The Biggest Act Yet

The Biggest Act Yet

If she said something like, "Ning Rongrong would have a partner in the future who possessed a secret art of resurrection."

And could even resurrect your greatest enemy.

That would be hilarious!

Anyone would think the girl was not merely crazy, but completely insane.

Fortunately, Shi Yueyi really did know some things.

She looked at Qian Renxue and said, "Brother Xue, you took the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's sect master as your teacher. Everything I say next is merely my personal opinion. Whether it is true or not, you can judge for yourself."

First, she set up a solid line of defense.

It was like someone from the Sun Moon Empire ten thousand years later borrowing history to write novels, then using "this is all my own setting" as an all-purpose defense whenever something did not match reality.

There was nothing inherently wrong with that. Novels had their own settings. That was normal.

But there would still be some absurd cases, like writing Qian Renxue's innate full Soul Power of rank twenty as if she first had to reach rank fifteen, then spend another five years increasing it by another five ranks.

If Qian Renxue heard that, she would have to roll herself out of Spirit Hall.

And after readers raised questions, the response would simply be: Don't ask. It's my own setting. Read it if you like it, leave if you do not. If you can, write one better than mine.

Qian Renxue was intrigued. "Mm, go on."

Shi Yueyi considered her wording before saying, "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has a certain cooperative relationship with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, correct?"

Qian Renxue nodded slightly. "Correct. After all, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family is weaker than the Star Luo Imperial Family. That is a fact. Although Spirit Hall stands between the two great empires as a check and balance, if the imperial family had not cooperated with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, friction between the two empires would have been even greater."

"As the wealthiest sect on the continent, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect should have nearly monopolized Heaven Dou's market over the years," Shi Yueyi said. "For instance, the various auction houses. There may even be traces of them behind the Great Soul Arena."

"Far more than that." Qian Renxue agreed. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect rose through commerce. With its wealth and connections, it has made friends far and wide. Its actual influence across the continent is second only to Spirit Hall. With the Clear Sky Sect sealing itself away, they are the number one sect in the world."

"This is also part of the agreement between the imperial family and Seven Treasure. Seven Treasure provides the imperial family with a certain degree of military support, such as helping train the imperial family's Soul Masters. In return, the imperial family gives Seven Treasure certain conveniences in commerce."

As the crown prince who had replaced Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue had been entrusted by Xue Ye with handling some state affairs. At the same time, "Xue Qinghe" was Ning Fengzhi's disciple, so she truly knew these matters and had access to firsthand information.

Radiant Feather Douluo propped up his chin and listened to the conversation between the two girls with interest.

"In the end, strength reigns supreme on the continent." Radiant Feather Douluo chuckled. "No matter how much money one earns, one still fears force. Otherwise, Seven Treasure would not have so many outer disciples, nor would it have launched public opinion and intelligence offensives against Spirit Hall. Even this old man, who has been in seclusion all year, has heard of it."

"Grandpa Guang Ling, you are right." Shi Yueyi smiled. "Then what if Seven Treasure, having attached itself to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, was ostensibly doing so for the commercial market, while secretly controlling the talent market as well?"

Qian Renxue frowned.

Was Little Shiyue referring to the imperial family's Soul Master training? Was she worried that these people might, out of gratitude for having been recognized, obey Seven Treasure's orders at a critical moment?

Qian Renxue had considered this as well. That was why she had decided that if she needed to launch a palace coup in the future, she would use Spirit Hall's Soul Masters rather than the imperial family's.

Shi Yueyi turned the teacup before her. "Do you know that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect hunts down talented people who are unwilling to join the sect?"

Qian Renxue tapped her fingers against the table. "Continue."

"As the Heaven Dou Empire's protector sect, relying on their status, whenever a new generation of talent appears, they can naturally make an offer to recruit them. If the other party refuses to join, they kill them to prevent them from becoming enemies in the future."

Shi Yueyi spoke slowly. "In this way, Seven Treasure effectively controls, or even monopolizes, the young talent market of the Heaven Dou Empire to a certain extent. Then, under the slogan of shared roots and branches, they befriend other sects, constantly draw allies to their side, and establish a reputation for themselves as people who care about the development of the Soul Master world, all in an attempt to focus everyone's attention on Spirit Hall."

Qian Renxue smiled. "Then what do you think they want?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"If they replace Spirit Hall, would they not gain everything?" Shi Yueyi said faintly. "They have already controlled Heaven Dou's market, and Brother Xue will become the future emperor of Heaven Dou. Ning Fengzhi is Brother Xue's teacher. Does this empire bear the surname Xue or Ning?"

"If, and I mean if, Spirit Hall truly gets defeated by this alliance of shared roots and branches, who will become the alliance leader? Barring any surprises, it will definitely be Ning Fengzhi. He will then successfully become the continent's new Supreme Pontiff, a leader who controls the economy, public opinion, and even the younger generation of Soul Masters."

"Of course, I know Spirit Hall also allows some sects and clans to join it. This approach is efficient, but it is nowhere near as tangible as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect directly controlling the younger generation. Although the process seems lengthy, if given enough time—no, perhaps even now—the Heaven Dou Empire's younger generation has already begun to suffer from a gap in succession."

Shi Yueyi stared into Qian Renxue's eyes. "You would not want to inherit a rotten mess of an empire in the future, would you?"

Why did Shi Yueyi know these things?

The reason was simple. She came from ten thousand years in the future, and what she had seen ten thousand years later was exactly this.

Only, the protagonist had become Shrek Academy.

How did Shrek monopolize talent?

Naturally, through Soul Master Tournaments that allowed killing.

Oh, no. More accurately, Soul Master Tournaments that only allowed Shrek to kill people.

If anyone dared kill someone from Shrek, that undefeated-and-always-getting-humiliated Douluo who ate chicken legs all day would make his grand entrance.

So why were Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo not resurrected after they died?

Why, after Ning Rongrong underwent Martial Soul Evolution, did she leave behind no descendants with the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda? She did not even bear children after becoming a god?

Was it because the Sea God could not do it?

If he could not, then why did he save Yu Xiaogang, who had died of happiness upon seeing himself resurrected?

Naturally, because he did not want to.

No one else dared say much. Who would dare touch the Sea God's cake?

Yet Shrek ten thousand years later had no choice but to hand over the commercial market because of Soul Guidance Technology, surrendering its position as the wealthiest force on the entire continent to Mingde Hall.

Qian Renxue pondered for a long while.

"It seems my teacher does not want the Heaven Dou Empire to fare too well," she said softly. "The situation is somewhat critical."

She had not considered so much. It truly could not all be blamed on her.

Xue Beng only needed to indulge himself all day, while she had far more matters to consider.

"Xue Qinghe" had to handle a great deal of government affairs for Xue Ye. If not for Spirit Hall Branches being smashed in several places within a short period, she might not even have made this visit among the common people.

Much of her understanding of outside information came from memorials, so many details had in fact been lost.

What should she do?

Did she really have to go mad, launch a Soul Hunting Operation, and beat the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect half to death?

Spirit Hall generally did not kill talented commoners. The original text had stated that after the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City failed to recruit Tang San, it said, "Spirit Hall has no reason to forcibly snatch people from an academy." Later, Tang San was targeted because he exposed his Clear Sky Hammer. He truly was an enemy then, so there was reason to strike at him.