They Came and Stayed, Taking Over the Martial Soul Holy Hall

Yan Chixia and the other two came quickly and left just as quickly. After Shi Jian accepted the position of Honorary Elder of Spirit Hall, they turned and flew toward the Martial Soul Holy Hall.

Yes, they did not return to Spirit City. Instead, they headed for the Martial Soul Holy Hall within Heaven Dou City.

It seemed that, besides informing Shi Jian of his title and inviting him to become an Elder, they had other purposes for this trip.

Watching the three leave, Chen Xin put away his martial soul. Ning Fengzhi stepped forward and sighed to Shi Jian. "Alas, Spirit Hall acts tyrannically. Any Soul Master who dares disobey their orders will suffer their harsh suppression. Back then, Poison Douluo refused to submit to Spirit Hall and was hunted by them, nearly perishing. Your choice to accept the title of Honorary Elder was, in fact... a wise move."

Ning Fengzhi shook his head helplessly.

Ye Zhou glanced at him from the side.

Just now, you were doing everything you could to stop Shi Jian from becoming an Honorary Elder of Spirit Hall. Now that it's a done deal, you've changed your tune. Impressive, truly impressive.

You're saying you understand while secretly badmouthing Spirit Hall. Even a cow wouldn't submit to you—I certainly do!

"This old man does not fear Spirit Hall, but there is no need to offend them either. Spirit Hall is the sacred ground in the hearts of all Soul Masters on the continent. I do not wish to join them because I dislike being constrained by others, but it is merely the title of Honorary Elder. If they offer it, I'll accept it," Shi Jian said blandly.

Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi frowned. So Shi Jian bore no hostility toward Spirit Hall. That was not good.

At the side, Qian Renxue also pretended to frown, though inwardly she relaxed somewhat.

Shi Jian simply disliked being constrained; he did not hate Spirit Hall. That was good news for her.

After all, although Spirit Hall did not fear provoking the hostility of a Titled Douluo, it was hardly a good thing.

As for Shi Jian agreeing to become a Guest Elder of the Heaven Dou Royal Family, a Guest Elder was merely a guest, a partner rather than someone who had sold himself into service. He would not face many restrictions, so that was understandable.

"Teacher, Senior Sword Douluo, why did you come here?" After figuring out Shi Jian's stance, Qian Renxue turned to Ning Fengzhi and the other man and asked.

"Oh, Sect Master Shi and I... I should call him Thunder Fiend now. Thunder Fiend and my sect have a transaction, and we needed to prepare some materials. The materials are ready now, so we came here to find Thunder Fiend. I did not expect to run into the three Elders from Spirit Hall who had come here as well," Ning Fengzhi answered.

"A transaction?" Qian Renxue feigned ignorance.

"It is for Thunder Fire Talismans." Knowing that he could not hide it from his disciple, Ning Fengzhi simply stopped concealing it. "The direct descendants of my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect are all Support System Soul Masters. Their ability to protect themselves is insufficient. Although they have teammates to protect them, it is always good to increase their own combat strength. Maoshan's Thunder Fire Talismans can help us precisely with that."

"I see." Qian Renxue nodded. In truth, she had also been considering buying a batch of Thunder Fire Talismans from Shi Jian to equip the Heaven Dou Empire's knight corps.

Of course, only the knight corps under her control as the "Crown Prince."

"Sect Master Ning, since you have already prepared the materials, hand them over to me. Rest assured, I will deliver all the Thunder Fire Talismans you ordered within three months," Shi Jian said to Ning Fengzhi.

"Good. Then I shall trouble you, Your Excellency," Ning Fengzhi said politely, his heart beating faster despite himself.

Three months later, the direct descendants of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would gain a certain degree of self-protection.

Heaven Dou City, Martial Soul Holy Hall.

"Welcome back, three Elders." Salas came out to greet them and bowed deeply.

"Mm." Yan Chixia nodded, then strode inside.

"Old Yan, Ning Fengzhi dared to obstruct us earlier. Now only Sword Dao Chen Xin is with him. Should we find an opportunity to get rid of him?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked Yan Chixia.

