The main hall on the first floor of the Mingdu Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
The intricate patterns of the central Teleportation Array suddenly lit up, with silver-blue light surging and flowing like a tide.
As the intense light faded, several figures clearly appeared on the array platform.
The staff members who had been hurrying around in the lobby almost simultaneously stopped in their tracks.
The Spirit Pagoda is always busy, with a large number of people coming and going through the Teleportation Array every day, which everyone has long been used to.
But at this moment, all eyes were fixed on the figure in the center of the platform.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Immediately, low gasps of surprise rippled outwards, quickly coalescing into an uncontrollable wave of excitement.
"The Tower Master?!"
"It's the tower master!"
"The tower master is back!"
All eyes were focused on one point, their eyes gleaming with undisguised reverence and surprise.
This is because the one appearing is Kong Xuan, the founder of the Spirit Pagoda Spirit Pagoda and its first master!
With a smile, Kong Xuan nodded to the excited crowd and gently gestured for everyone to return to their posts.
As he spoke, the crowd, though still looking around with excitement, gradually dispersed as instructed, though some still couldn't help but look back frequently.
He did not return alone; he was accompanied by several companions who were undergoing the Fire God's test.
Seeing everyone's reluctant expressions, Xu Wei leaned closer to Kong Xuan and grinned, " Brother Xuan, you're now the idol of the entire Spirit Pagoda! Look at the way everyone's looking at you!"
Qiangu Fuliu chimed in, "More than just an idol, he pioneered the Soul Spirit System, benefiting all Soul Master in the world. This is an achievement worthy of being recorded in history and passed down for ten thousand years."
He recalled the last time he returned to his clan, and the look of shock and realization on the faces of the usually staid elders when they saw his Titan Giant Ape Soul Spirit.
For this reason, the Qiangu Clan ultimately decided to fully commit themselves to supporting the development of the Spirit Pagoda.
The clan chief Qiangu Fengxing, and now he serves as an enshrined figure in the tower.
Kong Xuan turned around, smiled at her companions beside her, and waved her hand, saying, "Alright, stop teasing me."
"After spending more than a year at Fire God Mountain, we're finally back. Everyone should take a good rest."
"See the people you want to see, and eat the flavors you've been craving."
Indeed, more than a year has passed since we climbed Fire God Mountain.
Thanks to the rewards of the Divine Examination, everyone's strength is now vastly different from what it used to be.
Kong Ling's next trial, the Fire God’s Fifth Trial, required her to defeat five Titled Douluo independently.
To meet this challenge, they used the second portable Teleportation Array that Kong Xuan had built under Electrolux's guidance to return directly to Mingdu.
Upon their long-awaited return, a glimmer of homesickness shone in everyone's eyes.
They exchanged smiles, and then dispersed with their own thoughts, their figures quickly blending into the bustling crowd outside the Spirit Pagoda.
Kong Xuan and Kong Ling did not linger either. Their eyes met, and they turned in the same direction— towards the Worship Hall.
Grandpa Kong Deming must be there right now.
When the brother and sister arrived Worship Hall, they paused slightly.
On either side of the palace gate, two rows of guards dressed in silver-gray standard armor stood solemnly, the sun, Sun Moon, longitude, and latitude emblems engraved on the chest of their armor gleaming coldly in the Yangguang.
Kong Xuan and Kong Ling recognized them at a glance; they were the Royal Soul Engineer Corps, directly under the imperial family.
The presence of these figures here signifies only one thing: Sun Moon Emperor Xu Tianran of the Sun and Moon is currently Worship Hall.
The brother and sister exchanged a silent glance, but their expressions remained unchanged as they stepped directly into the hall.
Walking along the long, dark corridor, we hadn't gone far when we unexpectedly bumped into Xu Tianran, who was being pushed out in a wheelchair.
His face was somber, and a lingering shadow hung between his brows, clearly indicating that his meeting with Kong Deming had not been pleasant.
His gaze swept over Kong Xuan and Kong Ling without lingering or uttering a word, before he left indifferently, surrounded by his entourage.
The brother and sister watched the group of figures disappear around the corner of the corridor before continuing forward.
Sure enough, in that familiar, quiet little conference room not far away, Kong Deming was sitting at the table.
Stepping into the quiet conference room, I was greeted by a snort that was clearly tinged with displeasure.
"Hmph!" Kong Deming, sitting at the head of the long table, turned his head away, deliberately ignoring the newcomers. "You two little ingrates, you've finally decided to come back?"
This grandfather, who had always doted on his son and daughter, now had his white eyebrows slightly furrowed, his lips downturned, and his entire being screamed "I'm very dissatisfied."
For more than a year, apart from a message sent back by Luo Yuan four months ago when he returned to Mingdu, there has been no news of the two children since.
If Kong Deming hadn't been fully aware of Kong Xuan's exceptional abilities, he probably would have already become restless.
Upon seeing her grandfather's expression, Kong Ling's eyes immediately lit up with a smile.
She jogged over to Kong Deming's chair, knelt down skillfully, gently took her grandfather's arm with both hands, looked up at him, and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Grandpa..."
Why are you still arguing with us about this? We're back safe and sound, aren't we?
Kong Deming lowered his gaze and caught sight of his granddaughter's bright eyes; the sternness in his eyes had already unconsciously melted away.
But he kept a straight face and snorted again through his nose, "I thought you'd all forgotten there was an old man in Mingdu."
"How could that be!" Kong Ling nestled her cheek against her grandfather's arm and said with a bright smile, "Grandpa is the closest person to my brother and me in this world."
Seeing that Kong Deming's expression had softened considerably, Kong Xuan took two steps forward.
He naturally wouldn't act like his sister, but calmly looked at Kong Deming and asked about serious matters.
"Grandpa, we just saw Xu Tianran leave with an unfriendly expression. What brings him to the Worship Hall today?"
Upon hearing this, the last trace of "temper" on Kong Deming's face vanished instantly, and his expression turned solemn.
"Since his ascension to the throne, he has Worship Hall only a handful of times," Kong Deming said calmly, giving a snort. "If there weren't absolutely no other way, he would never have come in person."
He gestured for the brother and sister to sit down, and then clearly recounted the changing landscape of the mainland over the past year.
The key point, of course, is the full-scale war launched by the Sun Moon Empire against the original Douluo Three Kingdoms.
In just a few words, Kong Deming clearly explained the current situation.
After Kong Deming had clearly analyzed the situation on the mainland, he turned his attention to the emperor who had recently passed away.
"The war between the Sun Moon Empire and the former Douluo Three Kingdoms has been deadlocked for a long time, and neither side seems able to make any further progress."
However, compared to the shared hatred and indignation of the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, many people within the Sun Moon Empire were not particularly supportive of this war.
Even with the wealth and resources the empire has accumulated over hundreds of years, such consumption cannot last long.
Xu Tianran knew perfectly well that the Worship Hall would not directly intervene in the war.
"So he settled for second best, coming here today ostensibly to explain his predicament, but in reality, he has his eye on the batch of... Fixed Soul Cannon Shell accumulated in the Worship Hall over the generations."
Kong Deming then chuckled softly, "He sat in that wheelchair, speaking earnestly, feigning weakness and hardship."
"Unfortunately, I'm not that senile yet."
He looked at his grandchildren, his tone softening. "I refused his request, so naturally he didn't give me a friendly look."