Xu Yuan raised his hand and delivered a karate chop to the girl's head.

Xu Xinyao winced in pain, took a half step back, covered her head, and stared at him, waiting for Xu Yuan to say something next.

Xu Yuan snorted softly, glanced in the direction of the door, and then directly controlled the black Will Soul in his sea of consciousness to envelop the entire room.

In an instant, the room, which had been brightly lit by the Inscription Lamp, was enveloped in a black mist that could not be penetrated by the Will Soul.

He needed to isolate himself from everything before he could speak further.

Even that father cannot be told.

Startled by this sudden turn of events, Xu Xinyao, now plunged into darkness, instinctively cried out in alarm:

"Ah"

"This is my magic," Xu Yuan said softly, trying to comfort him.

Upon hearing the sound, Xu Xinyao instinctively followed the sound and tugged at the hem of the man's clothes in the darkness:

Why?

Don't be afraid.

Xu Yuan did not answer the question, but said softly:

"Once my father returns to the manor, I will ask him to allocate three armored array masters and two armored weapon refiners for you. As for the researchers below the armored level, you should have your own connections within the Institute of Investigation. Is this manpower allocation sufficient?"

Xu Xinyao hesitated slightly upon hearing this.

The top-tier array masters and weapon refiners are treasures of the Prime Minister's Prime Minister's Mansion; each of them possesses such profound knowledge that they are almost capable of leading a research project.

Although it still seems somewhat insufficient for the entire massive project, this should be the limit that the Third Brother can achieve.

Thinking to herself, Xu Xinyao nodded slightly, then realized that it was dark here and her Third Brother might not be able to see. Just as she was about to speak, she heard the other person's voice:

"Since that's enough, then it's time for money and supplies."

That's right, this is Third Brother's magic, he can definitely see it.

Xu Xinyao thought to herself, but asked aloud:

"Third Brother Lou Ji has taken all your money."

Money is just a number; don't worry about it too much.

"." Xu Xinyao.

"Okay, okay."

Xu Yuan sighed and continued in a low voice, "I know you may feel that without your father's help, I have no source of income, but actually I have other channels."

Xu Xinyao blinked and asked softly, "Extortion?"

"." Xu Yuan.

To be honest, he did have that thought.

However, it wasn't extortion, but a loan.

Li Yunqing is quite wealthy, so he probably wouldn't refuse a loan from his close friend.

Moreover, after his detailed conversation with the Crown Prince the previous night, he knew that the other party might be going to Eastern Isles. Given the other party's personality, revealing his identity to him should be within an acceptable range.

However, Xu Yuan still felt inexplicably annoyed by the way his younger sister looked at him.

It makes it seem like all he does is extort money from others.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan raised his hand and gently tugged at the girl's soft cheek, causing it to flush crimson.

"Don't worry about where my money comes from, it will be given to you anyway. Is one million taels enough for initial preparation?"

"Not enough," Xu Xinyao replied without hesitation.

"A million taels isn't enough?!" Xu Yuan was stunned.

Converted to the currency of his previous life, one million taels of silver was a staggering 1.5 billion, which wasn't even enough to cover the initial preparations.

Xu Xinyao's face flushed slightly as she explained softly:

"The Heaven-Peering Instrument needs repair. We can save on the cost of the array pattern masters since I'm here, but even if we buy the various materials and repair the site at internal prices like Grandpa Hua Hong, a million taels of silver is definitely not enough."

The Institute of Investigation and the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce are two completely separate institutions under the Prime Minister's Mansion.

If the old man gives a direct order, the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce can provide various materials for free, but if it's done privately, you'll have to pay for them.

Doing scientific research is fucking expensive, oh no, it's burning through Source Crystal.

With a sigh, Xu Yuan raised his hand to rub his temples and asked:

"So, approximately how much silver do you need?"

"About five million taels." Xu Xinyao couldn't see Xu Yuan's expression, so she cautiously probed, "If that's not possible, three million taels should be just about enough."

"Five million taels. You really are a money-devouring beast!"

Xu Yuan raised his hand and pinched his Fourth Sister's cheek hard. "I know, just you wait, I'll figure something out."

Xu Xinyao winced in pain, but her beautiful eyes were filled with a smile in the darkness.

"Okay."

After answering, Xu Xinyao suddenly remembered something and became hesitant again, whispering:

"Brother, without Father's orders, Senior Luo wouldn't have given me the Soul Ring for research."

Xu Yuan laughed upon hearing this:

"Go and call him over tomorrow. I haven't seen that old friend in a long time, and I miss him."