Chapter 179: Fan Yu's Choice, Quitting Shrek
Inside the Imperial Study, Fan Yu remained half-kneeling on the polished floorboards, the few sheets of parchment in his hands trembling violently.
His gaze was entirely consumed by the complex topological logic of the formation arrays sketched before him. The intense mental exertion took an immediate toll; veins pulsed visibly beneath the skin of his forehead, and his heavy, ragged breathing echoed loudly through the otherwise silent grand hall.
From his elevated seat, the Emperor of Heavenly Soul looked down at the man. This was a Soul Engineer renowned across the entire continent, yet here he was, reduced to a discomposed, breathless state over a few scattered pages. A flicker of triumph flashed through the Emperor's eyes, a silent confirmation that everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
He felt no need to rush. Instead, he leisurely picked up the porcelain teacup resting on his dragon-carved desk, gently blowing away the floating tea leaves. The ceramic lid scraped against the rim with a crisp, deliberate sound.
"Well, Fan Yu," the Emperor began, his tone laced with a hint of scrutiny and dry amusement. "Compared to the unwavering loyalty you previously clung to, what is the true weight of these so-called 'waste papers'?"
He set the untouched tea aside.
The words seemed to jolt Fan Yu awake from a deep trance. He snapped his head up. His eyes, heavily bloodshot from days of relentless travel, were now consumed by a near-manic thirst for knowledge.
"Your Majesty..." His voice was terribly hoarse, scraping like sandpaper. He pointed a shaking finger at the dense data covering the parchment. "This level of core logic... this ingenious concept regarding energy node loops... this is absolutely something Shrek Academy cannot possess. Even if the three great empires of the Douluo continent combined their efforts, they could never conceptualize such research."
He gripped the papers, his knuckles turning white. "Where on earth did this come from?"
Seeing the hook set perfectly, the Emperor leaned back against the golden cushions of his dragon throne. His tone deepened, carrying a deep weight. "These documents are the spoils of war. Liu Yuan personally extracted them from the core library of Mingde Hall during the Body Sect's recent assault on their headquarters."
"The Body Sect attacked Mingde Hall?"
A deafening buzz echoed through Fan Yu's skull. Despite being isolated at Shrek, he had caught wind of the recent turmoil shaking the Sun Moon Empire, but he never imagined the reality was this staggering.
"Precisely." The Emperor interlaced his fingers, leaning forward to close the distance. His expression turned exceptionally grave. "You are a master in this field. You understand exactly what these schematics represent. The data Liu Yuan secured isn't just complete; it breaches the restricted core domains of Class 9 soul tools. It is the crystallized culmination of the Sun Moon Empire's technological advancement over thousands of years."
He paused, letting the magnitude of his words settle before delivering the final blow. "You must realize that an opportunity like this only surfaces once in a lifetime. Now that Mingde Hall has suffered such a devastating strike, that old fox Jing Hongchen will be as paranoid as a frightened bird."
"Even if Shrek Academy mobilized its entire faculty and exhausted all its resources to raid Mingde Hall today, they would never obtain these blueprints."
"Because after being robbed blind, the Sun Moon Empire will undoubtedly lock down their archives completely, likely transferring their most critical data into the deepest vaults of their Imperial Palace."
"Therefore, in this world, unless you are willing to commit treason and defect to the Sun Moon Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire is the absolute only place where you will ever touch these 'truths'."
Fan Yu sat blankly on the cold floor. The parchment in his hands emitted a faint, crisp crinkling sound as his grip tightened. The Emperor's words struck like a heavy forge hammer, systematically shattering his final shreds of wishful thinking.
As an elite Soul Engineer, he understood the terrifying reality of a technological gap. Shrek had spent years desperately trying to catch up, but their efforts were largely restricted to reverse-engineering and imitation. What he held in his hands right now was the fundamental, underlying logic of the rules themselves.
Sensing the wavering resolve, the Emperor piled on the stakes, his voice dropping into a seductive, low register. "Fan Yu, I will give you one final chance to choose."
"As long as you nod your head, formally sever your ties with Shrek, and return to serve the Empire, I will unconditionally grant you full access to this knowledge—the very knowledge that would drive any Soul Engineer in the world to madness."
