Peerless Douluo: Blood of the Black King Nidhogg!

Chapter 173 A Grand Escape into the Sunlight (4K)

"The world should be in our grasp..."

The elderly Jing Hongchen sat blankly in the chair like an ignorant child, staring at Mo Yuan in front of her with astonishment and doubt deep in her eyes.

What was he thinking in that instant? Mo Yuan's words were awe-inspiring, like a king with the power to swallow a tiger. However, this was also exactly what puzzled him.

If Xu Tianran, Xu Jiawei, or the monarchs of the Tianhun and Douling Empires had said this, he wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with it, because they were emperors and should have such aspirations.

But what about Mo Yuan? He will only be the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion in the future! It's not that the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion has a low status, but there is a fundamental difference between the Emperor and the Pavilion Master.

What does it mean for the head of the Sea God Pavilion to say such a thing? What does he want? What kind of person is he really?!
Jing Hongchen felt as if his heart rate had reached its highest point in his life, and the violent sound of his heart was booming in his mind like a drum.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but just then, a flash of inspiration struck him, and all the scenes from before appeared before his eyes.

Wait… a flash of a blade! Mo Yuan drew his sword!

The long-awaited treasure finally appeared. At this moment, Jing Hongchen no longer cared about what Mo Yuan meant and turned to look at the Marquis of Xinting who was stuck on the map.

The blood-red blade came into view, filling Jing Hongchen's icy blue pupils. In just one glance, in that fraction of a second, Jing Hongchen was completely captivated by this alchemical weapon.

"God..."

Overwhelmed with excitement, his body began to tremble slightly. He stood up absentmindedly, staring intently at Xin Tinghou, his hands hesitantly reaching for the blade, yet he couldn't help but hesitate.

After several attempts, I still didn't touch it. It was like a unique work of art placed in front of me. I wanted to get closer, but I was afraid that I would damage it.

"This, this, this is simply a miracle... How can there be such a perfect and wondrous creation in the world? It is the most precious work of art..."

Jing Hongchen trembled and murmured softly, his eyes flashing with astonishing light.

Hongchen and his siblings, as well as Ma Rulong, were still young and their soul tool skills were not up to par, so they couldn't see through the alchemical tools. But Jing Hongchen was different. He was a level nine soul tool master who had been immersed in the world of soul tools for over a hundred years and was one of the few great soul tool masters of his time.

In his eyes, he could see through the sharp, crimson blade to its true secrets: endless, varied alchemical matrices interlocked within, meshing together like gears. In terms of sophistication, even his mortal protection could not compare.

If this was a difference in skill, then the mysterious and ancient runes that made up the alchemical matrix almost completely overturned his worldview.

He couldn't imagine where those characters came from, what they meant, or why they possessed such great power.

Is this a new knowledge system? Yes, of course it is. No knowledge system in the world can compare to it in the slightest. Yet it is completely different from soul tools. It seems that matter is not its foundation. Its true nature should be a truth that no one can comprehend.

Jing Hongchen, his face flushed, gasped for breath. He had been so engrossed in the moment that he had forgotten to breathe. As the feeling of suffocation subsided, he finally came to his senses and reconnected with the world.

"What...what are their names?" Jing Hongchen restrained her gaze from falling back to Xintinghou and solemnly asked Mo Yuan in a soft voice.

Mo Yuan sat back down in his chair and replied in a calm tone,
"alchemy."

"Alchemy...alchemy...what a name, what a wonderful name..." Jing Hongchen kept repeating the name of alchemy, and then asked again.

This time, his tone was full of excitement, yet also a hint of barely perceptible fear, hesitant and apprehensive, as if he were afraid of Mo Yuan's answer.

"What level does this knife belong to in alchemy? Is it beginner level, or... or supreme level?"

When Jing Hongchen uttered the word 'supreme,' his voice began to tremble. He was afraid; he was afraid that the upper limit of such a great existence as alchemy was too low.

Although the Marquis of Xinting was an incomprehensible creation, in his eyes, alchemy should never, and could never, stop there.

Mo Yuan raised a finger, and bursting fire elements gathered at his fingertip, rising into a faint flame, like a candle flame in the dead of winter, as if it would be blown out by the cold wind at any moment.

"Look at this tiny flame, and then look at the blazing sun outside the window."

"..." Jing Hongchen's pupils dilated, almost filling every part of his eyes except for the whites. Mo Yuan hadn't finished speaking, but he already knew the answer.

Compared to the pinnacle of alchemy, this alchemical tool is nothing but trash, and how can a candle flame compete with the blazing sun?

"Hoo..." After a long silence, Jing Hongchen exhaled a long breath, as if trying to clear all the distracting thoughts from his mind.

