Retribution? No, no, no-it was a full-on grovel!

On the way back, mecha after mecha flew over Mo Yuan's head, heading straight toward Xu Family Manor.

Yet not a single one spotted him, because he had activated the stealth Soul Tool on Heavy Bunny long ago. This Soul Tool could block detection by every known Soul Tool used by the Federation.

Looking at those mecha, he was not surprised in the slightest. If anything, he felt they had arrived a little slower than expected.

After all, this was the capital of a nation. A large-scale energy fluctuation would definitely trigger an investigation. Judging by the paint schemes on those mecha, they should be the Central Legion's mecha battalion.

He shook his head and paid it no mind, quickly returning to his residence.

Three days after Xu Rongzhi's death, Mo Yuan's work had made tremendous progress.

After returning to the laboratory on the first night, he had not left again.

He had devoted all his energy to writing that core array operation manual.

His efficiency was even higher than expected. Perhaps it was because he had one less thing weighing on his mind—whenever he completely emptied his mind, he could feel that invisible resistance which had previously hung over his head had vanished entirely.

After all, compiling a book was no easy task. Someone might be excellent at learning, yet not necessarily be able to explain that knowledge to others in a way they could understand.

Otherwise, how could that famous saying have come about: "You pose no threat to me in the scientific community, but you can still ruin my reputation in education"?

Ultimately, to teach this newly developed Soul Conduction Array theory—which was practically innovative from the ground up—to people who might not even have mastered the basic theories, Mo Yuan had spared no effort.

As for the opposition from within the Academy of Sciences, it had quieted down almost entirely by the morning of the second day after Xu Rongzhi fell. Huo Yuan had not sent another complaint. Instead, that afternoon, he even sent a brief notice: The Academy Affairs Committee had approved the project, and the review period for the supplementary materials had been shortened from three months to three weeks. It could even be faster.

Mo Yuan read the message once, then continued drawing.

Without a doubt, those people acting on Xu Rongzhi's orders had lost their backbone after learning of his death. Afraid the flames would reach them, they had all chosen to back down.

After all, in their eyes, even the Xu family's eldest young master had died. They could hardly expect to fare any better.

By the evening of the third day, he had finished three-quarters of the manual's main text.

What remained was merely a detailed explanation of the final few modules and some auxiliary operation diagrams. At his current pace, he would be able to finish in a day and a half at most.

Of course, he could actually have left it unfinished. If someone could not understand a book that detailed, Mo Yuan could already consider revoking their membership in the human race.

But then again, everyone knew one should never overestimate the lower limit of human intelligence. What if?

He did not want to be utterly defeated in the field of education.

Jin Ling crouched beside the Star Silver ingot at the corner of the desk, sucking in rare metal. The golden radiance around its abdomen was brighter than it had been a few days ago, and faint pulses had begun appearing along its edges—the precursor to a Soul Spirit's imminent advancement.

Mo Yuan was finishing the lines of the final schematic when someone knocked on the door.

The rhythm was urgent, and the knocks were much heavier than usual. Clearly, the visitor was in a foul mood.

"Come in."

Gu Yuan pushed open the door, closed it behind him, and strode over to the worktable.

His expression was even more tense than the last time he had come. His brows were drawn together, his lips pressed into a thin line—in short, he looked like someone with a bellyful of words who had no idea where to begin.

"You killed Xu Rongzhi?" he asked. Though phrased as a question, his tone was certain.

Mo Yuan set down his pen. "I did."

Gu Yuan drew a deep breath. The lines of his cheeks tensed for a moment, then eased slightly as he exhaled. "Have you thought about the consequences? The Xu family isn't just Xu Rongzhi. He's dead, but his father is still alive, and the entire industrial network behind him is still intact. They'll investigate. And after killing him, you actually didn't silence the witnesses? You can kill one Xu Rongzhi today, but tomorrow, the Xu family might send more than twenty mecha."

