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

Kong Ming'an pondered, unsure how to evaluate the situation.

Shaking his head, Kong Ming'an focused his attention on the soul skill module he had inscribed, which was used to open the undead demiplane.

He channeled his soul power into it, and faint ripples of space slowly spread out from in front of him. Then, a gray door, exuding an aura of holiness and death, slowly opened before him.

Undead Demiplane!

A small world independent of the Douluo Continent, with a vast space capable of storing living beings, and can be opened anywhere within the Douluo Continent!

With his mental energy touching the door, Kong Ming'an's consciousness quickly passed through it and entered the undead demiplane.

Kong Ming'an's consciousness slowly turned its gaze to this demiplane, but almost instantly he sensed countless deathly auras.

Upon closer inspection, one sees countless "skeletons" slumbering in the demiplane!

Ordinary skeletons, undead knights, and even dozens of bone dragons as large as small mountains.

At this moment, their auras were subdued, but the necromantic flames within their bodies burned steadily.

At this moment, as long as Kong Ming'an uses the authority granted to him by Elder Yi to issue commands to these undead creatures, they will instantly awaken.

Looking at the massive undead army before him, Kong Ming'an finally understood why Old Yi could overturn an entire world.

He even heard Elder Yi say that this was only a small part of his undead legion, and that in its heyday it far surpassed its current strength.

"We have another trump card up our sleeve."

Kongming felt much more at ease, withdrawing his consciousness from the undead demiplane, and then slowly stood up from the futon.

Instead of leaving the laboratory directly through the main entrance, Kong Ming'an subtly stirred the spatial elements around him, causing silvery-white spatial ripples to surge and envelop him.

The next moment, he felt a flash of light before his eyes, and then the light faded, and the surrounding environment had changed from the laboratory to his own room.

With the spatial elements settled, Kong Ming'an stretched slightly, exuding a more relaxed aura.

He took off his clothes and went into the bathroom, letting the warm water wash away his fatigue little by little.

A moment later, he changed into a clean white casual outfit, stood in front of the full-length mirror, straightened his collar slightly, and pondered the next steps.

He planned to visit Miss Meng to inquire about her cultivation progress and matters concerning the "Mingmeng" Chamber of Commerce. He also needed to make a trip to Shrek City later.

Kong Ming'an pondered for a moment, then slowly pushed open the door and began walking out along the corridor towards the laboratory area.

Because of his presence, ordinary people could not set foot in the inner area of ​​the Kong family compound, which appeared quiet and solemn.

However, just as he turned a corner and passed the entrance to his laboratory, a figure made him pause slightly.

She was a girl who looked to be about his age.

She wore a light purple dress, her legs covered by white stockings, and her short, slightly curly light purple hair added a touch of liveliness to her already exquisitely beautiful face.

She was sitting at the corner not far from the entrance of his laboratory, her bright, deep purple eyes gazing furtively at the doorway. The scene was strangely unsettling.

Kong Ming'an paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the barely noticeable royal sun and moon patterns on the hem of her dress. A few guesses flashed through his mind, while a sense of absurdity arose inexplicably.

Although this is the core area of ​​the Kong family mansion, it is not a place that ordinary people can enter.

After thinking for a moment, he put on a mimicry mask produced by Mirror Red Dust, and then silently appeared behind the girl.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The sudden question made the furtive girl tremble, and she looked behind her in a flustered manner.

Her gaze fell on Kong Ming'an's otherwise ordinary face, which was disguised. After a quick glance and confirming that she didn't recognize him, the girl breathed a sigh of relief.

"You scared me to death! I thought it was someone else!"

The girl calmed down, then blinked in a somewhat familiar tone and said, "Hello, my name is Xu Tianzhen."

After a brief self-introduction, the girl narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled, "Friend, although I don't know who you are, judging from your casual demeanor, you must be someone from the Kong family, right? You must be very familiar with the Kong family, right?"

Kong Ming'an raised an eyebrow slightly. Why did this development feel a little strange?

"What do you want to do?"