In that short half minute, he thought about a lot of things. He considered the purpose of Mo Yuan's actions and words, but these only occupied a small part of his thoughts. What really made him think intensely was the choice, a choice he had never thought about before and did not think he would think about in the future.

Looking at the young man sitting quietly in the chair in front of him, Jing Hongchen's vision suddenly blurred for a moment. In his vision, two bright suns silently rose behind Mo Yuan.

No, to be precise, it should be a pair of eyes, a pair of eyes devoid of any emotion, like the eyes of a god as imagined by the world.

At this moment, Jing Hongchen raised his head and looked at Mo Yuan. All the hesitation and doubt in his eyes disappeared without a trace, replaced by an unwavering determination.

Mo Yuan's lips curled slightly, but his eyes remained indifferent. Their gazes met, but no words were spoken. Both of them understood each other's meaning without prior agreement.

……

High in the sky, hidden in the shadows, Yan Shaozhe frowned as he stared at the still-closed door. He couldn't help but speak to Xuanzi.

"Something's not right, something's definitely not right. Jing Hongchen has been inside for almost half an hour, why hasn't he come out yet? Elder Xuan, is there really no problem with this?"

Xuanzi didn't say anything this time, because he also felt that Jing Hongchen and Mo Yuan had been alone for a while. It was just a matter of winning them over, so it shouldn't have taken that long, right?
"Wait a little longer. If there's still no reaction in ten minutes, we'll make our move."

"it is good."

However, just as the two had made their decision, the doorknob of the office door was gently turned, and with a click, the door opened. Xuanzi and Yan Shaozhe immediately looked over.

Then the two saw Jing Hongchen walk out with a gloomy face and eyes full of disappointment. As he passed through the corridor, he glared fiercely at the sky.

"Hiss... He actually glared at me? What did Mo Yuan and Jing Hongchen say to make this old fox so angry?"

Xuanzi stroked his beard and asked in a surprised tone. Clearly, based on Jing Hongchen's actions, he believed that Jing Hongchen's conversation with Mo Yuan must have been quite unpleasant.

Yan Shaozhe didn't speak, but his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He always felt that the relationship between Jing Hongchen and Mo Yuan was far more complicated than it seemed on the surface, and there was a high probability that there was some unknown secret hidden between them.

Of course, these are all just guesses. It would be better not to say anything, because if we do, we'll probably get a scolding from Xuanzi.

Inside the office, Mo Yuan leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk. Beside him lay an ancient parchment with a bloody fingerprint on it. The smile on his face had vanished, replaced by his usual coldness.

He said that they had only one purpose: to turn Jing Hongchen against his side. After all, conquering the world is easy, but governing it is difficult. Moreover, unifying the continent is not simply a matter of killing all the emperors of the empires with supreme military force; there is much more to it than meets the eye.

Although his words were rather veiled, Jing Hongchen was a clever man, and coupled with the allure of alchemy, he, who was wholeheartedly devoted to the study of soul tools, agreed after a brief hesitation. Of course, there was some exchange of benefits involved, but overall it was still in his favor.

“Sigh…” Mo Yuan suddenly sighed for no reason. In fact, he originally did not want to win over Jing Hongchen, but instead wanted to take another path.

Unfortunately, given the current state of Douluo Continent, there is absolutely no hope of taking that path for at least the next hundred years.

……

Shrek Academy, in the infirmary.

Jing Hongchen, who had walked with a dark expression all the way, instantly changed into an ordinary appearance the moment he stepped into his granddaughter's hospital room.

"Grandpa, what did you and Mo Yuan talk about? Why did you chat for so long?"

"Grandpa, you didn't go to try and win over Mo Yuan, did you?"

Upon seeing Jing Hongchen arrive, Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, who had just woken up, immediately asked what was going on.

"Why do you kids need to pry into things that are between adults?"

Jing Hongchen said irritably, "Treason has always been a capital offense. Even though his Hongchen family holds a pivotal position in the empire, there is still no room for negotiation once it is exposed."

Although he believed that Mo Yuan had the ability, he thought it was better for him, as an elder, to handle such matters; children should live like children.

Xiao Hongchen retorted, unconvinced, "Grandpa, what do you mean by this? Mo Yuan is clearly younger than my sister, okay?"

"Go away, what's the use of just getting older without getting any brains?" Jing Hongchen said after checking the siblings' injuries and confirming that they were only superficial wounds.
"Xiao, Meng, you two pack your things and come back to the academy with me later. There's only one year left until the end of the plan. We've learned everything we need to learn, so there's no need to stay here any longer."

Upon hearing that she had to go home, Meng Hongchen immediately refused, lying back down on the hospital bed and wrapping herself tightly in the blanket, muffled sounds emanating from within.

"No, no! Mo Yuan just came back, I don't want to leave! If you want to leave, let my brother go! He can go back to the Empire alone!"