Gu Yuan had never imagined that someone as intelligent as Mo Yuan could be foolish enough not to silence the witnesses—so foolish that he had even openly announced his identity to the survivors.

Mo Yuan put the cap back on his pen and leaned into his chair as he looked at Gu Yuan.

The other man was still wearing his coat, clearly having rushed over from somewhere else.

"Are you done?"

"You—" Gu Yuan paused. "I'm here to help you think of a way out. You should at least understand how big a mess you've made."

"Of course I do." Mo Yuan's tone was perfectly calm. "The Xu family has operated in Mingdu for dozens of generations. Its assets cover mining, processing, and trade, and some of its channels even have ties to the military. Under normal circumstances, after I killed one of their people, they should retaliate with all their might. Otherwise, their family's reputation would suffer, right?"

Gu Yuan frowned. "Then why did you—"

"But that's under normal circumstances," Mo Yuan said. "The Xu family isn't an organization run on one person's will. It has countless people beneath it and countless industrial lines, each layer with its own interests. While Xu Rongzhi was alive, he could mobilize those resources to obstruct my project. But now that he's dead, those resources won't miss their former master."

"Besides, as far as I know, Xu Rongzhi was the eldest son, but not the only son. There are plenty of people watching his position, and his father clearly has other choices."

Mo Yuan added this last point.

Since he had already opened the other side's account, how could he not finish the job?

In fact, he had gone through the accounts of everyone in the Xu family.

Xu Rongzhi was the eldest son, but he had three younger brothers, and his father even had two illegitimate sons. All of them were his rivals.

"Let's set aside whether his father will retaliate against me. Even if he resolves to do so, he'll need to remobilize the channels at his disposal and take on the risk of failure. If they already know that even a Titled Douluo couldn't stop me and was killed instantly, and that the strongest force they can control is merely a level-ninety-five Super Douluo, then do you think he'll choose to fight to the death or make peace? That's a very easy calculation."

Listening to Mo Yuan's clear and orderly chain of reasoning, Gu Yuan fell silent.

Although he did not understand it, he had to admit that Mo Yuan's words made perfect sense.

Mo Yuan continued, "Besides, the way the Xu family operates within the Federation's system means they can't act openly. They've always tried their best to downplay their identity as descendants of the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family. If they publicly attacked me in the name of 'revenge,' the Federal Parliament would immediately set its sights on them. They can't bear the consequences."

That was why Mo Yuan had not silenced the witnesses. He felt it was unnecessary. They posed no threat to him whatsoever.

After all, the Xu family's name sounded impressive, but in reality, it was nothing special. Compared with a true military aristocratic family like the Yue Family, the two were worlds apart.

The mere title of Limit Douluo was enough to leave them gasping for breath.

Countless facts had proven that, in the end, this world respected strength above all else.

If Chen Xinjie had been the one to kill Xu Rongzhi, his father probably would not only have been afraid to get angry—he might even have praised him for doing a good job.

"Then how do you think they'll handle this?"

"They'll naturally seek reconciliation," Mo Yuan said. "Most likely, they'll find an intermediary to sound me out. Once they confirm that I won't escalate the situation, they'll suppress the matter."

Gu Yuan looked at him for several seconds, then seemed to finally release the breath he had been holding and leaned back against the chair.

His fingers intertwined over his knees, then separated again. After a moment of silence, he spoke once more. "How confident are you?"

"Ninety percent."

"...And the remaining ten percent?"

Mo Yuan tilted his head slightly without answering directly.

Looking at his expression, Gu Yuan knew that he had no intention of explaining that ten-percent possibility. Perhaps he could not be bothered, or perhaps it was unnecessary.

Gu Yuan did not press him further.

He stood, zipped up his coat, and paused at the door to glance back at Mo Yuan. "Tell me if you get any news."

"I will."

The door closed, and the room fell quiet again.

Mo Yuan picked up his pen and continued drawing the next diagram.

As for that remaining ten percent, naturally, it meant the Xu family chose annihilation.