[DD2]: 383

Su Yu intercepted Xuan Ziwen on his way back to the Illustrious Virtue Hall after class.

Xuan Ziwen was someone deeply engrossed in research and had always been disinterested in external affairs.

However, even he had heard of Su Yu, the unparalleled genius who had shattered records in the history of soul tool-making over thousands of years.

After all, Su Yu's achievements were nothing short of world-shaking.

Xuan Ziwen was somewhat surprised by Su Yu's visit, but he didn't refuse to talk to him.

And for Su Yu, all he needed was an opportunity to sit down and have a proper conversation.

Once they sat down to talk, persuading someone to join him was practically a done deal.

Not long after they found a place to sit, Su Yu got straight to the point.

After explaining his purpose, Su Yu presented a soul tool and several soul tool designs.

The new soul tool technology and concepts immediately captivated Xuan Ziwen.

Xuan Ziwen was, after all, a pure soul tool researcher. If not, the original story wouldn't have had Huo Yuhao use some Tang Sect mechanism techniques to recruit him.

But Su Yu's mind held even richer mechanical techniques and more advanced soul tool theories.

For Xuan Ziwen, this was almost an irresistible temptation.

"This is an impressive concept and fascinating mechanical craftsmanship, but these are just relatively basic things. I want to see more advanced knowledge," Xuan Ziwen said, setting the designs down and fixing his burning gaze on Su Yu.

Su Yu crossed his legs and smiled faintly. "Of course, there is more advanced knowledge, but it's a closely guarded secret of our sect. Only members of the Holy Slayer Palace are allowed to learn it."

Xuan Ziwen fell silent for a moment, glanced at Meng Hongchen, who was sitting beside Su Yu and said in a low voice, "I don't understand. With your relationship with Illustrious Virtue Hall, why do you still want to start your faction?"

It wasn't a secret that Su Yu and Meng Hongchen were a couple.

Xuan Ziwen didn't like prying into other people's private lives, but this was something almost everyone at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy knew about.

Even if he wasn't interested, he had heard of it.

Su Yu smiled and explained, "The reason is simple. Even blood brothers have to settle accounts. No matter how good my relationship is with the Hall Master, Illustrious Virtue Hall is ultimately not mine."

"Furthermore, Illustrious Virtue Hall doesn't belong solely to the Hall Master. How can you lump the two together?"

To Su Yu, Illustrious Virtue Hall was Illustrious Virtue Hall, and Jing Hongchen was Jing Hongchen.

His relationship was with the Hongchen family, not Illustrious Virtue Hall as a whole.

Unless one day Illustrious Virtue Hall were entirely under Jing Hongchen's control, they couldn't be equated.

Jing Hongchen understood this as well, or else he wouldn't agree to make deals with Su Yu.

If the Sun Moon Empire's royal family found out that Jing Hongchen privately allowed Su Yu to recruit Illustrious Virtue Hall's soul engineers, he would face criticism.

After all, the people Su Yu was targeting weren't just ordinary individuals but the core pillars of Illustrious Virtue Hall.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that if Su Yu managed to recruit Xuan Ziwen, Gu Yanjun, and Qin Siqi, Illustrious Virtue Hall might not entirely collapse, but it would face a significant talent gap.

Jing Hongchen's unease wasn't unfounded, nor was he being petty—it was just that Su Yu's offers were simply too outrageous, to the point where Jing Hongchen couldn't remain indifferent.

That said, allowing Su Yu to approach Xuan Ziwen was already a concession Jing Hongchen had made in private.

If Su Yu could identify the limitations of a certain technology, how could Jing Hongchen not see them?

Jing Hongchen was one of the most outstanding soul engineers of the time. In terms of insight, he was even sharper than Su Yu.

Some things remained unspoken, but both Su Yu and Jing Hongchen understood them.

The so-called deals and carelessness were merely excuses.

Would someone as shrewd as Jing Hongchen lose his temper recklessly?

If Jing Hongchen truly lacked composure, he wouldn't be able to lead Illustrious Virtue Hall.

Certain actions were meant to be seen by others. After all, not everyone in Mingde Hall was an ally.

Hearing Su Yu's explanation, Xuan Ziwen frowned and said, "You people are always full of schemes and intrigues."

As a pure researcher, Xuan Ziwen disliked such things the most.

In response, Su Yu smiled lightly and said nothing.

"Teacher Xuan, you've seen what I brought. What do you think?"

