What Makes a Boss? Tang San's Growing Misunderstanding

After finishing their morning run, Zhou Qing, Tang San, Wang Sheng, and others went to the cafeteria. When they passed Dorm Seven, they saw Xiao Wu rubbing her eyes and stretching as she walked out of the Dorm Seven's gate.

"You still wake up late as always."

Seeing that Xiao Wu was still yawning and hadn't washed her face, Zhou Qing teased, "If you keep going like this, you'll get fat in the future."

"Tch, why get up so early? Why not sleep a little longer?" Xiao Wu said, washing her face at the pool near Dorm Seven before quickly catching up with Zhou Qing and the others to go to the cafeteria for lunch.

"What were you doing this morning? One, two, three, four and all that, it was so noisy, I couldn't sleep well at all." Xiao Wu ate her millet porridge and munched on a vegetable bun, glaring at Zhou Qing with her puffed-out cheeks. "And, weren't you sleeping with your girlfriend?"

"What little girlfriend? Don't talk nonsense, I'm still single!" Zhou Qing immediately retorted, and then talked about "Dancing Youth", "If you don't want to be woken up in the future, get up early and exercise with us. The minority has to obey the majority. If you can't ignore it, then you can only put up with it."

Xiao Wu stuffed the remaining half of the vegetable bun into her mouth, chewed a few times, and said somewhat indistinctly, "Oh, it's the laoda from the Qi Society!"

"Swallow it first," Zhou Qing gestured to Xiao Wu to take it slow and not get agitated.

"I'm the boss of Dorm Seven!"

Xiao Wu swallowed the vegetable bun and reiterated, "Shouldn't you listen to me?"

"You're the leader of Dorm Seven, but so are I and Tang San. The minority obeys the majority, that's right." Zhou Qing and Tang San exchanged a glance, bumped fists, and then Zhou Qing continued, "Also, as the leader, being able to fight is important, but the most important thing is to be reasonable. There are many things in this world that can't be solved by having the biggest fist."

Strength is very important.

But for a group, unity is even more important.

Zhou Qing felt that Xiao Wu needed to change her willful temper, which she had brought from the Star Dou Great Forest. Otherwise, in the small group consisting of him, Tang San, Romantina, and Xiao Wu, they might have to clean up Xiao Wu Soft Bone Charm Rabbit's messes for a large part of the future.

"Hmph, I'll agree to your request for now, but it's not that I'm afraid of you, I just want to see how amazing this so-called Sister Xiao Wu Broadcast Gymnastics really is."

Xiao Wu turned her head away, but still agreed.

Whether it was spending time with Zhou Qing and Tang San, or chatting with ordinary adventurers in the Adventurer's Guild, Xiao Wu was somewhat influenced and learned a lot about right and wrong. Her personality was also slowly changing... Therefore, she was able to listen to the advice of others.

Like in Dorm Seven, everyone gets up early to exercise, but she's the only one who sleeps in late, so she seems to be the one with the problem.

"Etc!"

Xiao Wu's eyes darted around as she asked, "Why did you tell Qingzhu Zhu to do what she wanted and not care about what others thought when you advised her? Why is it the complete opposite when it comes to me?"

"Because she really is just a slightly precocious little girl, unlike you, who is a bit too precocious. And for her, the fault isn't with her, but with the political and family environment she's in." Zhou Qing picked up a meat bun, took a bite, and said Youyou, "And you... are just lazy."

"Hmph, Sister Xiao Wu isn't lazy, she's just conserving her energy."

It must be said that when it comes to finding excuses for her laziness, Xiao Wu's logical thinking is so rigorous and flawless that it leaves no room for error.

"Family environment, I know, it's about whether the parents treat their children well."

What is the political environment?

Zhou Qing replied, "You can simply understand it as the form of rule within an empire, the cooperation and confrontation between officials and nobles, the empire's attitude towards other empires, and so on."

"This is so complicated!" Xiao Wu exclaimed, her head spinning. "Wouldn't it be simpler if everything was decided by whoever had the bigger fist? Wouldn't that be much better?"

"Take the Heaven Dou Empire as an example. It contains many duchies and kingdoms that submit to the Heaven Dou Royal Family and together form the Heaven Dou Empire. These kingdoms and duchies as a whole are the 'big fist' that is subdued by Heaven Dou."

