Douluo Dalu: The Eyes That Defy Fate

Chapter 257 The Difference of Limits
A moment later, Lin Po stood not far away, changing his shirt, which had been soaked by hot water.

At the same time, he looked at Kong Deming, who was looking relaxed, and complained about the old man's bad behavior, with a helpless expression.

"You're really asking for the moon! Three or four hundred million gold soul coins right off the bat, do you really think I'm the richest man in Douluo Continent?!"

"At this point in time, let alone me, it's uncertain whether the treasuries of the three great empires even have that much money!"
How could you even bring yourself to ask that?

"How about we lower the price? We'll take 100 million to tide us over?"

Unfortunately, the incessant complaining did not cause the old man any emotional fluctuation.

He sipped the pot of strong tea, which had long since gone cold, at a leisurely pace, leaving Lin Po speechless.

Three hundred and thirty million gold soul coins, and they even have whole numbers!
What's wrong? Which young Taoist monk did you learn this from?

"Alright, alright, I have 30 million gold soul coins on hand right now. I'll give you all of them to deal with the urgent projects at hand."

"I'll give you the remaining 300 million next week. I'm going to take a trip to Douluo Continent anyway, and I'll take advantage of the situation to freeload a bit."

After saying that, a satisfied smile instantly appeared on Kong Deming's usually calm face.

"Hey! That's more like it! Young man, you should be more generous and open-minded in your actions!"

Lin Po: “.”

Screw you!
This is why Lao Tzu respects the elderly and cherishes the young, and because he is Sister Lexuan's great-grandfather. Otherwise, he would have pulled out his holy fire and slapped it in your face right there!
"Speaking of which, why are you still going to Douluo Continent? Is it because the Sun Moon Empire can't hold your heart anymore?"

Another startling statement followed, leaving Lin Po completely stunned.

"Grandpa, wait a minute! What I'm going to do in Douluo Continent isn't important. Tell me first, where did you learn these witty sayings from?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kong Deming looked on with a surprised expression and glanced at Lin Po indifferently.

"That boy from Xiaojing's family is afraid that I'll be lonely by myself, so he'll send me some storybooks from time to time."

"Since it's a younger generation's good intention, we can't let them down."

In my spare time, I sometimes read a little bit. Although it's not very informative and the logic is utterly nonsensical, it's still good for passing the time.

"What? You won't even let this old man try out the stuff of you young people?"

After hearing the old man's slightly disdainful reply, Lin Po couldn't help but sigh, his temples throbbing.

That little brat Xiao Hongchen, why does he spread everything around?!
Kong Deming is too old for him to be reading those kinds of things!
Was he always this eccentric?

"Alright, hurry up and tell me, what are you going to Douluo Continent for this time?"

Just as Lin Po was pondering how to punish Xiao Hongchen, Kong Deming impatiently interrupted his train of thought.

"Oh, it's nothing serious. I just wanted to check on the Chamber of Commerce and maybe take in a few more top-tier mainland sects."

"Hmm? Sect forces? Why would we want to win them over? A bunch of closed-minded and arrogant guys, what could they possibly have... Hmm? Wait a minute?! You wouldn't be thinking of...!"

Before the old man could explain his point of view, he seemed to suddenly realize something and unconsciously raised his voice.

"If there are no problems, it should be about what you imagined."

The next second, Kong Deming's eyes widened suddenly, his aged right index finger trembling as he pointed at Lin Po, laughing and cursing:
"You're really wicked, aren't you? How could you even think of such a despicable idea! Anyone who makes an enemy of you is really in big trouble!"

Lin Po didn't seem to care much after hearing this, and simply waved his hand casually.

"Hey, hey, hey, why do you say that, old man? Optimizing the empire's overall bloodline is a great thing that will benefit future generations!"

"Fine, I can't argue with you. But we have to make this clear beforehand: don't taint the royal bloodline! It has to be at least the level of a White Tiger or a Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex!"

In the end, the beaming old man no longer cared about the purity of his bloodline, and the boundaries were relaxed considerably.

No matter what, that was the number one beast spirit in the world ten thousand years ago. If there is a real chance to obtain the inheritance of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex, there is no need to be so strict about some rules.

