Our Bargaining Chip

"Progenitor!" Bei Bei called out to Mu En.

Mu En looked at him and sighed after a long while. "What do you intend to do, Bei Bei?"

"Make Jiang Qingtong return Xiao Ya!" Bei Bei said to Mu En.

Mu En shook his head. "I already told you, this was Tang Ya's decision. Going to Qing Tong won't help. As long as the academy cannot openly support the Tang Sect, Tang Ya will not return."

"But..." Bei Bei frowned, still wanting to say something.

"Don't worry. The Tang Sect may not necessarily be rebuilt in the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire's power structure is no simpler than that of the Original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms. Rebuilding the Tang Sect won't be so easy, either."

"I know you and Tang Ya have a close relationship. You must cultivate diligently. As the Tang Sect's Senior Brother, once you become a Titled Douluo, wouldn't helping Tang Ya rebuild the sect be effortless?"

Mu En calmed Bei Bei's emotions with just a few words. Bei Bei nodded. "I understand, Progenitor. I'll work hard and help Xiao Ya!"

Mu En continued, "Go check on Xu Sanshi. I heard the two of you are close. Qing Tong just defeated him, and he should be utterly dejected right now. Go comfort him."

"She defeated Sanshi?" Bei Bei looked astonished.

Xu Sanshi was renowned in the Outer Court for his defensive strength—the Eternal Defense! Jiang Qingtong was, at most, a two-ring Soul Grandmaster. How could she possibly defeat Xu Sanshi? Could it be that she had used a Rank Nine Soul Tool?

But if she had truly used a Rank Nine Soul Tool, Progenitor and Elder Xuan would never be wearing such expressions!

Bei Bei could not make sense of it. Could Jiang Qingtong's talent truly be so formidable? No, he had to ask Xu Sanshi what had happened.

Having made up his mind, Bei Bei took his leave of Mu En and departed.

Only after Bei Bei had left did Xuan Zi say to Mu En, "Elder Mu, should I still make the trip? The Tang Sect is, after all, the inherited sect of Sea God Tang San. If the Sun Moon Empire raises the Tang Sect's banner, it would be far too embarrassing."

Mu En shook his head and said to Xuan Zi, "Send someone to Heaven Dou City and reclaim the Tang Sect's ancestral grounds. Even if the Tang Sect is truly rebuilt in the Sun Moon Empire someday, this will still be one of our bargaining chips."

Xuan Zi nodded. "Understood."

At the border of the Star Luo Empire, in an ordinary town within the Mingdou Mountain Range, people came and went from an inconspicuous courtyard. Tang Ya activated Past Moon and appeared there amid a flash of light, startling everyone nearby.

"Who goes there?"

The people in the courtyard swiftly surrounded Tang Ya, all releasing their martial souls as they watched her warily.

Seeing them reveal their martial souls, Tang Ya immediately raised her left hand and displayed Past Moon. "Young Lady Jiang sent me here. My name is Tang Ya!"

These people did not know that Jiang Qingtong had designated this place as a teleportation point, so they were somewhat confused by Tang Ya's words.

"What Young Lady Jiang? Never heard of her."

"Should we ask the Venerable One?"

"Keep an eye on her. I'll inform the Venerable One!"

Regardless of size, the person in charge of a Soul Hall branch was uniformly called a Venerable One. After the Venerable One here received the report from his subordinate, he immediately set aside what he was doing and followed him into the courtyard.

"This must be... Miss Tang? May I ask what your relationship with Young Lady Jiang is?" The Venerable One asked with a broad smile as he looked at Tang Ya, who was surrounded by people and wore the Rank Nine Soul Tool Past Moon on her left hand.

The others around them had almost never seen the Venerable One wear such an expression. At once, they became curious about the Young Lady Jiang Tang Ya had mentioned. Could she be one of Soul Hall's higher-ups?

Tang Ya looked at the Venerable One before her. Since Past Moon had brought her here, it meant the people here were absolutely trustworthy to Jiang Qingtong. Thus, she did not hide anything. "Young Lady Jiang invited me to the Sun Moon Empire. We are friends."

Friends?

Would she give away a Rank Nine Soul Tool like Past Moon if they were merely friends?

The Venerable One clicked his tongue inwardly. Although Tang Ya did not appear particularly strong or threatening, she was surely extremely important to Jiang Qingtong.

Therefore, he showed sufficient respect and courtesy, cupping his hands as he said, "So you are Young Lady Jiang's guest. I am Gu Lin, Venerable One of Soul Hall's Western Star Luo Empire Branch. A pleasure to meet you!"

"Greetings, Venerable Gu!" Tang Ya returned Gu Lin's salute, though she was somewhat puzzled by the title he had used for himself.

Soul Hall? What kind of sect was that? She had never heard of it. Moreover, judging by this Venerable One's attitude, Jiang Qingtong held a very high position within this sect—at the very least, far higher than a branch Venerable One!

Gu Lin smiled and said, "Since Young Lady Jiang has invited Miss Tang to the Sun Moon Empire, and since I will be returning to the Sun Moon Empire to report on my duties in a few days, why not travel with me?"

"That works. I'll trouble you, Venerable Gu." Tang Ya did not refuse Gu Lin's proposal.

Tang Ya temporarily stayed at the Western Branch. After learning that she had a close relationship with one of their higher-ups, the people there no longer hid their work from her. It was then that Tang Ya learned what Soul Hall actually did.

They awakened martial souls for free!

They were actually awakening martial souls for everyone free of charge!

Tang Ya had only heard of Spirit Hall doing such things ten thousand years ago! Looking at Gu Lin, she asked solemnly, "Aren't you afraid that the Original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms will join forces to destroy you for doing this?"

"Miss Tang, you jest. We merely hope that everyone can possess martial souls, something Heaven has bestowed upon humanity. What crime is there in that? Could it be that the Original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms do not wish for their citizens to possess martial souls?" Gu Lin asked with a smile.

A Soul Hall worker passing by muttered, "Yeah. Is there really a country that doesn't want its people to grow stronger?"

After hearing Gu Lin and the Soul Hall worker, Tang Ya was left speechless for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Though Tang Ya did not know what the imperial authorities thought, she knew the soul master clans definitely did not want everyone to possess martial souls. If powerful martial souls mutated among such an enormous population, they would compete for the clans' existing interests.

This situation had persisted ever since Spirit Hall's collapse. Even today, many soldiers in the armies of the three great empires had not awakened martial souls, much less ordinary people.

Part of the reason the Original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms resisted soul tools was the same. Soul tools narrowed the gap between ordinary people and the lofty soul masters.

Seeing Tang Ya fall silent, Gu Lin said nothing further. He merely smiled. "Miss Tang, don't think too much about it. Once you accompany me to the Sun Moon Empire in a couple of days, you'll understand why Soul Hall does such things."

Tang Ya merely nodded in thought.

Some have asked why the protagonist wanted to help Tang Ya. What the protagonist was really considering was not helping Tang Ya herself, but the Tang Sect's name. A former number-one sect now serving the Sun Moon Empire and helping it unify the continent would be incredibly ironic to the Original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms and Shrek Academy.