After the sudden ambush on their return journey, Kong Deming personally escorted them, and the rest of the journey proceeded without further incident. The group successfully returned to Mingdu, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire.
It was during the holiday at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, so Kong Xuan and Kong Ling did not return to the academy but went straight home.
These past two days, apart from indulging in a feast at the renowned " Mingyi Pavilion to satisfy Kong Xuan's long-cherished cravings, he spent most of his time at home in quiet meditation.
At just seventeen years old, his Soul Power had already reached level sixty-eight, and he was only one step away from entering the Soul Saint realm.
Kong Deming returned from the Worship Hall in the evening.
His expression was solemn as he went straight to Kong Xuan's room, clearly having something important to discuss.
" Xuan'er," Kong Deming said bluntly, his voice low and serious, "The attacker's identity has been found!"
Upon hearing this, Kong Xuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he was also somewhat curious about which faction the person who attacked him came from.
The four Titled Douluo captured by Kong Deming with swift and decisive action all gritted their teeth and refused to reveal any information, displaying extreme stubbornness.
However, this was not an unsolvable problem for Kong Deming, who was in charge of the Sun Moon Empire's Worship Hall and controlled a vast intelligence network.
He didn't even need to resort to torture to extract confessions. On this vast continent, tracking down an unknown nobody might be like finding a needle in a haystack, but Titled Douluo would be much easier.
This is because Titled Douluo is already at the pinnacle of the Soul Master World.
Most of them, when they broke through Level 90 and obtained their own titles, were full of vigor and fame, wishing that the whole world would know about them and spread their titles and fame to every corner of the continent.
Their Martial Soul, Soul Skill, places of advancement, and even interpersonal relationships will leave traces, deep or shallow, in the Soul Master World, forming unique "memory points."
In particular, that Level 95 Space-type Super Douluo, and his rare and powerful Space-type Martial Soul, are highly recognizable and hard to miss.
Therefore, Kong Deming mobilized the resources of the Worship Hall and the Imperial Intelligence Department to investigate the information they had gathered, while also sending people to the original Douluo Three Kingdoms to investigate all the Space-type Titled Douluo within the last three hundred years.
Sure enough, just three days later, a clear intelligence report was placed on Kong Deming's desk.
At this moment, meeting Kong Xuan's expectant gaze, Kong Deming slowly spoke, "His name is Shi Bing, a titled Airspace, Level 95 Super Douluo, and a royal retainer of the Dou Ling Empire!"
Upon hearing the results of his grandfather Kong Deming's investigation, Kong Xuan frowned deeply, his doubts deepening rather than lessening.
He carefully recalled and confirmed that he indeed had no connection with the Dou Ling Empire in the far north, let alone any enmity between them.
Why would the Dou Ling Empire send four Titled Douluo to intercept and kill them? This makes no sense at all!
Seeing the confusion on his grandson's face, Kong Deming waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "If you can't figure it out, don't waste your time guessing. Since the person is in our hands, let's just ask him directly."
Having said that, he subtly moved his mind, and the spatial power of the Silver Moon Divine Light Shield began to circulate.
The next moment, a disheveled figure was thrown as if by an invisible force, and fell to the floor of the room with a "thud".
It was none other than Shi Bing, the Spatial Domain Douluo imprisoned by the God Sealing Ring!
At this moment, he was completely different from the Super Douluo who had previously controlled space and was full of vigor.
His hair and beard were disheveled, his face was ashen, and his eyes were dull and lifeless.
Without the support of his Soul Power, he was just an ordinary old man in his twilight years, looking like he was about to die and on the verge of death.
He struggled to lift his head, his cloudy eyes looking at Kong Deming and Kong Xuan in front of him.
Kong Deming's gaze was piercing as he looked down at Shi Bing, who was lying slumped on the ground. His voice was as cold as iron as he asked, word by word, " Spatial Domain Douluo, Shi Bing."
"My grandson, Kong Xuan, grew up in the Sun Moon Empire, which is thousands of miles away from your Dou Ling Empire, and we have no enmity with each other."
"I truly cannot understand why you, along with the other three Titled Douluo, would so ruthlessly kill a junior like him?"
His voice suddenly rose, booming like thunder, filled with boundless rage and accusation. "Are you acting on behalf of the Dou Ling Empire, seeking to formally declare war on my Sun Moon Empire?!"
Shi Bing was not surprised that Kong Deming was able to find out her identity so quickly.
During the days he was imprisoned within the Silver Moon Divine Light Shield, he had long since disregarded life and death, and the only thing on his mind was how to minimize the impact of this matter.
This failed assassination attempt must not be allowed to escalate into a full-scale war between the two empires; that would be a catastrophe that Dou Ling could not afford.
He first glanced at Kong Xuan standing beside Kong Deming as if by chance, and then a trace of indescribable regret swept through his heart again. It was a pity that he had not been able to kill this Sun Moon!
Immediately, meeting Kong Deming's sharp gaze, Shi Bing forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, striving to make his voice sound calm and firm, "Palace Master Kong, you don't need to ask anymore. This operation was purely my personal action and has nothing to do with the Dou Ling Empire."
He emphasized the distinction between "personal behavior" and "no relation whatsoever," attempting to draw a clear line between them.
But was Kong Deming so easily fooled?
"Personal act?" Kong Deming's voice was icy cold. "Then I'd like to hear what deep-seated grudge my grandson has against you that would make a Spatial Domain Douluo, who has been famous for over a hundred years, resort to such a despicable act of ambushing a mere seventeen-year-old junior, determined to kill him?!"
This questioning goes straight to the heart of the matter and points out many illogical aspects of the situation.
Shi Bing took a deep breath and said in an almost numb, resigned tone, "I have my reasons... no need to say more."
After saying that, he closed his eyes, raised his head slightly to reveal a section of his neck, and adopted a posture of accepting death without saying another word.
Faced with Shi Bing Bing's unyielding and refusing-to-admit-it attitude, Kong Deming's expression suddenly darkened, becoming as cold as ice.
Without further ado, he unleashed the immense aura of a Level 97 Super Douluo, crashing down on Shi Bing, who was lying on the ground, like a tangible tsunami!
Although Kong Deming restrained himself, Shi Bing, whose Soul Power was sealed, felt as if an invisible mountain had crashed down on his soul, suffocating him and making every bone in his body groan. His already weak aura was like a candle flickering in the wind.
At the same time, Kong Deming's icy voice rang in Shi Bing's ears. "I don't care whether you admit it or not, since you, the Spatial Domain Douluo of the Dou Ling Empire, personally led the attack on my grandson, then I will conclude that this was done by your Dou Ling Empire!"
"I think if the Sun Moon Empire uses this as a pretext to launch a war against the Dou Ling Empire, no one on the continent would say we have no legitimate reason to fight!"
These words are completely unreasonable, directly linking individual actions to the will of the empire!
This is a blatant threat of force, an overwhelming crushing force based on absolute power!