"I'm here to see my fiancé!" Xu Tianzhen answered matter-of-factly.

Kong Ming'an sensed something was amiss and instinctively felt a surge of curiosity. After a brief hesitation, his mental energy stirred slightly, and with a hint of guidance, he softly asked,

"fiancé?"

"It was arranged by Father and Grandpa Confucius. I haven't even met him yet! I heard he spends all his time in the laboratory and is a strange guy. Hmm, he looks quite handsome in the photos though."

Unaware of the underlying issue, the girl revealed her true thoughts with a hint of resentment in her voice.

After a slight pause, she continued complaining, "But even if this guy is good-looking, he can't just stay hidden all the time, right? I've been waiting here for a month or two, and he hasn't come out at all."

Chapter 26 Aren't princesses just bargaining chips for political marriages?

Seeing the girl's sullen expression, Kong Ming'an felt a strange unease.

In his mind, princesses were either willful and capricious or dignified and elegant. How come the one in front of him didn't fit either description?

Kong Ming'an narrowed his eyes slightly, his mental energy guiding the conversation like an invisible thread: "Don't you have any complaints about your father's arrangements?"

"What could be wrong with that?" Xu Tianzhen continued, as if stating a perfectly simple fact.

"I am a princess. Since I enjoy the treatment of a princess, I naturally have to fulfill the duties of a princess. And aren't the duties of a princess for the purpose of marriage alliances?"

"Don't be so naive, my friend. This isn't some folktale. Princesses are just like that." She shrugged, displaying a nonchalant attitude.

"But I heard that you are His Majesty's most beloved princess?" Kong Ming'an probed for deeper thoughts.

"Pfft, doting? Please, if he really doted on me, why would he send me into a political marriage?" Xu Tianzhen's tone was slightly sarcastic, seemingly thinking Kong Ming'an was too naive.

"You know, this marriage alliance has been dragging on for a long time. My father has been hesitant to choose one of my sisters who are less talented than me as a marriage partner."

"However, a few months ago, after Grandpa Kong came out of seclusion and showed my father, the Emperor, his level 98 soul power cultivation, he immediately decided to marry me."

"You think this is pampering?"

Kong Ming'an looked at Xu Tianzhen, who was asking him a question, and unconsciously became somewhat interested.

The girl is far more clear-headed than she appears. That's quite rare.

"Are you just going to accept your fate like this? Aren't you afraid that your arranged marriage partner will be terrible?"

"I've already said, I'm a princess." Xu Tianzhen gave Kong Ming'an a disgruntled look.

"So this is not resignation, but simply fulfilling my duty as a princess."

"My aunt was like that, my older sisters were like that, and naturally, so am I."

"Actually, I'm quite lucky. My arranged marriage partner is quite good-looking and is also the grandson of Confucius. Even if this guy is terrible and bullies me, I can still complain to Confucius."

"Besides, getting engaged so early allows me to cultivate a relationship beforehand, which is much better than suddenly marrying a stranger after I've grown up, right?"

Xu Tianzhen spoke with reason and evidence, her logic so clear it was unlike that of a girl her age.

Kong Ming'an understood. This was a clear-headed recognition of his current status, and to some extent, a trust in his grandfather's authority and an acceptance of his physical worth. There was none of the fantasies or resistance typical of a young woman.

Rare.

A knowing glint flashed in his eyes, then he silently withdrew the subtle mental guidance.

Almost the instant his mental energy withdrew, a flicker of confusion crossed Xu Tianzhen's bright eyes, before she snapped back to reality.

She looked at the "ordinary" boy in front of her with suspicion and finally realized that something was wrong—how could she possibly tell so many of her innermost thoughts to a stranger?

"Who...who are you?"

She instinctively took a half step back, her eyes filled with wariness, yet a possible guess had already flashed through her mind, and her expression became somewhat unnatural.

Kong Ming'an found her appearance rather amusing.

With a smile, he slowly removed the mask he used for disguise, then looked up at the nervous purple-haired girl and answered her question with a light laugh:

"I'm the fiancé you were talking about."