Zhou Qing gave an example. "But, just like fighting, it's easy to get someone to verbally submit to you—just hurt them. But it's not easy to get them to submit in their hearts. They will think that you are only able to defeat them because you are strong. If they also gain strength to counter your strength, they will rebel."

"The relationship between kingdoms, duchies and the Heaven Dou Empire is similar to this. If the kingdoms and duchies within the Heaven Dou Empire were to unite, they would actually be able to contend with the Heaven Dou."

Xiao Wu understood somewhat, but then asked, "But now, those kingdoms and duchies haven't united? They must be convinced by the Heaven Dou Empire, right?"

"No."

In this Douluo Era, the way the Heaven Dou Empire ruled was similar to that of medieval Europe.

Kingdoms and duchies submit to Heaven Dou?

What a joke!

However, Zhou Qing felt he couldn't go on at length; he had to use simple, easy-to-understand language to describe it to Xiao Wu and Tang San, who was listening nearby.

Seeing the big picture in small things —

"Let's take the situation in Dorm Seven Dorm Seven before the three of us entered as an example."

Zhou Qing glanced at Wang Sheng, who was chatting and laughing with the other work-study students, without showing any emotion. "Brother Wang is the boss of Dorm Seven. He beats up any new work-study students who join Dorm Seven to show off his boss status."

The leader's main responsibility is to stand up and protect the work-study students when they are bullied by the Noble Student.

However, his previous method, which did not explain the reasons at the beginning but instead punished the new work-study student to make him submit, would leave the new work-study student with resentment even if he explained the reasons later.

In theory, if one work-study student who had been bullied and harbored resentment managed to unite the other work-study students who had been bullied by Brother Wang, then together they could defeat Brother Wang.

Tang San was slightly taken aback, imagining what would happen to him in this situation—

Not enough Hidden Weapon were prepared in advance...

Then they were surrounded by more than twenty dedicated work-study students...

If it's a head-on confrontation...

With my current level fourteen Soul Power, it's really difficult to deal with.

"But why was Wang Sheng the boss before we arrived?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled.

"Do you remember what I said about the main responsibilities of the leader of Dorm Seven?" Zhou Qing asked in return.

"Protect the work-study students from being bullied." Xiao Wu replied without hesitation.

Who is bullying the work-study students?

"Noble Student".

"Then you can understand why the kingdoms and duchies within the Heaven Dou territory don't unite to resist Heaven Dou's rule. If Heaven Dou is gone, other people will come to bully it, such as the Star Luo Empire."

Zhou Qing's eyes flickered, "Brother Wang does have a certain personal charisma; he was able to take care of the work-study student he had initially beaten afterward..."

So, we can imagine a former work-study student Brother Wang who didn't have Brother Wang's warm heart and wasn't good at speaking. The only reason why the work-study students didn't unite to remove him from his position as leader is that they needed a leader to deal with the Noble Student. After all, the leader's duty is to protect the younger brothers, and an unpopular leader is just a tool to fulfill that duty.

Similarly, now you can imagine why the kingdoms and duchies don't unite to resist the rule of Heaven Dou, right?

"Because they want [Heaven Dou], the leader, to deal with [Star Luo Empire], who might try to bully them?"

Xiao Wu was stunned for a while before giving this answer.

As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, Xiao Wu has never been stupid. As long as she is willing to think, she is fine. However, in most cases, she is unwilling to engage with knowledge that she is not interested in.

However, as long as the topic is steered towards something that interests Xiao Wu, such as the Dorm Seven Boss, and then compared with a larger level, such as the Heaven Dou Empire, she will naturally listen and be able to analyze the key points.

Is this what the human world is like?

[So complicated!]

[But it's much more interesting than Soul Beast World!]

Tang San was dumbfounded, and the bun in his hand fell onto the table without him even realizing it.

Zhou Qing's words were truly shocking!

The relationship between the Heaven Dou Empire and the kingdoms and duchies is actually the same as that between the leader of the Dorm Seven and his subordinate.

He wanted to refute it.

But upon closer reflection, it turns out that this is indeed the case.

In the previous life, the imperial court Central Plains, and there were no kingdoms or duchies within it. However, the imperial court still needed to protect the country when foreign tribes invaded.

The principles are the same.

