Douluo Dalu 2: The True God King-Chapter 378: [DD2]:

Radiant City was a place filled with tangled and complicated powers. For outsiders like them, finding a suitable piece of land to establish their sect’s headquarters was by no means an easy task.

Now that Jing Hongchen was offering his help, it saved them a lot of trouble.

At the very least, with Jing Hongchen’s influence, no blind or foolish individuals would dare to make trouble for Su Yu when he founded his sect.

Of course, Su Yu wasn’t afraid of trouble. The strength of the Ice God Palace was evident.

Even the royal family of the Sun Moon Empire could be selectively ignored.

The strongest individual in the Sun Moon Empire was Kong Deming, but even Kong Deming was insignificant before the Ice God Palace.

There was no need to mention Haibodong; even Mu Wu alone could beat Kong Deming to the point of helplessness.

Back then, Mu Wu had managed to severely injure Ye Xishui. Now, having advanced further, his strength was even more formidable.

Moreover, Shui Lingguang, who was following Su Yu, could also unleash the combat power of an Ultimate Douluo in a short period.

A Level 98 peak Ultimate Ice Douluo was not someone to be underestimated.

The reason Mu Wu couldn’t defeat Ye Xishui back then was because Ye Xishui, with the addition of her soul tools, could achieve demigod-level combat power.

Kong Deming, although decent, had too low a soul power level. Without soul tools, he wouldn’t even qualify to fight Mu Wu.

Even with soul tools, he still couldn’t be Mu Wu’s opponent.

As for the Sun Moon Empire, Su Yu had no fear at all.

Even if the Holy Spirit Cult were added into the mix, Su Yu could remain indifferent.

One must remember, Su Yu himself was now a top-tier expert.

Of course, fearlessness aside, Su Yu hated unnecessary trouble.

If he could avoid causing trouble, he would naturally choose to do so.

He didn’t have the time or patience to waste on irrelevant people.

"Where is this piece of land located?"

"It’s in the southwest of Radiant City. Do you have time? I’ll take you to check it out," Xiao Hongchen said, patting his chest and grinning.

Su Yu smiled faintly. "Then I’ll trouble you, dear brother-in-law."

Xiao Hongchen chuckled. "Shall we go then?"

"Let’s go!"

Exchanging glances with the group, Su Yu took Wang Dong’er by the hand and followed Xiao Hongchen.

Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan quickly followed as well.

The group headed toward the southwest of Radiant City at a brisk pace.

...

In Radiant City, at the Crown Prince’s residence.

In the rear garden, Juzi gently pushed a wheelchair. Sitting in the wheelchair was Xu Tianran.

Xu Tianran was dressed in white, with dark skin and long hair draped over his shoulders. His demeanor appeared calm, but there was a subtle yet discernible malice in his eyes.

"I heard Su Yu has returned. Did you know about this, Juzi?" Xu Tianran asked flatly, his voice calm and devoid of emotion.

Juzi pushing the wheelchair paused for a moment, a trace of surprise appearing on her delicate, water-like face. A flicker of emotion flashed in her beautiful eyes but quickly vanished.

"Juzi does not know. I haven’t received any news—has Su Yu returned?"

"Yes," Xu Tianran replied softly. "According to an informant I have in Illustrious Virtue Hall, they saw Su Yu there today."

"It seems he hasn’t been back for long."

"I see." Juzi’s expression turned calm, though a gleam of light flashed in her eyes.

So, even Illustrious Virtue Hall has spies planted by His Highness?

It seems that over the past two years, he’s been quietly making moves.

Even the strictly guarded Illustrious Virtue Hall, overseen by Jing Hongchen, has been infiltrated.

Juzi looked at Xu Tianran’s back, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes.

Although she had stayed by his side to seek revenge and leverage his power, Juzi was genuinely terrified of Xu Tianran.

The man before her, while appearing calm, was someone Juzi knew to be a mentally twisted and perverse lunatic—not a normal person at all.

In his heart, there was no affection, only darkness and a fanatical pursuit of power.

Thus, while Juzi remained by his side and carried out his orders, she never let her guard down around him.

Of course, Juzi never revealed any of this.

In front of Xu Tianran, she always presented herself as the most obedient, capable, and trustworthy ally.

She understood his nature: anyone deemed useless by him would be discarded without hesitation.

Living with a lunatic meant being cautious in every aspect.

"Juzi!" Xu Tianran called out softly.

"Your Highness!" Juzi responded quickly, appearing attentive and respectful.

"Su Yu has returned. I want to arrange a meeting with him."

