Chapter 175: The Emperor's Recognition! Poaching the Continent's Top Soul Engineers
Inside the dimly lit council hall, Liu Yuan's audacious proposal hung in the air. The concept of harvesting talents echoed against the stone walls, causing a heavy shift in the atmosphere. The veteran elders, men who had spent their entire lives scoffing at the mere mention of soul tools, now stared at the cold metal scrolls scattered across the table with entirely different eyes.
Moments ago, these metallic cylinders and engraved plates were nothing but lifeless lumps of iron to them. Now, they represented the key to an empire-shattering blueprint. Liu Yuan had painted a vivid picture of using these very objects to pry away the foundational pillars of the Douluo Continent's top Soul Engineers. The sheer scale of such an ambition left these seasoned powerhouses in a state of deep shock.
"Using Mingde Hall's proprietary data as bait to fish for the highest-ranking Soul Engineers from Shrek Academy and the original three empires?" Elder Chen muttered, chewing on the words as if tasting a rare vintage. The deep furrows etched into his forehead slowly smoothed out. A sudden, booming laugh escaped his lips as he slapped his thigh hard enough to crack the wood of his chair. "Brilliant! This is absolutely brilliant!"
"He is right!" Elder Chen continued, his eyes gleaming with newfound fervor. "We do not need to waste decades forcing our disciples to learn these tedious, mind-numbing diagrams. As long as we lure in the experts who already know the trade, shower them with resources, and dangle these legendary blueprints in front of them, they will willingly sell their souls to our Body Sect and the Heavenly Soul Empire! And once they are entrenched here, extracting that knowledge for our own future generations will be as easy as turning over a hand!"
A sharp, predatory gleam flashed through Du Busi's emerald eyes. The towering Sect Master straightened his broad back, his imposing frame casting a long shadow over the table. He understood the shifting tides of the world better than anyone present. The Body Sect possessed supreme, unrivaled martial strength, but in this rapidly changing era dominated by soul technology, raw fists were no longer enough. They desperately needed use.
"An immaculate poaching strategy," Du Busi rumbled, letting out a low, resonant laugh that vibrated the very air within the hall. "Liu Yuan, you have not only weaponized the insatiable greed of Soul Engineers, but you have also struck directly at the weak points of those so-called orthodox academies and empires. Shrek and the others cling desperately to their outdated, stagnant technology. Meanwhile, we will use the Sun Moon Empire's most guarded core secrets to drain their talent pools dry. This plan is more than feasible, it is a guaranteed death blow!"
Murmurs of fierce agreement rippled across the table. The surrounding elders nodded, their previous disdain for the metal artifacts vanishing like smoke in the wind. In its place stood an overwhelming respect for Liu Yuan's ruthless strategic vision. To weaken Shrek Academy and the rival factions while simultaneously catapulting the Body Sect and the Heavenly Soul Empire to the pinnacle of technological power was a masterstroke.
Noting the shift in the room, Liu Yuan calmly swept his hand over the table, storing the priceless metal scrolls back into his spatial ring. He met Du Busi's gaze, his expression entirely serious. "Master, since the council is in agreement, we must strike while the iron is hot."
"What is your next step?" Du Busi asked, leaning forward slightly.
"If we rely solely on the Body Sect's reputation, we can certainly use force to intimidate and coerce," Liu Yuan explained, his gaze drifting toward the heavy wooden doors of the hall, looking toward the distant horizon where the capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire lay. "However, we lack the administrative infrastructure and the official legitimacy required for mass recruitment. I suggest that you accompany me to the Heavenly Soul Imperial Palace, Master."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "This operation requires the absolute backing of the Emperor. If the Empire steps forward to offer noble titles, land, and official funding, while our Body Sect provides the ultimate technical bait and protection, the two of us working in tandem will create an irresistible trap. Success will be absolute."
Du Busi did not hesitate for a fraction of a second. He stood up, his domineering, devastating aura instantly retracting into his body, replaced by the unfathomable composure of a grandmaster. "Then we shall make the trip," he declared. A wicked smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "This old man is quite eager to see the look on that old Emperor's face when you drop Class 9 core array blueprints onto his lap."
Foregoing any further delays or grand processions, the master and disciple stepped out of the hall. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into two brilliant streaks of light, tearing through the cloud cover and speeding across the vast sky toward the heart of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
Within the capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Imperial Study stood as a beacon of quiet authority. The decor was lavish, adorned with gold-leafed pillars and ancient tapestries that spoke volumes of the empire's deep-rooted heritage, yet the atmosphere inside was suffocatingly tense.
The Emperor of the Heavenly Soul Empire sat hunched over his massive mahogany desk. He rubbed his temples, his eyes scanning the latest stack of battle reports delivered from the western borders. A heavy, lingering exhaustion shadowed his face. With every passing day, the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology grew more advanced, and the pressure on his border defense lines mounted exponentially. The looming threat of a mechanized invasion had robbed the ruler of his sleep for weeks.
A soft knock broke the silence before a royal attendant slipped into the room, bowing deeply. "Reporting to Your Majesty," the attendant whispered, unable to keep a tremor of awe out of his voice. "Sect Master Du Busi of the Body Sect has arrived. He brings his disciple, Liu Yuan, and requests an immediate audience."
