Meng Hongchen's Concern, Success at Hand?

"Just as expected of the grandson-in-law I personally chose. He truly possesses peerless talent and has the potential to become an Ultimate Douluo."

Watching the increasingly intense phenomenon surrounding Xia Yu, Jing Hongchen's heart was filled with pride.

He truly had not chosen the wrong grandson-in-law. With Xia Yu around, he would certainly be able to protect Meng and allow her to continue living a carefree life.

At the same time, as long as Xia Yu could join Virtue Hall, Virtue Hall would surely be able to use his influence to return to its peak much faster.

Perhaps it would not even take several years. Virtue Hall might very well rise from the ashes within one or two years.

With that thought, Jing Hongchen became even more eager to talk Xia Yu into joining Virtue Hall.

He wished he could tie Xia Yu to Virtue Hall's ship right then and there.

But unfortunately, with Kong Deming, the father of soul tools, around, that idea was destined to face tremendous difficulty.

Other than Xia Yu agreeing in person, every other method would be useless.

As for forcing Xia Yu, setting aside whether that would even work, given Xia Yu's talent and combat strength, Jing Hongchen, an established Rank-9 Soul Engineer, might very well be unable to defeat him.

That was not an exaggeration, but a reasonable deduction based on the facts.

For instance, the aura of soul power Xia Yu was displaying now was enough to make Jing Hongchen take notice.

If his senses were correct, Xia Yu was already at the peak of Rank 92 and was about to break through to Rank 93.

Yes, after undergoing Secret Spirit Ascension, Xia Yu's soul power was still at Rank 92, but he was now only one step away from Rank 93.

In other words, he could break through to Rank 93 at any time.

"This kid Xia Yu truly defies all reason. He only became a Titled Douluo not long ago, yet he is already about to catch up to us old-timers."

The more Jing Hongchen learned about Xia Yu, the more convinced he became. There was simply no way not to be impressed.

Fortunately, Xia Yu was on the Sun Moon Empire's side. Otherwise, they would have had a real headache on their hands.

Just like that little bastard Huo Yuhao—once he grew up, he would undoubtedly become a menace to the Sun Moon Empire.

Jing Hongchen now deeply regretted his past decision. Why had he arranged that exchange student program? It had been nothing but thankless effort.

Time slowly passed, and the daylight hours slipped by just like that.

After working at it for some time, Xia Yu had gradually found his stride in guiding the resonance between the origins of his martial souls.

He could now clearly sense the attraction between his two martial souls.

It felt as though, as long as he followed that pull and guided them accordingly, he could fuse the powers of the two martial souls together without the slightest rejection.

Then he would naturally be able to use a Self-Martial-Soul Fusion Technique.

But how could it possibly be that simple? It was merely Xia Yu's illusion.

If he truly acted according to his current feelings, only failure awaited him.

He might even lose all his previous progress and have to start everything over.

Fortunately, Xia Yu was rational enough to suppress the impulse in his heart. Rather than following that feeling, he slowly deepened the resonance between the origins of his martial souls step by step.

From beginning to end, he believed that as long as he kept guiding them, quantitative change would eventually lead to qualitative change.

And sure enough, Xia Yu had made the right bet.

As the resonance between the origins of the martial souls continued to deepen, their powers began to show signs of merging.

Though fleeting, those signs were undeniably real.

All these changes undoubtedly showed that Xia Yu was on the right path.

As for when the Martial Soul Fusion Technique would succeed, that depended on Xia Yu's speed of guidance.

It probably would not take many more days.

"Grandpa, where is Brother Yu? What is he doing? He actually stood me up. That is absolutely awful!"

While Xia Yu continued striving to develop his Self-Martial-Soul Fusion Technique, Meng Hongchen, who had not seen him for a long time and assumed he had stood her up, stormed into Virtue Hall to find him.

At first, Xia Yu really had promised to return to the residence with Meng Hongchen, but things did not always go as planned.

Originally, he had only wanted to tour Virtue Hall's secret research and draw some experience and techniques from it.

But who would have thought that Virtue Hall possessed something as valuable as a Martial Soul Fusion Enhancer?

Since he had encountered it, and it was exactly what Xia Yu urgently needed, he naturally had to give it a try.

He had not realized it until he tried it, but once he did, Xia Yu completely forgot about his agreement with Meng Hongchen.

How could he have any mind left for his adorable little wife, Meng Hongchen? All he could think about was how to develop his Self-Martial-Soul Fusion Technique.

Although he had indeed let Meng Hongchen down somewhat, there was a reason for it. At worst, he could properly apologize to her and make it up to her later.

"Alright, alright, stop being angry. Xia Yu did not mean to stand you up. You can see for yourself that he truly cannot leave right now..."

Jing Hongchen truly was a good elder. Though he spoiled Meng Hongchen, he did not blindly take her side without distinguishing right from wrong.

Instead, he spoke according to the facts and explained why Xia Yu had stood Meng Hongchen up.

"Grandpa, you mean Brother Yu is trying to cultivate some kind of Self-Martial-Soul Fusion Technique? Can it really succeed? Will it be dangerous?"

After hearing Jing Hongchen's explanation, Meng Hongchen was stunned.

A Martial Soul Fusion Technique—she knew all too well what that was, since she and Xiao Hongchen possessed one: Red Dust's Attachment.

But this so-called Self-Martial-Soul Fusion Technique was beyond anything she could imagine.

What did it mean for one person to use a Martial Soul Fusion Technique? It was simply unbelievable.

Yet there was a living example right before her eyes. Her husband, Xia Yu, was currently attempting to accomplish that very feat.

How could Meng Hongchen not be shocked and find it inconceivable?

"Even Grandpa does not know whether it will succeed. Everything depends on Xia Yu's own fortune."

Jing Hongchen could not answer Meng Hongchen's question, because he had no experience in this regard either.

No, it could no longer be described as lacking experience. This was the first time he had even seen such a thing.

Thus, he did not know what he should say.

However, from his observations, Xia Yu was currently in good condition and should not be in any danger.

"Phew, as long as there is no danger, that is good!"

After learning that Xia Yu was not in danger, Meng Hongchen relaxed slightly.

But only slightly. Until there was a result, she could not fully set her mind at ease.

She even wanted to remain by Xia Yu's side and stand guard for him so that she could keep watch over his condition at all times.

However, Jing Hongchen rejected that plan, saying that with him there, Meng Hongchen did not need to do so.

Besides, Meng Hongchen would not be able to help here anyway. The proper thing for her to do was attend to her own matters and prepare well for the Radiant City Tournament.

Naturally, Meng Hongchen did not agree with that.

But she could not fight her grandfather's decision, so she ultimately compromised and followed Jing Hongchen's arrangements.

Thus, aside from visiting at several fixed times to check on Xia Yu's condition, Meng Hongchen spent the rest of her time handling the team's affairs and preparing for the Radiant City Tournament.

This continued for eight consecutive days. Finally, on the morning of the ninth day, Xia Yu's condition changed.