Candidate for the Second Seat

Xu Tianming did not linger long with the Empress. After bidding farewell to his mother and Xu Tianzhen, he returned to Mo Mang Palace.

Over the next month, his life became exceptionally regimented. Every day at dawn, Jingliu appeared in the rear courtyard of Mo Mang Palace, holding a tree branch and staring at him expressionlessly.

"Ten thousand times."

"One fewer today means two more tomorrow."

Xu Tianming gritted his teeth and swung his sword. He trained from morning until noon, his clothes soaked through with sweat, the muscles in his arms repeatedly pushed to their limits before being restored to normal by the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core.

In the afternoon, teachers arranged by Kong Deming gave him theoretical lessons. The subjects included the fundamentals of soul masters, knowledge of soul beasts, royal etiquette, and the military geography of the Sun Moon Empire. His schedule was packed tight.

At night, he used the [Sun Moon Meditation Method] to cultivate his soul power.

Though his life was monotonous, it was fulfilling. He had no time for wild thoughts. Of course, throughout that month, Xu Tianming had also kept a close eye on the conflict along the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire.

The Star Luo Empire's assault had indeed inflicted severe losses upon the Sun Moon Empire.

Dai Hao, the White Tiger Duke, personally led his troops. Taking advantage of the empire's transition between old and new and its weakened defenses, he breached three border fortresses in a single night and advanced a hundred li into the eastern region of the Sun Moon Empire.

The border troops had not been prepared for battle, so their casualties were immense.

Had the Evil Lord Soul Engineer Legion not arrived in time, the entire eastern defensive line would likely have collapsed.

Fortunately, the Sun Moon Empire possessed deep reserves. Once it reacted, the Terrorclaw Soul Engineer Legion promptly came to reinforce them. The two Soul Engineer Legions joined forces in a counterattack, swiftly forcing the White Tiger Duke back south of the Ming Dou Mountains.

But during that time, the damage the White Tiger Duke had inflicted upon the Sun Moon Empire's eastern border could no longer be repaired.

To defend the frontier, the border nobles directly began forcibly conscripting civilians. Great numbers of commoners were sent to the front lines, falling in droves beneath the iron hooves of the White Tiger Army.

When Xu Tianming read the battle reports sent from the border, he frowned.

Forced conscription, using civilian lives to fill the gaps in the defensive line—he deeply disapproved of such practices.

But that was reality.

To those border nobles, as long as they could fend off the White Tiger Army, it did not matter how many ordinary people had to be sacrificed. They possessed their own armies and lands, viewing the common people as expendable resources without batting an eye.

The prerequisite for changing all this was for the Sun Moon Empire to become strong enough.

Strong enough that civilians would not need to go to war, and strong enough to suppress those arrogant nobles so they would no longer dare treat human lives as trifles.

That was also one of Xu Tianming's goals.

He wanted to sit in that position, so ordinary people would no longer be wasted as cannon fodder, and so nobles and soul masters alike would no longer dare disregard human lives.

It was not some grand wish. It was simply a very basic truth.

Human lives should not be so worthless.

Over that month, [Hearth House] gradually began operating properly under Jingliu's management. With Karna's assistance, Jingliu took in a group of orphans from Mingdu and the surrounding towns.

Most of those children came from slums and battlefields. Their parents had died in Rift Realm disasters or wars, leaving them without anyone to rely on, food, or clothing.

Every child Jingliu adopted was unwanted and uncared for.

There were more than a dozen children. The oldest was seven, while the youngest was still swaddled. On the day they were brought into [Hearth House], some did not even have shoes, walking barefoot over the freezing stone floor with hollow, bewildered eyes.

Jingliu stood before them. She offered no words of comfort, merely speaking calmly.

"From today onward, you will have food to eat and a place to live."

"But remember, nothing in this world comes for free."

"If you want to survive, become strong yourselves."

Most of the orphans had no soul power. The few who did had extremely low innate levels—level one, half a level—and possessed the most ordinary martial souls, such as sickles and Blue Silver Grass.

According to the rules of the Douluo Continent, the potential of these orphans was limited. Even if Jingliu taught them every cultivation technique and sword art she knew, without powerful martial souls as a foundation, it would be difficult for them to become true powerhouses.

Because Soul Rings limited everything.

That was simply how the Douluo Plane worked. Even if soul masters cultivated techniques that did not belong to this world, they could not break through their bottlenecks without the enhancement of Soul Rings.

The most typical example was Tang San, who cultivated the [Mysterious Heaven Technique]. Before obtaining his first Soul Ring, his internal cultivation had made no progress at all.

Moreover, the strength of a martial soul represented one's cultivation talent. Not even Jingliu's cultivation techniques could change that.

Xu Tianming had always considered the saying, "There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters," a joke.

The quality of one's martial soul determined a soul master's upper limit from the very beginning.

Without a good martial soul, no matter how hard one worked, it was difficult to compare with those extraordinarily gifted geniuses.

But Xu Tianming had long since decided that the Second Seat Executive Officer he planned for the [Fools] would be a genius skilled in research.

This era was the era of soul tools. If the [Fools] had a top-tier researcher capable of improving soul tools and changing these children's aptitudes, then the [Fools'] path of future development would become much smoother.

Xu Tianming already had several candidates in mind.

Herta.

Ruan Mei.

Screwllum.

Dottore.

Mobius.

Vill-V.

Dr. Mei.

Every one of these scientific geniuses from his memories of his previous life possessed wisdom and creativity beyond their era. Once he had accumulated enough faith, the Second Seat Executive Officer of the [Fools] could take their place.

Moreover, Xu Tianming had an even bolder idea: to change this world's traditional cultivation rules—the iron law that one had to kill soul beasts to obtain Soul Rings.

As for the soul spirit system that would emerge in the future, that was a massive trap, especially for soul beasts.

He possessed a Golden Dragon King's Divine Core. He was, in every sense, a second-generation Golden Dragon King, and could also be considered the co-lord of soul beasts. He might not be unable to bring the power of soul beasts under his command.

As for Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King—the Silver Dragon Princess blessed with astonishing wisdom—Xu Tianming's view of her was simple.

Either submit or be devoured. Which path she took would depend on Gu Yuena's own choice.

If she chose to stand against him, he would swallow her directly. If she chose submission, then she would bear little Dragon Gods. Xu Tianming believed Gu Yuena would certainly make the correct choice.

That day, Xu Tianming received a message from Meng Hongchen. Her crisp, pleasant voice came through the soul tool, carrying a hint of excitement.

"Your Highness, the weather is so nice today. It would be such a waste not to go out and have some fun."

Xu Tianming lay in a reclining chair at Mo Mang Palace and looked out at the bright spring scenery beyond the window. There was indeed no reason to refuse. After a month of high-intensity training, he needed some rest as well. Balancing work and rest would also benefit his cultivation.

"Alright. When?"

"In half an hour. Meet at the eastern gate of the imperial palace."

"Alright."

Meng Hongchen added, "I also invited Ye Guyi, and she agreed."

Xu Tianming raised a brow. Meng Hongchen's social skills were rather impressive. After that incident in the Rift Realm, she had actually established contact with Ye Guyi as well.

But upon thinking about it, it was only natural. Though Ye Guyi was aloof and taciturn, she was not the sort to keep others at arm's length. After spending enough time together, they would naturally become friends.