If all else fails, we can implement the "Decree of Grace," which would also weaken the power of the clan and alleviate some of the pressure on the ruler.

After thinking it through, Kong Deming seemed to realize that he had lost his composure, so he quickly composed himself and said in a seemingly calm manner:
"Ahem, nothing else?"

"Oh, we still have to fight Poison Undying. This was agreed upon more than half a year ago. By the way, is that old guy's soul tool ready?" Mentioning this, Kong Deming's enthusiasm, which had just subsided, surged up again.

He then looked at Lin Po with great curiosity, as if trying to see through his current strength.

"Of course it's done, there are three of them! And they are all top-tier level nine soul tools even in the Sun Moon Empire! Xiao Jing put a lot of effort into making them."

"Huh? Three items? That many?"

"It's alright. Who can blame him for bringing so many rare metals? Even if we give him three level-nine soul tools, Xiao Jing can still make a fortune."

Upon hearing this, Lin Po finally remembered Jing Hongchen's cunning and treacherous businessman face, and couldn't help but chuckle.

“That’s true. Old Master Jing isn’t the type to suffer a loss.”

Upon hearing this, Kong Deming nodded with a smile in his eyes, acknowledging the assessment.

Then his expression suddenly became serious, and his tone of voice became much more solemn.

"So, you still want to fight Poison Undying?"

"A giant sword-shaped close-combat soul tool, a trigger-type defensive soul tool, and a portable flight soul tool—with these three level-nine soul tools plus the strength of the Undying Limit Douluo, I believe no one in this era can reliably defeat him!"

"You can't do it either?"

Kong Deming: "."

Isn't this kid just asking for a beating?!
How did Zhongli Wu raise his child? He only trained his strength and not his emotional intelligence? How can you even ask such a question!

At that moment, he really wanted to teach this seemingly innocent boy a lesson.

But when he thought of the Empress's great-granddaughter sitting in the palace, writing furiously, he had to suppress his anger, fearing that the tragedy of the past would repeat itself.

Left with no other choice, the old man, who rarely lost his composure, rolled his eyes at Lin Po and explained his situation.

"If he doesn't die from the poison and awakens his second awakening, but doesn't use a soul tool, and is at a sufficient distance, I believe I can defeat him by a small margin if I exert all my strength; otherwise, I can only have a slight advantage."

"Once he uses his soul tool, he can easily protect himself at long range; at close range, life and death are left to fate!"

As the last word was uttered, the Confucius Mansion courtyard fell into an eerie silence, as if no one was there.

Although Lin Po had already guessed Kong Deming's combat strength, it was a completely different story after he confirmed it with the latter himself.

Of the four remaining Limit Douluo in the world, there's no need to mention Long Xiaoyao; his overall strength is just average.

Aside from immersing himself in the extreme realm for many years, there's nothing particularly outstanding about him.

Ye Xishui is the same; if it weren't for the complete version of the Death Tower from the original novel, she might be slightly inferior to Long Xiaoyao.

After all, she's a crazy woman. It's one thing to let her go up and fight desperately, but I can't imagine her in a real battle.

In contrast, Zhongli Wu and Du Busi, who had just broken through their limits not long ago, possessed the 'rare treasure' Bone Dragon King, while Du Busi had a perfect gold-level second awakening and a level nine soul tool that he had just acquired.

When his full power is unleashed, he will undoubtedly be the most outstanding Limit Douluo.

And yet, Kong Deming, a mere level 96 student, dares to assert that he can take Poison Undying with him on his journey.

Suddenly, Lin Po noticed a blind spot in Kong Deming's words.

"Wait a minute! Grandpa, even when you activated your Four-Word Battle Armor, you were at your limit. How come you still had to accept your fate in the end?"

Unexpectedly, Kong Deming's face darkened instantly after hearing Lin Po's question.

"Have you gone mad from being secluded? I'm a Soul Master, not skilled in hand-to-hand combat!"

"You think I can beat a barbarian who only knows about the Chaotic Martial Greatsword in close combat?!"

Lin Po: "Pfft!"

(End of this chapter)