"Would you be willing to accept that outcome?" Kong Deming asked Xu Tianyao, looking at him and enunciating every word.
Xu Tianyao instinctively shook his head, his face twisting as he shot back, "How could anyone possibly be willing?"
"Even though I haven't officially started school yet, I've spent these years reading widely in the palace archives. I know just how astonishing the benefits of Twin Martial Souls are for a Soul Master."
"The reason our Sun Moon Empire hasn't wiped out the three nations across from us is that Shrek Academy has always had a powerhouse at the Limit Douluo level, while we don't."
"The influence a powerhouse of that level can have on the balance of a battle cannot be ignored."
"And someone with Twin Martial Souls is naturally the most likely to become a powerhouse of that sort. I'm afraid that's one of the reasons Father bestowed such a reward on me. He hopes the Sun Moon Empire will produce a Limit Douluo powerhouse of its own."
Seeing how deeply Xu Tianyao understood the power of Twin Martial Souls, Kong Deming smiled and nodded.
"Exactly. If you can cultivate both your Sun Moon Martial Souls, then with the strength of the Martial Soul inherited by the Sun Moon Imperial Family, becoming a Limit Douluo would be all but certain."
"But in the end, these are only hypothetical possibilities. By the way, after all this talk, you still haven't told me how you intend to solve the problem of being unable to cultivate both Sun Moon Martial Souls."
"Everyone knows how powerful they are, but reality is right in front of us. How do we solve the problem?"
"Isn't that why you came to see me?" Xu Tianyao didn't give him a direct answer, because he didn't have one.
Kong Deming had spent his entire life studying this and still wouldn't dare claim he could solve it with absolute certainty. How could Xu Tianyao possibly solve it?
How could his understanding of this field compare to Kong Deming's?
Besides, Kong Deming had come to see him today and brought up the subject himself. He had to be here to find a solution to the problem.
Kong Deming seemed not to have expected him to say that. He froze for a moment, then chuckled.
"Impressive. The young really are to be feared. Well said. That's right, I came here for this very matter. Since you already know that, would you be willing to work with me to solve this problem?"
Xu Tianyao rose to his feet and faced Kong Deming, who was watching him. Under Kong Deming's astonished gaze, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed.
"Your disciple, Tianyao, pays his respects to Master!"
That was right—Xu Tianyao had taken the initiative to become his disciple. Since Kong Deming had held off on bringing it up, Xu Tianyao had assumed he was too proud to ask first.
If you're too embarrassed to ask, I'll do it myself.
But his sudden kowtow left Kong Deming dumbfounded.
Take him as a disciple? Had he come here today to find a student?
Well, it certainly looked that way. But the truth was, taking on a student wasn't why he'd come.
Kong Deming reached out and gently helped him up, shaking his head.
"Tianran said you were honest and dependable. I'm not so sure about that. You've got plenty of little schemes of your own."
Tianran? At those two words, Xu Tianyao's heart gave a jolt. Kong Deming had even gone to see his elder brother beforehand. He'd been in private contact with his brother.
No wonder Xu Tianran faced almost no resistance after his coup succeeded in the original story. He seized control of the country's political machinery and military with lightning speed. Xu Tianyao didn't believe that a powerhouse hadn't been backing him from behind the scenes.
But what had he meant by shaking his head just now? Was he saying he hadn't come to take Xu Tianyao as his disciple?
What kind of joke was this?
If he wasn't here to take him as a student, why had he come and said so much? What was his purpose?
Was he just sharing his thoughts for the fun of it?
"You didn't come to take me as your disciple?"
Looking at Kong Deming's strange, half-amused expression, Xu Tianyao finally couldn't help asking.
"Take you as my disciple?"
Kong Deming stared at him and repeated the words as a question.
He shook his head again, then turned and took a photo album from a drawer in the corner.
Then he pulled a photograph from the album and handed it to Xu Tianyao.
"If your mother knew I'd taken her son as my disciple, she'd raise hell."
Xu Tianyao took the photograph and looked down. It showed his mother, who had died when he was very young. She seemed to be pictured as a young woman.
Standing beside her was a middle-aged man—none other than Kong Deming, right in front of him.
Seeing the photograph and recalling what Kong Deming had just said, Xu Tianyao was aghast.
A bold and absurd conclusion rose unbidden in his mind.
He jerked his head up and stared at the old man before him, asking in disbelief, "What do you mean? How is this possible? You and Mother..."
In response to Xu Tianyao's question and the searching look in his eyes,
Kong Deming looked at the photograph. A trace of sorrow flickered in his eyes, but in the end, he calmly nodded.
It was confirmation of the very thought in Xu Tianyao's mind.
"You're my grandfather, my mother's father? This is absurd! Why has nobody ever told me about this?"
Xu Tianyao shouted, unable to believe it!
Kong Deming was related to him by blood—he was related to Xu Tianran by blood, too.
If that were true, how could Kong Deming have allowed Ju Zi to have Huo Yuhao's son later on, taking the Xu Family's place as rulers of the Sun Moon Empire?
How could he have stood by and watched his own grandson-in-law be plotted against and killed, and his grandson's empire taken over by outsiders?
And he had even gone on to become the enemy's child's teacher!
Xu Tianyao stared blankly at Kong Deming, his heart awash with clashing emotions. He was bewildered and shaken, unable to find the words.
Although he knew there must be more to the story, some hidden reason behind it all,
no matter what had happened or what the reason was, the whole situation was simply too absurd.
"You seem very surprised. You can barely accept it."
Kong Deming had seen the confusion and fear in Xu Tianyao's eyes.
He didn't understand. He had only seen Xu Tianyao and Xu Tianzhen a few times when they were young, and hadn't visited again once they were old enough to remember.
They should know very little about him. Yet
why was there confusion and fear in Xu Tianyao's eyes?
Was it because of Xu Tianran?
At the thought of this grandson, a strange glint and a hint of disgust flashed in Kong Deming's eyes.
Before he could ask anything else, Xu Tianyao staggered to his feet and respectfully bowed to Kong Deming.
Suppressing his emotions, he called out with utmost respect, "Tianyao pays his respects to Grandfather!"
"Tianyao just thinks it's all too unbelievable. I'm overwhelmed."
"In Tianyao's memories, you were like a god. I never imagined that the person I'd looked up to as an idol since childhood was actually my grandfather."
Xu Tianyao was quick-witted. Whatever grievances this grandfather might have had with the imperial family or his elder brother, they had nothing to do with him.
Kong Deming had chosen to come see him, which meant he had decided to make Xu Tianyao his priority and cultivate him.
He absolutely couldn't let some unfounded suspicions make him doubt Kong Deming's good intentions and cause Kong Deming to dislike him, too.
"So that's how it is." Kong Deming narrowed his eyes and glanced at Xu Tianyao, not quite sure he believed him.
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