Thinking and Bloodshed

Thinking and Bloodshed

At the mention of the Pope, Xu Fei's face filled with reverence. It was clear that he was an absolutely devout believer.

As the most capable Pope in Spirit Hall's history, Bibi Dong's methods were indeed swift and unfathomable. Under her leadership, Spirit Hall had achieved tremendous growth and, on the surface, had even gained the power to stand against the two great empires.

In reality, Spirit Hall controlled more than sixty percent of the soul masters in the Soul Master world. Of the Seven Great Sects, aside from the Upper Three Sects, the Lower Four Sects had all submitted to Spirit Hall. It was the continent's most powerful soul master force, with as many as seventeen peak Titled Douluo—Bibi Dong and the seven Titled Douluo under her command, plus the Nine Great Enshrinements of the Elders Hall.

For such strength to have failed in the original story was truly unbelievable. All one could say was that they had encountered a Tang San with cheats enabled; it was hardly a defeat caused by their own shortcomings.

A god who could revive even after death, and one who possessed two gods in a single body, gathering the divine positions of both the Sea God and the Asura God—Tang San's cheat was indeed immense.

A continent that could have been unified long ago remained divided even ten thousand years later, only to be swallowed by the later Sun Moon Empire. Setting aside Tang San's family vendetta, Tang San's victory was actually a regression in the history of the entire Douluo Continent.

In the world of Douluo Continent I, there was no absolute good or evil. There were only conflicts among different factions.

Tang San's actions were not all that righteous either. More than anything, he had merely sought to avenge his family. After all, Spirit Hall had killed his mother—even though she was later revived—and killed Xiao Wu's mother as well. It was only natural that he wanted revenge.

Spirit Hall had not been wrong either. As humans, hunting Soul Beasts for soul rings to increase one's strength was perfectly justified. Even Tang San himself—hadn't he hunted Soul Beasts to obtain soul rings? It was merely that the Soul Beasts hunted by Spirit Hall happened to be his family.

Ultimately, it was simply a matter of differing positions.

Spirit Hall's existence held great significance for the entire Douluo Continent, and its contributions to the continent were indelible.

It helped commoners awaken their martial souls for free, giving them the chance to become soul masters. It distributed Gold Soul Coins to soul masters, greatly increasing their numbers while giving ordinary people a goal to strive toward, providing commoners with a path to rise in the world.

Looking across the entire Douluo Continent, aside from Spirit Hall, what other faction cared about commoner soul masters?

Even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which had always boasted of recruiting commoner soul masters, mostly took them in only as menial servants and slaves. What the sect truly valued was always bloodline.

Only Spirit Hall treated commoner soul masters equally. In truth, Spirit Hall was more like a guild-type organization. Talent was what Spirit Hall valued most.

At the same time, Spirit Hall effectively maintained order in the soul master world. Without Spirit Hall, who knew how many commoners would suffer persecution at the hands of soul masters, how many vile soul masters would emerge? The soul master world might have long since descended into complete chaos.

Some might say that many soul masters under Spirit Hall oppressed commoners. But it was perfectly normal for a huge organization to have a few scum among its ranks. As long as laws were standardized, inspections were strict, and effective measures were implemented, such problems would not be difficult to resolve.

In contrast, the oppression of commoners by the great nobles of the two empires was far more severe.

Lu Yuan thought about many things. He had never held any prejudice against Spirit Hall. This world was not simply black or white; a faction might contain both light and darkness. Spirit Hall could at most be considered gray, and there was still a chance to save it.

Blindly branding Spirit Hall as evil based solely on the influence of the original story was somewhat too childish.

At the very least, compared to the two great empires, Lu Yuan had a more favorable impression of Spirit Hall.

Lu Yuan came from Notting College and had some understanding of the nobles' ugliness. Their faces were revolting. If he had not been considering Ferros and feared bringing him trouble, he would have long since given those Noble Students at Notting College who threw their weight around a vicious beating. Honestly, when he had beaten up Xiao Chenyu back then, it had felt really damn good!

Of course, this did not mean Lu Yuan would definitely serve Spirit Hall. He had never been a rash person. That would depend on how things developed from here.

At heart, Lu Yuan was a person with a conscience and compassion, but he was selfish as well. He cared more about himself and those around him. Though he detested nobles and was willing to offer whatever help he could, if doing so would harm himself or those he cared about, then he could only say sorry.

He had never been a saint!

"Lu Yuan!" Lu Yuan was still deep in thought when a voice suddenly startled him awake.

"What are you thinking about? Were you even listening?" Xu Fei asked.

"I was listening, Uncle Xu. What you said was very good. Please continue!" Lu Yuan hurriedly replied.

Xu Fei studied Lu Yuan carefully before continuing.

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed. Over those ten days, Xu Fei and Lu Yuan had crossed Fasinuo Province and more than half of the Balak Kingdom. They had now reached the border of the Balak Kingdom.

The Balak Kingdom was not actually far from Spirit City. Beyond the Balak Kingdom lay Heaven Dou Imperial City, and from there, another three or four days of travel would bring them to Spirit City.

Fengming Village!

It was an ordinary yet extraordinary village, just like Holy Soul Village, where Tang San had been born!

Holy Soul Village had received its name because it had once produced a Soul Saint. Fengming Village was even more remarkable, because the hometown of the current Pope, Bibi Dong, was Fengming Village! (This is purely fictional on the author's part, so please do not take offense!)

Fengming Village had originally been called Orchid Field Village. The orchids in the village were exceptional and greatly favored by the city's nobles, so most of the village's fields were planted with orchids, hence its name.

After Bibi Dong ascended to the position of Pope, Orchid Field Village was renamed Fengming Village—like a phoenix spreading its wings and crying out across the nine heavens!

As the hometown of the current Pope, Fengming Village was only a small village, but practically no one dared cause trouble here. Thus, the village's atmosphere had remained peaceful and tranquil over the years!

"Fengming Village is up ahead. This is the hometown of the current Pope. Although Fengming Village hasn't produced any soul masters in recent years, it still has a great reputation in the Balak Kingdom. And Fengming Village's specialty, Orchid Brew, tastes quite good!" Xu Fei introduced.

"Is that so?" Hearing that Fengming Village was Bibi Dong's hometown, Lu Yuan became interested as well!

"You'll know once we get there. Hehe!" Xu Fei chuckled and instructed the coachman to pick up the pace.

After another ten-odd minutes of travel, a breeze swept past, making the carriage curtain tremble gently. Lu Yuan's nose twitched slightly, and his gaze sharpened. "Uncle Xu, do you smell blood?"