Meng Hongchen looked at her grandfather with a sweet and innocent smile blooming across her delicate face.
"Grandpa, don't worry. Once I come back, I promise I'll train even harder."
Jing Hongchen narrowed his eyes as he gazed at his precious granddaughter. Suddenly, a thought struck him—the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had already ended several days ago.
By now, that brat Wang Chen should have already returned.
At once, alarm bells rang in Jing Hongchen's heart.
Given the recent actions of the Wang clan in the imperial court, there was no way he could allow his granddaughter to keep associating with that boy from the Wang family. He had to cut off their contact immediately.
Otherwise, if they got entangled, trouble would be inevitable…
Yet, despite his inner vigilance, Jing Hongchen kept a kindly smile on his face.
"Dreamy one," he said warmly, "today your grandfather just happens to have free time. How about I go with you, to keep you safe?"
Meng Hongchen's small face instantly scrunched up like a steamed bun.
This won't do at all! she thought in frustration. If Grandpa follows me, how will I ever sneak off to see Brother Wang Chen? Absolutely not. I can't let him come along.
Forcing a cheerful tone, she said, "Grandpa, I've already grown up. You don't need to follow me. I'm heading out to play!"
Before the words had even finished leaving her lips, the thrusters of her personal soul tool flared open, and in the blink of an eye, she shot toward the front gates.
But just as she was basking in the thrill of escape, a giant hand formed of pure soul power snatched her up with a whoosh, plucking her right out of the air.
Dangling helplessly in midair, her legs were still stuck in a running pose. A moment later, she realized she had been caught and hauled back by her grandfather.
Her little face wrinkled with grievance. "Grandpa, put me down!"
Jing Hongchen finally dropped the façade. His expression turned dark, his face solemn as he asked bluntly:
"Were you planning to sneak off to see that brat Wang Chen again? Meng'er, I've already told you: do not seek him out anymore.
Look at his background—he's only the great-grandson of a Marquis. Your grandfather, on the other hand, is a Duke.
In terms of status, our Hongchen Clan enjoys the Emperor's full trust. I serve as Dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy and as Head of Mingde Hall. Across the entire Sun Moon Empire, only a handful hold a higher position than I.
As for talent, you were born with full innate soul power. Wang Chen? He was born with only level nine innate soul power. Compared to you, he's not even fit to carry your shoes.
Identity, status, talent—in all these things, he is beneath you. You should be associating with far more outstanding people.
Meng'er, your grandfather would never harm you. Keeping you away from that brat of the Wang family is for your own good."
Meng Hongchen lowered her head, her voice soft but stubborn as she muttered:
"Grandpa… I don't understand the things you're saying, and I don't care about them. And besides, Brother Wang Chen is not some 'brat'!"
Seeing his beloved granddaughter defend another boy, Jing Hongchen felt as though the cabbage he had painstakingly raised was about to be devoured by a pig.
His blood pressure surged, his face flushed red, and his heart bled with rage. In that moment, he wished nothing more than to crush that boy Wang Chen into dust.
He inhaled deeply, forcing himself to suppress the fury, and then barked:
"Number Three!"
A middle-aged woman in soul tool armor appeared instantly, kneeling on one knee. "Hall Master!"
Jing Hongchen ordered coldly:
"From now on, whenever the young miss leaves the estate, you will be her personal escort. You don't need to interfere with whatever she does… but if she so much as sets foot near the Wang family, bring her back immediately."
"Yes, Clan Head."
"Grandpa, you're so mean! I hate you! Waaaah…"
Hearing that her grandfather had assigned someone specifically to prevent her from meeting Brother Wang Chen, Meng Hongchen burst into tears and ran back to her chambers, sobbing.
Watching his precious granddaughter cry left Jing Hongchen's heart heavy. He sighed.
The truth was, although he called Wang Chen a brat, at the beginning, he hadn't actually minded Meng Hongchen associating with him.
After all, his investigations showed Wang Chen's talent with soul tools was extraordinary—no worse than his own grandson, Xiao Hongchen. Truly a fine piece of jade.
And in terms of cultivation, though Wang Chen's innate soul power was only level nine, his potential to one day break through to Title Douluo and become a Rank Nine Soul Engineer was not impossible.
So while his background was a bit lacking, Jing Hongchen had grudgingly acknowledged that the boy was at least barely worthy of his granddaughter.
That was why, before, he hadn't interfered, letting Meng Hongchen decide freely.
But now… things were different.
The Emperor's health was failing. Recently, he had even canceled several court sessions.
The princes eligible for succession could smell blood in the water. For the supreme throne, their eyes had gone red with greed.
Each prince was busy making promises to lure ministers and soul engineers to their side… while at the same time attacking rival princes and their factions.
The outcome remained uncertain—whether it would be the eldest prince Xu Tianran, the second prince Xu Tianyu with his powerful maternal clan, or the third prince Xu Tianshi backed by royal relatives.
No one dared predict which of them would ascend as the new master of the Sun Moon Empire.
Thus, the true top powers of the empire remained cautious, refusing to gamble too soon.
Because though the rewards of backing the right dragon were great, the punishment for betting wrong—and facing the new emperor's purge—was death.
Yet in this delicate climate, Wang Yan, patriarch of the Wang clan, had openly taken sides!
For the sake of breaking through to Title Douluo, extending his life by decades, the old fool had chosen to stake everything on supporting the second prince, Xu Tianyu.
To Jing Hongchen, this was sheer madness.
If Xu Tianyu prevailed, then yes, Wang Yan would gain resources and might break through.
But if Xu Tianyu failed, the Wang clan would be annihilated, and Wang Yan would be powerless to protect them even with his peak Soul Douluo strength.
Still, the man was already over a hundred years old. Perhaps he didn't care. If he died, it wasn't much of a loss.
But the younger generations of the Wang clan would pay the true price.
Jing Hongchen couldn't help but admire Wang Yan's ruthlessness. For the chance to break through and live longer, he was willing to sacrifice his descendants.
Jing himself prided himself on being ruthless, but compared to Wang Yan, he had to admit he was still far behind.
And so, once he learned Wang Yan had chosen to meddle in the succession struggle, Jing Hongchen had forbidden Meng Hongchen from seeing Wang Chen again.
Because if anyone so much as suspected that Jing Hongchen's granddaughter was tied to Wang Chen, rumors would spread that he, too, secretly backed the Wang clan.
At that point, even if he wanted to defend himself, he'd be choking on bitter silence with no way to prove his innocence.