Douluo Jueshi: Who let him join Shrek!

It should be noted that Xu Tianran originally intended to groom Mingjiang as a confidant, and even wanted Mingjiang to replace Jing Hongchen as the head of Mingde Hall!

He even brought Mingjiang with him.

And it was precisely because of this that when Mingjiang self-destructed in the western suburbs of Mingdu, Xu Tianran was immediately overcome with fear!

Even though Mingjiang is dead, every time Xu Tianran sees Jing Hongchen or Kong Deming, he thinks of Mingjiang and feels a chill run down his spine.

After all, Mingjiang was brought up by Jing Hongchen, and Kong Deming was also Mingjiang's teacher.

If Kong Deming hadn't also been a member of the royal family, Xu Tianran would have been just as wary of Kong Deming as he was of Jing Hongchen!
In short, among Xu Tianran's core group, Jing Hongchen is definitely the least trusted one because of Mingjiang!
The reason why Jing Hongchen is still serving as the head of Mingde Hall is because he is one of the top level nine soul masters in the Sun Moon Empire. After the Sun Moon Empire experienced several battles between powerful figures and lost several level nine soul masters, there was no other way.

Compared to others, letting Jing Hongchen continue to serve as the head of Mingde Hall is the best choice.

However, this does not mean that Xu Tianran was not on guard against Jing Hongchen. The incident in Mingjiang left too deep an impression on him, and Xu Tianran has not recovered from it even now.

If the goal is to target Xu Tianran's core group, then Jing Hongchen would be a suitable target.

Of course, Jiang Ming also had some personal motives involved.

By making the first move, Jing Hongchen can leave this chaotic core area as soon as possible.

It will be difficult to dismantle Xu Tianran's core group in less than a year, and what follows may be very violent!
When Jiang Ming actually takes action, the sooner someone escapes this vortex, the less harm they will suffer.

He still harbored some lingering feelings for Jing Hongchen.

Upon hearing Jiang Ming mention this, a thoughtful look flashed in the eyes of both Xu Jiujiu and Vina.

Xu Tianran distrusts the mortal world.
"Is it because of the Mingjiang River?"

Xu Jiujiu and Vina were naturally aware of Mingjiang's existence.

During the previous competition, Mingjiang was heavily promoted by Xu Tianran. The promotion was so grand that it was like a grand celebration with gongs, drums, and firecrackers. It could be said that almost everyone in Mingdu knew about Mingjiang at that time.

But then Mingjiang suddenly rebelled, and in a way that no one could have imagined, he took several level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells and went to the western suburbs of Mingdu to self-destruct, saving Jiang Ming from a desperate situation.

This matter not only shocked Xu Tianran and many Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire, but also the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire!

Even with the intelligence networks of the two great empires, they couldn't find out that Mingjiang was actually a Shrek Academy mole!
It wasn't until Mingjiang self-destructed with the level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shell that everyone realized what was happening.

Jiang Ming nodded.

After hesitating for a long time, he couldn't help but ask, "Jiang Ming, that Ming Jiang?"

Currently, almost all the forces on the mainland only know that Jiang Ming and Ming Jiang are twin brothers, and they know nothing else about their background.

However, based on Xu Jiujiu's investigations over the years, some things have still been discovered.

If Jiang Ming's existence can be traced, then Ming Jiang's existence is something that suddenly appeared in Mingdu!
No information about Mingjiang's past can be found before this!
This is a terrible thing!
It's important to understand that Xu Jiujiu holds the intelligence network for the entire Sun Moon Empire. Yet, even with all that, she couldn't find any trace of Mingjiang's past, which is quite strange.

Moreover, Shrek Academy's reaction was also very strange.

If Mingjiang really was an undercover agent sent by Shrek Academy to the Sun Moon Empire, then why did Shrek Academy seem to have no reaction at all after Mingjiang rescued Jiang Ming from danger in such a heroic way by self-destructing?

Even Jiang Ming's reaction wasn't very intense.

Previously, Jiang Ming and Ming Jiang appeared to be at odds, but if Ming Jiang was an undercover agent, then the appearance of their animosity was likely an act, and he should be working as Ming Jiang's assistant.

Even if their relationship is truly bad, Mingjiang risked his life to save Jiang Ming from a desperate situation! Such a huge grudge should be settled! Shouldn't Jiang Ming have reacted strongly?
But in fact, after that incident, neither Jiang Ming nor Shrek Academy took any extreme actions.