Among the Top Three Sects, the Clear Sky Sect supported the Star Luo Empire, while the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect supported the Heaven Dou Empire. Though neither side had openly torn off the mask, there was no doubt that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was an enemy of Spirit Hall.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had two Douluo. Now only Sword Douluo was present, while Bone Douluo remained behind to guard the sect. It was the perfect opportunity to eliminate Ning Fengzhi.

Yan Chixia strode over to the Hall Master's throne that had originally belonged to Salas and sat down. He removed his gourd and took a swallow of wine, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve before saying to Yue Guan, "Chrysanthemum Guan, why are you always thinking about killing people? If Ning Fengzhi dies, the other forces in the Soul Master world will immediately grow nervous. Besides, Ning Fengzhi is not so easy to kill."

"Why not? It would be three against one. Even if Chen Xin has the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's enhancement, he cannot possibly be our match!" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked in confusion.

"Dugu Bo is also in Heaven Dou City. And if we move against Ning Fengzhi, the Heaven Dou Royal Family will not sit by and watch. They cannot summon a Titled Douluo, but they have quite a few Soul Fighting Luo. To say nothing else, if the three education committee members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy join forces, they can absolutely rival a low-level Titled Douluo. Add the Heaven Dou soldiers to that... You should stop thinking about killing people all the time."

"Hmph!" Yue Guan snorted in dissatisfaction. Was he the one who wanted to kill? Wasn't Ning Fengzhi asking for it himself? He opposed Spirit Hall in everything. He truly could not understand why a Support System Soul Master was so arrogant.

"Old Yan, what do we do next? Return to Spirit City?" Ghostly asked Yan Chixia.

"No." Yan Chixia shook his head. "Didn't Salas say that Shi Jian accepted the Heaven Dou Crown Prince's goodwill and became a Guest Elder of the royal family? The royal family will help him build his sect. We will stay here and see what comes of it."

"What is there to see?" Yue Guan asked.

"A sect with a Titled Douluo appearing out of nowhere—does that not deserve watching? As the sacred ground of Soul Masters, Spirit Hall must maintain good relations with all factions. The emergence of the Maoshan Sect will inevitably affect the interests of other forces. We will stay here and keep the overall situation under control," Yan Chixia said.

"Ah?" Ghostly and Yue Guan looked utterly bewildered.

Seeing that they still did not understand, Yan Chixia asked, "Suppose the Maoshan Sect comes into conflict with another sect, and that sect is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. What do you think we should do?"

"Of course, we applaud and watch the tigers fight from the mountain," Chrysanthemum Douluo answered without even thinking.

"What if it is the Elephant Armor Sect?"

"This..." The Elephant Armor Sect was one of the Lower Four Sects, and it had already submitted to Spirit Hall. If it came into conflict with the Maoshan Sect, Spirit Hall certainly could not stand by and do nothing.

"The Great Enshrined placed me in the Elder Hall so that I could build merits. If I always stay by Bibi Dong's side, listening to her bullshit, how am I supposed to earn merit? We need to come out and get involved in matters. Only then will we have opportunities to earn merit. Don't you two want to earn merit as well? Ghostly, Yue Guan, you have worked for Spirit Hall for so many years. Why do you not even have a soul bone? Even Dugu Bo has a soul bone! Merit—do you have any merit? If we stay here and actively seek opportunities to earn merit, would that not be better than returning to keep that old woman company?" Yan Chixia said to them.

Hearing this, Ghostly and Yue Guan stood frozen in place.

Coming out to seek opportunities for merit, soul bones...

"Spirit City may be prosperous, but Heaven Dou City is no worse. Moreover, we can deal directly with the various factions. If any problem arises, we can solve it immediately, rather than waiting for Salas and the others to report back before sending people here. Do either of you have any objections to what I said?" Yan Chixia asked them.

Ghostly and Yue Guan did not answer. Their minds were filled with thoughts of merit and soul bones.

"Good. Since there are no objections, Salas..."

Yan Chixia said to Salas, who had followed them over, "From today onward, we three Elders will officially take over the Martial Soul Holy Hall. You will be responsible for assisting us."

Salas immediately froze where he stood.