Douluo Dalu 2: The True God King-Chapter 382: [DD2]:

"Well, it’s all about the same, more or less, hehe." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Su Yu chuckled, showing no embarrassment at all even after being exposed.

For someone who aspires to achieve great things, the first skill to master is having a thick skin.

Jing Hongchen rolled his eyes; he was long used to Su Yu’s shamelessness.

If Su Yu didn’t crack jokes and scheme a bit to take advantage of him, then it wouldn’t be Su Yu.

Jing Hongchen deliberately snorted and said, "I, the Hall Master, don’t have time to waste words with you. If you want something, just say it directly."

Jing Hongchen was already wary; if he continued to argue with Su Yu, he might fall into another one of Su Yu’s traps. It was better to cut to the chase.

Su Yu rubbed his hands together and said, "Hall Master, since you put it that way, I won’t beat around the bush anymore."

"To be honest, as you know, our Holy Slayer Palace is newly established, and everything is in a state of disarray. We’re desperately short of manpower."

"So, I was thinking of borrowing some people from you."

"Borrowing people?"

"Sounds more like poaching them. You little rascal, you’re even trying to dig into my walls now?" Jing Hongchen said irritably.

Su Yu chuckled and replied, "Hall Master, listen to yourself. If I were trying to poach people, I wouldn’t have told you about it."

"Heh!" Jing Hongchen glared at Su Yu. "So, you’ve thought about it, haven’t you?"

He didn’t believe Su Yu’s words at all. Knowing Su Yu’s nature, he must have considered poaching first before giving up on the idea.

After all, the relationship between Illustrious Virtue Hall and Su Yu was quite close, and Su Yu must have thought it through before deciding not to.

But to say that Su Yu hadn’t considered it at all? Jing Hongchen wouldn’t believe that for a second.

"Hehe, how could I? I’m not that kind of unscrupulous person," Su Yu said with a laugh.

If this were Shrek Academy, he might have done it without hesitation.

But this was Illustrious Virtue Hall, and he couldn’t go that far.

After all, secretly poaching people without informing them could damage the relationship between the two parties.

Su Yu wasn’t willing to risk such a loss just for a few people.

"Hall Master, I just want to borrow some people," Su Yu said with a grin.

Jing Hongchen’s eyelids twitched. "Who do you want to borrow?"

Su Yu blurted out, "Xuan Ziwen, Gu Yanjun, Qin Siqi, and a few dozen other soul engineers."

Jing Hongchen: ????????

"You said you want who?"

Jing Hongchen’s eyes widened like a bull’s, staring at Su Yu. His eyes turned red, looking as if he had caught a bad case of mad cow disease.

It was impossible for Jing Hongchen not to be upset. The three names Su Yu mentioned were the most outstanding soul engineers in Illustrious Virtue Hall.

These three were all rank-eight soul engineers and not just any rank-eight soul engineers—they were the cream of the crop.

Each of them was a pillar of Illustrious Virtue Hall.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that each of these three was destined to become a rank-nine soul engineer in the future, and not just any rank-nine—they would be among the best.

Hearing Su Yu’s outrageous request, Jing Hongchen could hardly stay calm.

"Hall Master, why are you getting so worked up?"

Seeing Jing Hongchen’s reddened eyes, Su Yu teased him.

"Am I worked up?"

"Am I worked up?"

"I, the Hall Master, am not worked up at all!"

Jing Hongchen’s eyes were bloodshot, looking as though he was ready to devour Su Yu.

It was clear that he was anything but calm.

"Heh, of course, of course. Hall Master, how could you possibly be worked up?"

"They’re just a few insignificant rank-eight soul engineers. With your magnanimity, Hall Master, how could you be upset over something so trivial?"

"So, does that mean you agree, Hall Master?" Su Yu said with a grin.

"Agree, my foot! You little brat! I—beep beep beep beep beep beep beep—"

Jing Hongchen finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. He was utterly defeated.

Su Yu’s outrageous demands were like tearing flesh off his body.

What infuriated him even more was Su Yu’s smug and cheeky smile—it was unbearable for Jing Hongchen.

"Hall Master, why are you resorting to insults? If you keep swearing, I’ll have to raise the price again. Maybe I’ll add a few more rank-seven soul engineers to the list," Su Yu said.

"Don’t even think about it!"

Jing Hongchen slammed his hand on the table and snapped, "You little rascal, don’t push your luck!"

"Do you think your technology is worth that much?"

Su Yu chuckled and replied, "Whether it’s worth that much or not, don’t you know better than anyone, Hall Master?"

"If it weren’t worth it, would you have called me here today?"

"With this technology, the deterrent power of soul-guided shells will increase significantly, and so will the country’s overall strength."

