After Kong Deming appeared, Fang Sheng knew that the siblings Kong Xuan and Kong Ling would soon be leaving.
After confirming that they were indeed his descendants, Kong Deming truly wished he could return to Mingdu immediately.
However, after that brief burst of excitement, he calmed down. Rather than setting off straightaway, he sent a letter to Mingdu, asking for someone to come to Shiquan City immediately to pick them up.
After all, Kong Xuan and Kong Ling were still young, and their bodies could not withstand the strain of flying at extreme speed.
During this time, Kong Deming also accompanied the two little ones on a trip back to Rock Mountain Village.
Village chief Zhou Yan did not know what the Offering Hall was, but he could tell from Kong Deming's clothing and bearing that he was no ordinary person.
With this man taking the siblings back to Mingdu, he could rest easy.
Only after half a month did Kong Deming finally take Kong Xuan and Kong Ling back to Mingdu, and everyone in the Worship Hall learned that their hall master had brought back two members of the Kong clan.
"Mmm, ah!"
He felt a softness all around him, as though his entire body were wrapped in clouds.
A comfortable groan escaped Kong Xuan's lips as he reached both hands out from under the covers and stretched.
Opening his eyes, Kong Xuan sat up.
Looking at the carved rosewood bed beneath him and feeling the bedding, as silky as water, he suddenly felt that it was a little unreal.
In the more than six years since coming to the Douluo Continent, this was his first time sleeping in such a comfortable bed.
This was his second day in Mingdu, and he was currently staying in Kong Deming's home beside the imperial palace.
In the past, Kong Deming had spent the vast majority of his time in the Worship Hall researching Soul Tools and had rarely returned to this home.
Now, because Kong Xuan and Kong Ling had arrived, Kong Deming had made the rare choice to sleep at home.
Hearing movement inside the room, the maid who had long been waiting outside entered and began helping Kong Xuan wash and dress.
In his previous life, he had merely been an ordinary person who supported himself, and during these years on the Douluo Continent, even staying alive had been difficult.
Thus, Kong Xuan felt somewhat unaccustomed to being waited on now, because he subconsciously felt embarrassed about troubling others.
He was like this, and so was Kong Ling in the other room.
However, Kong Deming insisted on arranging things this way, so the siblings awkwardly accepted it.
Only after the two had finished their lavish breakfast did Kong Deming appear.
"Grandpa!"
"Grandpa!"
At those two clear calls of "Grandpa," Kong Deming's resolute face instantly softened. Looking at them with kindly eyes, he answered, "Yes!"
"How was it? Were you happy with breakfast?"
Kong Deming looked at them, his eyes full of anticipation.
Kong Deming had never married and naturally had no children or grandchildren, so he was also somewhat apprehensive about how to get along with children.
"Very happy, Grandpa. We've never had such a delicious breakfast before."
Kong Xuan's praise came from the heart. The breakfast Kong Deming had painstakingly prepared was not only exquisitely delicious but also rich in nutrients, leaving his whole body feeling warm after he finished eating.
Beside him, Kong Ling also nodded with a satisfied expression, looking at Kong Deming with her large, limpid eyes.
After spending these days together, she had already accepted this grandfather who had suddenly appeared and no longer kept hiding behind Kong Xuan as she had at the beginning.
Hearing this, Kong Deming smiled. "As long as you're happy!"
His efforts had received a positive response, and he felt that his thoughtfulness had not been wasted.
"Since you've eaten your fill, come with Grandpa for the tests."
Kong Xuan and Kong Ling nodded at his words, stood up, and followed Kong Deming out of the room.
The previous evening, Kong Deming had already told them the arrangements for the next day.
Thus, they naturally knew that the tests Kong Deming mentioned meant using specially made Soul Tools to examine their physical condition, so that their subsequent cultivation plans could be devised accordingly.
Kong Deming's home was beside the imperial palace and also right next to the Worship Hall.
Those who could take up posts in the Worship Hall were not necessarily powerful Soul Engineers, but they were certainly Soul Engineers with outstanding research abilities.
