Maybe We Should Play It Safe

The news caused an uproar among those outside.

Even Qian Renxue was alarmed and ran over to Chen Feng to ask what was going on.

"I thought you were planning to establish a Soul Master Academy," Qian Renxue said after pouring Chen Feng a cup of tea in the Conference Room.

Chen Feng smiled. "What I want to establish is a research university, and for research, the most important thing is wisdom and knowledge, not the strength of Soul Power."

Using Soul Power as the sole criterion for judging talent will only produce henchmen, not Scholar capable of driving the world forward.

Qian Renxue took a light sniff of the tea aroma and said, "As a well-known Scholar in the Soul Master World, if your words were to get out, it would definitely cause quite a controversy."

5"

Chen Feng shook his head and said, "You're wrong, Brother Xue. I am indeed Scholar, but not just Scholar of the Soul Master World. The reason I started with Soul Power is because Soul Power is the most suitable tool to change the world. I pursue the mysteries of the world, not just the mysteries of Soul Power. Brother Xue, you should feel the same way."

"I?"

"As the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, are you merely the Crown Prince of the Soul Master or the Nobles, or the Crown Prince of Heaven Dou?"

"Of course I am the Crown Prince Heaven Dou," Qian Renxue answered without hesitation, then paused slightly, "I think I understand what you mean. This is also the way of Kingly Ruler, isn't it?"

"That's right. The Way of the Great Dao the World Belongs to All. We should strive for the development and progress of all mankind, rather than limiting ourselves to a small group and exhausting ourselves for that small group," Chen Feng said slowly.

"Way of the Great Dao, the World Belongs to All..." Qian Renxue murmured these words, feeling that her understanding of what Chen Feng had said had deepened even further.

"Speaking of which, Brother Xue, what do you think of the Spirit Hall? By the standards of the Way of the Great Dao, is it a qualified force?" Chen Feng suddenly changed the subject.

"Although there are occasional outrageous behaviors, overall they should be considered... qualified?" Qian Renxue thought for a moment and gave a steady answer.

"Is it up to standard?" Chen Feng asked with a light laugh.

"I think... it's acceptable," Qian Renxue said after a moment's hesitation.

She didn't boast or lie because of her background; instead, she carefully considered what the Spirit Hall had done over the years before giving this answer.

"Indeed, in some respects, the Spirit Hall is a competent force," Chen Feng partially affirmed Qian Renxue's answer, "But in other respects, it's not so competent."

"How so?" Qian Renxue frowned slightly.

"We all know the qualified aspects, which mainly involve awakening Martial Soul for ordinary people, suppressing Fallen Ones, cultivating Commoners Soul Master, and distributing Soul Master Subsidy on behalf of the two great empires, etc."

"That's right, so what about the parts that don't meet the standards?" Qian Renxue asked.

"The parts that don't meet our standards need to be traced back to the origins of the Spirit Hall." Chen Feng smiled and looked at Qian Renxue. "Brother Xue should know how the Spirit Hall was established, right?"

"I know, the original Spirit Hall was established based on the belief in the Angel God."

"That's right. So the question is, where does the faith in the Angel God come from? Is it simply because she became a god that people worship her?"

"Of course not!" Qian Renxue's tone was slightly agitated. "People believe in the Angel God because He has done great things for humanity. He fought against and eliminated evil Soul Beast for humanity, securing a place for survival and opportunities for development. That is the origin of people's faith in Him."

"That's well said. So, the faith in the Angel God stems from His contributions to human survival and development, and His achievements in creating a bright future for humanity, right?" Chen Feng patiently guided him.

"That's right." Qian Renxue's tone calmed down.

"The Spirit Hall was established based on the belief in the Angel God, so it should continue the Angel God's ideals and move forward on that path. So the question is, over the years, especially in recent years, what efforts has the Spirit Hall made for the development and future of mankind?" Chen Feng asked in a deep voice.

Qian Renxue was about to speak when Chen Feng's next question left her speechless, "Is it about trying to stifle human geniuses?"

