Is This Really Not Rebellion?

"Grandpa!"

Upon hearing Norman's threat to kill Zhou Qing, You Hui shocked and quickly stepped in front of him, spreading her arms wide. "He's Zhou Qing 'Tina friend, and he's my friend too! I won't allow you to lay a hand on him! Otherwise, I'll disown you as my great-uncle!"

Tang San also narrowed his eyes slightly, unconsciously putting his hands behind his back, and took out several Wind Leaf Dart from the Moon Shines Brightly in the Twelve Towers.

Norman, however, completely ignored You Hui and only stared at Zhou Qing.

Seeing the atmosphere tense, Zhou Qing chuckled and said, "Grandmaster Norman, it seems... you can't beat me?"

"Cough cough!"

Norman coughed violently twice, feeling both embarrassed and speechless. He said Youyou, "You kid, you really love to tell the truth! Well, you guys can even kill a Soul Ancestor- level Fallen Ones, let alone a Soul Grandmaster like me? Besides, I'm already so old. If we really fought, I'd probably break my back before I even touched you."

After saying that, Norman bent over, reached his right hand behind him and tapped his back, and waved his left hand in front of Zhou Qing and the others, indicating that they could leave.

Just as Zhou Qing was about to step out the door, Norman called out to him, saying, "To be honest, I'm quite curious to see what kind of storms you and your allies will stir up on this continent in the future."

"Then we'll trouble Mr. Norman not to pass our intelligence on to the higher-ups, since we just want to live a peaceful life."

Zhou Qing turned his head with a smile.

"Oh."

Norman also laughed out loud and cursed:

"You don't seem like the type to settle down!"

"But don't worry, the higher-level Spirit Hall won't care about you. Every year, so many lists of Soul Master are submitted, and they are uploaded level by level until they reach the Martial Soul Hall. The relevant personnel only organize and record the list, and will not pay special attention to you. Even if you have Innate Full Soul Power, if you want to catch the eye of those Soul King and Soul Emperor in the Spirit Hall without joining the Spirit Hall, you must at least reach the Soul Elder realm first."

"The Spirit Hall upholds the principle of the Strong Reign Supreme. Even if you cause a great disturbance in Falling Star City and it spreads throughout the entire continent, the powerful Soul Master within the Spirit Hall will at most be surprised."

At this point, Zhou Qing was completely relieved.

His biggest worry was that the commotion would be too great and attract the attention of the Spirit Hall, but now that he had learned more detailed information about the Spirit Hall's internal affairs, he could be bolder in his subsequent actions...

In the blink of an eye, two days have passed.

The people of Falling Star City have all Tax Donation. Those who cannot pay have mortgaged their houses. In a short time, nearly 60% of the houses in the city belong to Dales.

For a time, everyone complained about Dales, but they were not Soul Master and did not have the courage to resist Dales, so they could only curse him in private.

Dales immediately announced that he would buy back the Soul Sand and Soul Crystal that the people of the city had dug up at a reasonable price.

This tactic proved effective, drawing the attention of the city's inhabitants to the excavation of Soul Sand.

"Zhou Qing, Tang San, what do you think Dales, that pig-headed idiot, will offer for the Soul Sand?" On her way to the City Lord's Mansion to discuss the extermination of the Fallen Ones, Xiao Wu walked along the road that had been dug up beyond recognition. Looking at the city residents working enthusiastically, she couldn't help but become interested.

"Given Dales's stinginess, I estimate that at most one Silver Soul Coin per pound," Tang San sighed. "Most people won't make any money; at most, they'll just make up for the shortfall of one Gold Soul Coin they paid."

"Zhou Qing, what do you think?" Xiao Wu nodded and looked at the silent Zhou Qing, wanting to know his opinion.

"Replace the 'silver' in Silver Soul Coin with 'copper'."

Zhou Qing's words were concise and to the point.

But Tang San was not calm. "One Copper Soul Coin per pound? Dales really does that, won't it incite public outrage?"

"Think about it. Dales collects taxes per person, one Gold Soul Coin per person. For 20,000 people, that's 20 million Gold Soul Coin. If they can make up the shortfall of one Gold Soul Coin, how much can Dales earn? One time? Two times? Or ten times?"

Zhou Qing countered, "His ambitions are huge, aiming for a hundredfold or even a thousandfold increase! I even suspect that the price of one Copper Soul Coin per pound will drop!"

"As for inciting public anger... just as you worried before, they can't be united. Without power, they have concerns, and if they are really pushed to the limit, they don't know how to act. They might fall apart and cower if you scare them a little, unless—someone can lead them!"

Tang San understood now!

They were the ones who led the city's people to rebel against Dales at the right time and in the right place!

but--

"Isn't this a rebellion?"

Tang San tilted his head, feeling that he was in a bit too much of a hurry.

"This was just an experiment. We were simply helping the people of the city seek justice from Dales. How can that be called a rebellion?"

Zhou Qing blinked. "Besides, Dales is in cahoots with the Fallen Ones, but the fact is—he wants to use us to wipe out the people in the know at Falling Star Slope, fifty miles outside the South City. So we can leave one or two survivors for Mr. Norman to protect as evidence."

"As long as Dales is confirmed to be connected with the Fallen Ones, then the people in the city are innocent. Moreover, the higher-ups of the Star Luo Empire, for the sake of their reputation, will definitely not allow the impact of this matter to escalate. It would be best to minimize the impact of this matter and let it go."

Fallen Ones!

This is the target that the entire continent is cracking down on!

If the fact that a city lord in the Star Luo Empire has connections with the Fallen Ones were widely publicized, the entire Star Luo Empire could be labeled the "Land of the Fallen Ones" by the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire.

While this is merely a joke as long as the Two Great Empires and the Spirit Hall are at peace, it could be used as a legitimate reason to attack the Star Luo Empire should war break out.

"Haha, you've finally arrived!"

City Lord's Mansion, Dales personally came to greet him, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, overjoyed.

"Lord City Lord, have you recovered from your injuries in the past two days? Why don't you rest for a few more days?" Zhou Qing was quite concerned about Dales's physical condition.

"It's alright. I am a Soul Elder after all, with a strong physique. How could I be so easily injured? I was just a little hot-tempered on the stage two days ago." Dales said it so casually, as if he didn't care about the injury he suffered two days ago at all.

Zhou Qing nodded slightly and followed Dales into the mansion with his companions, but he had some doubts in his heart—

Is the person before me really Dales?

Zhou Qing cultivated the Innate Internal Scripture Chart and was quite sensitive to the auras of different people, especially after accidentally awakening "Conqueror's Haki"—although he had not fully mastered it, this sensitivity had increased by three points.

The person before him bore a striking resemblance to Dales in appearance, voice, and even the lines on his palms, and the fluctuations in his Soul Power were almost identical. However, his aura was completely different from Dales'; instead, it resembled that of the butler, whose build was similar to Dales '...