Faced with Kong Deming's repeated question, Du Busi fell silent.
His rugged face was furrowed, and his large, round eyes gleamed, clearly indicating that he was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.
He had already witnessed the power of Battle Armor. Just as Kong Xuan said, the future might be the era of Battle Armor.
If they can seize this opportunity and arm themselves first, the Body Sect may be able to take advantage of this era's momentum and move forward even further.
However, he also had many concerns. After all, cooperating with the Sun Moon Empire was an extremely important and sensitive decision for the Body Sect, as it concerned the sect's future stance and reputation.
A moment later, Du Busi suddenly raised his head, all hesitation gone, replaced by the decisiveness and seriousness of a sect leader.
He stared intently at Kong Deming, and spoke in a deep voice, his tone like muffled thunder.
"Palace Master Kong, our Body Sect has been rooted in the Heavenly Soul Empire for ten thousand years, and this cannot and will not change. Cooperating with you is of great importance."
He changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious. "Cooperation, I can agree, but I have a few conditions. If the Palace Master agrees, my Body Sect and the Worship Hall will cooperate to a limited extent; if not... then what we've discussed today will be dropped."
Kong Deming nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.
Kong Xuan, who was standing to the side, listened intently, wanting to know what kind of request this Body Sect would make.
Du Busi stretched out his thick fingers and began to list his conditions one by one.
"First, the details of the cooperation must be kept strictly confidential and absolutely not leaked to the outside world. My Body Sect will never openly side with the Sun Moon Empire to confront the three former feudal kingdoms. This is the bottom line!"
"Secondly, the cooperation will only concern the Soul Tool being researched by the Worship Hall. Our sect can provide Soul Master with the Body Martial Soul soul to cooperate accordingly, and will also dispatch Titled Douluo to protect the secrets of the Battle Armor. However, our Body Sect will not participate in military operations or territorial disputes."
"Third, the safety of all participating disciples of the Body Sect must be guaranteed during the research process."
"Fourth, if the Sun Moon Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire go to war in the future, and our sect's disciples choose to return to their homeland to defend their country, the Worship Hall shall not obstruct them for any reason or pursue the matter afterward."
After stating these four conditions, Du Busi looked at Kong Deming and said, "These are the four conditions. Does Palace Master Kong agree or not? Give me a straight answer!"
In Kong Deming's view, the four conditions for poisoning without speaking can actually be summarized into two conditions.
The first priority is to ensure the safety of the members of the Body Sect, and the second is that the Body Sect will not help the Sun Moon Empire launch a war against the original Douluo Three Kingdoms.
Without much hesitation, Kong Deming laughed and said, "Poison Sect Master, I can promise you right now that I agree to all four of these conditions!"
A hint of surprise flashed in Du Busi's eyes; he hadn't expected Kong Deming to agree so readily.
Although he hadn't had much contact with Kong Deming, he instinctively felt that the other party wasn't someone who would break his word.
Seeing the surprise on Du Busi's face, Kong Xuan spoke up, "Senior may not be aware, but the Worship Hall and the military of my Sun Moon Empire belong to two separate forces and do not interfere with each other."
"Under Grandpa's guidance, the Battle Armor Technology is developing rapidly. At least the Worship Hall has no intention of waging war against the original Douluo Three Kingdoms."
This was also the plan that Kong Xuan had been discussing with Kong Deming. Kong Xuan had always opposed conquering the original Douluo Three Kingdoms by force.
Kong Xuan's status as a divine favorite made Kong Deming value him highly, and he often didn't treat him like a child.
It was precisely for this reason that Kong Xuan was able to influence Kong Deming's decisions.
Moreover, Kong Deming is a research-oriented talent, and the reason he hasn't become famous on the mainland over the years is because he is devoted to researching Soul Tool.
Now that the Battle Armor Technology has been developed, Kong Xuan only provided the theory; it was Kong Deming who truly turned it into reality.
Therefore, Kong Deming, who is now fully devoted to the research and development of the Two-Word Battle Armor, has no interest or time to help the Sun Moon Empire launch a war.
