"This battle took quite a toll. Among the Four Great Beast Soul Engineer Regiments, all except the Fire Phoenix Regiment lost nearly one-fifth of their forces. Even the most elite Royal Soul Engineer Regiment and the Fire Phoenix Regiment suffered close to a tenth in casualties. Weapon losses far exceeded our expectations, including some low-level stationary soul cannons, and even high-level soul cannons, soul ray weapons above level seven, and invincibility shields…"
Juzi reported the battle situation, her pretty face grave.
As expected from an efficient secretary—by the very next day after the battle, she had already gathered and compiled reports from all departments, sparing Xu Cheng a great deal of trouble.
"Heh, war is always the best excuse for settling accounts," Xu Cheng said with a smile, seated comfortably in a soft chair.
"You're not angry?" Juzi asked curiously.
"Angry? No need." Xu Cheng chuckled. "There are too many messy accounts involved. The four major arsenals have existed for thousands of years, with weapons coming and going, and the records revised repeatedly—no one could possibly make full sense of it all. But to be able to supply weapons for such a large-scale war, and with stockpiles even richer than I expected, I'm already satisfied."
He smiled again.
No need to be too meticulous.
As someone in power, if he insisted on obsessing over every tiny detail, that would be the real danger. In other words, if he used this opportunity to investigate thoroughly, too many people would be implicated. This vast web could cover over half of Mingdu.
Most people had rendered meritorious service in this battle. With commendations and rewards to be distributed the day after tomorrow, if he suddenly launched an investigation now, it would throw everyone into a panic—for no good reason.
"Send a letter to each regiment commander. Tell them that for what has already happened, I won't pursue the matter. But this marks a turning point. From today onward, I hope each of them keeps a clear conscience and doesn't get arrogant."
Xu Cheng spoke solemnly.
"And also, although I won't pursue it further, that doesn't mean I'll allow myself to be fooled. We can take this opportunity to audit the majority of the arsenals' ledgers. You'll personally oversee this. Organize updated records and keep them on file."
That way, this messy account could finally be cleaned up.
"Understood! I'll go this afternoon." Juzi nodded solemnly. After a brief hesitation, she added, "There's one more thing. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect reported that during yesterday's battle, they encountered Tang San. They intended to eliminate him, but he was rescued by a powerful member of the Clear Sky Sect."
"Tang San?"
Xu Cheng sat upright, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
He didn't know what that guy was doing at the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but it was probably nothing good.
And now he'd been rescued by the Clear Sky Sect…
To be honest, Xu Cheng had never taken Tang San seriously. Investigations in Tianhun City showed he didn't seem like a reincarnated God King at all. Coupled with what he had revealed to Tang Ya in the Star Dou Forest and his eagerness to save others, it wasn't hard to deduce: the Tang San from the God Realm and this Tang San's divine sense had no real connection.
Otherwise, the real God King Tang San would have descended personally and taken someone from Gu Yue Na by now.
He figured this Tang San was an overconfident, cocky type who charged in unprepared, thinking he'd stomp the Sun-Moon Empire and dominate the continent—only to be beaten thoroughly by reality.
Xu Cheng had just been planning to sit back and enjoy the show.
But now that he'd been saved by the Clear Sky Sect…
You had to understand—Da Ming and Er Ming of the Clear Sky Sect had a direct way to contact the God Realm's Tang San. And while this Tang San had been getting beat up, he had also learned many things that couldn't be seen from the God King's high perch. If some of that information reached the God Realm Tang San, it could spell trouble.
However…
Xu Cheng tapped the armrest of his chair lightly, a flash of inspiration lighting up his expression.
He still had a system reward he hadn't used yet.
"System, I want the God Realm Tang San to forget about having sent a strand of divine sense down to the lower realm. Is that possible?" Xu Cheng asked silently.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host. The God Realm Tang San has successfully forgotten this matter."
The system's mechanical voice responded.
Xu Cheng: "…"
"…Then, let the harvest plan begin tomorrow," he said to Juzi.
Her face lit up with excitement, her palms sweating from the pressure. Was she really going to carry out the final step of such an enormous plan?
"Yes!"
At the same time, in the God Realm—
Tang San stared absentmindedly at the vast, rolling sea of clouds. "I feel like I've forgotten something… What was it?"
He furrowed his brow and pondered for a long time but came up with nothing.
He sighed lightly. "Seems I've been so busy lately, with Destruction pressing closer and closer… I'm even imagining things."
"Could it be… I'll never again have a hand in the Douluo Continent?"
"But…"
He began to consider. "For the sake of my millennium-long plan, I manipulated things behind the scenes to bring the Abyss Plane early. Perhaps I could contact its strongest beings and form an alliance to influence the Douluo Plane…"
"That might work?" A glint of light appeared in Tang San's eyes.
He didn't notice at all that his prior divine sense plan had already vanished completely from his memory.
"But I've been in the God Realm too long. Even just meeting Da Ming or Er Ming risks alerting those two old fogeys—Kindness and Evil. Not really worth it. Better to send a strand of divine sense down to oversee it all."
Tang San clicked his tongue. But the divine sense couldn't be too powerful…
"Forget it. With my divine sense coordinating things in the lower realm, the Sun-Moon Empire should be no problem at all!"
"Time to get started."
He smiled.
Clear Sky Sect – Highest Level
Surrounded by vast clouds and magnificent mountains, Da Ming and Er Ming both wore grim expressions.
"Reporting to the Sect Masters, this time above the Title Douluo level, seven were seriously injured and nine were killed." A somber elder knelt.
"Nine Title Douluo dead?!" Er Ming roared in fury.
"To be precise, two were Super Douluo, and seven were Title Douluo. That includes the Third Elder, Fifth Elder…" the elder said in a low voice.
"…" Da Ming closed his eyes tightly.
He had made the decision himself, so he bore the greatest frustration.
The key point was—if they'd managed to bring Wang Dong'er back, even at such a cost, it might've been barely acceptable. But in the end, it was all for nothing.
"Who could've predicted those bastards would ally with soul beasts?!" Er Ming slammed the table, face dark.
"If it were only humans, our three Limit Douluo would've surely…"
"Second Brother! Enough!" Da Ming raised a hand, signaling the elder to withdraw.
Then he gazed out over the cloud sea. "Second Brother, prepare to admit our guilt."
"Big Brother, you…" Er Ming stared wide-eyed.
"It's already come to this. Delaying further will only make things worse. We still don't know whether Xiao Qi's soul fragment is intact. From the looks of it, that Silver Dragon King doesn't fear Tang San at all. If she… sigh, let's hope it doesn't come to that." His voice was full of dejection.
"Then… it's all we can do." Er Ming slumped.
"Report!"
Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out from outside the hall.
"Didn't I say not to interrupt unless it was urgent?" Er Ming snapped.
"Sect Masters, Tang San has awakened," a Clear Sky Sect disciple knelt and reported nervously.
Da Ming and Er Ming: "???"
(End of Chapter)