Grandpa, You Want Me to Get Married?

"Ugh, what is this? Why am I getting married so soon?"

After declining his teacher Kong Deming's offer to personally stand guard for him, Xia Yu brought the God-Sealing Platform into the cultivation chamber.

The reason he had refused Kong Deming's protection was that Xia Yu had other plans.

Before awakening the memories of his past life, he had obtained the Holy Spirit Cult's Spirit-Raising Secret Art through a secret channel.

Though the Holy Spirit Cult was a gathering place and headquarters for evil soul masters, they undeniably had some real skill. Their research into the Spirit-Raising Secret Art was quite impressive.

However, for safety reasons, Xia Yu had never attempted this so-called Spirit-Raising Secret Art.

He had planned to wait until he broke through to Titled Douluo, when his strength was sufficient to ensure his safety, before using the Spirit-Raising Secret Art to raise the age of the first eight soul rings of his Ghost martial soul.

He had prepared thoroughly for this, and now was the time to make his attempt. That was why he had not allowed Kong Deming to personally stand guard.

If Kong Deming found out that he had used an evil soul master's forbidden technique, wouldn't his teacher explode and personally teach him a lesson?

Whenever Xia Yu thought of the miserable state of those Kong Deming had disciplined, he shuddered.

When his teacher disciplined him, he never held back. Those were real, solid injuries.

The whole point was to make sure you remembered the lesson for good.

"Damn it, why am I thinking about that? That's all ancient history. The urgent matter now is preparing to absorb the soul ring."

Shaking his head and casting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, Xia Yu extravagantly took out eight Ninth-Level Soul Tools and began setting them up to absorb the Six-Tailed Demon Fox's soul ring.

Virtue Hall.

Inside an elegantly furnished, tastefully decorated lounge.

While Xia Yu arranged all sorts of measures to absorb the soul ring, an unusual conversation was also taking place amid rising tension.

Jing Hongchen, the current master of Virtue Hall, sat behind his desk with a solemn expression, rubbing his brow in frustration.

Before the desk stood a delicate, slender, breathtakingly beautiful young woman.

She had a head of gorgeous wine-red hair and wore a red-and-black dress. Her temperament was seductive and enchanting, making her an absolute stunner.

Yet her blue eyes were currently filled with stubbornness and tears, as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

This pitiful-looking beauty was none other than Jing Hongchen's beloved granddaughter, the jewel of the Red Dust Family, Meng Hongchen.

"Grandpa, how can you be so heartless?"

Meng Hongchen pursed her lips, her eyes reddened as she stared at Jing Hongchen, her voice trembling badly.

"I've only met Xia Yu a few times. We barely know each other. How am I supposed to marry him?"

"Besides, besides, there's already someone I like. Can't you let me decide for myself? Why do you have to force me?"

As she finished speaking, two streams of tears slid down from the corners of Meng Hongchen's eyes.

"Meng, Grandpa doesn't want this either."

Facing Meng Hongchen's accusing gaze, Jing Hongchen, an elder, surprisingly looked away.

"But you know how severe the Empire's situation has become."

"The one sitting in the imperial palace does not have much time left, and the Crown Prince is in that condition. The other princes will never give up their fight for that position."

"In other words, the Empire may soon fall into turmoil. Virtue Hall and our Red Dust Family cannot possibly stay out of it; we will inevitably be drawn in."

"To seize the initiative, I have decided to fully support the Crown Prince's ascension. If he can suppress the counterattacks of the other princes and secure the throne, that will be fine. But if he cannot, our circumstances will certainly not be pleasant."

"That is why I must arrange everything in advance and prepare for the worst. Xia Yu is the solid support I found for you..."

After hearing her grandfather Jing Hongchen's explanation of the Empire's situation, how could Meng Hongchen fail to understand the danger involved?

Under such perilous circumstances, even a family as powerful as the Red Dust Family could collapse overnight, its favorable position completely destroyed.

At that thought, Meng Hongchen's delicate body trembled sharply. She now fully understood Jing Hongchen's painstaking intentions.

With Kong Deming, Elder Kong, the strongest soul engineer, along with the Consecration Hall's special standing and Xia Yu's extraordinary talent, no matter how turbulent the Empire became, it could not possibly affect him.

And once she became his wife, she would naturally receive the protection of him and the forces behind him.

More than that, this marriage could provide the Red Dust Family with immense assistance, allowing the family to gain a firm foothold in this sweeping political struggle.

It could be said that this marriage was entirely a win-win arrangement, one that countless people would scramble to obtain.

But could things truly be calculated that way?

Meng Hongchen was unusually shaken, uncertain of what she should do.

Seeing Meng Hongchen like this, how could the shrewd Jing Hongchen fail to understand her thoughts? He immediately pressed on.

"Meng, aside from the political considerations, I have another reason for marrying you to Xia Yu."

"You know about Xia Yu's second martial soul, the Velvet Sky-Piercing Chrysanthemum, right? That martial soul is remarkable. They say it is some kind of immortal herb, with the powerful effects of invigorating the blood and strengthening the meridians..."

"I have already spoken with Elder Kong. Once you are married, Xia Yu can use the Velvet Sky-Piercing Chrysanthemum to cleanse you."

"Think about it. A Titled Douluo using an immortal herb to cleanse you. Your physique will surely undergo a complete transformation. Perhaps you could even completely suppress and adapt to the deadly poison brought by the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad?"

"Grandpa!" Meng Hongchen bit her red lip and shot Jing Hongchen a displeased glare. "I can solve the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's cold poison myself. As long as I can find a torso Soul Bone produced by a top-tier ice-attributed soul beast..."

"Yes, yes, I know you are talented, Meng. The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's cold poison cannot stump you, but having another solution would be good too." Jing Hongchen interrupted Meng Hongchen rather perfunctorily.

Still, Meng Hongchen made it sound easy, but how could a torso Soul Bone from a top-tier ice-attributed soul beast be so easy to find?

After all these years, the Red Dust Family had never found this so-called top-tier ice-attributed torso Soul Bone.

There had once been an opportunity. Virtue Hall had obtained a one-hundred-thousand-year ice-attributed soul beast embryo.

But the damned Body Sect had launched a sneak attack, and that one-hundred-thousand-year soul beast had self-destructed. They had ended up with nothing at all.

Thinking of this, Jing Hongchen's desire to grind Du Bushi's bones to dust grew even fiercer.

"Enough, I've said so much. What do you think, Meng? Do you agree to this marriage?"

After slightly shaking his head and calming the turmoil in his heart, Jing Hongchen asked Meng Hongchen for her final decision.

After all, he had painstakingly explained so much. This girl could not possibly remain stubborn, could she?

"Grandpa, I..." Meng Hongchen did not know how to choose.

Truthfully, regarding Wang Dong, she knew that they were probably impossible, because an insurmountable gulf lay between them.

As for Xia Yu, she truly did not feel anything for him.

But after her grandfather Jing Hongchen's round of persuasion, she realized that she had no choice but to compromise.

The Empire's perilous situation, her family's development and future, and her own special circumstances...

These matters were like chains, binding her tightly and forcing her to agree to marry Xia Yu.

After hesitating for a long time, Meng Hongchen ultimately made her choice.

Her eyes red, she struggled to keep her tears from falling again and sighed in a choked voice, "Grandpa, I... I... I agree to this marriage."

As soon as the words fell, the tears she had been holding back finally streamed down once more.

Yet this also brought the dispute over Xia Yu and Meng Hongchen's marriage to an end, while opening a new chapter.