It's as if the fall of a peerless genius who could become a level nine soul master in his twenties wouldn't cause them any ripples.

This matter has been a question in my mind for a long time, one that I just can't understand.

"Don't ask about the Mingjiang matter anymore."

Jiang Ming did not answer Xu Jiujiu's question.

As for Mingjiang, let him die in history; there's no point in saying more now.

She stared at Jiang Ming's calm demeanor for a long time. She couldn't detect even the slightest bit of sadness in his eyes and expression. He showed no emotion whatsoever towards his own brother and benefactor who had died for him!

Her doubts deepened.

In her mind, Jiang Ming wasn't that kind of person!
What secrets lie behind this?
Curiosity, an intense curiosity, filled her mind. She wanted to unravel this secret, but since Jiang Ming had said not to mention Mingjiang, she wasn't about to invite trouble upon herself.

"If the target is Jing Hongchen, it will be very difficult to get him to betray Xu Tianran, since he is still the head of Mingde Hall."

Vina said softly.

Even though Xu Tianran might not trust Jing Hongchen much because of Mingjiang's matter, Jing Hongchen is, after all, a level nine peak Soul Master of the Sun Moon Empire, and one of the strongest Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire.

If it were before, Xu Tianran might not have valued Jing Hongchen so much. After all, the Sun Moon Empire had so many level nine soul masters back then, and with its strong army, it wouldn't have needed Jing Hongchen.

But it's different now.

The Holy Spirit Cult was almost completely wiped out by Jiang Ming. In addition, after several major battles, a considerable number of level nine soul masters were lost, and even several groups of soul masters at the level of the Guardian Hand were lost.

Under these circumstances, even if Xu Tianran distrusts Jing Hongchen, he will not easily shake Jing Hongchen's position.

"Yes, that's true, so I need to first remove Jing Hongchen from his position as head of the Mingde Hall!"

Jiang Ming said in a deep voice.

Sun and Moon Empire, Mingdu.

Jing Hongchen hasn't actually been having a good time lately.

Even though he is still the head of Mingde Hall and the dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, the feeling in this position now is completely different from before. When he was the head of Mingde Hall and the dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, he was incredibly prestigious. The entire Hongchen family was a top-tier noble family in Mingdu and the Sun Moon Empire, and was sought after by many forces, including Xu Tianran, who was the crown prince at the time.

But now, as the head of Mingde Hall and the dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, he can clearly feel that those who used to fawn over him have left without him noticing, and many families and forces have even lost their awe of the Hongchen family.

In the past, Jing Hongchen would have taken immediate action to suppress and target them without hesitation.

But now, if he does anything out of line, it will cause a big reaction from Xu Tianran.

It can be said that Jing Hongchen is now subject to the control of others in every way. Let alone being as spirited as before, it is already quite good that he can avoid being criticized by Xu Tianran.

In particular, Xu Tianran's temper has become increasingly worse in recent years. Almost everyone under Xu Tianran can feel that this emperor's temper has become more and more unpredictable and even started to become distorted!

He had also tried to persuade him, after all, as the emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran was in real danger in this state.

But it was no use; he was almost attacked by Xu Tianran, who was in a state of rage at the time!

If it weren't for the persuasion and restraint from behind by Tang Deming and Ye Yulin, Xu Tianran would probably have attacked him on the spot.

"Ugh"

Standing in the office of the head of Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen suddenly felt that this place, where he had lived for more than ten years, was actually so suffocating.

As he stepped out of his office, he immediately sensed that someone was watching him from a short distance away.

Jing Hongchen ignored it. Those were people sent by Xu Tianran to monitor him. They knew he had been discovered, but they continued to monitor him anyway.

As long as you ignore the other person, it won't affect your daily life; it's just that you'll feel a little uncomfortable.

At first, Jing Hongchen was a little angry, but now she's gotten used to it.

He was, after all, a level nine soul master. Although Xu Tianran sent people to monitor him, they did not restrict his movements. It was meaningless for the head of Mingde Hall to be confined.

Under the watchful eyes of others, Jing Hongchen made a round of the Mingde Hall, paying particular attention to the new soul mentors who had just entered the hall.

