"Still have to keep our feet on the ground…"
Stepping out of the imperial courtyard.
Xu Cheng looked up at the sky and muttered softly.
Just now, Wang Donger resolutely took on a heavy responsibility and successfully changed her profession to become a Spirit Forging Master. The system proved to be highly capable—everything about advancing as a Spirit Forging Master, training methods, tempering the forge core, and metal forging was all condensed into a single book.
Starting from scratch and walking a path no one had succeeded in before takes real courage.
After all, while it sounds noble, once you change professions, it's almost impossible to continue working with soul tools. This means either going all in, or wasting decades testing dead ends, only to start over with soul tool cultivation—which for Wang Donger, would basically be the end of the road…
"Brother, to date, seventeen dukes have brought their families to Mingdu. Of the remaining ten, three killed the messengers sent to them—open rebellion. Four have read the messages but not replied—they're likely aligned with the previous three. The last three gave vague excuses—they haven't refused outright but are delaying, probably waiting to see how things turn out so they can side with the winner."
Nana's charming figure appeared ghostlike at Xu Cheng's side. She spoke softly.
"Do we still need to wait?"
"I gave them a chance—come to Mingdu within the deadline and all would be forgiven. But clearly, they didn't take it seriously. So be it—no need to wait." Xu Cheng waved his hand dismissively.
"Notify Aunt Qing. Mobilize the troops… Suppress the rebellion."
"Yes!" Nana's expression turned more solemn.
Inwardly, she felt a twinge of sympathy for the dukes who stubbornly resisted. Seeing how decisively and ruthlessly her brother acted, not even giving them a chance—just slapping the label of 'rebellion' on them…
"Oh right, have Juzi lead the troops. Aunt Qing can support from the rear. Just have the Fire Phoenix Soul Tool Regiment sweep southwest from the north. Let the Soul Tool Regiment under Wang Yiheng defend the Mingdou Mountains. There's only half a month until Elder Jing's Mingde Hall Soul Engineer Tournament—settle the rebellion before then."
Xu Cheng said this as if it were the most natural thing.
Clearly, if those rebellious dukes heard this, they'd probably cough up blood. After all, their carefully planned rebellion was, in Xu Cheng's eyes, merely a way to earn merit—and a minor inconvenience he hoped wouldn't delay a competition…
"Yes, Juzi can't hold back any longer," Nana replied with a bright smile.
Though she was the current grand secretary, she kept in private contact with Juzi. After all, their initial meeting had forged a close bond that remained strong.
"Hmm…" Xu Cheng nodded slightly.
In the original story, Juzi participated in a similar rebellion as a small team leader, and was heavily besieged by the cunning son of the Duke of Glory—her potential was suppressed. Though some of it was due to her own mediocre decisions…
But this time, he wanted to see if the rebellion, aside from overwhelming battles, could reveal something new.
Does the future absolutely have to rely on oneself?
Not necessarily.
His goal had always been to develop civilization and use that strength to counter higher powers. Maybe one day, things like battleships would be invented—and with that, a fleet commander or supreme strategist would be key.
If Juzi still showed mediocrity, then it meant the world itself had limited her. He wouldn't hold out much hope—just let her be a decorative Empress.
But if she improved rapidly, the position of Supreme Commander might still be within reach.
"How long until your Starlink Railway becomes operational?" Nana asked curiously.
Recently, Xu Cheng had been focused on this project—surveying geography, bringing in Elder Kong to design trains—everything was bustling.
"If we limit it to just Mingdu, it should be ready within a month. But to expand it across the entire empire will take at least one to two years, before the routes reach every corner." Xu Cheng thought aloud.
Though called "Starlink" Railway, before it reaches space, it must be grounded—specifically, underground… similar to subways in his past life.
This model maximizes transport efficiency while maintaining high concealment.
Of course, the most important goal is to connect to the deep sea.
Xu Cheng's fascination with the deep sea never waned. According to Tianmeng, it was a massive treasure trove, not only rich in minerals but full of natural resources.
This was invaluable for the developing Sun-Moon Empire and a key target to secure.
Soon, once contact was established with the Sea Tribe, the Starlink Railway could extend into the deep sea. The Sea Princess's tribe was straightforward but generally friendly. Their hostility toward humans stemmed from an early betrayal and a harsh lesson.
As for Wan Hun Fan and Zeng Wu, the two evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Church—Xu Cheng had already found an excuse to send them away. Now Dongyang City was under his control, and he was preparing to send envoys to the deep sea to approach the Sea Princess tribe…
He shook his head—too much of a tangent.
"I've already deployed the Royal Soul Engineer Regiment stationed in the capital to build the underground tracks. The design blueprints for Mingdu have been ready for a while, and construction only started recently. We've deployed three Grade-8 Drilling Soul Tools to excavate tunnels and are lining the walls with Xuanwu Tortoiseshell Soul Shields, capable of withstanding a full-force attack from a Title Douluo."
"And since Elder Kong personally designed them, the trains are absurdly fast—on par with Grade-8 flying soul tools. They'll need at least one Grade-7 soul engineer to operate the track-switching soul matrices, plus five Grade-5 maintenance engineers for emergency repairs of the soul tool cores…"
These things may seem tedious and costly now, but they're vital for long-term development and must be done.
"At their current pace, Mingdu's line should be finished in a month." Xu Cheng reflected.
"But there's still the rest of the region…"
"Forget it. Leave the national subway expansion to regular soul engineers. Even if it's slower, it provides jobs and helps train a new generation of professionals."
He still had plenty of time.
Tang Godking was stuck in the God Realm and couldn't observe the Douluo Star. And the spatial storms wouldn't hit for at least ten thousand years.
No need to rush.
"Also, brother, I found out these dukes don't care about their children's education. In the provinces I secretly investigated, the awakening rate is only 20%," Nana said disapprovingly.
"…" Xu Cheng frowned slightly.
At the end of the day, the Sun-Moon Empire was still an old aristocracy-based empire. You could tell just by the provincial duke system, which mirrored the Three Kingdoms of the original continent.
Ironically, while soul tool vehicles filled the skies of Mingdu, the outer provinces still used horse-drawn carriages…
A very distorted system—but perhaps fortunately so.
Otherwise, dealing with those dukes would've been far more troublesome.
(End of Chapter)