"Think carefully. When you first chose to join Shrek, was it not because you valued the research resources, the social standing, and the platform they provided for your talents?"
The Emperor stood, his imposing figure casting a long shadow as he approached the kneeling man. His tone grew aggressive, demanding. "But look at what stands before you now. In terms of status, the first-class Viscount title I am offering far exceeds the rank of a mere Vice Dean at Shrek."
"In terms of wealth, I can bestow upon you limitless funds. I will open the national treasury to construct the most luxurious, advanced laboratory on the entire continent exclusively for your use."
"In terms of materials, the royal inventory is entirely at your disposal."
"And most crucially, the soul tool concepts you have spent your life chasing are right here, an entire generation ahead of anything Shrek possesses!"
"Tell me, since this place can give you everything—since it can offer you a future that Shrek simply cannot—why would you ever choose to rot in an academy that has already been left behind?"
Fan Yu fell silent.
A violent tsunami tore through his heart. Logically, the Emperor's argument was flawless. He was a citizen of the Heavenly Soul Empire; returning to serve his motherland was his natural duty. He was a Soul Engineer; pursuing the absolute pinnacle of technology was his primal instinct.
Yet, the years of cultivation at Shrek, the heavy trust placed in him by Xian Lin'er, and the disciples he had left behind in the academy... these emotional bonds wrapped around his soul like iron chains.
'If I truly stay...' he whispered in his mind.
He knew that agreeing meant burning his bridges. Shrek would inevitably brand him a traitor. The stigma of abandoning the continent's Holy Land was severe. But faced with the ultimate truth—the key that could unlock the door to becoming a Class 9 Soul Engineer—that fleeting reputation suddenly felt weightless.
He remembered the agonizing bottlenecks he had faced during countless laboratory deductions. He recalled the sleepless nights spent racking his brain just to improve a single, minuscule core formation.
Now, the golden ladder to the absolute peak was resting right at his feet.
As long as he reached out, he could become the first Class 9 Soul Engineer in the history of the three original Douluo nations to achieve the rank using local resources.
The Imperial Study fell into a suffocating silence, broken only by the soft, rhythmic hiss of sand slipping through an hourglass in the corner. The Emperor did not push further. He knew that a man driven purely by technical obsession would inevitably surrender to the truth.
For a long, long time, neither man moved.
Finally, Fan Yu slowly lowered his head. His fingers, which had been crushing the parchment, gradually loosened, smoothing out the creases before tightening their grip once more. In that single instant, he seemed to age several years, yet the fire of ambition burning in the depths of his bloodshot eyes flared brighter than ever before.
He rose to his feet, offered a slow, deep bow to the Emperor, and then dropped heavily onto his knees against the blue stone bricks. His voice was quiet, but it carried the absolute finality of a man burning his ships.
"Your subject... Fan Yu, pays his respects to Your Majesty. I am willing to... return to my motherland, and dedicate my life to the soul tool advancement of the Heavenly Soul Empire."
In that moment, Fan Yu knew he had personally severed every last tie to Shrek Academy.
The Emperor of Heavenly Soul stared at the kneeling figure. For a second, he was stunned, but then a fiercely arrogant, deeply satisfied smile stretched across his face. He slammed his hand against the armrest of his throne and let out a booming, hearty laugh.
"Hahahaha! Good! Excellent!"
He strode forward rapidly, personally hauling Fan Yu to his feet and clapping him firmly on the shoulder. "Fan Yu, I guarantee you, this decision of yours today will not only secure your legacy, but it will also save the entire Heavenly Soul Empire."
"You will become the greatest Soul Engineer in the history of this continent. The glory that Shrek failed to give you, I shall provide!"
The Emperor's spirits soared to their absolute peak. He had anticipated a grueling negotiation, expecting Fan Yu to put up a stubborn fight. He never imagined that the 'bait' Liu Yuan prepared would be so devastatingly lethal.
"Guards!" the Emperor barked toward the heavy wooden doors. "Prepare my carriage immediately! We depart for Qingfeng Garden! And send word to invite Sect Master Poison Undying and Liu Yuan to join us."
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