Douluo Continent: Little Huo Niang Taken Away by Di Tian

The deeper you go, the drier and colder the air becomes, and you can faintly hear the low-frequency hum of a giant soul tool in operation, like a roar from the depths of the earth.

After descending several hundred meters, the surrounding light completely dimmed, with only the glowing soul guide gems embedded in the walls providing illumination, casting their shadows of varying lengths.

Finally, the lifting device came to a stop.

"arrive."

Kong Mingde stopped in his tracks. Before him stood a heavy alloy door with a dark golden sheen.

The old man waved his hand, and the complex soul-guiding lock disengaged instantly.

"This is my private study room, and also one of the most central areas of Mingde Hall. Inside are my students who have followed me for many years; from now on, they will be your senior brothers."

As the heavy alloy door opened, a complex odor instantly wafted out—the smell of molten metal at high temperatures, the acrid smell of expired tobacco, and the smell of some unknown energy core overloaded and burnt, mixed with the sweat odor unique to adult men, creating a highly impactful odor.

Huo Yutong frowned almost imperceptibly, but was then drawn back to the scene before her.

This research lab was larger than anyone could have imagined. Countless cables of varying thicknesses hung from the ceiling, intertwined like vines; the floor was piled with various unfinished soul tools, discarded metal parts, and stacks of data boards; several huge soul tool arrays were humming in the corners, with blue arcs of electricity occasionally bursting into sparks.

"Everyone, take your hands off the parts!" Kong Mingde commanded, his voice echoing in the empty laboratory.

With a flurry of footsteps and the clanging of metal, a dozen researchers in white lab coats quickly lined up at the front.

Huo Yutong stood behind her master, quietly observing her future senior brothers.

First impression: The white coats are uniform, the dirt is uniform, and the dark circles under the eyes are uniform.

These senior students' clothes had clearly not been washed for a long time; the original white had long since turned into an "experimental burnt yellow," and the cuffs and collars were even covered with hardened grease.

What's even more amusing is their hairstyle—it's basically a Mediterranean style.

Except for the youngest man in his thirties standing on the very edge who looked relatively normal, everyone else, regardless of age, basically had a setup of "a wire fence around the perimeter and a football field in the middle" above their heads.

Under the light, the smooth brow reflected the light of intelligence, making Huo Yutong almost want to take out her sunglasses.

"This is Huo Yutong, my new disciple, an exchange student from Shrek Academy!" Kong Mingde ignored the sour smell, instead puffing out his chest, his tone filled with undisguised pride. "Spirit Soul: Spirit Eye, fourteen years old, level 58 Control-type Soul King, level 5 Soul Master!"

The previously lazy senior brothers suddenly widened their eyes, and several bald heads even turned slightly red with shock.

"Level 58? Only fourteen years old?"

"This talent is even more freakish than that Laughing at the Mortal World!"

"It's still the Spirit Eye Martial Soul? This mental power must be heaven-defying..."

"I didn't care about you guys before, I thought that appearance wasn't important when doing research. But things are different now! We have a young lady here!"

He pointed at each of you with his finger: "Look at you all, how long has it been since you took a shower? Your hair is falling out like a lawnmower has passed by. Can't you at least maintain a presentable appearance?"

And those smokers, put out your cigarettes! Yu Tong is only fourteen, she's still growing, secondhand smoke will affect her development. If anyone dares to smoke in front of her, I'll shove their cigarette butt up their nostril!

He then turned to look at the youngest senior brother, his tone softening slightly but still stern: "Especially you, Xuan Ziwen! Last time, you didn't sleep for three days straight to finish a project, and you even came to the lab without eating. As a result, you fainted in front of the core magic array due to low blood sugar!"

Do you know how much damage that fainting spell caused me? Oh? It almost blew up half a floor!

Xuan Ziwen awkwardly touched his messy black hair, shrinking his neck and not daring to utter a sound.

"Alright, you're leaving get off work early today!" Kong Mingde waved his hand. "Get back home, everyone, take a shower and change your clothes!"

Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, I want to see a group of clean and neat students standing here! If anyone shows up with greasy hair or bad breath, I'll make them clean toilets for a month!

"Yes, teacher!"

The senior students felt as if they had been granted a pardon and quickly made their escape, fearing that if they were too slow, they would be caught and made up for missed lessons.

The research room instantly fell silent, leaving only the master and apprentice and the room full of mechanical wreckage.

Kong Mingde's Adam's apple bobbed, and he was about to say something when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the cigarette butts strewn across the ashtray and the two-day-old mountain of boxed lunches fermenting in the trash can. The air seemed to carry the strange smell of sauerkraut stewed with cigarette ash.

His face flushed slightly. "Yutong, since you're already here... let me show you around 'Mingde Hall'!"

After completing the lap, Kong Mingde instantly broke down, staring at Huo Yutong's back that seemed to say, "I understand everything even though I didn't say anything."

Instead of returning to his office, he went straight to the mall and spent a fortune.

At this moment, Kong Mingde, the prince of the Sun Moon Empire, the strongest force in the Sun Moon Empire, the only Super Douluo, and a level nine Soul Master, put on rubber gloves, a fluorescent green vest, and a janitor's hat.

In the laboratory, vacuum cleaners roared and mops flew everywhere.

Kong Mingde was kneeling on the ground, carefully picking at the old, stale instant noodle crumbs in the cracks between the floor tiles with the hands that had been used to make the Level 9 fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells.

As he wiped, he felt like crying: no matter how difficult a level nine soul-guided core array was, it was not as hard as "how to scrape the floor without getting your trouser legs dirty".

How did those brats manage to be so unhygienic!

The next morning, Xuan Ziwen and the others pushed open the laboratory door just in time, only to slip and fall—good heavens, the floor was so clean you could see yourself in it, and you'd have to bring your own dry food to survive even the dust.

Kong Mingde stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the crowd like a searchlight.

The disciples were unusually "stylish" today: their white coats were snow-white, their leather shoes were shiny, and even Xuan Ziwen's hair was styled with hair gel to a perfect shine.

When his gaze fell upon those "Mediterranean" jewels that gleamed under the lights, their reflectivity comparable to a level nine soul-guided shield, the old man nearly pulled out his sunglasses.

"Hmm, very good." Kong Mingde suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth, turned his back to hide the suspicious blush, and said, "I would be very pleased if it were this 'bright' every day from now on."

He cleared his throat, trying to adopt the demeanor of a strict teacher: "Come on, don't just stand there, quickly greet your junior sister and state your names."