Soul Engineer Lou Gao

Lin Mian did not head directly to the Judgment Hall's main hall. Instead, he had a friendly discussion with his second disciple before setting off.

At that moment, Ning Rongrong was listlessly sweeping with a broom. Just as her mind wandered, Lin Mian suddenly appeared.

"Ahem, ahem!"

"When you work, do it properly. Don't be so lazy and sluggish."

Startled by the sudden voice, Ning Rongrong instinctively looked up and saw the person who had appeared in her nightmare last night.

"You!!"

"Who am I?"

"Master." Ning Rongrong lowered her head, her tone subdued as she chose to submit to his tyrannical power.

Ning Rongrong planned to settle the score once her two grandfathers arrived.

Lin Mian nodded in satisfaction.

"Your master is going out. I won't be able to supervise you, but don't even think about slacking off. I have ways to keep an eye on you."

As he spoke, he took out a Communication Soul Tool, activated its video call function, and used Soul Power to make it float before Ning Rongrong.

"This Communication Soul Tool is for monitoring you. Wherever you go, it will follow."

"I'll check in from time to time. If I find you slacking even a little, you won't get food for the next few days."

With that, he vanished directly, leaving Ning Rongrong there alone.

Looking at the floating brick before her, Ning Rongrong felt that thing had to be something that bastard was using to scare her.

Gritting her teeth, she threw the broom onto the ground.

"Pick it up. Otherwise, you'll add another twenty li this afternoon. I only just left, and you already dare slack off."

The instant the broom hit the ground, his voice came from the communicator.

Ning Rongrong shuddered in fright, hurriedly picked it up, and obediently resumed sweeping.

Was this man sick? How could he come up with such a way to torment her?

Ning Rongrong truly could not understand how things had ended up like this.

As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had always lived in luxury, with clothes brought to her and meals served to her.

When had she ever done the work of servants?

No matter how unbearable it was, she did not dare resist. Her delicate hands grasped the rough broom as she carefully swept.

Shrek was not large, but neither was it small.

Cleaning it alone took quite a while. It took a full hour before she finished, and fine beads of sweat had already formed on her forehead.

Just as Ning Rongrong was preparing to rest for a while, Lin Mian's voice sounded again.

"Too slow. You're even slower than an ordinary person."

"Don't think about resting. Go work the fields next. Otherwise, don't even think about lunch."

Ning Rongrong was on the verge of tears. She desperately wanted to resist, but she could not. She could only obediently do as told.

She kept reminding herself to endure it. Once her two grandfathers arrived, she would be free.

She went to the wasteland.

Xiao Xi and her mother were already waiting there.

When Ning Rongrong arrived, Xiao Xi held out a hoe and handed it to her.

"Big Brother told me to give this to you. He said this whole patch has to be cleared and planted today."

"He also told us to teach you how to do it. Xiao Xi helped Mommy before, so I know what to do. I'll teach Big Sister." Xiao Xi's childish voice rang out.

Looking at the roughly one-and-a-half mu of empty land before her and the well-worn hoe, Ning Rongrong wanted to leave immediately.

How dirty was this thing? Could she really hold it?

"Stop standing around. Get moving. You can only eat breakfast after you finish all this."

"Big Brother, is that you?" Hearing the voice from the communicator, Xiao Xi found it very novel.

"It's me. Xiao Xi, supervise her and make sure she works properly."

"Okay."

The little girl was lively and had not become frightened because of what happened yesterday.

"I'll do it now." Ning Rongrong picked up the hoe and swung it around at random.

Only under Xiao Xi's mother's guidance did she gradually find the trick to it.

Working with a hoe was easy at first, but became more exhausting the longer she went on.

Even though Ning Rongrong's physique was stronger than that of ordinary people, she was beginning to struggle by the end.

"Big Sister, you're doing it wrong. You need to dig forward. If you move backward, it'll be very tiring."

"Shut up. I don't need you to teach me how to do things. A mere ordinary person thinks she can lecture me?"

Ning Rongrong was extremely impatient, and the words slipped out.

Xiao Xi froze. Tears spilled from her eyes as she ran off into the distance.

"Looks like you still aren't tired enough. Don't rest tonight either. Come boil water for your master's bath."

"Hall Master, who are you talking to? Did you take in a disciple?"

An unfamiliar voice came from the Soul Combat Communicator.

Ning Rongrong did not notice the voice from the communicator. She only stared at Xiao Xi's departing figure, at a complete loss.

On Lin Mian's side.

It did not take him much time to return to the Judgment Hall. At his speed, the distance was not far.

Not all of the Title Douluo of the Judgment Hall were stationed in the main hall.

Of the nine Title Douluo, two were stationed in the Star Luo Empire, two in the Heaven Dou Empire, and one on Sea God Island.

Only under special circumstances would they be recalled to the main hall.

The other four Title Douluo were stationed at the main hall.

Lin Mian's arrival this time was not grand, and very few people knew of it.

He went directly into the Judgment Hall's Soul Tool Research Center.

The Judgment Hall Soul Tool Research Center had been established around forty-five years ago and was located directly within Judgment Hall headquarters.

Its chief director was Lou Gao, a rank ninety-two Title Douluo.

With his original talent, he should never have been able to reach the level of a Title Douluo. Fortunately, Lin Mian's immortal herbs had greatly raised his potential.

The Soul Tool Research Center had not, of course, been established on a whim by Lin Mian.

It was founded because, forty-five years ago, Lin Mian had discovered a Soul Tool ruin containing ancient Soul Tool manufacturing procedures.

Lin Mian suspected that it came from an era before the Sea God and Angel God. At that time, Soul Masters were not yet so powerful, so they had chosen to develop Soul Tools to fight Soul Beasts.

Without that ruin, the Judgment Hall's Soul Tool research could never have progressed so quickly.

Although Lou Gao possessed extraordinary talent in this field, he could not have accomplished it alone.

At most, Lin Mian could point him in the right direction.

"Old Lou, busy? Look what good thing I brought you."

Lin Mian patted Lou Gao, who was inspecting the Soul Tool Car workshop. Lou Gao cared deeply about every matter, large or small, concerning Soul Tools.

"Which brat is it? This batch of Soul Tool Cars has malfunctioned. Can you take responsibility for it?"

Lou Gao turned around while grumbling and saw someone he had not expected.

The others were drawn over by his voice as well.

Once he confirmed it was Lin Mian, a rare smile appeared on his aged face.

"Hall Master, it's really you. After all these years, you finally came out of seclusion. I thought I'd have to wait until I was on my last legs before seeing you again."

"If it isn't me, then who else could it be?"

"You're a Title Douluo, at least. Living past a hundred is no problem for you, so stop saying such discouraging things."

"Come on. I have something good for you."

Lin Mian pulled Lou Gao toward his laboratory.

Hearing Lou Gao's words, the people nearby all looked in their direction.

They had never expected that they would get to see the legendary Hall Master.

"What is it that you have to bring to me personally?"

"Just rest assured. You'll definitely like this thing."

"Then let's go. It just so happens that us old brothers can have a proper gathering. We haven't drunk together in decades."

"The rest of you, work properly. Nothing can go wrong with this batch of Soul Tool Cars. Later, I'll have the Hall Master personally say a few words to you."