Douluo Continent: I possess astonishing wisdom as I control energy!

"That's it?"

Kong Ming'an remained silent, but simply lowered his sword again.

Hyotei was speechless; his words were once again blocked.

This time, it was longer than ever before.

After a long while, Hyotei was released once again, and this time, Hyotei felt an unprecedented weakness in her body.

With his hands pressed against Kong Ming'an's chest, Hyotei lowered his head and gasped for fresh air, trying to calm his turbulent emotions.

However, the hateful voice rang out again the next moment: "How does it taste this time?"

Hyotei paused slightly. She'd learned her lesson this time; she wouldn't do it more than three times.

She gasped for breath, trying to keep herself from feeling too weak, then forced herself to remain calm. Arms crossed over her chest, she turned her face to the side, gazing into the distance, her tone icy, as defiant as ever:

"It's barely palatable."

Upon hearing this, Kong Ming'an nodded solemnly and echoed:

"Mmm, it's barely palatable. I'll definitely try harder next time and strive to satisfy Lord Hyotei."

The tone was like coaxing a sulking child.

Hyotei frowned as she listened, turning back to stare at him with her golden eyes, her cheeks puffing out slightly, revealing that menacing look she was about to hiss and bite.

Kong Ming'an was already used to this.

That's how Hyotei is; no matter what situation they're in, they'll never admit defeat verbally.

And as it turns out, no matter how tough Hyotei's lips are, they're actually quite soft when you kiss them. Mmm, they taste cool and refreshing, with a soft and chewy texture, and they're kind of addictive.

Thinking this, Kong Ming'an's gaze unconsciously lowered slightly, falling once again on Hyotei's lips.

Hyotei immediately became alert, quickly covering her mouth and looking at him warily, as if she were on high alert.

Kong Ming'an smiled slightly, not in a hurry.

After waiting a short while, Kong Ming'an looked to the side, where a hunched old man was maneuvering a soul-guided wheelchair, slowly approaching the area shrouded by an invisible force field.

It was Moon.

At this moment, Moon looked at the two people in front of him with a complicated expression, his eyes unfathomable.

In fact, from the very beginning of the selection competition, he noticed that the two "culprits" who took the Golden Tree away were openly sitting in the audience.

However, everyone else in the arena was completely unaware of this.

Chapter 218 The Player Project and Moon

He watched them warily as they chatted and watched the game, ready to intervene at any moment.

However, even after the match ended, the opponent made no move, simply sitting quietly in the stands.

He couldn't sit still any longer and decided to come and investigate.

However, upon approaching, he discovered an invisible barrier blocking his way. He waited silently for a long time before finally being able to enter.

Moon looked at the two people sitting calmly in front of him, remained silent for a moment, as if considering his words, and then spoke with a hint of hesitation: "Gentlemen, it's been a long time."

"Long time no see, Elder Mu."

Kong Ming'an responded with a smile, appearing to be in a good mood.

Seeing Kong Ming'an's calm demeanor, Mu En breathed a slight sigh of relief. He hesitated for a moment, then finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind for so long:

"Your Majesty, may I ask where the Golden Tree is now?"

"This one"

Kong Ming'an did not answer directly, but instead raised his hand and made a gesture in the air.

The next moment, a phantom of an ancient tree, radiating a soft silver light and visible only to those present, slowly appeared. Vast data galaxies flowed among its branches and leaves, and an aura far more profound and immense than that of the ancient golden tree of the past permeated the air.

Moon's pupils contracted slightly, and he paused for a moment.

Is this a golden ancient tree?

How long has it been? Has it changed so much?

Kong Ming'an nodded.

Moon fell silent for a long time before letting out a deep sigh: "It seems I have no chance to retrieve the Golden Tree."

Kong Ming'an said, "Elder Mu, there's no need to take it too seriously. I took the Golden Ancient Tree with its owner's consent, so it doesn't count as taking it without permission."

Moon was taken aback: "You mean, the sea god?"

Kong Ming'an shook his head and corrected, "No, it's a dimensional consciousness. Tang San is just a thief."

Moon's body stiffened as the images from Ah Yin's memories resurfaced in his mind, confirming her statement and leaving him unable to refute it for a moment.

Kong Ming'an continued:

"The Golden Tree was intentionally cultivated by the will of the plane to serve as the core of life, supporting and regulating the entire life cycle of the plane."

"It was simply transplanted to Shrek Academy by Tang San through various means, and from then on, it nominally belonged to Shrek Academy."

"Afterwards, for his own selfish desires, he parasitized the soul of his mother, the Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin, within the ancient tree, attempting to have her gradually seize control of it and thus steal the essence of life from the plane."

"And that is the truth."

Moon remained silent.

Admittedly, those memories had a tremendous impact on him. After all, the image of the Sea God, which Shrek Academy had cultivated for thousands of years, was glorious and majestic, and could be said to be the spiritual legacy of the academy.

But the memories he gained shattered that aura to shreds.

Of course, but compared to those vague and uncertain matters of faith crumbling, he was more concerned about the future of Shrek Academy itself.

And Shrek's future now.

Moon remained silent for a long time, then looked directly at Kong Ming'an and asked the most crucial question: "What exactly do you intend to do with Shrek Academy?"

Kong Ming'an calmly said, "I just want Shrek to be nothing more than Shrek."

Mu En looked puzzled.

Kong Ming'an explained: "Shrek was originally just an academy, a place to teach students and cultivate talent."

"And I hope that its future will be the same, simply an excellent academy, and not some other overstepping entity."

Kong Ming'an spoke seriously.

In the original story, especially ten thousand years later, why was Shrek Academy directly nuked? Why was it targeted by so many forces?

Essentially, it's because Shrek's reach went too far.

