Family Matters

Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City, Heavenly Soul Royal Hotel.

Inside a top-tier suite, a gray Space Gate silently opened.

Kong Ming'an and the Snow Empress stepped out one after the other. Ju Zi, who had long been waiting there, immediately went to greet them.

"President, you've arrived." Ju Zi spoke gently and bowed respectfully.

As Kong Ming'an's nominal Vice President and actual secretary, Ju Zi had always carried out her duties conscientiously.

To ensure she could handle matters promptly, she had temporarily moved her office from Shrek City to Heaven Dou City.

With the Demiplane's spatial jumps, this was not difficult.

Ju Zi's gaze briefly paused on the Snow Empress before swiftly returning to Kong Ming'an. She asked no questions and remained as respectful as ever.

"Mhm. How are things?"

Kong Ming'an walked toward the sofa in the living room, while the Snow Empress quietly followed behind him, her eyes subtly taking in her surroundings.

There were many benefits to serving as Kong Ming'an's guard. For example, she could freely enter and leave the human world without the wariness she had once felt.

Over the past month, she had followed Kong Ming'an around many parts of Mingdu, finding everything remarkably novel.

"The Soul Master Tournament schedule has been finalized. The opening ceremony will be held the day after tomorrow.

"At present, nearly all participating teams have checked into the hotel," Ju Zi reported steadily.

"The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team is being led by Elder Ma. They arrived three days ago and are currently undergoing acclimatization training. Since you had not yet arrived, Lin Yi, a student of Headmaster Jing Hongchen, has temporarily taken the role of captain."

Kong Ming'an understood. He had become somewhat absorbed in his research into Elementalization, arriving several days later than planned.

"What about the people from Shrek Academy?" he asked. They were one of his main objectives for this trip.

Ju Zi had clearly prepared in advance and immediately answered, "According to the information sent back by our people, the Shrek team encountered a band of roaming Evil Soul Masters on the way here and went to eliminate them.

"According to the reports, they finished the operation three days ago and rested for a night at a Barracks on the Heaven Dou Empire's border. By our estimates, they should arrive at the hotel around this evening."

Kong Ming'an nodded. There was plenty of time, more than enough for him to make arrangements.

He stood, intending to first visit his "teammates." To ensure his plan did not go awry, it was necessary to first unify internal opinions.

However, given his age, talking them into it directly would be troublesome... Better to just beat them up first.

Time slowly passed. By evening, more than a dozen dusty students and teachers dressed in Shrek uniforms entered the Heavenly Soul Royal Hotel.

Leading them was Shrek's accompanying teacher, whose expression carried a hint of exhaustion but remained sharp, followed by the many students behind him.

"We're finally here! I'm exhausted!"

Wu Ming rolled her shoulders, her fiery red hair seeming to have dimmed somewhat. "If those damned Evil Soul Masters hadn't been so good at running, we would've been lying in bed resting ages ago!"

As she spoke, she looked toward several figures beside her, her tone lighthearted.

"Xiaotao, you all did well this time too. If you hadn't held back those Evil Soul Masters who were trying to escape, who knew how many people they would have harmed?"

"It was what we should have done, Senior Wu!" Ma Xiaotao, who looked no more than thirteen or fourteen, replied earnestly. Ling Luochen and the others beside her also nodded in agreement.

As the next generation of Shrek's Seven Devils, taking part in the hunt for Evil Soul Masters was inevitable. Though they had all suffered some injuries in this battle, it had all been worthwhile to them.

Wu Ming smiled with satisfaction and began chatting with the junior classmates, making the atmosphere somewhat livelier.

Meanwhile, Han Ruoruo stood beside Zhang Lexuan, looking slightly worried. "Lexuan, are you still thinking about what happened at the Academy?"

"..." Zhang Lexuan fell silent for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm fine, don't worry. We still have matches to fight next, and I won't let this affect me."

Han Ruoruo was still somewhat concerned. Her best friend's condition over this period had truly not been good, and the faint but unmistakable weariness about her was far too conspicuous to ignore.

Yet, seeing Zhang Lexuan's expression, Han Ruoruo pursed her lips and ultimately said nothing more.

The group slowly entered the hotel lobby. Zhang Lexuan's tired eyes looked ahead, casually sweeping over the hotel's lavishly decorated hall.

Then suddenly, her gaze froze on the lounge area not far away.

There sat seven or eight young men and women wearing Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team uniforms, each with a different expression.

Interestingly, several of them bore bruises of varying severity on their faces, as though they had just been thoroughly taught a lesson.

Of course, that was not what caught her attention.

What truly drew her notice was the youth seated in the very center among them, in the central position. He was handsome and appeared quite young, calmly flipping through a document in his hands.

It was him?

Zhang Lexuan recognized Kong Ming'an at once. After all, someone so good-looking was naturally highly recognizable.

But... why was this youth here? She remembered seeing him in Shrek City, didn't she?

Yet judging by his current circumstances, he seemed to be part of the Sun Moon Team?

People from the Sun Moon Empire had gone to Shrek City?!

A trace of absurdity rose in Zhang Lexuan's heart. Yet just as the thought emerged, she saw the black-haired youth close the document and rise to his feet.

As he moved, the injured Sun Moon team members also rose in unison. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, carrying an indescribable sense of discipline.

Then, beneath the watchful eyes of Zhang Lexuan and the Shrek group, who had gradually noticed something was amiss, Kong Ming'an led the Sun Moon Team directly toward them.

The Shrek team instantly fell silent, all eyes turning wary. The accompanying teacher frowned slightly and stepped half a pace forward, shielding the students behind him as he asked in a low voice:

"The Sun Moon Team? What do you want?"

Kong Ming'an stopped several meters away from them, and the Sun Moon team members behind him stopped at the same time.

Then, a suitably gentle smile appeared on Kong Ming'an's face. Combined with his naturally mild temperament, it made it difficult for the Shrek group to feel any hostility toward him.

"My apologies for disturbing you all." Kong Ming'an's voice was clear and calm, carrying a comfortable warmth.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kong Ming'an. I am from the Kong Family of the Sun Moon Empire. Kong Deming is my grandfather."

Kong Deming's grandson?

The accompanying teacher's gaze tightened slightly. Kong Deming's name was known to everyone among the continent's upper ranks.

Not to mention the recent rumors that his cultivation had broken through, placing him among the strongest experts. This had made the Douluo Three Kingdoms take him even more seriously.

And this person before him was Kong Deming's grandson?

"What do you want?"

"I have no intention of making things difficult for any of you. I came because of a personal matter, or rather... a family matter."

"A family matter?" The accompanying teacher was puzzled, yet he saw Kong Ming'an's gaze pass over him, then over several members of Shrek's Main Selection Team.

In the end, it settled upon Zhang Lexuan, who stood at the center of everyone.