Holy Spirit Cult Holy Son, Meng Hongchen Emerges from Seclusion

Zhongli Wu, a level ninety-eight Hyper Douluo whose martial soul was the Death God Demon Puppet, was the son of Ye Xishui and Old Ghost Zhongli. By seniority and family ties, Yan Jingchuan had to call him Great-Uncle.

He had anticipated that Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui might come, but he had subconsciously overlooked the fact that Zhongli Wu was the current ruler of the Holy Spirit Cult.

Rather than coming to verify his actual condition himself, Nangong Wan had directly reported the matter and summoned Zhongli Wu, truly catching Yan Jingchuan off guard.

Seeing Zhongli Wu stare at him without pause, Yan Jingchuan hesitated briefly before switching to his Hell Demon Puppet martial soul.

As the wicked, blood-red Hell Demon Puppet martial soul possessed him, he secretly observed Zhongli Wu's expression.

His two martial souls were far too distinctive in the eyes of these older powerhouses, especially considering their close connection to Zhongli Wu. Yan Jingchuan feared that if Zhongli Wu guessed something, it could be detrimental to him.

The moment the Hell Demon Puppet martial soul appeared, Zhongli Wu's expression became exceedingly complicated. There was surprise, delight, and deep confusion.

The primary inheritance of puppet martial souls lay within his own lineage. His Death God Demon Puppet and his mother's Blood Soul Demon Puppet—how could this brat have awakened a puppet martial soul?

And from the looks of it, this Hell Demon Puppet was even slightly higher in quality than his Death God Demon Puppet.

Martial soul inheritances on the Douluo Continent were basically passed down through bloodlines. He and Feng Ling had no children, and his mother should not have had any other children either...

The Dark Sacred Dragon, Uncle Long... His mother was always with Uncle Long. Could this kid be his mother's child with Uncle Long?

Zhongli Wu's gaze grew increasingly strange. He found his reasoning perfectly sound, but then he suddenly recalled something and immediately rejected the idea himself.

Before coming here, he had investigated Yan Jingchuan. Yan Jingchuan was the child of Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier from Shrek Academy, and he had only defected recently.

Yan Shaozhe's martial soul was the Light Phoenix, while Cai Meier's was the Break Evil Dragon Soul Spear. Neither had anything to do with the Dark Sacred Dragon or the Hell Demon Puppet.

But that raised another problem: why had their child awakened these two martial souls?

It could not be that either Yan Shaozhe or Cai Meier was his mother and Uncle Long's child, could it? The Light Phoenix and Break Evil Dragon Soul Spear would be utterly absurd on his mother and Uncle Long.

Zhongli Wu could not understand it at all. Even after racking his brains, he could not figure it out.

Zhongli Wu stared at Yan Jingchuan in silence for a long while. In the end, he simply stopped thinking about it. He did not care about any of that. Since this child was not opposed to the Holy Church and his martial souls suited his mother and Uncle Long so well, then he ought to join the Holy Spirit Cult and become its Holy Son!

"Yan Jingchuan..."

Seeing Zhongli Wu's constipated expression gradually return to normal, Yan Jingchuan finally relaxed a little. Then, being suddenly called by name nearly made him jump.

"Are you willing to join my Holy Spirit Cult? If you are, this cult leader promises to appoint you as the Holy Son!"

Zhongli Wu spoke with blazing eyes and a solemn expression.

At those words, the last trace of unease in Yan Jingchuan's heart vanished completely. He could barely suppress the curve of his lips. The two goals he had come to the Sun Moon Empire for would finally both be achieved.

"Cult Leader!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yan Jingchuan bowed to Zhongli Wu.

"Hahaha! Excellent! With the Holy Son in place, the Holy Church will surely prosper!"

Zhongli Wu laughed heartily, his delight impossible to conceal.

He completely failed to notice the cold glint that flashed through Yan Jingchuan's eyes.

As a force made up of Evil Soul Masters, the Holy Spirit Cult was filled almost entirely with utterly vile people who committed every conceivable evil. Yan Jingchuan knew exactly what kind of people they were. Such beings had always been reviled by all and intolerable to heaven's justice.

If Shrek was the greatest cancer on the continent, then the Holy Spirit Cult was the second greatest, surpassed only by Shrek.

The only reason Yan Jingchuan agreed to become the Holy Spirit Cult's Holy Son was that he wanted to use its power. He was still too weak at present and needed a massive force to act for him.