"You know him, don’t you? I’ll leave this matter to you—make sure it’s done."

"Right now, we need his strength. My father’s health is deteriorating rapidly. Time is of the essence," Xu Tianran said with a sigh, though his eyes glimmered with a burning desire for power.

This was a critical moment.

Though he was the crown prince, he was also crippled—his greatest weakness.

In the original story, the Body Sect attacked Illustrious Virtue Hall, and Huo Yuhao stole the humanoid soul tool stored within it.

This forced Jing Hongchen, left with no alternatives, to align himself with Xu Tiannan.

Combined with Xu Tiannan’s dealings with the Holy Spirit Cult, this allowed him to stabilize his position and even secure the role of Regent.

But this time, while the Body Sect still attacked Illustrious Virtue Hall, without Huo Yuhao’s interference, the humanoid soul tool remained intact.

Moreover, the Hongchen family had now aligned themselves with the Ice God Palace. Jing Hongchen had no interest in getting involved in these messy affairs.

Xu Tiannan had tried to win over Jing Hongchen, but the latter remained unmoved, maintaining a strictly neutral stance.

Additionally, the Holy Spirit Cult’s two Ultimate Douluos had been severely injured by Haibodong and were currently in no condition to assist Xu Tiannan.

Ye Xishui’s top priority now was recovering from her injuries.

As a result, Xu Tiannan held limited advantages. The other princes were all eyeing his position with great ambition.

Forced by circumstances, Xu Tiannan urgently needed a powerful ally.

If he could secure Su Yu’s support and the backing of the Ice God Palace, his ascension to the throne would be assured.

There was no way he would give up such an opportunity.

Listening to Xu Tiannan’s words, Juzi bit her lip lightly, hesitating.

To be honest, she didn’t want Su Yu to have any dealings with Xu Tiannan.

She knew Xu Tiannan too well—he was not a normal person.

If Su Yu interacted with him, he would inevitably suffer.

But she also understood that Xu Tiannan was a vindictive and controlling maniac.

Those who refused to serve him would be eliminated by any means necessary.

Su Yu’s background was strong—so strong that Xu Tiannan wouldn’t dare provoke him for now.

But Xu Tiannan was a venomous snake, lurking in the shadows. One could never predict when he might strike.

Even with Su Yu’s powerful background, he couldn’t be protected at all times.

Who could say when Xu Tiannan might set a trap or orchestrate an ambush to harm Su Yu?

This was something Juzi didn’t want to see.

But her position was insignificant, and she had no way of refusing Xu Tianran’s arrangements.

Even without her, Xu Tianran would still find ways to approach Su Yu.

The outcome would be the same in the end.

So, it was better for her to go herself—this way, she could secretly give Su Yu a warning.

Perhaps in Su Yu’s eyes, she was just an ordinary friend, but in Juzi’s eyes, Su Yu was someone special.

She could still vividly remember the flavor of the barbecue they had together back then.

She knew she wasn’t worthy of Su Yu, and there could never be any result between them.

But... she didn’t want Su Yu to face any danger to his life.

These thoughts raced through her mind in just a moment.

Juzi parted her red lips slightly and said, "Juzi understands. I’ll deal with it as soon as possible."

"Hmm, I trust you to handle it well."

Xu Tianran casually complimented her, then looked ahead with a deep gaze. His eyes flickered, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

...

Radiant City.

In the southwest direction.

Su Yu looked at the sprawling estate in front of him, covering hundreds of acres, and couldn’t help but nod in approval.

Having such a large piece of land within Radiant City was truly remarkable.

Such a vast area could indeed accommodate a sect.

"How about it? Not bad, right?" Xiao Hongchen grinned.

Su Yu nodded. "Not bad. The space is wide enough."

Compared to the Snow and Ice City, it wasn’t much, but this was Radiant City.

The imperial capital of the Sun-Moon Empire.

A place this large was already quite impressive.

However, Su Yu was always ambitious. He glanced around at the surrounding areas and thought they looked good as well.

Might as well buy them all together, he thought.

When he shared this idea with Xiao Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen exclaimed in surprise, "Su Yu, are you serious?"

"Land in Radiant City is very expensive."

Su Yu smiled faintly. "Money is not an issue. I just want to buy this entire area."

"In the future, I don’t want to see anyone else here except for my sect."

"It involves the sect’s secrets. Many things need to be kept confidential."

Xiao Hongchen immediately understood. Su Yu was worried that having too many neighbors nearby would affect the Holy Slayer Palace.

