Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 752 - 471 Crossroads

Chapter 752: Chapter 471 Crossroads

Moonlight quietly spilled across the windowsill and into the chamber, casting its glow upon Xu Xinyao’s eyes, which shimmered like water.

Gazing at her, there was a moment when Xu Yuan felt his heart truly moved.

The perpetual goal of energy research was to reduce size and increase capacity.

He understood what Xu Xinyao meant by bringing up the Soul Ring at this time: if a Soul Ring could contain Old Man Luo’s Will-spirit, then naturally, it could also contain bizarre entities constructed of Soul Power, like specters and demons.

However, Xu Yuan’s fleeting emotional stir cooled rapidly.

Feasibility aside, Xu Yuan thought Xu Xinyao really had some interesting ideas.

As a vessel capable of holding a Saint Level Will-spirit, using it to store demons would allow it to contain, in the same volume, at least a thousand times more energy than a Source Crystal.

In the Underground Palace, a box of specially processed Source Crystal Bombs could nearly kill a transcended demon at the center of the explosion—if replaced with a comparable volume of Soul Rings....

Weapons capable of slaying immortals.

Alright, daydream over.

This was just theoretical talk.

As for Old Man Luo’s Soul Ring, not to mention the extremely refined Formation Patterns techniques, it was now doubtful they could even find all the necessary materials, and even if they could, the costs were not something the Prime Minister’s Mansion could currently afford.

Moreover....

"Are you worried about materials, Third Brother?"

Xu Xinyao looked at Xu Yuan, whose eyes gradually cooled from emotion, and spoke softly in a low voice:

"Although I haven’t asked Senior Luo yet, the materials for making a Soul Ring must be extremely precious. However, we don’t really need to replicate the Soul Ring on a one-to-one basis. There are countless rare materials in the world. Even if the materials for the Soul Ring are no longer existent, we can always find lower grade substitutes. A Soul Nourishing Ring made from them, with only a tenth or even just one percent of the original’s effectiveness, would be enough."

Listening to Xu Xinyao’s pitch, Xu Yuan pondered for a moment and chuckled, shaking his head.

Bathed in moonlight and the glow of the Inscription Lamp within the room, gazing at the girl’s pure and immaculate face, Xu Yuan said with a smile:

"You should say this to Father."

"......" Xu Xinyao pursed her lips lightly, falling into silence.

Seeing this expression on his fourth sister, Xu Yuan instantly understood.

Clearly, she had already discussed this matter with their father.

"You were rejected?" Xu Yuan said softly, then shook his head: "Oh no, Father would not outright reject you. He probably said he’d think about it."

Hearing this, Xu Xinyao’s eyes lowered, her voice faint: "Mhm...."

As soon as she had this realization, she immediately went to her father, but all he said was that he would consider it and she should rest well.

Xu Yuan tapped his fingertips gently on the desktop and said ambiguously:

"Actually, if you had brought it up ten years earlier, or even ten years later, Father would definitely have agreed, since he has always valued the principles of Geometry Institute."

Having said this, Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh:

"But at this critical moment, Father simply won’t agree."

Xu Xinyao suddenly raised her gaze, her voice laced with regret:

"There are many money-burning projects in the Geometry Institute, but the value of the Soul Nourishing Ring would definitely be far more important than those..... those."

"You’re right."

Xu Yuan nodded, continuing with a hint of comfort in his voice: "If it succeeds, it will be an unprecedented innovation for Dayan."

"Then why...."

"Because of the investment and the urgency of time."

"......" Xu Xinyao’s gaze fixed stubbornly on him.

She firmly believed her idea was correct.

If successful, many applications that were previously not viable due to high energy consumption, such as various Formation Patterns, civilian facilities, agriculture and sericulture products, and even travel instruments, would undergo a revolutionary change.

After locking gazes for a moment, Xu Yuan softly spoke with a gentle tone:

"In the Geometry Institute, there are very few Formation Masters and Artifact Refiners who could participate in your research. If they were reallocated to you, it would inevitably affect the progress of the existing projects they are working on...."

At this, Xu Xinyao’s expression turned unusual, as she bit her lip lightly.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan huffed lightly:

"Yes, it’s those studies on war weapons and Formation Patterns that would be impacted by your project."

As Xu Yuan said this, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, and there was a teasing glint in his eyes:

"Having ideals is not shameful, but at least they should be grounded in reality.

"Even if the initial intent of the inventors is not so, all new technologies are first applied in the military field; no one knows this better than you...."

"Brother!"

Xu Xinyao clenched her teeth, a glint of anger appearing in her tranquil eyes.

"Xinyao."

Xu Yuan didn’t pay heed to her reaction, casually leaning back in his chair, crossing his legs and continuing equably:

"You might imagine what would happen if the Soul Nourishing Rings you want to develop are used militarily."

"....."

After a two-second gaze, Xu Xinyao looked away defiantly:

"No matter what is made, it can be turned into an instrument of death by you people."

