The Foundations of Spirit Hall

The Foundations of Spirit Hall

After leaving the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Nan Feng and Yue Guan returned to the Martial Soul Temple.

"I only made a slight move, and Xue Ye handed over five million Gold Soul Coins..."

The more Nan Feng thought about it, the more something seemed off.

That had been way too easy!

This was five million Gold Soul Coins!

Enough money to build a small sect!

Fewer than five groups across the entire continent could produce that much money all at once!

And yet Xue Ye hadn't even tried to bargain!

He'd just handed it over!

"A slight move?" Yue Guan's eye twitched.

"You think that counts as a slight move?"

You'd already threatened the survival of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. How was that a slight move?

Those five million from Xue Ye were money for his life!

"But he gave it up so easily. I feel like I asked for too little," Nan Feng said.

"But this is five million Gold Soul Coins. Isn't that enough?"

"Of course it's enough!" Yue Guan said, exasperated.

"Do you know how much tax revenue the Heaven Dou Empire brings in each year?"

"How much?" Nan Feng asked, puzzled.

He really hadn't paid attention to that sort of thing.

"Less than ten million," Yue Guan said.

"Ten million?" Nan Feng furrowed his brow.

"So I only asked him for about half a year's income?"

"I got ripped off!"

Yue Guan covered his face. This kid really didn't have the slightest common sense!

"Listen carefully. Ten million is the figure on paper—the total reported by the several kingdoms and duchies under the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. But over half of that goes toward maintaining the country's basic operations. Another tenth is used to subsidize low-ranking Soul Masters and is handed over to Spirit Hall. That's about a million a year. Of the remaining three million or so, only that much actually makes it into the treasury," Yue Guan explained.

"And that three million has to support more than just Xue Ye. It has to support the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Family. Do you know how many people are in the Heaven Dou Imperial Family? Do you know how much it costs to keep the palace running normally for a single day?"

"You snatched five million from him in one go. He'll be hurting for years! The Heaven Dou Imperial Family will probably have to make drastic cuts to its spending budget from now on."

Nan Feng really had no concept of money!

He tossed around millions without a second thought. Even this Titled Douluo had a net worth of less than a million!

Soul Masters might earn a lot, but they spent a lot, too.

The only people on the entire continent who could casually talk about millions were the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

As a Soul Master power built on commerce, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had used its formidable business acumen over the past thousand years to amass nearly half the continent's wealth!

Calling the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect "wealthier than a nation" was practically an insult!

All the Soul Master powers across the continent, both public and covert, had ties of interest with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to varying degrees. Its place as the second of the Upper Three Sects, despite its Support System Martial Soul, was not just thanks to its two Titled Douluo, Chen Xin and Gu Rong. More than anything, it was because of its terrifying web of interests!

This Support System sect never made enemies with anyone. It always stayed neutral, so no one treated it as an enemy. At Elder Hall meetings, most of the elders favored winning the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect over to Spirit Hall in discussions of Spirit Hall's future plans. After all, the cost of bringing the sect over to their side was vastly lower than the cost of destroying it!

Even if Spirit Hall relied on its powerful Soul Masters and attacked the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's stronghold directly, a centipede could still writhe after its death.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's greatest strength wasn't on the battlefield. It lay in all the places no one could see.

If Spirit Hall truly fought the sect to the death, the price it would pay would be even greater than for its war with the Clear Sky Sect!

"Besides, the money it spends brings in a return. The five million Xue Ye handed over today is as good as thrown away. It's completely different," Yue Guan said.

"Anyway, take it easy. Don't cause any more trouble for a while. If you drive Xue Ye mad, things will go badly for everyone."

"Oh." Nan Feng nodded and walked off with Little Rabbit in his arms.

Yue Guan's eye twitched.

"Oh?

Whenever Nan Feng answered a question with that tone, it meant he hadn't listened to a word!

"So you're Salas?"