"I don’t need to explain to you the strategic significance of that, do I?"

"But it’s still not worth that much! The three you named—each one is a genius among geniuses!"

"Some of them are even my junior disciples."

"They’ve made numerous inventions of strategic importance, and each of them could support a top-tier soul engineer organization on their own."

"I know that. That’s exactly why I named them," Su Yu interrupted.

"You!"

Jing Hongchen was fuming with rage. "Your technology might be revolutionary, but at most, it’s only worth trading for one of them. Forget about three—you can dream on."

"Then let’s trade for one. I want Xuan Ziwen," Su Yu said with a sly grin.

Jing Hongchen: ????????

Hearing Su Yu’s words, Jing Hongchen froze. Looking at the sly smile on Su Yu’s face, his heart sank.

This wasn’t good—he had been played.

Su Yu smiled and said, "A gentleman’s word is as good as a whip—Hall Master, you already agreed, so no take-backs now."

From the beginning, Su Yu hadn’t expected to get all three. That was impossible.

Xuan Ziwen, Gu Yanjun, and Qin Siqi were all too strategically important.

The technology he offered, while groundbreaking, was only applicable to stationary soul-guided shells.

The problem was that this technology didn’t increase the shells’ power.

In other words, against top-level experts, what couldn’t be threatened before still couldn’t be threatened now.

Moreover, in battles between top experts, the range wasn’t a major factor.

This limitation was intentional on Su Yu’s part.

He would never give away technology that could genuinely threaten top-level soul masters.

The Ice God Palace was currently the strongest soul master organization on the continent.

If he handed over technology that could threaten top experts to others, wouldn’t he just be creating trouble for himself?

No matter how good his relationship with Jing Hongchen was, it wasn’t worth the risk.

After all, Illustrious Virtue Hall and Jing Hongchen weren’t the same.

Su Yu was very clear about these distinctions.

Jing Hongchen’s expression darkened slightly. He snorted and said, "What if this Hall Master goes back on his word?"

Su Yu replied with a cheerful smile, "That would be better! Then I wouldn’t have to play fair anymore. I’m sure Meng wouldn’t blame me."

Jing Hongchen: "..."

That was indeed true.

If he reneged first, this guy would probably go completely rogue.

If Su Yu stopped playing by the rules, it would be a real headache. This rascal could cause chaos in Illustrious Virtue Hall by poaching people left and right.

Jing Hongchen rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Begrudgingly, he said, "This Hall Master always keeps his word. I won’t go back on it."

"I agree to let you borrow Xuan Ziwen, but whether you can convince him to leave will depend on your abilities."

"If he doesn’t want to leave, you’re not allowed to force him."

Jing Hongchen was confident that Xuan Ziwen wouldn’t agree to leave. After all, where else could he find such excellent research conditions outside of Illustrious Virtue Hall? If Su Yu failed to convince Xuan Ziwen, it wouldn’t be Jing Hongchen’s fault for keeping his word.

But who was Su Yu?

Hearing Jing Hongchen’s words, he didn’t panic at all.

"Alright, if Xuan Ziwen doesn’t want to leave, I promise not to force him."

Su Yu agreed readily.

Not willing to leave? That was impossible!

"Not just Xuan Ziwen. The same applies to other soul engineers. This Hall Master allows you to ’borrow’ twenty people, but you can’t force any of them either."

"Sure, I promise not to force anyone."

Su Yu gestured with an "OK" sign.

Jing Hongchen responded with a grunt and said, "Now can you hand over the technology?"

Su Yu smiled and casually tossed over a booklet.

Jing Hongchen quickly caught it, opened it, and after reading for a while, his eyes lit up.

"This... this is brilliant! Why didn’t I think of this?"

He murmured to himself.

"You didn’t think of it because you’re clueless," Su Yu muttered under his breath before saying, "Hall Master, I have some new technology too. How about you lend me Gu Yanjun as well?"

Jing Hongchen’s smile froze, and he quickly waved his hands. "No, no, absolutely not. No matter what technology you offer, I won’t agree. Don’t even think about it."

Jing Hongchen’s guard was up now. This time, he wouldn’t fall for any trickery.

"Oh, what a pity," Su Yu said, feigning disappointment with a sigh, though he was secretly laughing inside.

Old Jing, you can stay on guard for now, but sooner or later, you’ll fall for it. Once I poach Xuan Ziwen, let’s see if you can stay calm. When you panic, that’ll be my chance!

Su Yu’s eyes gleamed as he said, "Alright if you’re not lending anyone else, how about giving me some rare metals instead?"

Jing Hongchen paused and looked at him. "What do you have to trade?"