So, he planned to merge the properties into one, set up defensive facilities around it, and completely secure the core area.

As for why Xiao Hongchen understood this so well? It’s because the Illustrious Virtue Hall had done the same thing.

The Illustrious Virtue Hall even built an underground base for the sake of secrecy.

Although Xiao Hongchen looked carefree, that didn’t mean he was a foolish rich kid.

On the contrary, he was far smarter than most people.

Even so, Xiao Hongchen still looked a bit troubled. "It’s not just a matter of money. Many prestigious families and officials live around here. They won’t be willing to move easily."

Su Yu smiled faintly. "It doesn’t matter. Write down the names of those who are unwilling. I’ll have someone visit them."

Xiao Hongchen’s mouth twitched, and his expression turned odd.

If they don’t agree, you’ll just make them agree, huh?

But Su Yu did have the strength to back up such a claim.

After thinking about it, Xiao Hongchen decided not to say anything further.

Forget it. Those so-called prestigious families and officials weren’t much anyway.

A bunch of fat, greedy fools. If they really couldn’t recognize reality, getting taught a lesson by Su Yu might do them some good.

Xiao Hongchen didn’t hold much affection for them.

"I’ll let my grandfather know. With his status, most people should be willing to cooperate."

Xiao Hongchen said.

"Then I’ll trouble the Hall Master."

Su Yu replied.

Xiao Hongchen shook his head. "Why be so formal? We’re practically family. You’re our family’s son-in-law, after all."

Su Yu smiled but didn’t comment further.

After touring the estate, it happened to be lunchtime.

Su Yu and the others had a meal together before heading back to the academy.

At the small villa, Su Yu lay on the sofa, lost in thought.

He was planning his next steps.

The issue of land wasn’t a big problem with Jing Hongchen’s help. At most, it would just cost more money. But Su Yu wasn’t short on money.

Not to mention the Ice God Palace’s wealth accumulated over tens of thousands of years.

Even the cash Su Yu carried on him was enough to rival a nation’s treasury.

Several billion gold soul coins—all liquid cash. What kind of concept was that?

The Illustrious Virtue Hall was already incredibly profitable, wasn’t it?

But even its annual revenue was only two to three billion gold soul coins.

Its high profits in the past were due to Jing Hongchen aggressively selling soul tools to fill a deficit.

Under normal circumstances, the Illustrious Virtue Hall’s quarterly revenue didn’t even reach a billion gold soul coins.

And even so, it was already impressive.

Keep in mind, five hundred thousand gold soul coins were enough to arm an army of one hundred thousand soldiers—to the teeth, no less.

While the value of gold soul coins had depreciated somewhat in the Douluo Continent’s second era compared to the first, they were still incredibly stable.

For an average family, their yearly expenses wouldn’t even exceed a few dozen gold soul coins.

With his enormous wealth, Su Yu didn’t have to worry about money.

Currently, Su Yu’s biggest problem is a lack of talent.

Holy Slayer Palace, counting everyone, only had a few members.

Besides Su Yu himself, there were Wang Dong’er, Lan Lan, Chen Xin, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan.

Such a small group wasn’t nearly enough to support a sect.

"There’s still a lack of talent," Su Yu sighed.

Holy Slayer Palace was different from the Ice God Palace.

Holy Slayer Palace needed not just soul masters but also soul engineers.

In the future, the research and development of soul tools would undoubtedly be a major focus for Holy Slayer Palace.

This meant that Holy Slayer Palace needed high-level soul engineers to oversee it.

He could count as one.

Currently, in the field of soul tools, he could be considered a master.

But having only him wasn’t enough.

He had too many things to deal with and couldn’t spend all his time immersed in soul tools.

They would need a top-tier soul engineer to take charge, someone he could trust.

Besides that, they also needed plenty of low-level soul engineers.

As the saying goes, a strong sect requires a large number of people to support it.

"I guess there’s no other choice but to start poaching talent."

Holy Slayer Palace might lack soul engineers, but the Illustrious Virtue Hall had no shortage of them.

The resources were right there in front of him. If he didn’t take advantage of them, it would be a waste.

Su Yu was confident that with his abilities, he could attract a few outstanding soul engineers. The only concern was that Jing Hongchen might get upset.

After all, Jing Hongchen treasured his members dearly.

"I’ll have to figure out a way to deal with the Hall Master. Otherwise, this will get tricky. Hmm... I’ve got it. Heh heh heh heh..."

Su Yu let out a sinister laugh, startling Wang Dong’er nearby. Her flawless white feet almost kicked him in the face.