Xuan Ziwen looked up and said flatly, "If I stay in Illustrious Virtue Hall, I'll have access to the most advanced experimental equipment, the best research conditions, and ample rare metals."

"As a researcher, I don't want my work to be limited by any conditions. Can you provide that?"

For a newly established sect, Xuan Ziwen had little hope.

Given its nascent state, the conditions were likely to be rudimentary, which would hinder his research on soul tools.

Hearing this, Su Yu chuckled. "Ah, I see now. Teacher Xuan, you're overthinking this."

"Whatever conditions you have in Illustrious Virtue Hall, I guarantee you'll only get better in Holy Slayer Palace."

"What Illustrious Virtue Hall has, I also have. What Illustrious Virtue Hall lacks, I still have. Concentrated resources and ample funding—that's Holy Slayer Palace."

"How about it? Is that clear enough?"

Xuan Ziwen frowned. "You make it sound good, but how can I trust you?"

Spreading his hands, Su Yu replied, "Are you underestimating the foundation of an ancient force with tens of thousands of years of history?"

"Behind Holy Slayer Palace is me, and behind me is the entire Ice God Palace."

"In terms of influence, I have connections everywhere, from the Clear Sky Sect to Shrek Academy to Illustrious Virtue Hall."

"In terms of resources, I can take out enough money to collapse the economy of an empire easily."

"No matter what conditions you need, I can satisfy them."

"Teacher Xuan, do you have any other questions?"

Xuan Ziwen fell silent.

At that moment, Su Yu seemed like a massive, dazzling mountain of gold, shining so brightly it hurt to look at.

Damn it, was this the confidence of a ridiculously wealthy backer?

That being said, this kind of confidence did provide a sense of security.

Ample resources and brand-new soul tool knowledge were truly irresistible to Xuan Ziwen.

Taking a deep breath, Xuan Ziwen said, "Young Master Su, your generosity is hard to refuse."

"However, Illustrious Virtue Hall has nurtured me for a long time, and the milk bottle sealing technology I'm working on is at a critical stage."

"I want to complete this research and hand it over to the academy as a parting gift."

"So I may need some time before I can join your sect."

Su Yu waved his hand. "Understood, Teacher Xuan. Take your time. Holy Slayer Palace is still under construction and won't be ready for a while."

"That's good to hear."

Xuan Ziwen let out a sigh of relief.

Su Yu smiled and took a booklet out of his pocket, tossing it over.

"This is some mechanism knowledge that can be integrated with soul tools. If you're interested, take a look."

The booklet contained some theories from the Tang Sect. Since it wasn't his creation, Su Yu didn't mind giving it away.

As for the soul tool designs, Su Yu wasn't going to part with those so easily.

"Wonderful!"

Xuan Ziwen's eyes lit up as he eagerly accepted the booklet.

Su Yu's straightforwardness suited him perfectly.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Having found something of interest, Xuan Ziwen couldn't wait to return to his research.

"Go ahead."

Su Yu smiled as he watched him leave.

Xuan Ziwen ran off quickly, his excitement evident, and Su Yu could feel his joy.

He was indeed a very pure person—a researcher completely obsessed with soul tools.

Su Yu had a very good impression of him.

"Yu, did you convince Teacher Xuan just like that?"

Meng Hongchen was a bit surprised.

The persuasion process had been much easier than she'd imagined.

Su Yu pinched Meng Hongchen's cheek with a smile. "Meng, it may look simple, but it took a lot of effort."

"Xuan Ziwen agreed because what I offered moved him."

"On top of that, I resolved all his concerns, which made everything go so smoothly."

"And this is also because he is Xuan Ziwen—a pure researcher obsessed with soul tools."

"Plus, given that Xuan Ziwen's ancestry is from the Heavenly Soul Empire, joining my sect doesn't carry any psychological burden for him."

"Anyone else would have found this troublesome."

In the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Gu Yanjun and Qin Siqi, who were as renowned as Xuan Ziwen, were both pure-blooded citizens of the Sun-Moon Empire.

Convincing someone like them was not going to be easy.

This was precisely why Su Yu had directly targeted Xuan Ziwen out of the three.

"So that's how it is."

Meng Hongchen nodded her small head, suddenly enlightened.

Su Yu patted her on the head and stood up. "Let's go, Meng. We still have serious matters to attend to."

"The Hall Master said that aside from Xuan Ziwen, I'm also allowed to recruit twenty other soul engineers."

"I need to carefully select these twenty people. By the way, Meng, you should know the member roster of Illustrious Virtue Hall, right?"