The Holy Spirit Cult's influence spread across the continent, and it possessed abundant high-level combat power: a group of Titled Douluo, several Hyper Douluo, and two Limit Douluo. That was enough to support him until he grew strong.

At the same time, many of the Holy Spirit Cult's evil arts were highly practical. Yan Jingchuan would not use them to harm innocent commoners, but they were perfect for dealing with the inherently evil people of Shrek, as well as the Holy Spirit Cult's own members.

He was not some saintly do-gooder, but that did not mean he could completely turn a blind eye to the suffering and struggles of ordinary civilians.

Once he had grown strong enough, those beasts of the Holy Spirit Cult would no longer have any reason to exist. At that time, he could put waste to use, eradicate them completely with evil arts, and even increase his own strength.

The rest could be left to Ye Guyi and the others. At worst, they could pile up enough resources to create a Limit Douluo with an Angel Martial Soul. Of course, it would be even better if an Angel God appeared and gave Tang San a vicious elbow strike.

When dealing with these demons who treated human lives like grass, Yan Jingchuan did not care what methods he used, nor would he feel the slightest psychological burden.

Zhongli Wu was still teaching Yan Jingchuan various evil arts, utterly unaware that Yan Jingchuan had already sentenced the Holy Spirit Cult to death in his heart.

"Our Holy Church headquarters lies deep within the Evil Forest. Once you arrive there, I will introduce you one by one to the elders, consecrated members, and others in the cult."

Astonished by Yan Jingchuan's terrifying talent, Zhongli Wu considered how Yan Jingchuan had awakened his martial souls this very year yet had already reached level twenty-six. Such talent even made Zhongli Wu want to pass the position of cult leader to him in the future.

"As the Holy Son of our cult, your status within the cult is second only to mine, the deputy cult leader, the supreme cult leader, and the supreme consecrated members. Since you are Kong Deming's disciple, I will also tell you about our cult's plan to infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire."

Yan Jingchuan already knew about the Holy Spirit Cult's plan to infiltrate and control the Sun Moon Empire without Zhongli Wu needing to explain it.

It was nothing more than supporting a prince to become emperor, making the Holy Spirit Cult the Sun Moon Empire's state-protecting divine church, and then starting a war across the entire continent.

If it had been for the sake of unifying the entire Douluo Continent, Yan Jingchuan might have had some interest. Unfortunately, the Holy Spirit Cult's goal was purely to harvest lives and increase its strength. He had no intention of aiding evil.

For various reasons, the Holy Spirit Cult intended to abandon the Third Prince. From Zhongli Wu, Yan Jingchuan learned that Xu Tianran already intended to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Cult at this point in time.

Yan Jingchuan had previously guessed that Xu Tianran and the Holy Spirit Cult would make contact several years later. He had not expected it to happen so early. He did not know whether it was because Kong Deming had personally stepped in to suppress Xu Tianran due to him.

What surprised Yan Jingchuan more was that his status as Holy Son was exceptionally high.

He remembered that even after Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao became Holy Maidens, they could at most command the elders of branch altars. Without Zhongli Wu's authorization, it was uncertain whether those elders would obey their orders.

But upon further thought, it made sense. Ma Xiaotao and Tang Ya were essentially products of the Holy Spirit Cult's brainwashing and control. They were more like high-level combat tools being used than true upper echelons with command authority.

Regarding the plan to infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire, Yan Jingchuan did not offer any opinions and merely listened as Zhongli Wu explained.

At dawn, Zhongli Wu instructed him to contact Nangong Wan and visit the headquarters when he had time, then departed.

Having successfully become the Holy Spirit Cult's Holy Son, Yan Jingchuan only needed to acknowledge Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui as relatives for his backing to be complete.

Of the three great Limit Douluo, two would stand behind him. In addition, Kong Deming was his teacher, which was equivalent to another Limit-level combatant.

As for Mu En, he was half-dead and would not last for many more years.

There were many matters Yan Jingchuan could now set into motion.

A month and a half passed quickly. Nothing important happened during that time. The only matter that could be considered significant was Meng Hongchen emerging from seclusion.

After nearly two months of secluded cultivation, Meng Hongchen had absorbed and refined a small portion of the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow. Her level had soared like a rocket, directly reaching the level-forty bottleneck.

The ice-attributed soul power of the Jade-Clear Ice Toad was infinitely close to Ultimate Ice.