"Elder, yes. I'm Salas."

An old man with graying hair, who looked to be in his sixties or seventies, stood across from Nan Feng.

"Please, sit." Nan Feng was quite amiable toward his colleagues.

"Thank you, Elder." Salas breathed a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely intimidated by this rising star in Pope Hall!

"What do you think of the situation in Heaven Dou City?" Nan Feng asked.

Salas paused. "Which aspect does the Elder mean?"

"Those useless members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, of course," Nan Feng said.

"I went to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace today and realized that Spirit Hall's corruption is nothing compared to theirs!"

Salas felt a chill run down his back.

Nothing compared to theirs?

What did that mean? Was the new Pope planning to reform Spirit Hall?

Surely not? Wasn't this how Spirit Hall had grown so powerful?

Otherwise, why would those Soul Masters bother joining a place like Spirit Hall, where merit went unrewarded but mistakes were always punished?

Wasn't it because Spirit Hall offered such generous unofficial benefits?

Forget the Two Great Empires—even the Seven Great Sects and Eight Great Families wouldn't dare provoke Spirit Hall directly. So, in the provinces, Spirit Hall branches could practically be called local emperors.

They didn't even need to be corrupt themselves; people came and offered gifts of their own accord.

Take him, for example. Every year, on top of his regular Spirit Hall salary, he received almost two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins in tributes of all sizes—several times his salary!

If he served as an elder in another sect, he'd only have status in his own territory. But as an official in Spirit Hall, at his level, wherever he went across the continent—except Spirit City and the territory of the major sects—he was the center of attention.

Fame and fortune!

So why wouldn't he join Spirit Hall?

But if Spirit Hall tried to enforce integrity, it would be shooting itself in the foot!

"Don't worry. I understand how these things work," Nan Feng said.

"I'm not an idiot who expects a horse to run without feeding it."

Salas gave an awkward laugh. "Forgive me for doubting you, Elder."

Why were most commoner Soul Masters willing to join Spirit Hall? Wasn't it to escape their former status and rise above others?

Being someone important depended not only on strength but also on status.

A wandering Spirit King wouldn't dare breathe a word against a Spirit King from Spirit Hall!

With status came the need to maintain appearances, and that took wealth. What sort of appearances could anyone maintain on their regular salary alone?

If Spirit Hall cut off these unofficial sources of income and forced everyone to keep their hands clean, its mid- and lower ranks would be up in arms!

Especially the grassroots branches. No money, no benefits, nothing. Why would anyone in their right mind travel across the mountains and plains to awaken Martial Souls for those little villages?

It was no exaggeration to say that awakening Martial Souls was the foundation of Spirit Hall!

Spirit Hall had grown into the force it was today because it had taken charge of Martial Soul awakenings—a major enterprise with low costs and high returns.

Even if only one in a hundred people had Soul Power and could become a Soul Master, that was an achievement! A huge profit!

Soul Masters were people, too. Only a fool would do a job with no benefits. The people with Soul Power found across the mountains and plains were achievements for Spirit Hall's grassroots Soul Masters—and the very foundation of Spirit Hall.

Spirit Hall had more Soul Masters than anywhere else on the continent because it could recruit these people as soon as their Martial Souls were awakened.

If Spirit Hall ran into trouble with this, it would be a huge problem.

(Note: In Douluo I, Soul Masters were people of high status. The continent had a population of at least a hundred million, but Spirit Hall had recorded fewer than a hundred thousand Soul Masters. Even a Soul Master with only a dozen or so levels was someone important. Commoners and commoner Soul Masters were two different things; all Soul Masters were noble masters.

But in Douluo II, Soul Masters were practically everywhere. The most obvious changes:

Douluo I: A legendary Titled Douluo!

Douluo II: Oh, a Titled Douluo.

Douluo III: You're a Titled Douluo, too?

Douluo IV: Tsk, a mere Titled Douluo.)