Living is not easy, dying is simple

The competition in the Star Luo Empire was in full swing, and news of Zhu Zhuqing offering six Soul Bone as rewards for the Star Luo Empire's preliminary rounds also reached the Heaven Dou Empire.

Those who heard this news were all amazed by the wealth of Star Luo Empress.

Dai Mubai turned pale upon hearing the news.

Since the Star Luo Empire cut off resource allocation, he has been living on thin ice every day.

Besides studying, this rich young master also had to find ways to earn enough living expenses for himself.

It's not that Shrek doesn't provide food and lodging, it's just that his spending habits are a bit high, and Shrek doesn't provide everything.

Now Zhu Zhuqing actually took six Soul Bone as a reward. If he has Soul Bone to reward those people, there will be no money to support his eating, drinking and having fun.

The preliminary rounds of the Star Luo Empire shouldn't have caused such a commotion, but Zhu Zhuqing took out six Soul Bone in one go.

Thanks to the effects of the six Soul Bone, the Star Luo Empire's competition received tremendous attention.

"The Heaven Dou Empire is really stingy. They only gave me a title and no other rewards."

Inside the private room, the Shrek Seven, who were celebrating their first-place finish in the Heaven Dou Region, suddenly felt that the rewards they were going to receive weren't so appealing after learning about Ning Rongrong's revelation.

Look at the rewards from other countries, and then look at the rewards from our own country. We're both from the Empire, so why is there such a big difference?

"The Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire hold their preliminary rounds in different ways. They use a unified selection process, so the selected teams are more substantial. However, Heaven Dou City only selects five teams, while the other ten are not selected within Heaven Dou City. Therefore, the rewards for Heaven Dou City are always slightly less than those for the Star Luo Empire."

However, while the Star Luo Empire had offered generous rewards in the past, none had reached the level of this year.

Empress fact that the Star Luo Empire was able to produce so many items this year is probably related to its Star Luo Empire.

After all, she had committed many murders before ascending the throne.

After ascending the throne, his policy towards the Star Luo Empire was one of forceful suppression, which explains the considerable amount of Soul Bone he accumulated.

Seeing that everyone's emotions were not very stable, Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but analyze the differences between the two empires for them.

We can't let them think that the Heaven Dou Empire is inferior to the Star Luo Empire.

Upon hearing this, Tang San's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He refused to believe that none of the many Soul Bone on Zhu Zhuqing's body belonged to the Clear Sky Sect.

The thought of Zhu Zhuqing using the Clear Sky Sect's Soul Bone as a reward for the Star Luo Empire Academy's team filled Tang San with resentment.

"That bitch!"

Dai Mubai slammed his fist on the table.

Zhu Zhuqing's identity has long been exposed.

With Zhu Zhuqing's formidable strength now revealed, no one could believe that Zhu Zhuqing Innate Soul Power was only level five.

Especially after Zhu Zhuyun personally admitted that Zhu Zhuqing had deliberately concealed her talent to prevent her sisters from getting caught up in infighting, everyone praised Zhu Zhuqing's character even more.

Everyone praised Zhu Zhuqing as a good younger sister.

However, no one cared what Dai Mubai, who could have just coasted along, thought after learning this news.

after all...

What are his talents and abilities?

Are they worthy?

Dai Mubai's current thought is that if Zhu Zhuqing hadn't hidden her identity back then, Zhu Zhuqing would be his fiancée.

Then why would he need to flee the Star Luo Empire?

If Zhu Zhuqing were his fiancée, he would be the emperor of the Star Luo Empire right now!

Speaking of emperors...

The Star Luo Empire Imperial Palace.

With the conclusion of the competition, the sixteen teams participating in the finals have been selected.

After the competition, Zhu Zhuqing personally presented the awards to the top three winners, prompting the audience to shout "Long live!"

Although there's no difference between first place and being predetermined, they weren't even competing for first place in the first place.

What they've always been fighting over is the second and third place— the Soul Bone, whether it's a thousand-year-old or ten-thousand-year-old one.

Even if it's a hundred years old, they would still cherish it.

After the Soul Bone were awarded, there was a two-week rest period followed by a two-week journey, with the goal of reaching the Spirit Hall within a month to participate in the final competition.

Today marks Zhu Zhuqing's second time attending court in history.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Zhu Zhuqing sat on the throne, while a group of ministers knelt on the ground below.

Zhu Zhuqing waved his hand, and then the ministers below began to report on the situation in various parts of the country this year. Overall, the country was peaceful and prosperous.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

Just then, the Finance Minister took a step forward.

"Explain."

Zhu Zhuqing didn't have much of an impression of this Finance Minister, mainly because the Black Shadow Soldier hadn't found any evidence of him embezzling. He might have been involved in minor corruption, but not major corruption.

Within acceptable limits.