Su Yu shrugged and complained, "Come on, Hall Master, are you going to be so stingy about a bit of rare metal? Do we have to calculate everything so precisely?"

Jing Hongchen’s face darkened, but when he thought about Su Yu’s relationship with Meng Hongchen, he softened. "If it’s a small amount, I can gift it to you. But if it’s a large amount, that’s not possible. Illustrious Virtue Hall is currently struggling financially and can’t take on too much pressure."

Su Yu grinned. "Don’t worry, I won’t ask for much. Just a teeny bit."

"How about this: 300,000 kilograms of Heavy Silver, 10,000 kilograms of Purple Gold Copper, 10,000 kilograms of Heavenly Spirit Silver, 5,000 blocks of Nether Crystal, 1,000 kilograms of Meteorite Iron, 200 kilograms of Solar Gold Essence, 100 kilograms of Star-Moon Alloy, and a few hundred Silver Dragon Scales. I heard Illustrious Virtue Hall has some of those. That’s not too much, right?"

After Su Yu finished speaking, both Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen were stunned.

Not too much?!

Except for the Heavy Silver, all the other materials were top-tier rare metals, especially the Solar Gold Essence, Star-Moon Alloy, and Silver Dragon Scales. These were essential for crafting ninth-level soul tool core arrays. Even a single kilogram of them was worth a fortune.

This wasn’t just asking for a lot—this was trying to empty Illustrious Virtue Hall!

"You little rascal! This Hall Master will cut you down!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Jing Hongchen’s temper exploded. He directly entered a red-hot rage mode, grabbing an eighth-level soul tool greatsword and charging at Su Yu.

"Whoa, the Hall Master’s gone mad!"

Su Yu grabbed Meng Hongchen and bolted, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Hongchen, still in shock, hadn’t even reacted before Su Yu was gone. Watching the red-eyed Jing Hongchen charging at him, Xiao Hongchen nearly wet himself and scrambled out of the Illustrious Virtue Hall main hall.

Jing Hongchen took several deep breaths, his greatsword clattering to the ground.

"That rascal! That ungrateful brat!"

He cursed for a long time before returning to his seat, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Meanwhile, Su Yu carried Meng Hongchen out of Mingde Hall, still shaken. "Meng, your grandpa’s gone crazy!"

Meng Hongchen chuckled. "Well, who told you to provoke him all the time? With you around, Grandpa might lose ten years of his life."

Su Yu defended himself, "Meng, that’s not fair. I was just thinking of what’s best for the Hall Master."

"Think about it. Those rare metals are just sitting in Illustrious Virtue Hall’s treasury. If they’re not used, isn’t that a waste? Wouldn’t it be better to give them to me? That way, they’ll serve a purpose."

He lifted his chin, speaking with brazen self-confidence.

Meng Hongchen covered her mouth and giggled, poking Su Yu’s cheek with her finger. "Yu, you have no shame."

Su Yu grinned cheekily, proud rather than embarrassed.

Meng Hongchen wrapped her arms around Su Yu’s neck, enjoying his embrace. Her beautiful face lit up with a sweet smile. "Yu, how are you planning to convince Teacher Xuan Ziwen? He’s a very stubborn person and completely dedicated to soul tool research. I’m afraid it’ll be hard to sway him."

Meng Hongchen’s tone carried a hint of worry for Su Yu.

After all, someone like Xuan Ziwen, who was so engrossed in his craft, wouldn’t be easily moved by Su Yu’s identity or status.

Su Yu smirked mysteriously. "Don’t worry, I’ve got a brilliant plan. Let’s just say it’s a sure thing."

"Too bad the Hall Master didn’t fall for it. Otherwise, I’d have been able to poach Gu Yanjun and Qin Siqi as well."

Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes. "You’re too greedy. They’re the pillars of Illustrious Virtue Hall. If they leave, it’ll be a huge blow to the Hall."

"But if they join the Holy Slayer Palace, it’ll grow even faster. Once the Palace is strong enough, won’t it also be able to help Illustrious Virtue Hall?" Su Yu reasoned.

"That’s true..." Meng Hongchen hesitated before adding, "But Grandpa wouldn’t see it that way. As the Hall Master, he’d never allow anything that harms Illustrious Virtue Hall’s interests."

"Exactly. The Hall Master only has eyes for Illustrious Virtue Hall. His only job is to lead Illustrious Virtue Hall well. But me? I think about the bigger picture," Su Yu said with a sigh.

Meng Hongchen laughed. "Su Yu, you’re getting more and more full of yourself."

Su Yu pinched her cheek and kissed her on the forehead before heading toward the teaching building.

Xuan Ziwen was currently teaching students, and Su Yu had already found out where.

He needed to settle this quickly—no time to waste.