"But, Junior Sister Jiang Qingtong—how did you figure it out? Was it just from my surname?" He Caitou asked, clearly puzzled.
After all, there were countless people across the continent with the surname Xu. The Xuanming Turtle Clan also bore the same surname. So how could she be so sure his "Xu" referred specifically to the royal family of the Sun Moon Empire?
Jiang Qingtong shook her head and replied, "Of course not. I once heard some things from my teacher about the imperial family. So when I heard your background, I guessed that you might be connected to that incident."
"Your teacher told you? But that incident should've been strictly suppressed within the Sun Moon Empire—hardly something spoken of openly! Junior Sister, who exactly is your teacher?" He Caitou furrowed his brow as he lowered his voice and asked cautiously.
Hearing the question, Jiang Qingtong gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Senior, are you here to test me?"
At that, He Caitou began waving his hands frantically, his nervousness visibly rising. "No, no, no! Absolutely not! Jiang-shimei, please don't misunderstand—I would never try to test you!"
Watching him panic from just a single sentence, Jiang Qingtong let out a helpless sigh. "Relax. I was just asking. I'm here at Shrek Academy all by myself—can you blame me for being cautious?"
"You're right about that." He Caitou scratched his bald head and quickly apologized.
Through Jiang Shengyu, Jiang Qingtong had already learned that Jing Hongchen and Yan Shaozhe had met. She didn't know exactly when Yan Shaozhe had begun monitoring her interactions with Jing Hongchen, but just to be safe, she could only assume Yan already knew that Jing wasn't her teacher, but her senior brother.
So, Jiang Qingtong stepped forward to reassure He Caitou and said, "My senior brother is Jing Hongchen. You've heard of him, right? The Head of Mingde Hall, and also the principal of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy."
"Jing Hongchen? He's your senior brother?!" He Caitou looked utterly shocked. "If Jing Hongchen is your senior brother, then your teacher must be…"
Jiang Qingtong nodded. "That's right—Silvermoon Douluo, Kong Deming, is my teacher. But my master has long since withdrawn from public affairs. He's retired."
He Caitou's chest rose and fell rapidly. As a former member of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family, the name of Silvermoon Douluo Kong Deming was nothing short of thunderous in his ears!
"Retired? Silvermoon Douluo… actually retired? Why?"
Jiang Qingtong looked at the somewhat agitated He Caitou and shook her head. "I don't know. He's been in seclusion for quite some time now. People from other nations have probably forgotten he even exists."
He Caitou fell silent, trying to make sense of Kong Deming's retirement.
Very few people knew that Kong Deming was researching rank-ten soul tools. And since He Caitou had been away from the Sun Moon Empire for so long, it was impossible for him to make the connection between Kong Deming's retreat and the top-secret project.
Jiang Qingtong looked at him and asked, "Senior, was there something else you wanted to say?"
He Caitou snapped out of his thoughts. "Jiang-shimei, about my earlier suggestion…"
But Jiang Qingtong raised her hand to stop him and said, "Let me think about it. Your situation is different from mine. No matter what, the Sun Moon Empire is still my homeland."
He Caitou listened quietly and nodded in understanding.
After Jiang Qingtong left, Xian Lin'er emerged from the side and approached He Caitou. She patted his shoulder and asked, "Caitou, are you alright?"
He Caitou shook his head to show he was fine, then said, "I'm sorry, Vice Dean. I wasn't able to convince Junior Sister Jiang to stay at Shrek Academy."
"These things take time," Xian Lin'er replied calmly. "Just learning about Silvermoon Douluo Kong Deming's connection is already valuable information. I never would've guessed that the Sun Moon Empire had such a high-level figure in addition to Jing Hongchen."
She looked thoughtfully in the direction Jiang Qingtong had left.
He Caitou nodded in agreement. "I didn't expect it either. Jiang-shimei is actually Silvermoon Douluo's disciple!"
Even as he spoke, his voice was filled with shock.
Xian Lin'er watched He Caitou quietly, then asked after a moment of contemplation, "Could you tell me more about Silvermoon Douluo? That is, if it's not inconvenient. I understand—it may be classified within the Empire…"
"No, actually… among the upper ranks of the Sun Moon Empire, Silvermoon Douluo's identity isn't exactly a secret. Many people know of him," He Caitou shook his head and explained.
Xian Lin'er smiled faintly and nodded. "This isn't the best place to talk. Come, Caitou—let's find a more secluded spot."
She led He Caitou to the shore of Sea God Lake, a quiet, peaceful place—far from the outer court and at a fair distance from the inner court as well.
There, He Caitou shared what he knew about Kong Deming.
"Silvermoon Douluo Kong Deming is a member of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family. He possesses twin spirits and is the Empire's most powerful rank-nine soul engineer. Back when I left the Empire, he had already withdrawn from state affairs, handing everything over to his first disciple, Jing Hongchen."
"The most powerful rank-nine soul engineer in the Empire…" Xian Lin'er's beautiful eyes flickered slightly. That title—most powerful—truly left her shaken.
Yan Shaozhe had faced Jing Hongchen in person and had openly admitted that he wasn't confident he could defeat him. Even Mu En once said that not even Xuanzi could necessarily keep Jing Hongchen from leaving if he wanted to.
That meant that even by Shrek Academy's standards, Jing Hongchen was among the top-tier powerhouses. And now they'd learned that the Sun Moon Empire had someone even stronger than him?
They truly knew far too little about the Sun Moon Empire…
This won't do. We must send more people to investigate the Empire.
But with the Sun Moon Empire tightening security, infiltrating it wouldn't be easy.
Xian Lin'er then asked, "Is Silvermoon Douluo a Super Douluo?"
He Caitou shook his head. "Probably not. As far as I know, when our family left the Sun Moon Empire, Silvermoon Douluo's cultivation was at level 93. He was already very old, so he likely hasn't progressed much since then."
Xian Lin'er folded her arms behind her back and began pacing slowly. "Jing Hongchen is now at level 94… then this Silvermoon Douluo Kong Deming, who's supposedly even stronger, must at least be around level 94 as well!"
Then she turned to He Caitou and thanked him. "Thank you, Caitou—for being willing to share all of this with the Academy."
He Caitou waved his hands quickly and said, "No need to be so polite, Vice Dean! I just don't want the Sun Moon oon Empire to plunge the continent into chaos. I really love Shrek Academy—it's the first place that's ever felt like home to me."
Xian Lin'er nodded firmly.
"Mm! As long as Shrek Academy stands, the Sun Moon Empire's ambitions will never succeed!"
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