Xu Yuan chuckled, pressing on:

"I am only discussing the matter at hand. If you do succeed with this project, many new weapons will be developed alongside it. To put it simply, military Formation Pattern crossbows with Soul Nourishing Rings as power sources will become much more powerful, their efficiency in killing will greatly increase, and to consider a larger scale...."

At this point, Xu Yuan tapped the mahogany desk lightly, smiling slightly:

"If a Soul Nourishing Ring the size of this table could be produced, just one would be enough to turn the entire Di’an City into ashes."

As his words ended, the chamber fell silent.

Xu Yuan stared at the girl opposite him and snorted with laughter:

"Even so, do you still want to persist with researching this project?"

Xinyao’s bright eyes flickered, unsettled.

After a long silence, Xu Xinyao’s voice finally arose, faint as a ghost:

"If that’s the case, why would Father refuse me?"

Xu Yuan raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised:

"Even so, are you willing to continue?"

"Anyway, whatever I do, you all will take it for military use."

Having said that, Xu Xinyao fell silent for a moment, then added in a ethereal tone:

"Moreover... if it really has that kind of power, maybe there would be fewer deaths on the battlefield."

"....."

Xu Yuan was taken aback by her words.

He had not expected Xu Xinyao to utter such a statement, nor had he expected her to realize in an instant the possible consequences of such a weapon.

But he soon sighed in his heart.

Because it was a pity that this was not his previous life.

Every Saint was like a humanoid nuclear weapon, yet Xu Yuan had never seen war halt its approach because of the presence of Saints.

Even if Soul Nourishing Rings could be mass-produced, war would not stalemate because of a weapon named "Soul Nourishing Ring".

In the Underground Palace, the reason a box of Source Crystal Bombs could almost obliterate the Mortal Transcending specters was simply because they lacked sentience.

Any normal Mortal Transcendence expert would have a hundred ways to evade it.

"I was only speaking of the most ideal scenario."

Xu Yuan shook his head, speaking in a low voice, "Such a thing can cause effective damage to high-level Cultivators."

"But it can be used on the battlefield," Xu Xinyao suddenly said.

"...." Xu Yuan blinked.

"Super large formations might not be breakable, but it should work on a ten-thousand-person scale. By then, it could puncture through strategic points," Xu Xinyao’s voice carried a bit of urgency.

"It’s too expensive, we simply can’t afford it."

Xu Yuan immediately denied it: "If such a method were effective, Source Crystal Bombs would have dominated the battlefield a long time ago, not the army formations we see now..."

"Brother!"

Xu Xinyao slightly propped herself up, her voice rising as she interrupted Xu Yuan: "There will always be a military use for them!"

"....."

Xu Yuan fell silent, staring strangely at her.

Military use?

He had never thought he would hear such a phrase from the mouth of this sister known as the ’fourth holy maiden’.

Realizing the dangerous nature of her words, Xu Xinyao fell into silence once more.

After a long time, Xu Xinyao’s voice slowly arose in the silent chamber:

"In your eyes... am I very foolish?"

Xu Yuan’s gaze was inscrutable as he stroked his chin, providing no answer but countered with a question:

"Have you... come to terms with reality?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinyao’s body trembled slightly, her hands clutching the fabric of her dress on her knees, her smile resembling that of crying:

"When I spoke of this matter with Father, I saw the contents of the memorial in his hands.

"Because of the war with the Sects, rivers of blood flowed in the Northern Lands, tens of millions dead, and the afflicted number in the hundreds of millions...

"The situation has already come to this,

"Brother...

"Don’t you think, that everything I’ve done before seems laughable in front of Father’s grand plans?"

The chamber was silent, the scent of incense lingering.

Xu Yuan rubbed his temples.

He felt that his father had definitely done it on purpose, and his goal had clearly been achieved.

In the silence,

Xu Yuan slowly stood up, walked over to the girl’s side, and gently placed his hand on her trembling shoulder:

"You didn’t cause this, so why the sadness?"

"How is it not?!"

Xu Xinyao hung her head, her fingertips pressing through the fabric into the flesh of her thigh, her voice as if it had been suppressed for a long time:

"Our Prime Minister’s Mansion is one of the instigators, and also one of the beneficiaries!!"

"......"

Upon his sister’s words, images from "Cangyuan Chronicles" flashed through Xu Yuan’s mind, where Xu Xinyao betrayed the Prime Minister’s Mansion. It was eerily similar.

[So, our Prime Minister’s Mansion is the initiator of all this?]

That was the question she asked in "Cangyuan Chronicles."

In "Cangyuan Chronicles," Xu Xinyao’s betrayal was a long process.

From first learning that her own father triggered the war, to witnessing the war refugees with her own eyes, to seeing the desperate wails of countless civilians when the Black Scale Army sacked cities...

Scene after scene over a course of more than ten plots, only then did she turn to side with the Sects.

In a flash of thought, Xu Yuan suppressed the notion.

He knew very well that Xu Xinyao was very confused at the moment, and needed someone to guide her.

The order and timing of a person’s appearance were very important.

In "Cangyuan Chronicles," when the fourth sister received this information, the people by her side were the protagonist Qin Mo and various members of the Sects.

Through their guidance along the way, she had strayed.