For some reason, seeing these new Soul Masters always reminded him of Mingjiang.
Or rather, Jiang Ming.

He vaguely remembered the first time Mingjiang came to Mingdu and the first time they met.
At that time, Jiang Ming showed extremely strong talent as a Soul Master, and he continued to improve until he became a Level 9 Soul Master in his twenties!
It can be said that Jiang Ming is the most talented Soul Master Jing Hongchen has ever seen. Before him, the most talented Soul Master he had ever seen was Xuan Ziwen!
Unfortunately, neither Jiang Ming nor Xuan Ziwen are now at Mingdetang.
Thinking of this, Jing Hongchen felt a pang of sorrow.

After carefully instructing several Level 5 Soul Masters who had just entered Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen went to check Mingde Hall's defense system and the activity around it.

When Du Bu Si led the Body Sect in a surprise attack on Mingde Hall, he was truly terrified.

Even now, he has people check the area around Mingde Hall every day to prevent the tragedy from happening again, and he even takes time to check it himself every week.

After inspecting all aspects of Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen went to several of Mingde Hall's top-secret laboratories.

In the past few years, Jiang Ming took away so many of the Sun Moon Empire's level nine fixed-position soul-guided cannons and even blew some up. It's obviously unrealistic to ask Jiang Ming to take them back. If we want to replenish our resources, we can only have the level nine soul masters work overtime.

Fortunately, the Sun Moon Empire is rich in rare metal resources. Even though Jiang Ming has taken so many rare metal resources and soul tools from them, the Sun Moon Empire is still able to mobilize resources in a short time to produce level nine fixed-position soul-guided cannons.

Of course, Jing Hongchen was not among the people who made these level-nine fixed-position soul-guided shells.

Even though having Jing Hongchen involved would speed up the production of the level nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells, Xu Tianran did not allow Jing Hongchen to join in.

However, Jing Hongchen could still monitor the progress and then report back to Xu Tianran.

Of course, besides Jing Hongchen, there are other people who will report to Xu Tianran.

After glancing at the production progress of the level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannonballs in the soul-guided laboratories, Jing Hongchen left Mingde Hall and went to the palace to report the progress to Xu Tianran.

Outside the palace, Jing Hongchen removed all the storage soul tools from her body.

Since the last explosion in the palace, security at the palace has become increasingly tight.

Even if Jing Hongchen wanted to enter the palace, he had to remove all his storage soul tools!

"Your Majesty, Mingde Hall has produced three new level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells and twenty level-eight fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells in the past month, as well as the rest of the soul-guided devices."

Jing Hongchen acted like a reporting machine, relaying the latest developments at Mingdetang to Xu Tianran.

His current mindset can be summed up in one sentence: "I don't seek merit, I only seek to avoid mistakes."

"Master of the Red Dust Hall, this progress is still a bit slow."

In the shadows of the palace, Xu Tianran, sitting in his wheelchair, looked incredibly imposing, and his voice was extremely deep.

"But Your Majesty, all the level-nine soul masters that Mingde Hall can mobilize have already been transferred here. Under normal circumstances, the progress cannot be accelerated."

Jing Hongchen said with some difficulty.

The Sun Moon Empire had so much foundation before, which was the result of long-term accumulation.

Making up for these lost cultural heritages in a short period of time is not an easy task, even with full support of resources and manpower.

"If we can't speed things up under normal circumstances, then we'll have to resort to some unconventional methods! Master of the Red Dust Hall, don't let me down!"

As he spoke, Xu Tianran emerged from the shadows in his wheelchair, but the gloomy expression on his face was even more terrifying than when he was in the shadows!
Upon hearing this, Jing Hongchen trembled.

abnormal means
When Jing Hongchen left the palace, she was still somewhat dazed. To rush the schedule while trying her best was to use unconventional methods to speed things up – was she trying to force those Soul Masters to comply?
Undoubtedly, this will cause harm to those Soul Masters.

But now, His Majesty has become somewhat insane and no longer cares about this.
After leaving the palace, Jing Hongchen did not return to Mingde Hall, but instead went back to her home in Mingdu.

Since the Mingjiang incident, he and his family members, including Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, have been under house arrest here and cannot leave Mingdu.

However, when he got home, a voice suddenly appeared in his ear, causing his expression to change drastically!
"Master of the Red Dust Hall, it's been a long time." (End of Chapter)