The Cake Had Already Been Divided

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Nuoding City hadn't changed much, except that the number of Soul Master had increased again. Tang San, who had just returned from working at the Blacksmith Shop, told Zhou Qing, who was pondering how to combine Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon with his First Soul Skill, Yongchun Chun: "Today, quite a few Soul Master came to the Blacksmith Shop and ordered a lot of iron swords and steel knives from the owner."

"Speaking of which, armor and long weapons are classified as controlled items, but swords and knives aren't?" Zhou Qing complained.

"An inch longer, an inch stronger. Ordinary swords and knives are no more than a meter long, so they are not subject to control. Otherwise, kitchen knives and scissors would be controlled weapons."

Tang San didn't take it seriously. In his previous life, when disciples of various sects traveled the world, they all carried knives, swords, or weapons such as whips and chains, but no one would carry spears, halberds, or wear armor—the imperial court did not allow it, otherwise they would be suspected of rebellion.

Zhou Qing could actually imagine that the Soul Master World in this world was not much different from the martial arts world in Tang San's previous life. It was because of the Martial Soul that Soul Master were stronger and more well-rounded in terms of strength and Internal Energy, which led to a greater improvement in their status.

"Speaking of which, I've heard the boss mention that Gengxin City, the legendary capital of blacksmiths, can forge armor and restricted-level weapons. Most of the weapons and armor used by the Star Luo Empire's army are made there."

When Tang San mentioned Gengxin City, Zhou Qing thought of Shenjiang Lou Gao. Unfortunately, Gengxin City was located within the Star Luo Empire. Although Nuoding City was situated at the border between Heaven Dou and Xingluo, it was still quite far from Gengxin City.

Moreover, once they arrive in Gengxin City and want to see Lou Gao, they are certainly not unqualified. The Soul Tool Core Formation alone is of sufficient value.

However, without the necessary strength, handing over those blueprints depicting the Soul Tool Core Formation is tantamount to giving them away for free.

In the original novel, Lou Gao, facing Tang San who had already become Soul Emperor and established Tang Sect, initially intended to figure out how the Godly Zhuge Crossbow was made, but then resorted to shameless tactics.

Although he didn't do that in the end, Zhou Qing believes that it was most likely because he was attracted by the design blueprints of the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapon such as the Peacock Plume, Torrential Rain Pear Blossom Needle, and Buddha Fury Tang Lotus, so much so that his craftsmanship spirit took over his mind and he decided to stay.

Zhou Qing didn't want to imagine others to be too dark, but in this Douluo Continent with its extraordinary power, one always had to be more comprehensive in considering all aspects of a problem.

"Gengxin City, we can go there once we reach the Soul Ancestor realm or above," Zhou Qing said. "It's the blacksmith's capital, so there must be a lot of rare minerals there."

"That's right." Tang San had the same idea. He wanted to test the effects of more Soul Tool Core Formation, combine them with Hidden Weapon, surpass the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, and even create stronger Hidden Weapon.

However, there is another matter at hand—

"Qing Ge, did you know? Recently, another thing has been circulating in the city. It is that City Lord Xiao and Dales of Falling Star City are going to jointly host a Soul Master Tournament. The winner will have the opportunity to become a noble."

"It's definitely a pancake." Zhou Qing didn't believe such a thing.

It's understandable that City Lord Xiao and Dales put aside their past grievances. After all, they are "like-minded people," and it's not a big deal for them to take another "like-minded" trip in private and get closer to each other.

However, the idea of gaining a noble status is just wishful thinking.

Even those from prominent families and sects only enjoy a nominally noble status. To truly obtain a formal noble status in the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire Two Great Empires, which means being granted a title, one must participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament and achieve a certain ranking.

reason?

Whether it's the Heaven Dou or the Star Luo Empire, there are already enough nobles of all sizes; it's just that there are relatively few people with top-notch talents.

Soul Master Tournament held between two mere small towns, with the winner having the chance to become a noble... Don't even think about it, the probability of this so-called opportunity is absolutely zero.

But as the saying goes, no matter how absurd the lie is, there are still people who believe it, and quite a few of them do.

Especially for most Commoner Soul Master, obtaining noble status, even if it's just a chance, is enough for them to fight tooth and nail for.

[hiss--]

Zhou Qing gasped inwardly.

In the Douluo Continent, the path for Commoner Soul Master to enter the elite class does exist, but the hope is extremely slim.

Because, in terms of status, those family and sect disciples were indeed Commoner Soul Master before they were officially granted titles by the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire governments.

On the surface, the so-called upward mobility channels are fair, but the vast majority of Commoner Soul Master have to compete with those Soul Master disciples who have family inheritances and sect resources.

In this world, the basic system of Soul Power cultivation is very weak, so whether one can become a strong person mainly depends on whether one has an excellent Martial Soul.

Ordinary people can only rely on mutation!

Without an excellent Martial Soul, how can Commoner Soul Master compete with disciples of sects and families who possess excellent Martial Soul, abundant resources, connections, and cultivation traditions?

Or rather, scions of prominent families?

There's absolutely no chance!

The Heaven Dou Empire's upward mobility channels appear fair, but in reality, they have blocked the path for the vast majority of Commoner Soul Master to enter the noble class.

However, most Commoner Soul Master are unaware of this.

Because, on the surface, the Soul Master disciples of those families and sects are not born nobles... However, once they grow up, it is a hundred or a thousand times easier for them to obtain the status of a noble than for Commoner Soul Master!

This is not just an advantage in terms of Martial Soul, but also because the sects and families behind them have already divided up the pie in the Heaven Dou Realm!

[Of the Shrek Seven Devils in the original novel, only Ma Hongjun and Oscar were truly from humble backgrounds. Their rise to prominence was almost certainly due to the support of Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and the protagonist Tang San. This is because, given that the Heaven Dou Empire was not expanding further, or was experiencing turmoil, the distribution of resources and power had already been decided!]

"Qing Ge, what's wrong?" Tang San asked, seeing Zhou Qing looking confused again.

"It's nothing, I just thought a lot and realized how insignificant I am," Zhou Qing sighed.

Can you tell me about it?

"Good."

After thinking for a while, Zhou Qing decided to truly believe Tang San and described his complete conjecture about the distribution of the huge cake of Heaven Dou.

"Unbelievable—"

Tang San stared wide-eyed, utterly unable to comprehend how Zhou Qing could describe the general workings of officialdom so clearly in such colloquial language.

Especially when he compared it with the various corrupt officials, powerful gentry and so on in his previous life, he found that it actually made sense!

Because the interests of the dynasty have already been distributed, it is extremely difficult for others to join in, and it is even a matter of life and death!