Du Busi was skeptical of Kong Xuan's words, but since Kong Deming had already made a promise, he had no reason to refuse.
This choice is a huge gamble for him and for the Body Sect!
"Alright!" Du Busi looked at Kong Deming and said, "Since Palace Master Kong is so agreeable, then my Body Sect accepts this cooperation."
Then he changed his tone and asked, "But what about my disciples, Lord Kong?"
Kong Deming immediately understood and laughed, "Don't worry, Poison Sect Master, let's go back now, and I'll release them immediately."
Niu Tian suddenly appeared, and then suddenly left again shortly afterward.
With this matter resolved, the three returned to the ground from ten thousand meters in the air, landing on the plaza in the Worship Hall.
With a casual wave of his hand, Kong Deming caused more than twenty powerful members of the Body Sect to appear out of thin air in the square amidst spatial fluctuations.
The sudden disappearance of Du Busi had greatly alarmed them, who thought Kong Deming was planning to eliminate them one by one.
Therefore, the moment these people emerged, they instinctively released their Martial Soul, their faces showing an expression of unwavering determination and a willingness to fight to the death.
But when they saw that their sect leader, Du Busi, was still alive and well, standing right in front of them, they relaxed slightly and breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, even the most reckless members of the Body Sect wouldn't want to die easily if they could live.
"Metropolitan!"
In an instant, more than twenty people spoke up, their voices filled with excitement and a mix of complex emotions.
Du Busi simply nodded in response.
He then looked at Kong Deming and said solemnly, "If Palace Master Kong trusts me, I will first take them back to the Body Sect to settle them in before we discuss the specifics of the cooperation."
The disciples of the Body Sect were all startled upon hearing their sect leader's words.
They couldn't understand how their sect leader, who had disappeared so soon, had already entered into cooperation talks with the Sun Moon Empire.
Most people felt a sense of resistance, and some even believed that the sect leader had been deceived by the Sun Moon.
However, Du Busi is the only law in the Body Sect, and no one dared to question it in public at this time. They only thought that they would persuade them properly later, because they couldn't make a deal with the Sun Moon Empire.
Kong Deming laughed heartily, "Since you've chosen to cooperate with the Poison Sect Master, you must be trustworthy. The Poison Sect Master can leave at any time. I'll be waiting for your return in the Worship Hall!"
Regardless, Du Busi was very pleased with Kong Deming's trusting attitude.
He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Kong Deming, then looked at his disciples with varying expressions and called out loudly, "Come back to the sect with me!"
Du Busi, everyone soared into the sky and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Kong Deming let out a long breath and turned to look at Kong Xuan: "If the Body Sect is truly as talented in forging as you say, then this cooperation will have been worthwhile."
Kong Xuan smiled and said, "Grandpa, don't worry, they will definitely give you a surprise. Moreover, with the addition of the Body Sect, the strength of the Worship Hall has been greatly enhanced."
Kong Deming's expression turned serious upon hearing this, and he said in a deep voice, "I don't care about strengthening the Worship Hall. Ordinary Titled Douluo would only be asking for trouble if they came. The only ones we can't handle are Limit Douluo!"
It seems that Niu Tian's appearance as Limit Douluo just now put a lot of pressure on Kong Deming.
Although his Silver Moon Divine Light Shield is very strong, it is indeed no match for the Limit Douluo right now.
Kong Xuan thought to himself that among the Limit Douluo of this era, besides Niu Tian and the dying Mu En, there were only those two from the Holy Spirit Cult left.
He cautioned, "Grandpa, you should be careful of the Holy Spirit Cult."
Kong Deming nodded. "Yes! Although the Holy Spirit Cult is cooperating with the Empire, we still have to be wary!"
"However, they probably won't make a move anytime soon."
At this point, Kong Deming also felt that the topic had become somewhat heavy.
Seemingly remembering something, he changed the subject, saying, "The fleet for the long voyage is ready, but without a specific nautical chart, we only know a general direction. Finding that continent won't be easy."