Xu Yuan remained silent, offering no words.
He understood why his father had left Xu Xinyao's situation for him to resolve.
His father knew full well that although the path his fourth sister had uncovered was feasible, it was also a dead end.
Because it was simply too late.
The current situation had reached the point of an arrow nocked on the bowstring—it had to be loosed.
If the imperial court were entirely under the Prime Minister's Manor's thumb, there might have been a sliver of possibility. But the imperial clan still held power in court, along with the dying Emperor.
Li Yaoxuan would never agree.
From the very beginning, his old man and the Emperor had set a course that culminated in war, and over the decades of their rule, every maneuver had been directed toward that singular end.
Even if his father presented this plan to him, it would likely result in nothing more than an acrimonious split.
To reveal such a scheme to Li Yaoxuan now, when he was on the brink of death, would only make him see it as a betrayal—an outright betrayal.
Even if all of Xu Xinyao's current research materials were laid before Li Yaoxuan, it still could not prove the Soul-Nourishing Ring's ultimate viability, let alone determine how long it would take for the technology to mature.
Li Yaoxuan could not afford to wait.
Once he died, with Xu Yinhe at the helm, no one would be able to keep the Prime Minister's Manor in check.
The prestige Xu Yinhe had built over several decades was far too formidable. Were Li Yaoxuan to accept this plan, then without his presence to rein him in, everything in the imperial court would be gradually devoured by Xu Yinhe throughout the lengthy development of the Soul-Nourishing Ring.
Therefore, this matter simply could not be disclosed to the Prime Minister's Manor's sole ally at this stage.
And that was an insurmountable obstacle.
The current state of affairs was already crystal clear: the Emperor named Li Yaoxuan wanted to accomplish something before he died to secure the imperial family's reign.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in such a rush to wipe out the Barbarians, nor so hasty to move against the northern sects.
Over the past year and more, Emperor Li Yaoxuan had been the one placing the first stones on the board, while his old man merely followed suit in coordination.
Yet each move Li Yaoxuan had played was a perilous gamble.
A single misstep would mean eternal damnation.
In the war against the Barbarians, had it not been for the supplies Xu Yuan delivered using the Sumeru rings from the Qionghua secret realm, and the information he gleaned from Cangyuan, the Barbarians led by Barbarian King Chi Feng would have already overrun Beifeng City, the colossal fortress standing between the Land of Utter Darkness and the three northern provinces.
The campaign to eradicate the northern sects was an equally dangerous fuse; had the Sect Alliance not adopted an appeasement policy and chosen not to abandon the northern sects, the entire realm would have instantly been engulfed in the flames of war.
At this juncture, halting his momentum was completely out of the question.
Thinking of this, Xu Yuan wanted to explain all of this to his fourth sister, but swallowed the words before they could leave his lips.
He couldn't bring himself to do it.
His fourth sister had exerted all her efforts to finally uncover what seemed like the correct path, only to be told it was a dead end. For her, that would be far too cruel.
Watching her cautious, hopeful gaze, Xu Yuan took a deep breath and asked softly, "With the Gewu Academy's full backing, Xinyao, how long do you think it would take you to produce a prototype?"
Xu Xinyao's eyes brightened slightly. "I haven't had hands-on access to Senior Luo's Soul-Nourishing Ring yet, so I can't say for certain."
Xu Yuan pondered briefly and pressed, "Just give me a rough estimate."
Hearing Xu Yuan's relenting tone, the sheen of tears in Xu Xinyao's eyes faded considerably. Her strained voice settled back into composure as she said hurriedly, "At the quickest, a year. At the longest... ten-odd years."
*Clap.*
Xu Yuan clapped his hands together and straightened his posture, his tone turning solemn.
"That's far too long.
"Setting aside whether it can be successfully made at all, if even a single prototype takes that long in your estimation, doubling that timeframe to reduce costs for mass production wouldn't be an exaggeration. That adds up to over a decade.
"More importantly, even if mass production becomes possible, preparing the supporting infrastructure will be the biggest challenge."
Hearing this, Xu Xinyao's bright eyes suddenly dimmed.
As an elite formation script master, she was naturally well aware of all this; she had merely chosen to overlook it.
Currently, every installation, every formation script, and every apparatus was driven by Source Qi, whereas the Soul-Nourishing Ring drew its energy from the yin origin generated by demon-ghosts.
These were two completely different forms of energy. Their compatibility wasn't merely poor; it was nonexistent.
To actually implement this plan, an immense and cumbersome overhaul would be required.
Modifying the energy-absorbing scripts of the city-guarding grand formations, altering how apparatuses were powered, and redesigning which equipment could be charged with yin origin...
And even more crucially, vast numbers of yin ghosts would have to be cultivated to serve as the power source.
All of this was a lengthy undertaking.
"Sigh..."
Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh and murmured, "Xinyao, every resource in the Prime Minister's Manor is revolving around preparations for the impending war. There is simply no surplus to back such a massive project. That is likely why Father turned you down."