The Emperor's hand, halfway through signing a decree, froze. He snapped his head up, the exhaustion in his eyes instantly replaced by a sharp flash of joy. "Quickly, invite them in!" he ordered, throwing his brush down. "No, wait, I will welcome them personally!"
But before the Emperor could even round his desk, the heavy double doors swung open. Du Busi strode into the inner hall with the casual confidence of a man walking into his own home, with Liu Yuan following calmly a half-step behind.
"Sect Master Du, your arrival brings great honor to my halls. Forgive me for failing to welcome you at the gates," the Emperor greeted, cupping his hands in a polite, respectful gesture that few men in the world could warrant from a sovereign. His gaze then shifted, landing squarely on the young man beside the giant. Liu Yuan. The future successor of the Body Sect, a monstrous genius whose name was currently sending shockwaves across the entire continent. Naturally, the Emperor held him in the highest possible regard.
With a wave of his hand, the Emperor dismissed the attendants and guards, sealing the study. Once the three of them were seated around a private tea table, the Emperor leaned forward, unable to hide his curiosity. "Sect Master Du, for you to bring Liu Yuan here in person today, what is the occasion?"
Du Busi had no patience for political pleasantries. He simply gestured toward his disciple. "Liu Yuan orchestrated this entire matter. He will be the one to present it to Your Majesty."
Liu Yuan offered a shallow, respectful nod to the Emperor before cutting straight to the heart of the matter. His voice was calm, steady, and terrifyingly pragmatic. He briefly glossed over the recent, explosive attack on Mingde Hall and his successful interception of the Snow Empress embryo. However, he did not dwell on his martial achievements. Instead, he shifted the focus entirely to the true prize: the underground core library he had systematically emptied.
"Your Majesty," Liu Yuan began, locking eyes with the ruler. "I currently hold the absolute core technology developed by the Sun Moon Empire's Mingde Hall over the past century. This includes the precise metallurgical ratios for Class 9 stationary soul cannon shells, as well as the complete topological structures for several types of Class 9 core arrays."
Liu Yuan spoke with the casual tone of a man discussing the weather, but to the Emperor, every single syllable struck like a deafening thunderclap.
"What?!" The Emperor shot up from his seat, his chair scraping violently against the marble floor. He slammed his hands onto the table, his chest heaving as his breathing turned ragged. "Class 9 core technology?!"
"Are you absolutely certain?" the Emperor demanded, his voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and desperate hope. "That is the very lifeblood of the Sun Moon Empire! Jing Hongchen actually let you walk out with all of that?!"
Liu Yuan did not bother arguing. He simply flicked his wrist. A heavy metal scroll, pulsing with a faint, crimson luminescence, materialized from his spatial ring. He slid it across the table.
"See for yourself, Your Majesty," Liu Yuan said smoothly. "This is the simplified core logic diagram for Jing Hongchen's signature Class 9 defensive soul tool, Hongchen's Blessing. While it is only a fragment of the complete schematic, it is more than enough to verify its authenticity."
The Emperor of the Heavenly Soul Empire was not a high-ranking Soul Engineer himself, but as a sovereign who had spent years agonizing over the Sun Moon Empire's military advancements, he possessed the foundational knowledge required to identify strategic military assets.
He picked up the heavy scroll with trembling fingers. As he unrolled it, his eyes darted across the dizzyingly complex soul power circuits and microscopic geometric engravings. He rapidly traced the logic paths in his mind, comparing them to the fragmented intelligence his spies had bled to acquire over the decades.
A long, shuddering breath escaped his lips. The Emperor slumped back into his seat, the tension draining from his shoulders, replaced by an expression of raw, undisguised ecstasy.
"Heavens above," he whispered, his eyes wide. "If we can mass-produce even a fraction of this, the military might of the Heavenly Soul Empire could double within a single decade!"
Seeing the hook firmly set, Liu Yuan struck while the iron was hot. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, if we rely solely on our current, limited pool of engineers to decipher these materials, the progress will be far too slow. The Sun Moon Empire will not wait ten years for us to catch up."
He leaned forward, his dark eyes glinting with a ruthless pragmatism. "Therefore, my proposal is simple: we incite a mass defection of every high-level Soul Engineer on the continent."
"We use these peak Class 9 schematics as bait. Combined with the official titles, vast lands, and endless funding of the Heavenly Soul Empire, we will poach every top-tier talent who currently feels stifled and underappreciated. I am specifically targeting those Class 8 Soul Engineers rotting away in Shrek Academy and the rival empires, men and women who possess the talent, but are forever bottlenecked from reaching Class 9 because their factions lack this exact technology."
The Emperor's mind raced, frantically calculating the political fallout and the logistical feasibility of such a brazen operation. The more he thought about it, the more his blood boiled with excitement. It was not a trap; it was an overt conspiracy. A blatant, irresistible lure that no ambitious Soul Engineer could ever dream of refusing. To deny them these blueprints would be to deny them their life's pursuit.
"A genius stroke," the Emperor breathed, looking at Liu Yuan with deep admiration.
This young man was a monster. Not only was he gifted with heaven-defying martial talent, but he possessed the cold, calculating mind of a veteran strategist. He saw the world not in terms of empty glory, but in tangible use and absolute power.
At that moment, the Emperor felt a deep, sincere wave of gratitude. For the Heavenly Soul Empire to be allied with such a terrifying talent, it was truly a blessing forged over three lifetimes.
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