On the way to their destination, Kong Deming introduced them to quite a few "seniors" from the Worship Hall. Not one was a Soul Engineer below Class 8.
Apart from his own disciple, Xuan Ziwen, Kong Deming had not revealed Kong Xuan's and Kong Ling's talents to anyone else.
However, even if the two had no talent for cultivation, these "seniors" would naturally put on kindly, approachable faces out of respect for Kong Deming.
Even these high-ranking Soul Engineers could not escape the ways of human relationships.
Eventually, Kong Deming brought the two little ones to a room on the left side of the Worship Hall.
The room was not large, and many assorted Soul Tool components could be seen piled in its corners.
The room looked somewhat cluttered, as though it had only just been cleared out.
In the middle of the room stood a tall Soul Tool. Its base was a circular platform, with four white cylinders over two meters tall standing around it.
Without a doubt, this should be a Soul Tool, and it should be what they would use for the upcoming tests.
"Xuan'er, you're the older brother. You go first."
Sure enough, Kong Deming's voice then reached Kong Xuan's ears.
Kong Deming felt that he had already gained a preliminary understanding of the siblings.
The older brother, Kong Xuan, was mature beyond his years and steady in his actions, which pleased him greatly.
The younger sister, Kong Ling, was somewhat timid and seemed overly dependent on her brother, though their experiences made that understandable.
Kong Xuan shouldered his responsibilities and had protected his younger sister very well!
That was why Kong Deming had Kong Xuan take the test first.
Kong Xuan nodded and looked at Kong Deming. "Grandpa, what do I need to do?"
Kong Deming pointed at the Soul Tool before them. "Stand on this circular platform."
Kong Xuan did as instructed, taking two steps forward before lifting his leg and stepping onto the platform.
At that moment, Kong Deming's voice rang out again. "Put your hand on the cylinder in front of you."
Kong Xuan swept his gaze across the space ahead and soon spotted a palm-shaped groove on the cylinder to his front left. He immediately pressed his hand into the palm-shaped recess.
"Don't be nervous. In a moment, a few beams of light will scan your body and record your physical data."
As Kong Deming spoke, he had already begun operating the Soul Tool, setting it to work.
Just as he had said, Kong Xuan saw light shine from the crystals on the other three cylinders around him, enveloping his entire body.
Throughout the process, Kong Xuan felt nothing unusual at all. It was just like having a CT scan at a hospital in his previous life.
Meanwhile, Kong Xuan's physical data had already appeared before Kong Deming.
"Physical strength, rank ten."
"Physical resilience, rank nine."
"Soul Power fluctuations, rank eleven."
Looking at the third entry on the screen, Kong Deming's eyes instantly widened, and he exclaimed in surprise, "How could it be rank eleven?!"
Kong Deming knew that Kong Xuan had innate full Soul Power. Normally, his Soul Power should currently have been at rank ten!
Yet the Soul Power detected now was rank eleven, clearly a number that would only appear after obtaining a Soul Ring.
His gaze shifted to Kong Xuan on the platform. "Did Fang Sheng take you to obtain a Soul Ring?!"
He did not even suspect that his Soul Tool had made a detection error. This was his confidence as the "father of Soul Tools."
The testing Soul Tool before them was the latest product Kong Deming had created himself.
That was why he now even felt like killing Fang Sheng!
For the first Soul Ring of a genius with innate full Soul Power, even he would need to deliberate carefully before deciding exactly what kind of Soul Beast to obtain it from.
In Kong Deming's eyes, Fang Sheng's rash actions could very well have ruined Kong Xuan!
Yet Kong Xuan's next answer left Kong Deming stunned.
"Grandpa, Director Fang didn't take me to obtain a Soul Ring."
Puzzled, Kong Deming asked, "Without a Soul Ring, how did your Soul Power break through to rank eleven?"
Kong Xuan knew that he had not made himself clear and explained, "Grandpa, Director Fang didn't take me to obtain a Soul Ring. That doesn't mean I don't have a Soul Ring now."
As he spoke, a pale yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath Kong Xuan's feet.
"Grandpa, this is a god-given Soul Ring!"