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

Kong Ming'an gave Hyotei a disgruntled look.

Even though his cultivation has improved rapidly and his current strength is exceptionally powerful, he is still somewhat weaker than the Ice Emperor overall.

Hyotei gave his avatar a disdainful look and continued to complain:

"The sculpting is also poor; it makes me look shorter than myself!"

Kong Ming'an raised an eyebrow, his tone becoming more certain: "No, the data is based entirely on your original body, it's as tall and as big as it should be."

"Nonsense!" Hyotei retorted, "How could I be that small!"

"Heh," Kong Ming'an cast a pitying glance at Hyotei.

"Not you," Hyotei Red Temperature.

Under the sound blockade of a mental barrier controlled by Kong Ming'an, Hyotei gritted her teeth, slightly breaching her defenses, and continued walking along, playfully bickering.

However, in this seemingly relaxed atmosphere, at a certain moment, the earth began to shake violently without any warning!

A large swathe of trees ahead collapsed as if crushed by an invisible force, and an immense mental pressure swept in like a tsunami.

Immediately afterwards, a chill spread, the sky suddenly darkened, and an enormous, round, and plump white silkworm-shaped figure slowly "rose" from the ground.

Its entire body was crystal clear like jade, emitting a faint golden light and an astonishing chill. Ten golden patterns swirled around its body, radiating an exceptionally powerful energy fluctuation.

"Haha, I've finally found a human with a spiritual attribute! Let me see what this lucky guy looks like. Hmm?"

The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's somewhat smug voice echoed in the spiritual realm. However, when its gaze fell upon the two overly calm figures below, who were even bickering with each other, it couldn't help but be taken aback.

This reaction is wrong! Shouldn't they be terrified or bow down in worship upon seeing this million-year-old soul beast?

However, before he could think it through,

The next moment, it saw the boy subdue the girl beside him with one hand, then look up and give it an incredibly kind smile.

then

"Bang! Bang!"

Two violent explosions rang out almost simultaneously, and the two figures exploded without warning.

The violent energy surge seemed to have plowed through the surrounding ground, leaving it riddled with holes.

The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm remained rooted to the spot, unharmed, but utterly bewildered:

"No... he self-destructed without saying a word? Am I that scary? Wait, this energy... it doesn't feel human?!"

Tianmeng quickly realized something was wrong and was preparing to dig a hole to hide, but the next moment, a terrifying pressure suddenly descended!

A gigantic, dark green hand, obscuring the sky, appeared out of thin air, containing an overbearing power to suppress everything. With lightning speed, it grabbed the massive body of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm and sealed it away in an instant.

Poison Undying landed, then without hesitation threw out a metal block engraved with a special soul guidance matrix.

Instantly, the metal block deformed and unfolded, opening a one-time-use spatial door.

Grabbing the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, Poison Undying unhesitatingly compressed it into a ball, then threw the unconscious Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm into the spatial portal.

The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm vanished, and the door naturally dissolved.

Poison Undying clapped his hands, as if he had only done a trivial thing.

"Done, call it a day."

His task was to capture the target upon receiving the signal; now that the mission was successfully completed, it was time for him to withdraw.

The battle he fought over a year ago, in which he was repeatedly beaten by Moon's one-sided use of "King of the World" but survived, brought him many insights.

Especially after personally experiencing Moon's reign of supreme power hundreds of times, he seemed to have vaguely touched upon something.

It was a feeling of profound integration between one's own will, soul power, spiritual power, and blood and qi; it was mysterious and indescribable.

He tried to calm down and feel it carefully, but he just couldn't grasp it.

It's a pity that after Mu En realized he wouldn't kill Xuan Zi, he stopped attacking Xuan Zi no matter how much he beat him.

Shaking his head, Du Busi prepared to return to his reverie, hoping to seize that fleeting inspiration.

He had a premonition that this might be his chance to reach the pinnacle of his potential!

With a flash, Poison Undying disappeared, and the Star Dou Great Forest returned to its usual tranquility.

……

……

The Undead Demiplane, a Special Imprisonment Laboratory.

The consciousness of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm slowly awakened from the chaos, its mind filled with immense bewilderment. Even now, it still couldn't understand what had happened.

I remember encountering a human with a spirit-type martial soul, right? Then they suddenly exploded, and... I ended up here?

Tianmeng felt slightly dazed, as if she had been set up.

It tried to move, but found its body tightly bound by countless energy chains that shimmered with an eerie light. It couldn't mobilize even a trace of soul power or mental energy; only its consciousness could still think.

It opened its eyes with some difficulty, and as its vision gradually cleared, it saw several figures standing in front of it.

His gaze swept over the crowd, and when it landed on the girl who exuded an icy aura, he paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes:

"Hyotei? Is that you, Hyotei?!"

Hyotei looked at Tenmu, his brows furrowing slightly.

Without saying a word, she grabbed Kong Ming'an's hand and pulled him in front of her, then leaned against him, using his body to block Tianmeng's view.

Tianmeng: "???"

Tianmeng was struck dumb.

Chapter 102 Hyotei: You'll die if you lie to me, you bastard!

Tianmeng's gaze fell on the human boy whose true nature she couldn't quite fathom.

It was completely bewildered by the situation, but after a slight pause, it still tried to be assertive: "Who...who are you? Why are you arresting me?"

Kong Ming'an did not answer immediately.