"Of course I do. But, Yu, you wouldn't just go for the top-tier Grade-7 soul engineers, would you?"

"If you do that, Grandpa might cough up blood."

Among the Grade-7 soul engineers, there were quite a few geniuses who could potentially reach Grade-9 in the future.

If Su Yu were to poach all of these geniuses, Meng Hongchen suspected that Jing Hongchen might have a stroke on the spot.

While Meng Hongchen wholeheartedly supported Su Yu, she was also a bit worried about her grandfather's reaction.

Even though she had sided with her man plenty of times before, it didn't mean she didn't care about Jing Hongchen, her dear grandfather.

"Of course not. And I'm not just looking for anyone."

Su Yu smiled.

Excellence was only one criterion. The other, and more important one, was loyalty.

The last thing Su Yu wanted was to recruit turncoats.

For people who were overly loyal to the Sun-Moon Empire, no matter how talented they were, Su Yu wouldn't even consider them.

He had no intention of helping others cultivate talent.

"Then I'm relieved."

Meng Hongchen smiled sweetly and led Su Yu back to Illustrious Virtue Hall.

With Meng Hongchen's help, they quickly found the Illustrious Virtue Hall roster.

The roster contained information on almost all the members of Illustrious Virtue Hall.

Except for a few extremely important individuals, everyone else was listed, including Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen.

"Yu, this is the roster for Illustrious Virtue Hall. Many of the people here are outstanding. Just leave a few for Grandpa, okay?"

Meng Hongchen guided Su Yu in identifying the top soul engineers.

Many of the names were unfamiliar to Su Yu, but Meng Hongchen knew them well.

She even specifically marked out the most exceptional ones.

When it came to siding with outsiders, Meng Hongchen was exceptionally thorough.

Su Yu carefully examined the roster, filtering through the information.

Every member of Illustrious Virtue Hall was at least a Grade-5 soul engineer, making it clear there were no weaklings.

Any random twenty people from the roster would suffice for Su Yu's current needs.

But since he had the chance to choose, he naturally wanted the best.

Su Yu flipped through the roster, analyzing the information. Whenever he was unsure, he would consult Meng Hongchen.

After some thought, Meng Hongchen was able to provide insights almost every time.

After going through the roster several times, Su Yu finalized his selections. "These will do."

Meng Hongchen glanced at the individuals Su Yu had chosen, her beautiful eyes shimmering slightly.

The people Su Yu selected were either from the original three kingdoms of the Douluo Continent, from small independent families, or pure soul engineers with no strong affiliations.

He did not pick a single person with deep-rooted ties to the Sun-Moon Empire or those from prominent families.

Yet, the majority of the top-tier soul engineers in Illustrious Virtue Hall came from such backgrounds.

In essence, Su Yu had passed over many of the most talented soul engineers.

"Yu, are you sure you want to choose like this?" Meng Hongchen asked.

Su Yu nodded. "Loyalty is more important than ability."

"These people may be talented, but leaving aside how hard they'd be to recruit, even if they joined, they wouldn't truly commit to us."

"Let's go with these people. They're not bad, right?"

Meng Hongchen nodded slightly. Indeed, they weren't bad.

In particular, the ones Su Yu selected from the original three kingdoms of the Douluo Continent. For them to join Illustrious Virtue Hall as foreigners, they had to be extremely capable.

Such individuals often possessed exceptional talent.

"If you think this is fine, then it's fine. I have no objections."

Meng Hongchen smiled.

Su Yu chuckled and gave Meng Hongchen a light hug.

With that, Su Yu began his recruitment campaign.

Su Yu wielded his recruitment pitch like a shovel, digging through Illustrious Virtue Hall with such fervor that sparks might as well have flown.

From persuasion and cajoling to outright bribery and intimidation, Su Yu was a master of all methods.

Tailoring his approach to each person, Su Yu worked tirelessly.

And you know what? After relentless effort, Su Yu managed to gather his twenty recruits.

Among them were five Grade-7 soul engineers, six Grade-6 soul engineers, and nine Grade-5 soul engineers.

Su Yu didn't solely focus on recruiting top-tier soul engineers.

He cared not only about their current level but also about their future potential.

Some individuals were at lower levels simply because they were young, not because they lacked talent.

Moreover, lower-ranked soul engineers were easier to recruit. Many of them had heard of Su Yu's reputation and even idolized him.

This made Su Yu's task significantly easier.

As for the five Grade-7 soul engineers, three of them hailed from the original three kingdoms of the Douluo Continent.