NOVEL NEXT Chapter 189: Chapter 189: A Meeting of "Old Friends"
Chapter 189: A Meeting of "Old Friends"
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.
The news of Xue Beng's assassination and death in the middle of the street had already spread like wildfire.
Some speculated that it was orchestrated by Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
Others guessed it was an act of revenge.
Some even went as far as to suggest that Xue Beng's death was due to his refusal to take responsibility for certain actions.
Although Xue Ye and Xue Xing suspected that this incident was linked to "Xue Qinghe," they had no concrete evidence.
Furthermore, the assassin was dead, leaving no one to corroborate the theory.
The royal knights who apprehended the assassin not only received no rewards but mysteriously vanished overnight without a trace.
This indirectly confirmed that Emperor Xue Ye believed the incident to be a premeditated murder.
He resented how carelessly some individuals acted, never considering their own faults.
As for the two "survivors" from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Emperor Xue Ye paid them no mind. Members of such a prominent sect were unlikely to be loose-tongued.
Besides, Emperor Xue Ye had always treated the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan well, even though they never explicitly supported the Heaven Dou Empire.
Emperor Xue Ye's judgment wasn't wrong—he could trust members of great sects to remain discreet. However, he could not place the same trust in his own royal knights, indicating that this wasn't the primary issue.
The real problem was that these knights had no powerful backers.
What Emperor Xue Ye didn't know was that, before he eliminated these knights, someone had already planted seeds of betrayal and left evidence of their defection within the royal knights.
No one wants to die. Without alternatives, these knights sought revenge against the "treacherous" Emperor Xue Ye in this manner.
Such people were unworthy of the royal knights' protection!
Shi Mian's death seemed to have ignited the flames of rebellion!
Among the royal knights tasked with capturing Shi Mian, some were indeed Emperor Xue Ye's trusted aides, which was one of the reasons for their exposure.
This situation was peculiar. Typically, royal families possess powerful inherited martial souls. Even if not top-tier, they should still be formidable.
Take, for instance, the Star Luo Empire's royal family, the Dai clan. Their inherited martial soul, the Evil Eye White Tiger, combined with the Zhu clan's Netherworld Civet, could produce martial soul fusion skills.
Through sheer strength, they had secured the throne of the Star Luo Empire.
And yet, what about the Heaven Dou Empire?
The Heaven Dou royal family's inherited martial soul turned out to be... a swan.
An ordinary swan, with nothing extraordinary about it.
Their combat abilities could at best be described as average, even weaker than the martial souls inherited by many nobles.
For instance, consider the "pillar of the empire," Marshal Ge Long of the Heaven Dou Empire. His martial soul was a mutated dragon soul, the legendary Yazi Beast!
How could the swan martial soul possibly justify ruling a nation in a "fantastical" world?
Returning to Kong's perspective.
At this moment, Kong was deep in conversation with Ei. Only when the scene drew closer could their dialogue be heard.
"Husband, I've been researching gunpowder and have made some progress. For ordinary people or low-level soul masters, the advent of gunpowder is nothing short of revolutionary."
"Even a small amount of gunpowder explosion is not to be underestimated. If it's sealed within a container and filled with iron shards capable of inflicting harm…"
Listening to Ei's explanation, Kong couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye. Wasn't this essentially the manufacturing process for grenades?
And sure enough, Ei, in just a few days, had figured out how to produce gunpowder and apply it. She truly lived up to her title as the "inventor" among the demon gods!
"If the quantity of gunpowder is sufficient and detonated all at once…"
Alright, now she was heading toward TNT.
Ei had clearly embarked on an irreversible path due to her understanding of the production and explosive principles of Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus.
For now, it was just grenades and TNT. Who knew if she might one day think of recreating her devastating technique…
A nuke!
"If I had created enough gunpowder, weapons, and tools back then, perhaps the people of Inazuma and they wouldn't have…"
Ei's voice trailed off, tinged with sadness.
Kong patted Ei's shoulder to comfort her. "Ei, it's in the past now."
He actually wanted to say, if Ei had truly possessed a significant amount of gunpowder back then, it's uncertain whether Inazuma would have suffered fewer casualties, but such an unpredictable variable would never have been allowed by Celestia.
Warning: Skyfrost Nail!
The destructive power of a large quantity of gunpowder—even though Ei hadn't conducted experiments yet—based on her simulations, suggested that when the quantity reached a certain threshold, an explosion could pose a serious threat even to weaker demon gods.
And this was merely a mundane invention. If it were improved, it could become a threat to even the more powerful demon gods.
So how did fragile humans manage to create such a terrifying thing?
Human creativity was truly remarkable.
Inazuma actually already had gunpowder—wasn't it used in the fireworks made by the Naganohara family?
Those fireworks, imbued with gunpowder, were merely seen as fleeting beauty, appreciated momentarily by those with or without Vision who could wield elemental energy.
No one thought to use them as weapons.
Weapons in this world were mostly crafted with elemental energy, not through such rudimentary inventions.
Take Klee's Jumpty Dumpty bombs, for example—they were elemental creations, bombs made from fire elements, and had little to do with gunpowder.
"Hmm."
Ei nodded, then suddenly spoke again: "Husband, should I continue researching gunpowder? I have a feeling it has immense potential."
"Go ahead, if it interests you, Ei."
"Our strength is considerable, but if we can use gunpowder to create a small shock on Douluo Continent, it could save us a lot of trouble later."
Nuclear peace is peace.
As long as there's enough nuclear power, peace will inevitably follow!
Why was Ei's Musou no Hitotachi considered the pinnacle of martial arts? Wasn't it because that one strike contained the essence of nuclear power—the kind that left centuries of lingering effects?
With Kong's support, Ei gradually embarked on an irreversible path.
After some time, when Ei had returned to the Plane of Euthymia for a brief moment, an "old friend" appeared before Kong.
"Well, are you surprised to see me?"
The golden-haired visitor pouted slightly, clearly displeased. After speaking, she sat down next to Kong without waiting for an invitation.
"You've probably been quite busy recently."
Kong looked her over—despite her efforts to hide it, Qian Renxue looked noticeably fatigued.
Engaging in a battle of wits with Emperor Xue Ye and the increasingly unstable Prince Xue Xing would undoubtedly take its toll. It was no wonder she seemed exhausted; the constant risk of exposure weighed heavily on her.
"No matter how busy I am, I have to come check on my little man, lest someone else steals him away."
Qian Renxue stretched with a smile, her arms reaching backward as she arched her back.
"Stay safe. There are many ways to bring about change, and even if you fail, it's not the end of the world."
"I won't fail!"
More than a decade of careful planning could not be allowed to go to waste!
"Yes, yes, you're right."
"???"
Why did that sound so dismissive...
(End of Chapter)
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