"Your Majesty, since ancient times, the Spirit Hall has relied on the financial support from our Two Great Empires to distribute subsidies to Soul Master. Although it is mentioned that the money for the subsidies is provided by us when they are distributed, only a few people can remember us."

More often than not, the Spirit Hall uses our money to bolster its own power and influence, and even falsely reports the amount of subsidies to embezzle huge sums.

In the past, although our Star Luo Empire had some complaints, we could only struggle to supply them due to our insufficient strength.

This year, the Spirit Hall's request for funding is even more staggering, exceeding previous years by 20%, directly accounting for about 30% of all tax revenue this year.

This could become a major problem if it continues!

The chief financial officer immediately knelt down.

The Spirit Hall has extracted a lot of money from the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou by distributing subsidies to Soul Master.

Although the money is always based on the amount of Soul Master who ascend to the throne, not all Soul Master Soul Master collect their monthly subsidies. In fact, there are many Soul Master who die while Soul Hunting and do not collect their subsidies.

The Spirit Hall already has a considerable amount of money just from the subsidies these people receive.

Furthermore, after the Spirit Hall began plotting to seize the entire Douluo Continent, it started to increase the required funding for Soul Master year by year.

This year's figure is 20% higher than last year's.

In the past, they were powerless to resist the Spirit Hall's hegemony, but this year the Finance Minister felt it was worth a try.

After all, why should the Spirit Hall profit from the fame that they earned?

Zhu Zhuqing frowned slightly; the Finance Minister was the first to report bad news.

But is the Spirit Hall really that ruthless?

Is it a direct tax rate of 30%?

She understood what the Finance Minister meant. The Spirit Hall was basically trying to leech off Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou, and she definitely couldn't let them continue to do so. The Star Luo Empire was now hers.

But how do we resolve the chain reaction if we don't give it to them?

"Tell me your opinion."

Zhu Zhuqing was too lazy to think and just asked the question directly.

"Your Majesty, I dare to say that although the Spirit Hall has ulterior motives, we cannot completely sever ties with it for the time being. We can give them the money, but not this much. I suggest giving them 60% of the amount."

The Star Luo Empire's current infrastructure development is almost entirely dependent on the Spirit Hall.

For example, the Martial Soul Awakening in rural areas, the supply of the Soul Hunting Forest, and the distribution of subsidies to Soul Master are all basically inseparable from the Spirit Hall.

Your humble servant understands that if we rely on the officials of each city to complete these tasks, the money will likely be embezzled as soon as it is sent.

Therefore, we cannot cut off the funding to the Spirit Hall for the time being, but it is impossible to give the Spirit Hall as much as it asks for. The Spirit Hall is asking for an increase of 20%, but I think it is reasonable to cut it by 40%.

This amount is about right; if used for the construction of the Star Luo Empire, there might even be some left over.

After the Finance Minister finished speaking in one breath, he felt completely enlightened, and then knelt on the ground, looking at Zhu Zhuqing expectantly, waiting for her answer.

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes lit up when she saw the elderly Finance Minister; he was a real talent.

It's a pity she's a bit too old. It would have been better if she could have improved her skills a little more and lived a few more years to let her shine for a longer period of time.

"Approved. Just say it was my request, and tell them not to be too greedy, otherwise I can kill Bibi Dong once and make her die a second time."

Does Zhu Zhuqing even need to choose in the face of this problem?

Why won't you approve the work report of someone who's focused on getting things done?

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The Finance Minister's face beamed with joy. He kowtowed three times and then stood up and stepped aside.

The other ministers were also delighted to see Zhu Zhuqing's posture.

This is the difference between having ability and not having ability.

When they lacked strength, they couldn't always compromise when faced with various threats from the Spirit Hall, but they could only postpone them. However, this was the first time they had directly and domineeringly refused like Zhu Zhuqing.

This feeling...

It felt pretty good.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

Just then, a minister turned his eyes and moved to the center, kneeling down.

"Explain!"

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at it, Black Shadow Commander immediately sent a message about the entire person.

The HR person isn't a great person, but they're quite dedicated to their work. They have flaws, but they're acceptable.

"Your Majesty, as the saying goes, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, nor without a mother for a day. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have never accepted..."

Bang!

Before the Chief Personnel Officer could finish speaking, Zhu Zhuqing slapped him down from mid-air.

The Chief Personnel Officer was slapped and sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood in mid-air. After landing outside the main hall, he coughed up another mouthful of blood and fainted.

This scene silenced all the ministers.

The entire hall seemed to be in such a quiet environment that you could hear a pin drop.

"You should be concerned with national affairs. Don't meddle in things that aren't your concern, and don't have any ideas about them. Otherwise, living will be difficult, and dying will be just as easy."

Do you understand?

Zhu Zhuqing's expression returned to indifference, her eyes sweeping across the room like knives.

"I will obey Your Majesty's decree!"