Chapter 194 I'm not here_1

"Yes, such an incident has taken everyone by surprise. No one would have thought that the Duke, after many years of battles in the field, would fall in such an inglorious way."

Minister Zhang shook his head and sighed, "The Duke died at the hands of someone he was close to."

"Someone he was close to?" The Duchess and Dai Yueheng both wore looks of confusion.

"My lord, aside from us, who else was close to the Duke?"

Dai Yueheng couldn't help but ask.

"It was..." Minister Zhang hesitated before saying, "It was Huo Yuhao."

"Based on the news from the military camp, we know that Huo Yuhao sought an audience with the Duke alone, and in the end, the Duke agreed to see him.

No one expected Huo Yuhao to launch an attack, nor did they fathom that Huo Yuhao could mount an offense that threatened the Duke.

And so the disaster occurred."

"Huo Yuhao! It was that bastard Huo Yuhao!"

The Duchess's expression twisted malignantly.

In that moment, she seemed like a demon.

"Yes, it was Huo Yuhao. His actions were truly unexpected," Minister Zhang said, shaking his head. "Duchess, these behind me are the rewards from His Majesty to the Duke. I urge you not to grieve excessively over them."

"I do not want these rewards; I only want that wretch dead!" The Duchess ground her teeth and asked, "Did His Majesty say when he would avenge my husband?"

"Your Majesty has yet to find a suitable person to command the border army. Do not be anxious, Duchess, as soon as His Majesty makes a decision, you will be informed," said Minister Zhang.

Having said that, Minister Zhang turned and left.

The Duchess and Dai Yueheng stood in place, silent for a long time.

"Mother, the wind is picking up; let's go back," said Dai Yueheng, struggling to remain calm.

"Sob sob sob..." Tears poured from the Duchess.

She could no longer stay strong. "Yue Heng, kill him. You must kill him!"

At that moment, aside from Dai Yueheng, she had no idea who else she could rely on.

Dai Yueheng clenched his fists. "Mother, rest assured... I will make Huo Yuhao pay," he promised.

...

Elsewhere.

Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Guidance Academy.

Inside a laboratory.

Qin Xiao was busily engaged in his work.

In front of him was the heavily damaged Human-shaped Soul Guidance Device.

"To think it's taken such serious damage, with at least a third of its arrays impaired; truly a major project," he lamented.

Of course.

He wasn't really talking to himself.

Xuan Ziwen, unable to help himself, stood up and walked over to Qin Xiao. "Come on, stop being so coy. This Human-shaped Soul Guidance Device wiped out so many powerhouses in one go. In the end, it even killed the Duke Bai Hu. With such a spectacular record, suffering only a third of damage is a small price to pay, isn't it?"

He felt Qin Xiao was boasting under the guise of complaint.

Putting on airs deliberately.

On hearing this, Qin Xiao's response was one of surprise, "Is that so? But now that you mention it, I'm starting to think you may have a point.

Does that mean I've actually made a killing?"

Xuan Ziwen huffed annoyedly, "Just keep your smugness to yourself. If I could craft such a powerful soul guidance device, I'd wake up laughing even from a dream."

Because that would mean he would become a Ninth-Level Soul Master.

"Hahaha, old brother, don't sell yourself short. You're only a little away from becoming a Ninth-Level Soul Master," Qin Xiao laughed and reassured Xuan Ziwen.

"Alright, enough laughing. What is it you wanted to see me about?"

Xuan Ziwen asked again.

He knew that Qin Xiao asking him to come was definitely not just to admire the human-shaped soul tool.

"It's like this," Qin Xiao rubbed his hands and said, "I think it's necessary to upgrade this human-shaped soul tool again. As you saw before, most of the arrays on it are low-level.

Only the core magic array was forged by Dean Hongchen for me, at level 9. Besides that, I usually have one you forged for me at level 8.

But whether it's level 8 or level 9, the soul tools put a lot of strain on the human-shaped soul tool. If we replace some of the low-level arrays with level 7 or level 8 arrays, we could greatly increase the output ability of the human-shaped soul tool.

By then, without relying on various soul tools, it can burst out great combat power on its own."

Xuan Ziwen frowned, "Big ambitions you've got there."

"If you really succeed, it means you'll have a Titled Douluo Level counterpart in actuality. It's not just some entity reaching that level through the output of various soul cannons..."

"Hehe, that's right," Qin Xiao nodded with a chuckle.

Xuan Ziwen, as expected of Xuan Ziwen, instantly knew what he was thinking.

He wanted to inscribe all sorts of arrays on the human-shaped soul tool.

Speed, strength, or attack and defense, and so on...

By then, the combat power of the human-shaped soul tool would skyrocket even more.

"What you're talking about is quite difficult," Xuan Ziwen said. "The materials for making level 8 soul tools are also in short supply even in my hand."

"If it wasn't difficult, I wouldn't have come to you," Qin Xiao replied. "In the entire academy, I believe only you are up to the task. As for the materials, I don't see it as a problem. I'll go to Dean Hongchen now to ask for them.

After all, I've done such a big thing, slaying the commander of Xingluo Empire, a Duke second only to one above tens of thousands. They should give me some reward, right?"

"Asking for some materials isn't too much, is it?"

Xuan Ziwen nodded, "Not at all. Not in the least. I think the Empire would be reasonable even if they gave you three, five, seven, or eight hundred million."

He wasn't just agreeing with Qin Xiao, nor was he mocking or exaggerating.

It was because the White Tiger Duke of the Xingluo Empire was worth that price.

"Bro, then I'll trouble you here, I'm going to ask Dean Hongchen for the money right now."

As Qin Xiao walked, he counted on his fingers, "Three hundred million plus five hundred million plus seven hundred million plus eight hundred million... That's a total of twenty-three hundred million."

"???"

Xuan Ziwen immediately called out to Qin Xiao, "Wait a minute, how much money do you want?"

"Twenty-three hundred million, according to your calculation."

Qin Xiao said cheerfully, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to convey your request clearly."

"I didn't, I wasn't... Don't set me up," Xuan Ziwen waved his hands repeatedly.

That Qin Xiao was really unscrupulous.

He'd even trick his own people.

However.

Qin Xiao didn't take his words to heart at all.

...

Thump thump thump.

The door to the office was knocked on, and Jing Hongchen was taken aback for a moment, then furrowed his brows.

"Who's there?"

"It's me. Dean Hongchen, I have some matters I'd like to discuss with you."

Qin Xiao?

Why so polite today?

Jing Hongchen frowned imperceptibly.

Unsolicited favors are either sinister or thieving.

He was sure that Qin Xiao's visit meant mostly trouble.

He shouted, "I'm not here, come back later."

Outside the door.

Qin Xiao: "..."