Xu Xinyao hung her head limply, trembling like a wounded little beast.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan reached out and gently rested his hand on her soft hair, saying tenderly, "What Father cannot give you, I will."
Xu Xinyao stood up abruptly, her eyes shining bright. "Brother, you're willing to help me persuade Father?"
Xu Yuan looked away and said quietly, "I already told you, Father won't agree. Even if I try to persuade him, it's impossible."
The delight on the girl's exquisite face froze. She pursed her lips and ventured cautiously, "B-But... Xinyao remembers that you don't have any money right now..."
*Thwack.*
Xu Yuan raised a hand and lightly chopped her on the head.
Xu Xinyao winced, stepping back half a pace as she rubbed her head, staring at him as she waited for what he had to say next.
Xu Yuan snorted softly, glanced toward the door, and immediately directed the black intent-soul in his sea of consciousness to envelop the entire wing room.
In an instant, the wing room, previously illuminated brightly by inscribed lamps, was enveloped in a black fog impenetrable to intent-souls.
He needed to seal off what he was about to say from all eavesdroppers.
Even his father could not be told.
Plunged suddenly into darkness by this shift, Xu Xinyao gasped involuntarily, "Ah—"
"It's just my technique," Xu Yuan reassured her softly.
Hearing his voice, Xu Xinyao instinctively followed the sound through the dark and grabbed the hem of his robe. "W-Why?"
"Don't be afraid."
Xu Yuan didn't answer her question directly, saying softly instead, "Once Father returns to the manor, I'll ask him to assign you three Grade A Superior formation script masters and two Grade A Superior artifact refiners. As for researchers below Grade A, you should have your own connections within the Gewu Academy. Would that staffing suffice?"
Xu Xinyao hesitated slightly at his words.
Grade A formation script masters and artifact refiners were treasures of the Prime Minister's Manor; each possessed profound erudition and could essentially lead an entire research project on their own.
While still somewhat modest for such a monumental undertaking, this was likely the absolute limit of what Third Brother could arrange.
Thinking this through, Xu Xinyao nodded gently, then realized it was pitch-black and he might not see her. Just as she was about to speak, his voice sounded again:
"Since that's enough, next comes funds and materials."
'Right, this is Third Brother's technique, so he can definitely see.'
Xu Xinyao thought to herself, then asked aloud, "Third Brother... wasn't all your money taken by Lou Ji...?"
"Money is just a number. Don't worry about it too much."
"..." Xu Xinyao was speechless.
"Fine, fine." Xu Yuan sighed and continued in a low voice, "I know you probably think I have no source of income without Father's help, but I actually have other avenues."
Xu Xinyao blinked in the dark and asked in a small voice, "Extortion?"
"..." Xu Yuan.
To be honest, he did have something along those lines in mind.
Only it wasn't extortion—it was borrowing.
That bastard Li Junqing was filthy rich, and surely wouldn't turn down a loan from a life-and-death friend.
Moreover, after their thorough conversation the other night with the Crown Prince, Xu Yuan knew Li Junqing was likely heading to Dongying. Given the prince's temperament, revealing his identity to him fell within an acceptable margin of risk.
Still, being looked at like that by his younger sister left Xu Yuan feeling vaguely annoyed.
As if extortion was the only way he knew how to get money.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan reached out and pinched the girl's soft cheek until it flushed pink.
"Never mind where my money comes from. The point is I'll get it to you. For the initial preparations, is a million taels enough to start?"
"Not enough," Xu Xinyao replied without a second thought.
"A million taels isn't even enough?!" Xu Yuan froze.
Converted to currency from his past life, a million taels of patterned silver amounted to a staggering 1.5 billion. To think it wasn't even enough for preliminary preparations!
Her face flushed slightly as she explained in a delicate voice, "The Sky-Peeking Instrument needs to be repaired. We can save on formation script master costs since I'm here, but even if we buy the various materials and renovate the site at internal discount rates from Grandpa Hua Hong, a million taels really isn't enough."
The Gewu Academy and the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce were two completely separate entities under the Prime Minister's Manor.
With a direct order from his old man, the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce could provide materials free of charge; but on a private basis, one had to purchase them with hard silver.
Scientific research was truly a hell of a money burner—or rather, a Source Crystal burner.
Lamenting silently, Xu Yuan rubbed between his brows and asked, "Then roughly how much do you need?"
"Roughly... five million taels." Unable to see Xu Yuan's expression, Xu Xinyao ventured cautiously, "If that's not possible, three million taels might just barely suffice."
"Five million taels... You really are a money-swallowing beast."
Xu Yuan reached out and gave his fourth sister's cheek a firm pinch. "Got it. Just wait; I'll figure something out."
Xu Xinyao winced, but in the darkness, her lovely eyes were brimming with smiles.
"Mm, okay!"
After answering, Xu Xinyao suddenly remembered something and hesitated again, lowering her voice: "Brother... without Father's order, Senior Luo probably won't hand the soul ring over for me to study..."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan chuckled outright.
"Go bring him over tomorrow. It's been quite a while since I last saw that old friend of mine, and I actually miss him a bit."
Chapter 473