Jing Hongchen: Protect My Hongchen Family!

"I heard you. What do you think of this kind of drug? Hall Master Hongchen—or rather, what do you think of the Holy Spirit Cult?"

Morax's meaning was clear. He knew of the Holy Spirit Cult, this organization of Evil Soul Masters, and he also knew that the Sun Moon Empire was cooperating with them.

What he meant was that cooperating with the Holy Spirit Cult was like taking those addictive drugs: in the end, the Sun Moon Empire would be controlled by the Holy Spirit Cult.

"Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Well said! As expected of a warrior whose cultivation is close to—or perhaps already at—the level of an Ultimate Douluo, Mr. Morax. I agree with you completely. But why is it that none of the Sun Moon Empire's higher-ups have ever agreed with me? Even someone like you, who does not hold political power, knows the dangers of the Holy Spirit Cult, yet they..."

Jing Hongchen greatly agreed with Morax's view. As a politician, a loyal subject of the Sun Moon Empire, and the head of its foremost family, he naturally understood the matter.

As the Hall Master of the Hall of Virtue, he naturally knew how dangerous cooperation with the Holy Spirit Cult was, and what consequences would follow from working with an organization of Evil Soul Masters. The problem was that he did not have the majority.

The Sun Moon Empire was not his alone to command. Within the empire, many people with power and status comparable to his shared the highest authority.

The most formidable among them was the imperial family.

There were also the consecrated elders.

The reason they had originally cooperated with the Holy Spirit Cult was entirely because they could defeat the Three Douluo Kingdoms, but Shrek was simply too powerful for them to handle. Thus, they could only cooperate with the Holy Spirit Cult to deal with Shrek and share the pressure brought by the Three Douluo Kingdoms and Shrek.

But was cooperating with the Holy Spirit Cult, with a group of Evil Soul Masters and people with dangerous ideas, not an invitation for them to turn on the empire and bite back someday?

Of course it was possible. Jing Hongchen was someone who strongly agreed with that view.

Cooperating with the Holy Spirit Cult was just as Morax had said: like taking an addictive drug, something designed to make people dependent on it so they could be controlled.

Working with the Holy Spirit Cult was no different from that drug. As the Hall Master of the Hall of Virtue and the leader of a great Sun Moon Empire family, he naturally understood the danger. Yet the same problem remained—the empire was not his alone to decide.

"Of course I do not wish to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Cult. But I have my family behind me, and the Sun Moon Empire is not mine to command. Its internal forces are tangled and complex. I truly envy you. You are merely an ordinary teacher, yet you possess peerless strength. But I am different. I am not only the leader of the Hongchen Family, the foremost family of the Sun Moon Empire."

Jing Hongchen then took out a flask of wine, a fine vintage from the Sun Moon Empire, along with two cups.

"Have a drink."

"Thank you."

Jing Hongchen poured the wine, and the two of them drained their cups in one gulp.

"To be honest, I truly envy you. There is nothing behind you, but behind me are my grandson, my granddaughter, and my family. I have too much to bear. There is nothing binding you, and you possess peerless strength. You are an Ultimate Douluo—or at least someone close to one."

"And you have no attachments behind you. But I have far too much to protect. In this Sun Moon Empire, where every faction is intricately entangled, what can I do? I can only do my best to ensure that my opinions influence others, to keep this vast empire from taking too many wrong turns."

Morax watched the Hall Master Hongchen drink and vent his frustrations. He understood that Jing Hongchen had not had an easy life either.

As the leader of the Sun Moon Empire's Hongchen Family and a loyal servant of the empire, Jing Hongchen naturally knew right from wrong. Matters of state were exceedingly complicated. Cooperating with the Holy Spirit Cult was indeed very dangerous. Once their mutual interests were gone, either side might very well turn around and bite the other.

The leader of the Hongchen Family naturally understood this and opposed it. But the Sun Moon Empire had to face the Three Douluo Kingdoms and Shrek Academy as well. They lacked powerful Soul Master combatants. Although they possessed formidable Tier 9 Soul Tools, they still had no answer when facing Ultimate-level powerhouses.

Thus, many people entertained a crooked idea: cooperating with the Holy Spirit Cult. Though they were uncertain exactly how much combat strength the Holy Spirit Cult possessed, one thing was certain—there were definitely quite a few Title Douluo among them.

When facing the combat power of the Three Douluo Kingdoms and Shrek, they could certainly help the Sun Moon Empire share the burden. But they also understood that, in the end, the Holy Spirit Cult would inevitably turn on the Sun Moon Empire.

It was only because both sides still had roughly equal value to one another that they had not done so yet. But they knew that day would eventually come.

Both sides were gambling that they would be the stronger party.

Jing Hongchen believed such gambling was far too dangerous. How could matters of state be left to a gamble?

Was that not wagering the fate of the nation? That was why he strongly disagreed with it.

Morax looked at this man, who in the original novel had been a loyal servant of the empire, and sighed.

"I can help you protect your family. But you cannot side with the Holy Spirit Cult. In other words, regarding the Holy Spirit Cult, you cannot choose to help them. It is that simple."

Morax's combat strength was already comparable to that of a First-Class God in the God Realm. Even if the Holy Spirit Cult gathered together, they did not have a single God Official among them. How could they possibly be Morax's match?

"You can protect my family? Are you telling the truth?"

"By the name of the Martial God."

After Morax spoke, golden light burst from his eyes. In an instant, a heaven-and-earth phenomenon appeared throughout the room behind him.

"You are...!"

Jing Hongchen stared at Morax, who was radiating golden light. Holy radiance filled the room.

In an instant, Morax's image became sacred, like a god from legend—like the seven people who had become gods in the legends of the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago.

"In the name of Morax, the Martial God, I will protect your family."

After Morax said those words, all the light in the room vanished in an instant, and his eyes returned to their normal color.

"..." Jing Hongchen froze, unable to believe what he had just seen. A god! A god had appeared in his room. The aura Morax had released moments ago far surpassed that of an Ultimate Douluo.