Chapter 181

The next day.

As dawn broke, three figures flew through the air towards the outskirts of Mingdu City.

The city had no towering walls to conceal it, yet it gave people an extraordinary sense of security. Lu Cheng glanced at the seemingly nonexistent "walls" with a hint of apprehension. Although there were no visible walls, the Sun Moon Empire's defensive linkage soul guidance array and its ample resources were enough to deal with any surprise attack from any force.

This underground area may seem calm on the surface, but in reality, it will instantly transform into a terrifying war fortress once an enemy force invades, keeping all Soul Master Life forms at bay.

The destination wasn't far, located in the Jingyang Mountain Range.

This is also the place where the group encountered trouble in the original story. There are many metal-attribute Soul Beast here, and the terrain is varied, making it most suitable for this calibration experiment.

After resting briefly on a wide open plain outside Mingdu, Ke Ke cheered with joy.

Lu Cheng smiled; having two young and beautiful girls with him was always a pleasant experience.

Today, Ju Zi changed into a white outfit that perfectly accentuated her slender figure. Her fair skin, as white as mutton fat, shone brightly against the white dress, making her even more radiant. She truly lived up to her reputation as the only woman in the original work known for her fair complexion.

It is said that fair skin can cover up three flaws, not to mention that her appearance is top-notch.

The petite and adorable Ke Ke, dressed in a clean and neat blue outfit, ran around with her short legs, exceptionally lively and active, the complete opposite of Xiao Xiao, making Lu Cheng's head spin.

"Wow, it's been so long since I've been here..." Ke Ke exclaimed happily, picking a pale white wild chrysanthemum and cheerfully choosing one to tuck behind Ju Zi's head, her elegant demeanor quite fitting. "Beautiful, Ju Zi!"

"Is it pretty?" Ju Zi paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Lu Cheng beside her.

However, she quickly realized something was amiss. A blush crept onto her fair face as she casually brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. As she strolled through the fields, she softly said, "My hometown is on the western coast of the Sun Moon Empire. Similar flowers grow there, but unfortunately... I haven't seen them for many years."

"It's quite pleasing to the eye." Lu Cheng gave an ambiguous answer and walked forward with him, looking around. The scenery of the Sun Moon Empire was quite nice, but unfortunately, Evil Soul Master were rampant around it. Further south was the Evil Demon Forest, whose very name sounded sinister, giving people the feeling of a demon's lair.

"..." Ju Zi's fair earlobes turned slightly red, but she didn't say anything.

Ke Ke, on the other hand, kept giving her encouragement.

"Have you rested enough?"

Lu Cheng looked at the two of them.

"Then let's keep going. We must arrive before tonight..."

Having said that, a pair of bionic wings unfurled behind him, embracing him from both sides, transforming into a streak of azure light that shot towards the horizon.

At first, Ju Zi was a little shy, but after seeing Ke Ke's carefree and nonchalant attitude, and glancing at Lu Cheng's indifferent face so close to her, she bit her red lips and focused her attention on the scenery below.

With Lu Cheng operating at full speed, the level-eight Flying Soul Tool was practically smoking from being swung around, before finally arriving at the Jingyang Mountain Range before noon.

The group was ostensibly there to test the all-terrain automatic detection Soul Tool, but in reality, it was a publicly funded picnic. As soon as the Ju Zi hit the ground, they pulled out a bunch of fruits and vegetables, along with two turkeys, and busily gathered firewood to start a fire all by themselves.

"Grandmaster, what type of Soul Engineer are you? I've been thinking about it all day and I still can't figure it out." Ke Ke was peeking at the roast chicken, eagerly planning to get some to try before she could finish, but before she could succeed, she was spotted by the sharp-eyed Ju Zi, who kicked her back, patted her butt, sat down next to Lu Cheng, and asked curiously.

"An all-rounder," Lu Cheng smiled.

"Perfunctory," Ke Ke pouted, dissatisfied.

Lu Cheng shook his head. In a sense, he was indeed an all-rounder. Similar to Soul Master, Soul Engineer would also have more and more specialized branches as their strength and realm increased. There were several major types, such as combat type, logistics type, scientific research type, and so on...

The war-type category has nearly ten subcategories.

For example, Ke Ke is a "high-burst mid-range combat type Soul Engineer". You can roughly guess that from the fact that this girl is carrying a heavy cannon that is disproportionate to her size.

After all, Soul Engineer's energy is limited. The sea of learning is boundless, and knowledge has no end. The higher the rank, the easier it is to waste time and energy on the complex and vast knowledge system.

But for him, both Simulation experiences provided ample time to study the Soul Engineer, and even after falling into the Holy Spirit Cult, he never stopped working.