"Congratulations, you've finally Learn to Think." Zhou Qing gave Xiao Wu an approving look, which made her raise a "#" on her forehead and lift her fist the size of a sandbag.

"Cough cough."

Zhou Qing's expression turned serious. "Continue talking about the 'boss' and the 'little brother.' The Heaven Dou Empire can keep the kingdoms and duchies from rebelling, so it will naturally try to win their hearts and minds. But just like the Dorm Seven, even the work-study students can't be of one mind. Let alone the kingdoms and duchies, even if they unite to overthrow Heaven Dou, they have to consider who will be the big brother after overthrowing Heaven Dou."

"So?" Xiao Wu tilted her head, somewhat puzzled.

"So, if you want to be a real leader, you must make all the work-study students in Dorm Seven respect you, not just outwardly, but inwardly."

Zhou Qing steered the conversation back to Xiao Wu's "leadership status," saying, "While Soul Master admire the strong, mere admiration isn't enough—"

"You only became the leader of Dorm Seven by using your fists and intimidating people, instead of truly winning their respect. If something happens to you one day, they won't care about you at all."

"To be a true leader, it's not enough to just eat and live with them; you also have to truly understand their hearts..."

Xiao Wu was stunned; she had never imagined that being a leader would be so complicated.

Tang San suddenly looked up and stared directly at Zhou Qing—

I think I understand what Qing Ge was hesitating about!

The exposed Soul Bone allowed them to analyze the sordid conflicts between the lords of Nuoding City and Falling Star City...

The ability to compare the relationship between the leader and subordinates of the Dorm Seven to the connections between Heaven Dou and the Kingdom/Duchy...

The fact that Zhou Qing was able to teach her self-created Broadcast Gymnastics to work-study students—the word "radio" perhaps representing Zhou Qing's intention to spread the word widely...

His friend!

Zhou Qing!

They have the ambition to change the world!

but.

Perhaps due to her young age, or perhaps for some other reason, a sense of insecurity instinctively surfaced deep within Zhou Qing's heart...

I have to give Zhou Qing a push! I have to teach him the lesson that "nobles and high-ranking officials are not born with their titles!"

Right now.

Tang San recalled his childhood initiation into the Tang Sect, where his teachers taught him a text called "The Hereditary House of Chen She" from the Records of the Grand Historian.

Chen Sheng Wu Guang rose up in rebellion!

Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?

Tang San now has a general understanding of the current situation in the Douluo Continent. There are Heaven Dou, Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall, which can be considered a three-way balance of power.

Although the Spirit Hall is not an empire, it is rumored that the scale of Spirit City is no less than that of the imperial cities of the Two Great Empires, and there are Spirit Hall Branch, sub-Halls, and main halls in various parts of the continent.

Tang San would never believe that he didn't aspire to unify the continent.

He could get a glimpse into the power struggles between these three forces by observing the upheaval in Nuoding City caused by a century-old Head Soul Bone, which even attracted the Star Luo Royal Academy Team passing by Falling Star City and the vicinity of Nuoding City.

Several days ago, Zhou Qing told Tang San that if Zhou Qing Tang San ever forgot his origins, he should remind Zhou Qing Zhou Qing to never forget where he came from Zhou Qing...

On that day, Tang San also understood something: Heaven Dou, Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall —these three major forces, no matter which one they ultimately join, all have to go through the three processes of "joining the system," "adapting to the system," and "maintaining the system."

Otherwise, they will be ostracized.

This is what is known as the "danger of officialdom"!

After all, the interests in the land currently covered by these three major forces have already been divided up by Heaven Dou, Star Luo Empire, Spirit Hall, and other major sects, families, nobles, and officials.

If you don't join, you probably won't even get to drink the soup.

This is also the fundamental reason why the vast majority of Commoner Soul Master cannot stand out!

To break this deadlock, perhaps one must become Titled Douluo.

Being detached from worldly affairs means one is no longer bound by the systems and institutions of the three major powers.

But when one grows into Titled Douluo, will one be able to completely break free from this barrier?

so--

Tang San suddenly had an idea: Since the emperors on this Douluo Continent can be surnamed Dai or Xue, why can't they be surnamed Zhou?

Since the pie of interests on this continent has already been divided up by various forces, rebuilding the Tang Sect will inevitably be even more difficult for him. It would be better to create a new world!

Only in this way can he surpass the Tang Sect of his previous life in this one!

