The three successor candidates have been confirmed: Kim Gyeong-ju, Kim Yeon-ju, and Kim Ho-hoon supported by Hua Qizheng.
What followed was lengthy red tape, listening to that old butler Gong Cang ramble on endlessly.
Lu Ding had just sat down, thinking he might have to wait until the evening banquet ended before he could use the two sisters' successor status to enter the demon-suppressing site.
This was already quite fast.
But then.
There was another masterstroke.
Kim Nam-won, who had been coaxed into an embryonic state, turned around and leaned in, whispering: "Mr. Clark, could I invite both of you to attend the enrollment ceremony as observers later?"
Lu Ding was shocked!!!
An unexpected gain!!?
The enrollment ceremony sounded quite grand.But simply put, it meant Kim Yeon-ju and the other two would go to the ancestral hall deep within Tianxing Group's headquarters to be added to the family registry as successors.
Don't ask why Wei Gao would have things like ancestral halls and family registries.
Just call it... inspired borrowing.
And that wasn't the key point anyway.
The key was!
An ancestral hall! Adding names to the family registry!!
Something like this, and Kim Nam-won would actually invite outsiders like him and An Wuyang!!!
As observers!!?
Is this something outsiders should observe?
But then he remembered that Wei Gao's "inspired" traditional weddings involved carrying white funeral banners, wearing white mourning clothes, hemp mourning attire, pairing with big white flowers, and even sending funeral wreaths.
Well then, never mind.
The borrowing was truly amazing, absolutely brilliant - they borrowed all the wrong things. The goods were good, but completely mismatched.
Lu Ding had already compressed his speedrun time to be very short, but then the game system went ahead and helped him skip a segment of the storyline.
This... was just incredible.
He immediately showed a politely reserved smile: "Of course, it would be my honor."
At this moment.
Lu Ding could barely keep the corners of his mouth from rising.
Just thinking about what he planned to do once inside made him want to laugh.
You're the one who invited me yourself.
Nobody forced you.
Damn, how is this any different from putting the Monkey King in charge of the Peach Garden?
Delivered right to my doorstep.
Lu Ding was happy, and Kim Nam-won wasn't doing much worse either.
When others show you such respect, you definitely can't fall short.
Not just observing the ceremony.
Later he would also take Lu Ding to tour their luxurious ancestral hall to show his respect for Lu Ding.
At this moment, he somewhat regretted not making these moves earlier.
Mainly because he didn't know Lu Ding would be so... "sincere."
An Wuyang, who had been standing nearby, waited until they finished talking before approaching and using a secret technique to speak words only the two of them could hear.
"Your mental manipulation technique... is terrifying."
It was clear this insight came from An Wuyang's foundation as a former prince, but understanding it was one thing - it didn't mean he could use it.
If they had followed his original plan, it would have been pure fighting, without any of those words.
And certainly, the final outcome wouldn't be what it was now.
Previously he had only heard that Lu Ding possessed super strength in combat and a super brain.
Just that super strength had replaced thinking.
But these were just rumors, and during this mission period, he hadn't seen particularly clear evidence.
But today.
An Wuyang truly witnessed it firsthand.
Lu Ding lifted his chin, looking at him with an amused smile: "Want to learn?"
An Wuyang's eyes lit up!!!
His head nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
Learn!
Must learn!!!
If he mastered this, then if there was ever hope of restoring his kingdom, this could be extremely useful!
Lu Ding didn't keep him hanging: "I'll teach you when I have time back home."
An Wuyang nodded repeatedly again.
Thinking, time - if you squeeze it, you can always make some.
Of course, Lu Ding wasn't lying to him.
But when our Grand Duke Lu works, he really can't squeeze out much time.
Eyes open means working, eyes closed means training.
The 749 Bureau's model worker is no joke.
After getting this promise from Lu Ding, An Wuyang's mood clearly improved significantly.
Soon.
The procedures on stage ended.
What remained was to change locations and head deep into Tianxing Group's headquarters.
Lu Ding walked behind Kim Nam-won, who was personally leading the way to show sincerity, desperately suppressing his rising smile.
An excited heart, trembling hands - right now he just wanted to walk deep into that national calamity.
Lu Ding's mind was completely filled with: Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!
Of course, his dragon wasn't some known existing demon dragon.
But rather, after the demon dragon suppressing the national calamity died, it absolutely must drop a twelve-attribute dragon secret technique for him!
He didn't even dare imagine how powerful this would be if it actually dropped!
Just as he was thinking about this.
Suddenly.
An Wuyang exclaimed in surprise beside him: "This is... the ancestral hall?! Gold!!!"
Only then did Lu Ding look.
Good heavens.
Dozens of meters tall golden buildings, covering thousands of square meters.
Say what you will, Tianxing Group was truly extravagant!!!
But then he thought of a problem!
An ancestral hall, made of gold?
Then weren't Tianxing Group's ancestors suffering terribly here?
And this was also the place where Wei Gao suppressed the national calamity.
This thing's level was who knows how many times higher than earthly calamities.
Tianxing Group's ancestors, locked inside this golden ancestral hall, not only tortured by the national calamity but also unable to escape.
Kim Nam-won's proud voice sounded at this moment: "Yes, the entire ancestral hall is gold - golden threshold, golden screen wall, golden walls, golden tiles. Because our surname is Kim (gold), we used gold."
"We even hired the best carpenters and feng shui masters from Great Han."
Hearing these words, Lu Ding and An Wuyang exchanged glances.
For a moment, neither knew what to say.
These "best" carpenters and feng shui masters probably had some deep blood feud with your family......
If a golden ancestral hall only meant you couldn't escape, then adding a golden threshold and golden screen wall meant... you couldn't even send dreams from beyond.
At most, you could only sing a few lines of "I want to escape so badly~" while locked in this golden cage.
Locked here day and night, suffering the national calamity's ten thousand arrows piercing your heart.
How was this any different from building a house on top of a nuclear reactor?
The treasure idiots were truly different, so flavorful.
The Kim ancestors having descendants like you must be so "radioactively" fortunate~
No wonder Tianxing Group people were so abstract - turns out the problem was with the old graves......
Indeed, bad people racking their brains couldn't compare to foolish people having a sudden inspiration.
Though Lu Ding didn't know who proposed this golden ancestral hall idea, he guessed it must be someone shrewd but ultimately miscalculating.
Didn't they consider - your Tianxing Group might be rich, but could you be richer than those emperors in Great Han's history?
Even the most extremely foolish tyrants never heard of anyone using gold to build their own mausoleums...
Not even for a single small chamber.
Looking at Kim Nam-won who showed some small pride before him.
The more Lu Ding looked, the more he felt... the man's head was quite pointy...
Exchanging another glance with An Wuyang.
Both thought about it - since things had reached this point, they had to play the act completely. Not supporting the occasion would be unreasonable.
Immediately.
Without any prior discussion.
They simultaneously reached out their hands, gave thumbs up, and spoke in unison with heartfelt praise:
"Awesome!" x2
Kim Nam-won, already coaxed into an embryonic state by Lu Ding, couldn't suppress his laughter anymore.
"Hahahahaha no no, just standard procedure. Come come, please come inside."
Stepping over the golden threshold.
Phrases like "opening the door to invite thieves," "leading the wolf into the house," "digging one's own grave," "inviting ghosts inside," "letting water into the walls" flooded directly into Lu Ding's mind.
Monkey King taking charge of the Peach Garden, Grand Duke Lu invited into the national calamity.
Today is your day to suffer.
.
.
.