When the Nation Prospered, the People Suffered; When It Fell, the People Suffered

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: Watch that loose tongue of yours. Don't come to Spirit City, or I'm afraid I'll beat you to death!]

[Heaven Dou Empress Little Angel: That woman is right. Definitely don't come to my place either, or I'll cut you down with one sword.]

Ye Mu sighed softly, a wistful look appearing in his eyes. "You were all the ones who made me say it. I'm the most honest person there is. I never lie."

"And yet this is how you treat me. I'm truly heartbroken." Ye Mu clutched his chest, putting on a pained expression.

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: Stop pretending. Someone's coming to see you.]

Ye Mu immediately returned to normal and saw the trembling villagers not far ahead.

"What is it?"

"Lord Soul Master, thank you!" The villagers all fell to their knees.

"Thank you, Lord Soul Master, for saving our lives."

"Thank you, Lord Soul Master, for saving our lives."

"Thank you, Lord Soul Master, for saving our lives."

Something stirred within Ye Mu, though his expression remained calm.

"I'll leave the rest to you. Be careful. You may not be this lucky again in the future."

With that, Ye Mu left.

[Little Witch of the Glazed Tile Sect: Sigh... I really can't stand seeing this. It's heartbreaking.]

[Tyrannosaurus Tears Down the House Today: That just means you're still a child. I've seen too much of this already. It doesn't stir much in me anymore. Things like this happen every day. Some places may not be quite this miserable, but they aren't much better.]

[Blue Silver Sacrifice Specialist: Why is it like this?]

[Cat Star Person Never Admits Defeat: Nobles and commoners—plainly speaking, they're practically different species already.]

[Heaven Dou Empress Little Angel: Exactly. On Douluo Continent, Soul Masters stand at the top, nobles occupy the middle, and the wealthy are at the bottom. These villagers don't even count as the lowest class.]

[Heaven Dou Empress Little Angel: Neither the Heaven Dou Empire nor the Star Luo Empire cares much about people like them. They have no ability to rebel. Since ancient times, no one has ever heard of such people rebelling.]

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: For them, having Innate Soul Power is the best way to escape their class. But the odds are only one in a thousand, perhaps even lower.]

Ye Mu sighed. "When the nation prospers, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer."

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: It seems you understand this very well.]

Ye Mu gave a bitter smile. "How could I not? Are kings and nobles born with superior blood?"

[Heaven Dou Empress Little Angel: Are kings and nobles born with superior blood? Well said, but that is the essence of things. It is very difficult to change.]

Ye Mu nodded. "Yes. After all, this is a world of Soul Masters. In a world where the strongest fist takes everything, these people aren't even worth as much as some people's pet dogs."

"So Spirit Hall has actually done quite well. It awakens Martial Souls for everyone, and that alone is something no other force can accomplish.

No matter what Spirit Hall's true purpose is, this is undeniably a good thing."

"And it even provides Soul Master Subsidies. They may not be much, but they are enough for a normal meal."

[Tyrannosaurus Tears Down the House Today: Tch... It's still just to win over newly awakened Soul Masters.]

"Sister Erlong, you can't put it that way. Judge deeds, not intentions; if you judge intentions, no one is perfect. If there were no benefits in it, Spirit Hall wouldn't go through so much trouble. Wouldn't that just waste money and manpower?"

"Before Spirit Hall, I never heard of the empires doing it."

[Little Witch of the Glazed Tile Sect: That's true. Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect only awakens Martial Souls in some villages under our sect. It's not that we don't want to visit other villages; we simply don't have enough people.]

[Blue Silver Sacrifice Specialist: I've seen the awakening ceremony. The children with Soul Power were very happy.]

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: Spirit Hall has its own way of doing things.]

"By the way, I want to ask, where does this subsidy come from?" Ye Mu asked.

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: Naturally, we squeeze it out of the Two Great Empires.]

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: I'm not stupid either. Spirit Hall has many Soul Masters to support, so we can't waste too much money. But the Two Great Empires are different. They have money, and if I don't take it, they'll spend it themselves.]

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: They would rather use that money to raise dogs than give it to Soul Masters. Naturally, genius Soul Masters are exceptions. Just look at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Fifty or sixty percent of its students are nobles, descendants of the royal family, right? The rest are Soul Masters with fairly good talent, and even those Soul Masters still need Spirit Hall's subsidies.]

[Tyrannosaurus Tears Down the House Today: That's true. Quite a few people at our academy receive subsidies too. The Old Woman has done quite well in that regard. Those fat-bellied nobles are truly disgusting. They spend every day drowning in drink and pleasure, yet refuse to cultivate Soul Masters. Even when they do cultivate Soul Masters, it is only to help them do disgusting things.]

[Little Witch of the Glazed Tile Sect: Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is better in that regard. As long as someone has Soul Power, we will nurture them. At the very least, they will not lack resources.]

[Heaven Dou Empress Little Angel: It's only natural that you have money. Those nobles have never lacked resources either, and they have talented Soul Masters among them, but very few become accomplished. The main reason is that they like fooling around everywhere and dislike cultivation. Some nobles would rather give resources to such people than to talented commoners.]

[Cat Star Person Never Admits Defeat: The Star Luo Empire has this problem too, though it is somewhat better than the Heaven Dou Empire. Who knows when it will change.]

"It's very difficult. Wherever there are people, there are interests. Nobles will not help you for no reason."

"Even if the emperor gives an order, the officials below will not necessarily carry it out."

"And right now, Spirit Hall is keeping things in check. Otherwise, the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire would be fighting again."

"When that happens, these commoners will still be the ones to suffer. Sigh..." Ye Mu felt rather helpless.

Though he had no connection to these people,

he had still received over a decade of education. How could he possibly turn a blind eye to something like this?

[Rakshasa Sister Not Short of Money: To be honest, I wouldn't care about these people's feelings at all, because I am a Super Douluo.]

[Little Witch of the Glazed Tile Sect: That's very honest. I've never been to the countryside. Though it feels a little sad, I cannot truly empathize.]

[Tyrannosaurus Tears Down the House Today: Same.]

[Heaven Dou Empress Little Angel: That is the gap in status.]

"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it."

"Sisters, that's all for today's livestream. Over the next few days, I need to hurry on my journey, so I may not stream. But don't worry—there will be a very good story waiting for you later."

"That's it."

[Reward obtained: Spiritual Power greatly enhanced, Soul Power +1x, horseback riding skill enhanced.]