The academy doesn't resemble an academy at all; rather, it's like a "state within a state," independent of the nation, with its own internal system, and outsiders have no right to deal with crimes committed by its students.

Even those who have graduated and joined other factions still refer to themselves as "Shrek people" all the time.

This near-brainwashing sense of belonging and privilege is something no power can tolerate.

If Shrek Academy hadn't been so powerful, it would have been wiped out long ago.

He didn't intend to completely eliminate Shrek; that would be too wasteful.

A time-honored brand possesses unparalleled appeal, capable of attracting and gathering a large number of talented individuals. The Chamber of Commerce's previous "Enlightenment Plan" has already proven this.

Therefore, the best approach is to return Shrek Academy to its original and most fundamental purpose: a talent development base.

Mu En remained silent, processing these words. After a moment, he spoke again, his tone confirming, "You are the true mastermind behind the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce?"

Kong Ming'an nodded: "You could say that."

"Was Le Xuan also raised by you?"

Kong Ming'an nodded again.

Upon hearing this, Mu En seemed to have a great weight lifted off his shoulders, and let out a long sigh of relief, saying, "In that case... then I have nothing to worry about."

Now it was Kong Ming'an's turn to become interested: "Oh? Why?"

Mu En's expression was calm, his eyes filled with trust: "I believe that Le Xuan genuinely hopes Shrek Academy can become better, and that it can continue to exist and be passed down."

"I believe it's the right choice to entrust Shrek's future to her."

He paused, then smiled with a hint of self-deprecation. "I was initially worried that her qualifications were too shallow, and her cultivation level insufficient to suppress the various voices inside and outside the academy. I was concerned that the Chamber of Commerce would eventually intervene forcefully, causing Shrek Academy to exist in name only or even disappear completely."

"But now that you are willing to stand behind her and support her, I think there won't be any problems, so I can rest assured."

Kong Ming'an narrowed his eyes slightly, raised an eyebrow, and tentatively spoke:

"You don't actually think I'm here to kill you, do you?"

Moon shook his head, a relaxed smile appearing on his face: "I had considered that possibility before, but after seeing you, I no longer have that thought."

"However, I suddenly feel like taking a break and handing everything over to that girl Lexuan. What do you think, President?"

"Early retirement for old age?"

"I guess so. After all, I don't have many years left to live. These old bones of mine are nearing their limit."

Recalling the past, especially killing Du Bisi, forcibly advancing to the Limit Douluo level, and then almost imprisoning himself in Shrek Academy, he felt a strange sense of exhaustion.

However, his sense of responsibility prevented him from taking a break.

Now that he was certain that Shrek Academy's future could be completely entrusted to Zhang Lexuan, he felt an unprecedented sense of exhaustion wash over him. He suddenly longed to let go of everything and get some rest.

At least, I don't have to deal with Shrek's affairs anymore.

Upon hearing this, Kong Ming'an paused slightly, then suddenly said, "I do have a job here. I wonder if Elder Mu would be interested?"

Moon paused slightly, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes:

"What job?"

Kong Ming'an smiled, then raised his hand, and a contract document made of energy, emitting a faint silver glow, appeared before Mu En.

Moon reached out and took it, his gaze falling on the title at the top of the contract. He unconsciously frowned slightly and couldn't help but softly utter the strangely evocative name:

"The Player Project?"

Chapter 219 Hyotei: Why can't I understand a single word!

A moment later, Mu En gave Kong Ming'an a slight nod of respect before slowly driving away in his soul-guided wheelchair.

Kong Ming'an, meanwhile, looked at the successfully signed contract in his hand, watching with satisfaction as Mu En's figure disappeared at the end of the stands, feeling pleased.

Great, another employee has been tricked. It seems that poaching employees can be addictive.

Standing to the side, Hyotei, who had finally recovered from her dizzy state, looked at Muen, who had completely disappeared into the distance, coughed twice, and said...

"So, part of your plan for coming to Shrek Academy was him?"

She was trying to change the subject, attempting to gloss over what had just happened.

Kong Ming'an glanced at her, but didn't expose her, instead patiently explaining:

"Well, sort of. One is to observe the Sea God's Divine Test state within Tang San's body up close, in preparation for subsequent plans. The other is this 'Player Plan.'"

The so-called "Player Project" actually refers to the first batch of testers and pilots of the "Ling Shu Clone" project, and is also the main source of samples for collecting combat data and optimizing clone performance.

Kong Ming'an highly valued the potential of the "Ling Shu Avatar".

In theory, since the "Ling Shu clone" can highly simulate the human body, it can naturally simulate almost all states of the human body.

Based on this characteristic, it's quite easy to come up with some basic applications.

For example, if you're unsure about condensing a "Star Ring," try simulating it with a "Spiritual Pivot Avatar" first to gain experience and mitigate risks!

Want to create your own soul skill but afraid of hurting yourself? You can also use "Spirit Pivot Clone" to test it repeatedly, and then use your main body to ensure that it is safe!

Even subsequent system development, such as the "Qi and Blood Furnace" of "Body Cultivation" and "Dharma Form," which are easy to destroy at first glance, can be developed based on "Spiritual Pivot Avatar."

In short, even in its most basic application, "Ling Shu Avatar" can greatly increase the margin for error in the process of cultivation and research, making it exceptionally significant.

At the same time, he also considered whether to create an independent virtual or semi-virtual space specifically for storing, managing, and calling these "Spiritual Pivot Avatars," and using it as a signal relay base point to expand the coverage of the "Spiritual Pivot Network."

In conclusion, the application prospects of "Ling Shu clones" are very broad, and it is worthwhile to invest a lot of resources in their development.

The "Player Project" is essentially the first step in this massive development plan, and Moon is one of the "players" chosen by Kong Ming'an.