To Unite the Continent, the Holy Spirit Cult Alone Was Not Enough!

Li Changsheng forcibly suppressed the urge to laugh and cry.

Looking at Xiao Hongchen, who wore a sincere expression and showed no hesitation in selling off his own sister, he neither nodded in agreement nor directly refused. He merely asked with a faintly amused smile,

"You're offering Meng Hongchen to me just like that. Aren't you afraid your little sister will find out?"

"If she really makes a fuss, with Sister Meng's temper, you'll probably get another vicious beating."

The moment those words fell, Xiao Hongchen, who had been brimming with heroic swagger just moments ago, shuddered violently on instinct, a chill shooting up his spine.

The arrogance and bravado on his face froze on the spot.

His sister's usual image instantly surfaced in his mind—mischievous, vindictive, difficult to deal with, and utterly merciless whenever she fought.

Yet, in order to preserve his dignity as her older brother, he immediately puffed out his chest and lifted his chin. Pretending to be perfectly calm, he stubbornly put on an air of complete confidence and said,

"Are you kidding? Me, afraid of her?"

"I'm her actual brother! The elder brother is like a father—what I say goes in this family. If it really comes down to it, who beats whom isn't certain!"

After saying that, afraid Li Changsheng would not believe him, he solemnly added, looking as though he had thought everything through and was considering his sister's interests at every turn,

"Besides, that girl of mine has absurdly high standards. She's proud as can be, and ordinary geniuses can't even catch her eye."

"A girl has to get married eventually. Rather than letting some smooth-talking outsider with ulterior motives fool her away in the future and benefit someone else—"

"Why not keep the good fortune within the family? Marrying a peerless genius like you, someone strong, dependable, and my good brother—that's the best possible home for her!"

Listening to that utterly outrageous logic he had forcefully rationalized, Li Changsheng was completely speechless. His heart was filled with nothing but exasperation.

As expected of you, Xiao Hongchen.

For the sake of chasing a wife, he could casually use his own sister's lifelong happiness as a bargaining chip, then brainwash himself into thinking he was doting on her.

Meng Hongchen was breathtakingly beautiful, exceptionally talented, and born into an illustrious family. She was one of the brightest jewels among the Sun Moon Empire's younger generation, pursued by countless gifted youths.

But marriage was her own life. Since when did her brother have the right to package her up and hand her over to someone else?

More importantly, he and Jiang Nannan had merely been close friends with a deep bond after spending six years together.

He was not Jiang Nannan's family, not her elder, and had even less right to interfere in her feelings or decide her marriage for her.

With that thought, Li Changsheng helplessly shook his head and dryly remarked,

"Xiao Hongchen, I seriously suspect that you've spent so many years focused on cultivation that you cultivated your brain into ruin."

Xiao Hongchen froze, looking utterly bewildered. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"No matter how close Nannan and I are, we're still only friends."

Li Changsheng's gaze was calm as he answered with a single sentence that jolted him awake. "I'm not one of her close relatives. We're neither family nor kin, so what right do I have to meddle in her private feelings and arrange a marriage for her? I simply can't say something like that."

That simple sentence instantly shattered all his fantasies.

Xiao Hongchen stood there in a daze. Once he thought it over carefully, he realized—right!

That made perfect sense!

No matter how close the two of them were, they were still just friends!

Friends had never had the right to arrange someone else's marriage or forcibly match them with someone!

His mind, overheated with excitement just moments ago, instantly cooled down. Xiao Hongchen deflated by more than half, looking aggrieved and distressed as he scratched his head anxiously.

"Then what do I do? I finally saw some hope. I can't just give up like this, can I?"

Seeing him scratch at his ears and cheeks, looking deeply lovestruck, a trace of amusement flashed through Li Changsheng's eyes. He casually offered a hint,

"She's returning home tomorrow to bring her mother back."

"Since going through her isn't working, why not change your approach and start with the elders? Wouldn't that be more reliable?"

Boom!

Those words jolted him awake!

Xiao Hongchen's pupils lit up, and he instantly came back to life, as though enlightenment had struck him!

That was right!

Win over the mother-in-law, and everything would be easy!

How had he not thought of that?

In an instant, all his gloom and anxiety vanished.

Xiao Hongchen was so excited he nearly jumped on the spot. He almost wanted to grab Li Changsheng and plant a hard kiss on him!

With an ecstatic expression, he slapped Li Changsheng on the shoulder and shouted,

"Changsheng! You're practically my god! You're such a brother! You're brilliant!"

"That settles it! This is definitely foolproof!"

In high spirits, he grandly waved a hand and declared with extravagant generosity,

"I'm happy tonight! Eat whatever you want, play however you want, buy whatever you want! I'll cover every expense in Bright Capital! The young master of the Hall of Virtue isn't short on money!"

As the night deepened, the pedestrians on the streets gradually dispersed.

After joking and roughhousing for a while, the two bade each other farewell and went their separate ways.

Bright Capital in the dead of night had shed the hustle and bustle of evening. The neon lights remained dazzling, but the city now carried an added air of quiet depth.

Only scattered pedestrians and patrolling soul engineering puppets remained on the empty, sprawling streets.

Li Changsheng walked alone through the deserted streets at an unhurried pace. The relaxed, joking expression from before had completely vanished, leaving only deep indifference in his eyes.

The night breeze was slightly cool as it stirred his robes.

Standing alone on the midnight street, the young man's thoughts had already drifted toward the vast situation encompassing the entire continent.

He had descended to the lower realm six years ago. Traveling for pleasure was real, but laying the groundwork was real as well.

To completely overturn Douluo Continent's decayed ten-thousand-year-old order, shatter Shrek's hypocritical rule, settle the sins of both the righteous and evil factions, and ultimately unite the entire Douluo Continent—

The Holy Spirit Cult, burdened with a century of sins, was far from enough on its own.

Even the force of several Ultimate Douluo would struggle to shake the deeply entrenched situation across the continent.

Looking across the entire current plane, only the Sun Moon Empire possessed the strongest national power, the most advanced technology, and the most complete soul engineering system.

Only the Sun Moon Empire possessed the absolute strength to push for continental unification and overturn the old-era structure of soul masters.

To bring the game to its conclusion and unite the world, the Sun Moon Empire was the core bargaining chip he had to seize!

But if he wanted to completely control this colossal entity, to control this war machine capable of crushing every old order, there was one crucial person he could neither avoid nor bypass.

No one could replace her, nor could anyone take her place.

She was a beautiful young girl, still at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, conducting soul engineering research day after day, year after year.

In other words, as long as he could gain control of her, many matters afterward would become much easier.

At that thought, the corners of his lips rose slightly.

There was only one thing she wanted.

To kill Dai Hao and avenge her family.

For others, that would be an exceptionally difficult thing to accomplish.

But for him, it could not be easier.

After all, he had the Holy Spirit Cult, hidden in the shadows, as a trump card.

Not even considering Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao, those two Ultimate Douluo.

Even Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling could slaughter Dai Hao as easily as killing a chicken.

Just as Li Changsheng was thinking this and preparing to return and rest, an unfamiliar aura caught his attention...