Seeing Qian Renxue remain silent, Chen Feng continued, "Brother Xue, you witnessed that incident back then. How many geniuses died in Heaven Dou City before me? There's no doubt that these were the work of the Spirit Hall. And in the past, these things probably didn't happen before, did they?"

Qian Renxue gritted her teeth inwardly, her hatred for Salas deepening even further.

Indeed, it wasn't uncommon for the Spirit Hall to send assassins to kill geniuses from other forces in the past. As the Young Lord of the Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue knew about these things to some extent. She had even done similar things herself in the Heaven Dou Court. Although she didn't like them, she didn't think there was anything wrong with them, considering them necessary means to achieve great things.

But now that Chen Feng had brought it up to her face, for some reason, she suddenly felt a sense of shame.

Especially compared to what Chen Feng did, the underhanded things done by the Spirit Hall seemed even more disgraceful.

What did Chen Feng do? He created the Foundation Building Method, a new Soul Master positioning system, Ten-Thousand-Year Fourth Ring Technique that allows Soul Master geniuses to reach even greater heights, and now, it is said, a method that can give ordinary people the opportunity to become Soul Master.

And what about the Spirit Hall? Someone inside actually wanted to kill Chen Feng!

The more Qian Renxue thought about it, the less confident she became, feeling that the Spirit Hall was truly tarnishing the image of the Angel God.

It was supposed to be an organization that led humanity forward, but now it has become increasingly scheming and preoccupied with intrigue and power struggles with other people and forces.

The Spirit Hall has abandoned the glory of the Angel God. This thought suddenly appeared in Qian Renxue's mind, and it began to grow wildly like weeds.

Chen Feng continued to instigate—no, I should say, to guide—"Furthermore, the Spirit Hall hasn't considered the future of Soul Master. One of the biggest problems is the imbalance in the growth rates of the Soul Beast and Soul Master groups. This will not only lead to the shrinkage of the Soul Beast population in the future but also provoke strong resistance from the Soul Beast population, which in turn will affect the Soul Master group itself. However, the Spirit Hall hasn't made any effort in this regard."

"This... Soul Master and Soul Beast should be enemies by nature," Qian Renxue said subconsciously.

"Really? Then what irreconcilable existential conflict exists between Soul Master and Soul Beast?"

"Soul Ring."

Chen Feng's lips curled up slightly. "I knew you were going to say this, but the problem is that when the Soul Beast population shrinks and declines, the quality of the Soul Ring obtained by Soul Master also decreases. This just proves that Soul Master and Soul Beast should be interdependent, and there is no irreconcilable conflict of survival. The so-called conflict of survival is that one side can't survive while the other can't. The relationship between Soul Master and Soul Beast obviously doesn't fit this."

Qian Renxue pursed her lips; she was somewhat convinced.

"So, the old strategy for dealing with Soul Beast is no longer appropriate. We should find a new path. In fact, the Angel God did not indiscriminately kill Soul Beast, but only hunted down those Evil Soul Beast that posed a great threat, right?" Chen Feng asked.

"You're right," Qian Renxue responded instinctively at first, then added, "That's what the royal records say."

"However, the Spirit Hall has amplified the Angel God's actions, indiscriminately attacking the Soul Beast population and exacerbating the conflict between humans and Soul Beast. Is this beneficial to the survival and development of humanity? No, this is a departure from the Angel God's path. It is a practice that uses the Angel God's banner to seek personal gain. I call this kind of 'Excess '," Chen Feng said solemnly.

"Excess?"

"For example, take that Crown Prince's Order you issued before. You encouraged people to improve existing farming tools to increase farming efficiency, and you were willing to offer one hundred Gold Soul Coin as a reward for it. This is undoubtedly a good thing, but if someone uses Excess the methods, it will become a bad thing."

"How can this be done?" Qian Renxue, somewhat puzzled.

"It's very simple. What if your subordinates misinterpret your order, turning the incentive policy into a strict one, forcing everyone to improve their farm tools and fining those who fail to comply? What then?"

Qian Renxue was dumbfounded; she never expected such a shameless act.

"Also, if someone does improve farm tools and it does indeed increase tillage efficiency, what will your next step be?"

