Explosive News

"Of course." Lin Jiayi said, "I trust Kong Bo. Just take a test, fill out the paperwork, and you can enroll."

Then Kong Bo said, "All right, Director Lin. I came today just to take care of this, nothing else. I'll be heading back now."

Qing Yuan and Su Ning were both thirteen, so naturally they weren't in the same grade as Kong Bo. But when lunchtime came, Kong Bo ate with Gu Long'er, Qing Yuan, and Su Ning. Afterward, he put an arm around two of the girls or rested his head in one of their laps while they—or Zi JI—read the newspaper to him. He didn't bother hiding any of this, so people naturally saw them. Such intimate behavior could only mean Qing Yuan and Su Ning had a special relationship with Kong Bo.

As for Gu Long'er, the relationship between her and Kong Bo had long been no secret. Gu Long'er was Evil Emperor's niece, while Kong Bo was Evil Emperor's disciple. Gu Long'er had already eaten lunch with Kong Bo before, and even acted coy with him. Given their relationship, that was perfectly normal.

But Qing Yuan and Su Ning? Where had they come from? People were bound to ask. They'd either try to find out from Gu Long'er or ask Kong Bo directly.

Kong Bo's answer was sure to be rather tactful. "Brother Chao Yong, my great-grandfather thinks I shouldn't spend every waking moment cultivating. Having two pretty, considerate older sisters look after me is quite nice. Besides, I'm no saint. Sister Qing Yuan and Sister Su Ning have excellent talent. They'll become outstanding Soul Masters, so they'll definitely need some resources invested in them."

As for Gu Long'er, Little Lion was much more blunt. "My Kong Bo found himself two little wives. They're both very pretty, and I like them a lot too. Now I'll have someone to play with at school."

Put together, the news people heard from the two of them was explosive: "Kong Bo found himself two little wives!"

Who was Kong Bo? He was Kong Deming's only great-grandson, and among the younger generation of the Sun Moon Empire, his status came second only to Xu Tianran. And Kong Bo wasn't just born into a distinguished family; he was also handsome enough to win the girls' hearts, with Soul Master talent that ranked among the very best.

More importantly, Kong Bo's Soul Engineer rank had kept pace with his Soul Master rank. Less than two months after reaching Soul Grandmaster, he went to take the second-tier Soul Engineer certification exam—and passed. The only other person with that kind of ability was Kong Deming in his youth. It proved that Kong Bo had a gift for making Soul Tools and that his hard work afterward was admirable too. With so many good qualities, he was the very picture of a diamond bachelor.

Some people who wanted to advance their interests couldn't get to Kong Deming, Kong Bo's father Kong Yi, or his mother Ye Fanghua, so they tried to approach Kong Bo instead. But Kong Bo rarely came to the academy. When he did, he'd leave in the afternoon with his bag in hand. And while at school, he spent every day drawing all kinds of diagrams or writing things nobody else could understand, like "enhancement agents" and "Nine Oxen Pulling the Coffin."

(As for why it was Nine Oxen Pulling the Coffin instead of Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin, as in the real world—dragons were a symbol of emperors. Wouldn't choosing that name be asking for trouble from the Xu Family?)

But this little guy had suddenly found himself two little wives. Wow! So many people wanted that chance and couldn't get it. Take Director Lin Jiayi, for example. He couldn't help thinking that if his daughter were a few years younger, Kong Bo might well have taken a liking to her.

Meng Hongchen's reaction was especially interesting. As soon as she got home from school, she went to complain to Jing Hongchen. "Great-grandpa, little brother Kong Bo has gone astray. He's already found himself little wives! Ask my brother—this is true. You have to talk to Elder Kong about it!"

"Girl, how could Great-grandpa not know? Kong Bo brought those two girls here to take care of their enrollment applications. I just didn't know this was the kind of relationship they had." Jing Hongchen said, "I asked Elder Kong about it later, and he knew."

"Ah, Elder Kong knows?" Xiao Hongchen was astonished. "Kong Bo did this, and Elder Kong... agreed?"

"Yes," Jing Hongchen said. "I can understand how Hall Master Kong sees it. Kong Bo is a gifted child, but it's not good for him to spend every day with his eyes glued to paper, drawing diagrams like before. Now he's finally got a little warmth to him. Mengmeng, didn't you think so too?"

At that, Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen turned to look at Meng Hongchen in unison, because she really had said something like that before.

"I... I did think little brother Kong Bo looked a bit... dull, always buried in design blueprints. But who could've guessed he'd find little wives at such a young age?" Meng Hongchen was getting flustered. "Of course, I'm not Kong Bo's real big sister. He can find wives if he wants, but why couldn't he choose someone he trusts?"

What Meng Hongchen really meant was, If you were going to find someone, Kong Bo, why didn't you choose me? Kong Bo was exactly her type.

How could Jing Hongchen fail to understand what his great-granddaughter's tone meant? At that moment, he was mainly shocked. Ming Hall couldn't interfere in the internal affairs of the imperial family, so his clan had never married into the royal family. Men married when they came of age, and women did too. Jing Hongchen doted on his precious great-granddaughter and wanted to find Meng Hongchen a reliable husband who was just right for her. He'd hoped Kong Bo would marry Meng Hongchen. In Jing Hongchen's eyes, the old Kong Bo had been a top student who knew nothing but burying himself in drawings of Soul Tool designs.

And now? Well, he'd brought two little wives to school. Jing Hongchen was utterly astonished. Were the very best hunters really the ones who looked like prey?

The discussion among these three great-grandparents and great-grandchildren was only about their own family. Everyone knew that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy belonged to the royal family, so the imperial family heard about every little stir at the school right away. Xu Tianran was the first to know.

Xu Tianran read the letter delivered by the messenger, which described what had happened. When he saw the words "Kong Bo found two girls to be his wives," his eyes widened. Xu Tianran rubbed them, thinking he'd been reading too much lately and his vision had blurred. He stared at the letter and read it again. It still said exactly the same thing.

"Hm?" Xu Tianran looked up at the messenger, then asked, "I have never been stingy with your rewards. Are you trying to fool me with a story like this?"