Xiao Hongchen looked completely bewildered, then immediately refused, "If my sister isn't leaving, then I'm not leaving either. What kind of behavior is it to leave after just one fight with Mo Yuan?"

"Whether you leave or not is not up to you, but... Meng, let me remind you, if you don't leave, a huge surprise will also leave you~" Jing Hongchen said with a meaningful smile.

Upon hearing this, the constantly swirling blanket suddenly stopped moving. Meng Hongchen poked her head out from under the blanket, a single strand of hair sticking out, and stared at the smiling Jing Hongchen with a puzzled look.

"Hmm? The biggest surprise in the world? Grandpa, please explain more clearly, what exactly is it?"

"You should be asking me that, Meng. What do you think is the surprise you want most?"

"Ask me..." Meng Hongchen's eyes suddenly flashed with an astonishing light. He rolled over and stood up from the hospital bed, shouting incredulously, "Wait! Grandpa, you mean!"

Jing Hongchen smiled without saying a word, only nodding in affirmation.

"Oh yeah! Grandpa, you're the best!" Meng Hongchen's joy was overflowing, beyond words.

After giving Jing Hongchen a big hug, Meng Hongchen turned around and pulled Xiao Hongchen, who was still trying to resist, off the hospital bed. She dragged him to Jing Hongchen and said excitedly,

"Let's go, Grandpa!"

Xiao Hongchen, who was being dragged on the ground, was dumbfounded. What's going on? Wasn't I in a hospital bed? How did I end up lying on the ground?
Faced with his sister's betrayal, Xiao Hongchen was speechless after realizing what had happened and could only return to the academy with his grandfather. As for the other eight exchange students, they stayed here and waited for the program to end in a year before returning to the academy.

…………

Before officially taking over the Fire Seed System, Mo Yuan believed that he would love this job. After all, he had thought more than once when he was in school in his previous life that if he were sitting in the principal's office, he would definitely be a good educator, just like the vengeful god Hilbert Jean Angers.

But after actually spending a month handling documents in the dean's office, Mo Yuan felt that he was perhaps more like the vice principal, the night watchman, Nicholas Flamel.

"Ugh……"

"Junior brother, why are you sighing for no reason?"

On the sofa opposite, Han Ruoruo looked at Mo Yuan, who was slumped in his chair and sighing incessantly, and said with a smile, peeling an orange with her slender, jade-like fingers, even tearing off the white pith.

She then slowly stood up, her high heels making a crisp, pleasant sound on the floor. She came to Mo Yuan's side, gently bit a segment of orange into her mouth, and bent down to stand in front of him.

Mo Yuan understood immediately. The sweetness of the orange and the faint sandalwood scent filled his mouth. After a moment, their breaths stopped mingling.

Han Ruoruo's face flushed with alluring blushes. She straightened up, still wanting more, and went behind the chair. Smiling, she stretched out her jade-like arm and put it on Mo Yuan's shoulder.

"Senior sister, I don't think this kind of life is suitable for me." Mo Yuan leaned his head against that soft spot and suddenly spoke.

"Oh?"

"At my age, I should be holding a map, without a destination, freely sailing on the vast ocean, heading south, always heading south, like a grand escape towards the sun. It would be even better if I had a musical instrument that I know how to play."

Mo Yuan continued, "But I don't know any musical instruments, so I should be on the deck, letting the sea breeze mess up my hair, turning on the recording device and turning the volume up to the maximum. I will lean against the railing, holding a bottle of red wine in one hand, and head south against the oncoming wind."

"The sea is silent, and as far as the eye can see, there is no land where human activity can be seen. Youthful arrogance or anticipation of the unknown in the distance will make the ship sail very fast, infinitely fast, faster than my shadow, faster than light, faster than time itself..."

Han Ruoruo listened quietly, strands of Mo Yuan's hair passing through her fingers and falling onto her back. "So what you mean is?"

"The world is so big, I want to see it."

Han Ruoruo suddenly laughed, "You talk so romantically, but all you really mean is that you're tired and want to travel, right?"

She continued, "If you want to go, then go. You were born to be a soaring eagle. Shrek Academy can't hold you back, an empire can't hold you back, and the whole world can't hold you back."

"Thank you," Mo Yuan said softly.

"Hmph, saying thank you is useless; you should take action."

Han Ruoruo moved lightly to stand in front of Mo Yuan from behind, then sat down on the desk. She gently kicked off her high heels, revealing a pair of delicate jade feet.

She raised her long, slender, and fair legs, and gently brushed her toes against Mo Yuan's chest, sending a tingling sensation through him.

Mo Yuan swallowed hard, his fingers twitching slightly. The curtains were drawn shut from a distance, the door was locked, and the entire space was sealed off...

(End of this chapter)