Qian Renxue had clearly considered this question and answered without hesitation, "Naturally, we should promote these improved farming tools. I'll have a batch made and sent to various towns so people can rent them. Once people experience how useful these tools are, they'll naturally start using them and can even earn some profit from it. That's what I did after someone improved their farming tools."

After saying that, she smiled, clearly quite pleased with her idea.

"Renting is indeed a good method, and I'm sure you won't set the price too high." Chen Feng nodded approvingly, then his tone changed, "But once we get to the towns below, the price will probably be different. If it doubles or triples, that would be considered a sign of the local officials having a conscience. I'm afraid that the farm tools made of fine iron will end up being made of inferior iron, and the price will actually be higher. Moreover, the so-called rental might become mandatory, leaving you with no choice but to rent."

"That's impossible!" Qian Renxue retorted, "No matter what they are like, they wouldn't do something like this..."

"It seems Brother Xue still has hope for the bottom line of bureaucrats." Chen Feng chuckled and handed over a piece of paper. "Perhaps you can take a look at this."

Qian Renxue took a look, and her face immediately turned pale and then red. She was so Human Popularity that she couldn't speak.

Chen Feng casually added, "I call this kind of tactic 'Apportionment '."

"Clearly... clearly everything is fine in the Frontier City Heaven Dou City, and the court officials have praised it highly."

Qian Renxue said through gritted teeth.

"The area around Heaven Dou City is right under the imperial city's nose, so those people will naturally behave themselves. As for the ministers' praise, you'll have to analyze that yourself, Brother Xue. The most urgent thing is to send someone over there to take a look and get evidence before we can talk. This information came from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School, so it's not convenient to bring it up in court." Chen Feng extended his hand to Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue glanced at the paper one last time before handing it back to Chen Feng.

Chen Feng put the paper away and said, "Getting back to the main topic, Brother Xue should now be very clear about the meaning and harm of Excess and Apportionment. In your opinion, isn't the Spirit Hall's approach a form of Excess?"

"... Yes." Qian Renxue's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

"They have strayed from the path of the Angel God," Chen Feng lamented. "What a pity that the once sublime Angel God has been replaced by such a degenerate successor."

Qian Renxue's face was ashen, her fingers turning pale from clenching her fists.

Seeing this, Chen Feng revealed his true intentions. "Therefore, since the Spirit Hall is no longer able to shoulder its due responsibilities, a new one must be established."

The organization will take up the banner once waved by the Angel God, inherit His lofty ideals, and strive for the progress and development of mankind.

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, and asked seriously, "What do you plan to do?"

"Regarding this, I've written two speeches for the school opening ceremony. One is more conservative, and the other is more radical. Which one would you like to see, Brother Xue?"

"Of course, the radical one," Qian Renxue said without hesitation.

Conservative things are not interesting; only radical things can reveal Chen Feng's ideas.

Chen Feng handed over the radical speech draft. Qian Renxue looked surprised after reading it, but after thinking for a moment, she didn't say anything. After chatting with Chen Feng for a while, she took her leave.

After she left, Chen Feng relaxed and leaned back in his chair.

The previous intelligence report was indeed true, but it wasn't collected independently by the Heavenly Division of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; rather, he instructed them to collect it.

From the very beginning, Chen Feng never believed that imperial edicts from the feudal era could be effectively and efficiently implemented, let alone in the modern era.

Not to mention that Qian Renxue is only a Crown Prince at the moment.

Once her order was issued, it was impossible for the officials below not to use some underhanded tactics, so Chen Feng specifically sent someone to take a look, and sure enough, they caught them in the act.

Now we'll see how Qian Renxue reacts.

In front of Little Wooden House in the woods, another internal Hydra meeting was held.

Chen Feng distributed the speech to the others, but this time he first showed them the conservative version. After everyone had read it in turn, he asked, "Any thoughts?"

"This doesn't feel like your style," Tang San said, and the others all agreed.

"How should I put it? It's like you're tied up, Bro Feng, too conservative," Oscar commented.

"Then take a look at this one." Chen Feng handed them another copy of the speech.

After they finished reading, he asked again, "And now?"

Oscar paused for a moment, then said hesitantly, "How about we play it safe?"