Week!

Great Zhou!

Why not establish Great Zhou in this world, making this world more similar to the previous one?

At that time, the Tang Sect will stand alongside the Great Zhou Dynasty and will surely endure!

Why doesn't Tang San want to become emperor himself?

The reason is very simple.

Tang San himself knew he wasn't cut out for it. Even after rebuilding the Tang Sect in the future, he wasn't entirely sure how to manage it. He only hoped to attract more talent through his Soul Conductor Hidden Weapon, and then he would present the Tang Sect's management methods from his previous life, letting them discuss and refine them themselves...

Tang San also knew that such behavior did not qualify him as a qualified sect leader... He couldn't even be a good sect leader, let alone an emperor.

He is self-aware in this regard.

But Zhou Qing is different.

In Tang San's eyes, although his ambition is not yet clear, he already has the potential to become king. He can get along well with the work-study students and has no intention of using them to repay their kindness. He genuinely hopes that they can improve and make progress and have a better life.

If this Broadcast Gymnastics were to be widely publicized, all the people of the world would benefit from it. When they raise their arms and shout, the masses would respond, and the world would be transformed—this would not be mere rhetoric!

From this small Nuoding City, influenced by Zhou Qing's way of thinking, Tang San was able to deduce that the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire Empires were outwardly united but inwardly divided. The Spirit Hall, as the balancing point between these Two Great Empires, had an unclear attitude, but it certainly harbored ambitions for hegemony.

Therefore, war Two Great Empires is only a matter of time, and what we need to do now is accumulate resources...

Strength!

This is the foundation, and it must be improved.

Prestige!

This is the fundamental reason why the world responds.

as well as--

Tang San looked at Wang Sheng and the others and thought to himself, "A group of loyal followers willing to follow me."

This group of people doesn't need to be particularly strong—in the future, if the Soul Tool Hidden Weapon he modified can be mass-produced, they will only need to learn how to operate them to possess powerful combat capabilities.

Therefore, loyalty is key.

What constitutes loyalty?

In Tang San's eyes, the key is to cultivate them from a young age and know them inside and out.

Aren't these work-study students the best candidates?

Tang San had already excluded the scions of sects, families, and nobles, because he now understood that no matter how talented they were, or even if they might become his friends in the future, they would still have to consider the sects, families, and nobles from which they came.

If their interests conflict with those of others, the vast majority of them will certainly lean more towards the family, clan, or noble family they were born into.

[Commoners and nobles, ordinary people and Soul Master —these distinctions, according to Zhou Qing, are: classes. Conflicts will always exist between people of different classes... In my opinion—]

Tang San glanced at his left hand, somewhat bewildered.

He was now certain that his father was the legendary Titled Douluo.

Strictly speaking, he, Tang San, was also a disciple of a sect.

but.

What he wanted was to rebuild the Tang Sect and surpass Tang Sect, not to join the Clear Sky Sect. Not to mention, he himself did not enjoy any of the benefits of the Clear Sky Sect at all.

What exactly happened to my father that turned him into this...? I can find out in the future, but my goal cannot change!

Even if I were to return to the Clear Sky Sect in the future, I couldn't go back. Otherwise, I would have to consider the Clear Sky Sect, and the sect elders might even forcefully demand that my Tang Sect serve the Clear Sky Sect.

Tang San cannot accept this!

So, where was I born?

[Holy Soul Village!]

In that instant, Tang San's bewildered look was once again replaced by determination.

[When Qing Ge asked me to remind him in the future not to forget where he came from, it was probably so that I would constantly ask myself, "Where do I come from?"]

I, Tang San, come from Holy Soul Village!

He is the son of the blacksmith Tang Hao! Not the son of the Haotian Douluo Tang Hao!

I am not a member of the Clear Sky Sect, but a villager of Holy Soul Village. Holy Soul Village is my hometown in this world, a hometown I can never forget! After all, I can never go back to my past life...

Some might wonder why these words are described from Tang San's perspective...

Compared to modern people, people with Tang San's personality are indeed more determined in terms of willpower.

Moreover, it's hard to leave one's homeland...

Of course, his ideas, especially in the details, are bound to differ somewhat from the protagonist's.

My main goal was to depict a sense of mutual growth and achievement between two people, but perhaps I haven't read enough books...