He had dabbled in everything from humanoid mechs and linked defensive soul-guided formations to bionic technology and the most cutting-edge Soul Guidance Technology in the Sun Moon Empire. He was very familiar with everything from offense to defense to supply. The Simulation Device gave this teenager, who was only a teenager in the real world, decades of memories.

Okay...

Ju Zi brought out the roasted turkey.

Lu Cheng's Carving Knife moved nimbly as he gently cut off a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, and chewed. A look of surprise appeared on his face; the taste... was indeed quite good.

My father is a chef.

Ju Zi sat on a rock, her long legs together, her trouser legs billowing in the wind, revealing her fair ankles.

She said with a touch of melancholy, "It's a pity he was forcibly recruited into the army. He died on the battlefield while resisting the invasion of the Star Luo Empire, leaving behind my mother and me. But my mother was so heartbroken that she fell ill and died..."

"So you want to take revenge on the Star Luo Empire?"

Lu Cheng remained calm, showing little sympathy like Ke Ke. He fixed his gaze on the beautiful woman's Youyou eyes, wiped his mouth, and asked.

"Um."

Ju Zi nodded slightly, showing no emotion.

No one willingly reopens their wounds unless they are deeply moved or have other motives. The faint sadness she revealed was half genuine and half feigned. Her parents' death left her with nothing but anger and grief, and bringing it up now was naturally to gain the sympathy and pity of this Grandmaster.

Playing the victim is also a strategic maneuver.

What she didn't expect was that Lu Cheng's reaction was so indifferent. Was he just a clueless, emotionally inept straight man? Impossible...

Then there's only one possibility.

My little schemes have been seen through.

"If you want revenge, it's difficult..." Lu Cheng shook his head and said.

"Grandmaster is so clueless," Ke Ke complained, clearly not understanding Ju Zi's true meaning at all.

"Children shouldn't interrupt adults..." Lu Cheng put the Carving Knife into his Storage Soul Tool, his expression calm. "Ju Zi, your parents died under the invasion of the Star Luo Empire. Don't you want revenge?"

"How could I, a mere woman, have the right to decide such an important matter?" Ju Zi smiled bitterly.

"No." Lu Cheng shook his head and said calmly, "Given your personality, you don't seem like someone who can truly let go of hatred. As time goes by, that pain won't fade; instead, it will drive you to do everything in your power to climb to the top, even at the cost of everything you have."

"..." Ju Zi's face stiffened.

She felt completely seen through; she even seriously suspected that this guy knew about her relationship with Crown Prince Xu Tianran!

A chill ran down his spine. Could he be the illegitimate son of some prince in the Mingdu? Or perhaps...?

She maintained a harmless facade, as if everything was in the past, spending each day leisurely with Ke Ke Zi Mu, suppressing the deep-seated hatred she once harbored. But...

"You want me to help you get revenge."

Lu Cheng spoke calmly, enunciating each word clearly.

"..."

An eerie silence fell.

Ke Ke was dumbfounded. Only two things occupied her mind: food and love. Her matchmaking of Ju Zi and her Grandmaster was the latter, but she had never imagined that Ju Zi, who was like a sister to her, would actually...

That's a bit too much of a reward for this turkey meal.

"..."

Ju Zi remained silent. Since the other side had ruthlessly exposed her, there was no point in continuing to cover it up.

We are all intelligent people.

"It tastes good, but it's a pity it's not cooked quite right..." Lu Cheng glanced at the remaining roasted turkey, his tone no longer sharp as before, seemingly reverting to the warm and gentle Grandmaster he had been earlier.

After saying that, he threw out the all-terrain self-propelled soul-guided detector.

"Let's go up and take a look."

This behemoth looks a bit like a spider, except that the upper part is a sphere with a diameter of two meters, which can hold three people, and the lower part has six sharp "spider legs" that can easily insert into the soil with extremely strong adhesion and exaggerated stability.

Ju Zi remained calm and followed along with Ke Ke.

Ke Ke acted as a lubricant, lightening the mood as if nothing had happened.

The Jingyang Mountain Range, also known as the Jingyang Forest, resemble a spider when viewed from above. Its eight branches stretch outwards like eight spider legs, while the interior is a basin covered with vegetation and home to a wide variety of Soul Beast. According to Ju Zi in the original work, it could even rank among the top five on the continent, on par with the Sunset Forest ten thousand years ago, and it is also rich in minerals.

After walking only a few kilometers, Lu Cheng felt a blockage under his feet, unable to penetrate with his Spiritual Power. It was probably a sizable mine.

What a treasure!

Lu Cheng sighed inwardly.