He glanced at Hyotei behind him, their eyes met briefly, and then Kong Ming'an looked away, gently raising his hand.

Suddenly, a golden scroll, its terms clearly written, unfurled out of thin air and hovered before Tianmeng's eyes.

Tianmeng's consciousness swept over it, quickly browsing through it, and soon understood the contents of the contract.

This is a long-term labor contract with little freedom, requiring the contribution of its soul skill modules and cooperation in various research projects.

There aren't many benefits; the biggest advantage of being marked is that you can survive.

At this moment, Kong Ming'an's calm voice rang out: "Let's sign the contract."

Tianmeng's expression was conflicted for a moment, as if she was trying to struggle a bit more, "Are there any other options?"

Under Tianmeng's slightly expectant gaze, Kong Ming'an nodded and said softly, "Yes."

Subsequently

"Om-!"

The energy chains binding Tianmeng instantly contracted, and a sharp pain that penetrated deep into its soul and marrow struck, causing its massive body to tremble violently and emit a silent wail.

The struggle was futile, but in just a second or two, Kong Ming'an loosened his grip, and Tianmeng's pain receded like a receding tide.

Tianmeng's body trembled, but Kong Ming'an's gaze remained calm, and his tone was still even: "The second option is to erase consciousness and use it as research material."

The enormous body of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm trembled.

The next second,

Using its remaining, faint spiritual energy, it unhesitatingly imprinted its soul mark at the end of the contract:

"Hello, boss! Tianmeng reporting for duty! What can I do for you?"

His voice was loud and loyal, and it sounded like he was eager to improve.

Kong Ming'an paused for a rare moment.

This decisive and swift admission of defeat

Kong Ming'an couldn't help but turn to look at Hyotei beside him, "Has this guy always been like this?"

Hyotei's eyes held a hint of indifference, but her hand still naturally grasped Kongming'an, leaning against him:

"What backbone do you expect from a good-for-nothing who has nothing to offer but his seniority?"

Kong Ming'an did not comment on this, but simply nodded, then turned to Tianmeng and gave her a kind smile:

"Then, welcome to the team."

"thank you boss!"

Tianmeng was in tears.

Putting everything else aside for now, surviving is the most important thing!

……

……

A moment later, after leaving Tianmeng with its few remaining soul skill modules, Kong Ming'an had Elder Yi take the other party away.

Kong Ming'an admitted that he was not yet in control of such high-level materials.

After all, Tianmeng is not Xue Di. Xue Di would wholeheartedly cooperate with him in his tests and maintain absolute trust in him, while Tianmeng would be lucky if she didn't affect him.

Let Elder Yi study it; let's see if he can figure out a method for creating million-year spirit rings.

With Elder Yi's strength, he might be able to create something like a "divine ring".

After seeing Elder Yi off, only Kong Ming'an and Hyotei remained in the laboratory.

With everyone else gone, Kong Ming'an was about to speak when Hyotei released his grip, slightly distancing herself from him. Her delicate face turned away, as if she didn't want to acknowledge him.

"What's wrong?" Kong Ming'an asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It's nothing, let's go back first." Hyotei shook his head.

Kong Ming'an looked at Hyotei, but ultimately didn't ask any further questions.

The two stepped through the door and returned to the Shrek City Mingmeng Merchant Guild's headquarters.

For the next period of time, Kong Ming'an will be staying in Shrek City.

The "Tang San" he had been following had already embarked on his journey to Shrek Academy three months ahead of schedule. Although he was still being repeatedly robbed and beaten by bandits on the way, it was clear that he intended to join Shrek Academy.

He was very, very excited about this, and it might just be the beginning of the plan.

Along the corridor of the Chamber of Commerce's headquarters, Kong Ming'an walked ahead, with Hyotei slightly behind, half a step behind him.

Unlike Xue Di, who habitually conceals herself completely when serving as Kong Ming'an's personal bodyguard to deal with possible emergencies, and therefore rarely reveals herself,

Hyotei was different; she preferred to stand directly beside him, appearing with him always, never leaving his side, always by his side.

Hyotei slightly raised her head, looking at Kong Ming'an's profile as he lowered his eyes and played with the Heavenly Dream Soul Skill Module. After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly asked, "When you sign contracts with other people, is it like this?"

Without turning around, Kong Ming'an examined the soul skill module in his hand while answering Hyotei's question:

"Normally not. The standard procedure is to show sincerity and then offer choices to see if the other party is willing to sign a contract. This is the conventional approach."

"For those who are unwilling to cooperate but are of great research value, such as some evil spirit masters, the methods are more direct. They sign slave contracts that cannot be violated. After all, evil spirit masters are not human and there is no need to treat them as human beings."

"As for Tianmeng, it's more like a labor contract. A million-year-old soul beast is too valuable for me to let go. I'll capture it first and see how it goes later."

Hyotei was silent for a moment, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt. Her voice lowered, carrying a hint of nervousness that she herself was unaware of:

"what about me?"

Kong Ming'an continued walking without turning his head, casually replying, "You? You're different from the others."

Hyotei's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and an indescribable sense of anticipation quietly rose within him.

However, the next moment, Kong Ming'an's voice continued to ring out.

"After all, you were brought by Xue Di. If I force you, she probably won't be angry with me, but she will be unhappy. I don't want her to be unhappy."

ice King:"……"

Hyotei's hopes vanished without a trace at that moment.