Xu Tianzhen was taken aback. She looked at Kong Ming'an's strangely familiar face, her voice trembling slightly.

"Kong Kongming'an?"

"Well, it's me."

"?!!"

Wait, wasn't this guy in the lab the whole time? I haven't seen him come out!

And this face.

Xu Tianzhen swallowed hard, feeling a little ashamed. Damn it, how come she's kind of good-looking?!

Xu Tianzhen was lost in thought, and after that brief moment of shock, she suddenly realized just how wrong her words had been!

She made all sorts of complaints, like "strange guy," "marriage obligation," and "complaining to Grandpa Confucius," but what she really said was her true feelings about the royal family!

If this gets out...

"You...you remembered everything I said?" Xu Tianzhen's voice trembled slightly as she looked at Kong Ming'an with a last glimmer of hope.

Kong Ming'an nodded, not denying it: "I've remembered some."

Just as Xu Tianzhen was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she saw the other person slowly take out a silver, fingernail-sized metal piece from their pocket and then wave it in front of her.

"However, most of it was recorded. Should we play it back to confirm? About the 'strange guy,' the 'marriage obligation,' and..."

"No! Delete it! Delete it now!"

Xu Tianzhen instantly bristled, abandoning all semblance of princess decorum and her earlier wariness. She lunged forward, leaping to snatch the metal piece, and pitifully pleaded:

"Please! Delete it! If you delete it, I'll even warm your bed!"

Originally, he only intended to tease this somewhat unusual princess, but this sudden sliding kneeling made Kong Ming'an unconsciously take a step back.

Even with his calm demeanor, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upon hearing the phrase "warm the bed."

However, Xu Tianzhen showed no embarrassment whatsoever, her eyes still fixed on the metal piece, as if she were ready to go all out.

Kong Ming'an paused briefly, but quickly regained his composure. With a flick of his wrist, the metal plate vanished.

Seeing Xu Tianzhen's pitiful yet indignant expression, Kong Ming'an thought for a moment, then leaned slightly closer to her slightly reddened ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, tinged with a faint smile:

"How can I give it back to you? This secret of yours... I'll live off it for the rest of my life."

After saying that, he straightened up, smiled, and then, no longer looking at the slightly petrified girl, walked straight past her and headed outside.

He planned to go see his old man and ask about the marriage.

Behind him, Xu Tianzhen stood alone, her mind buzzing, only the phrase "I'll eat this for the rest of my life" echoing in her ears.

Damn it, she's not even married yet and they've already caught her red-handed?! How is she supposed to play this game?!

Shouldn't she easily win over the naive, handsome boy who only knows how to do research, and then develop feelings for him, living a simple and happy life together?

Why aren't we following her script?

Given the current situation, if she marries into this family, she'll probably be bullied and forced into 108 different positions every day, right?

Xu Tianzhen's mind was in a mess, but she quickly came to her senses and turned around to look for Kong Ming'an, who was about to disappear around the corner in the distance!

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Tianzhen made a completely instinctive choice and chased after them!

We need to destroy the evidence first!

Chapter 27 Genealogy

The Kong Family Mansion, with its garden pavilion.

The steam rising from the clear tea on the stone table could not dispel the obvious helplessness on Kong Ming'an's face.

He put down his teacup, looked at his own old man across from him, who was calm and composed, and made no attempt to hide his complaint:

"So, you just silently 'priced and sold' your own grandson?"

Kong Deming sat upright in the main seat, his silver moon robe impeccably tailored. He calmly sipped his tea, his gaze sweeping over the meticulously manicured flowers and trees outside the pavilion, his voice steady and unwavering:

"I told you about this beforehand, but it's been put on hold. Now I'm just bringing it up again. And this time His Majesty is clearly serious and very sincere. Furthermore..."

His gaze returned to Kong Ming'an, carrying an all-knowing calmness, "I don't think you seem to mind either."

Kong Ming'an was slightly speechless.

Dislike? Not really. He was just caught off guard by this sudden and uncontrollable situation, especially since...