It's a pity that the Sun Moon Empire's army is stationed nearby, otherwise he would have liked to mine some for experimental materials.

During the journey, some information and directions for revision were discussed, and Ke Ke was asked to write them down in her notebook before the search continued deeper into the area.

They encountered many Soul Beast along the way, and the deeper they went, the stronger they became. Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast were not uncommon. In their spiritual perception, they even saw a large creature that appeared to be over fifty thousand years old. Clearly, this Jingyang Forest was far stronger than the current Sunset Forest.

"Grandmaster, do we really have to continue?" Ke Ke's throat bobbed, her little face filled with worry.

It is said that deep within this forest, there exist Soul Beast of the 100,000-year level.

They wouldn't stand a chance against someone of that caliber.

Let's set up camp.

Lu Cheng pondered for a moment, then gestured to Ju Zi to operate the all-terrain self-propelled Soul Tool to take root here. Ju Zi nodded in agreement, pressed the button, and everyone felt their center of gravity suddenly sink downwards as the six "long legs" were deeply embedded in the ground, extremely stable.

Ke Ke and Ju Zi chattered away as they huddled together, preparing to set up the tent.

Light the campfire and begin preparing dinner.

"I'll do it..."

Lu Cheng said calmly, and just as easily made the tableware and food. He used to often spend the night in the wild, and with the precise mixing of Blood Pupils, he had become a good cook. Even Ma Xiaotao would often pester him to feed her.

Ju Zi and Ke Ke looked at each other in bewilderment.

Ju Zi's face twitched. She thought Lu Cheng didn't want to owe her a meal, and her face turned slightly pale. Just as she was about to explain, she smelled a fragrant aroma wafting over.

Lu Cheng changed his usual demeanor, picked up the iron wok, and skillfully stir-fried the meat, the aroma of the meat and sauce flooding their noses.

"Here."

It wasn't until the golden-brown dishes were placed on the plates and emitted an enticing aroma that the two women snapped out of their daze.

"What a coincidence! I also have some knowledge of cooking. Why don't you give it a try?"

Lu Cheng smiled.

"Mmm... delicious, delicious!!"

Ke Ke kept stuffing food into her mouth, her cheeks bulging, and she swept away the food in a whirlwind.

Lu Cheng gestured towards the Ju Zi with his lips.

The latter nodded cautiously, behaving quite like a lady, picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and chewed it gently, then a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

This Grandmaster's culinary skills... are actually just as good?

Is this the legendary all-rounder?!

After the three of them had dinner, Ke Ke noticed the awkward atmosphere and made an excuse to slip away to her tent to sleep.

Night falls, and the bright moon hangs high in the sky.

Lu Cheng sat cross-legged on the ground, feeling the gentle breeze. "Do you know why I spoke so harshly during the day, without any regard for your feelings?"

"..." Ju Zi was taken aback, then shook her head.

"Because you're too arrogant," Lu Cheng said calmly. "I haven't felt a shred of respect. Do you think you can easily control me with just a few simple words and gain another top-tier subordinate?"

"Or... do you not trust Xu Tianran and are planning to find another backer?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Ju Zi's pupils dilated in shock; for the first time, she felt a sense of horror.

Throughout the entire Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineering Academy, even Jing Hongchen was unaware of her relationship with Xu Tianran. She had always prided herself on keeping it well hidden, but now it had been revealed by a guy who had just entered Mingdu.

"Don't worry, Ju Zi."

Lu Cheng waved his hand, "Who your backer is has nothing to do with me. I'm just Teacher Xuan's disciple, your senior brother, nothing more. You just need to understand that in interpersonal relationships, sincerity comes first... not so-called tricks."

"Besides, your approach is quite clumsy."

After a long silence behind him, just when Lu Cheng thought that Ju Zi would obediently crawl back into the tent, a cool body pressed against him. Black hair wrapped around Lu Cheng's neck, Sisi him, and a slightly resentful voice sounded, "Grandmaster, is it because I didn't show my loyalty?"

"In that case, I can give my body to you. Does this... count?"

After saying that, she paused, as if afraid that Lu Cheng would refuse, and added, "Xu Tianran has a problem with his lower body and cannot reproduce. He is impotent. So even if I become the Crown Princess, he will never find out this secret. He will probably choose a man from the Xu Clan royal family to impregnate me. But don't worry, I will handle this matter."

"In other words, even if I am loyal to Xu Tianran and become the future Empress of the Sun Moon Empire, I will always only be your woman, and the future Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire will also be your bloodline..."

Ju Zi knelt down and hugged Lu Cheng from behind, her voice soft yet irresistibly alluring.

"I will do everything in my power to support you, all you need to do is..."