A Gentleman's Revenge

A Gentleman's Revenge

"Are you two here to freeload?"

The food had just been served when Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong hurried over. Tang Yuehua rose to greet them.

The mood was warm and cheerful.

But Nan Feng, who'd been looking forward to some time alone with her, wasn't exactly happy to see the two of them.

Damn it! Couldn't they have waited until I'd finished eating?

"Uh..." Ning Fengzhi wasn't sure how to answer.

Honestly, it was the first time anyone had ever asked him that.

He'd miscalculated!

"Aw, don't be mad. This meal's on me." Gu Rong grinned as he sat down beside Nan Feng and put an arm around his shoulders.

???

Gu Rong froze.

Level forty?

"What, surprised?" Nan Feng raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't I just say I was thirteen? What, didn't you hear me?"

"Uh..." Gu Rong looked a little awkward.

Could anything be more embarrassing than getting caught eavesdropping?

Yes. Getting caught eavesdropping, then walking right up to the person you'd been spying on!

"Young man, you've got a bright future ahead of you!" Gu Rong quickly got over his embarrassment and launched into some painfully clumsy flattery.

"Enough. Just ask me what you want to know," Nan Feng said.

"Even if you want to ask about Spirit Hall's top-secret information, I'm sure we can work something out."

"???"

Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong exchanged a look.

They were both utterly baffled.

What was going on??

Wasn't this kid with Spirit Hall?

"Come on, you two. Don't be so vulgar." Nan Feng helped himself to the food. It wasn't like he'd ever had anything decent to eat.

"We're all working for a living anyway. What difference does it make who we work for?"

"If you can offer me a price that's tempting enough, I might even become a double agent for you inside Spirit Hall."

Spirit Hall's corporate culture was deeply entrenched. Bibi Dong wouldn't be able to change it overnight. For now, she could only build her influence by playing along with the others' plans. She'd need to gain enough power before she could start doing things her own way.

It was just like how Spirit Hall had grown stronger under Bibi Dong in the original timeline. If it had gone from strength to weakness under her, Qian Daoliu and the others would've removed her long ago. Even if Bibi Dong wanted to destroy Spirit Hall, she'd first need the power to do it.

If you wanted to bring about its downfall, you first had to drive it to madness.

The Spirit Hall Empire, uniting the world, ruling for generations to come. What a grand promise.

"Heh, Elder Nan Feng, you're joking." Ning Fengzhi didn't take him seriously.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Spirit Hall still had a good relationship. Most Spirit Master factions didn't dare trade with Spirit Hall directly, so they had to use the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as an intermediary. At least on the surface, their relationship with Spirit Hall was still cordial.

The only faction openly at odds with Spirit Hall was the Clear Sky Sect.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Nan Feng's expression didn't change.

Ning Fengzhi's expression shifted slightly. "It seems you don't feel much loyalty to Spirit Hall, Elder Nan Feng."

"Loyalty?" Nan Feng raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I? I've got nothing from Spirit Hall except a title. Why would I feel any attachment to that dump?"

"I risked my life fighting the Clear Sky Sect, and when I got back, all they gave me was a few empty compliments and a useless title. If I weren't too weak to beat those bastards, I'd have turned on them right then and there."

He'd thought Honorary Elder sounded impressive at first, but it turned out to be nothing but a title. Not a single coin came with it.

People respected him out in the world, and Xue Ye had been willing to offer him five million Gold Soul Coins, because Yue Guan was with him, because his relationship with Pope Bibi Dong was unclear, and because both of them were Titled Douluo—not because he had a useless Honorary Elder title.

In other words, after risking his life to kill two Clear Sky Sect elders, all he'd gotten was a worthless certificate!

Nothing of any practical value!

"To hell with that stupid Elder Hall. I thought I actually cared about that lousy title," Nan Feng grumbled.

"Honor and glory, my ass. Can you eat honor?"

"They all act like it's some great privilege for a Soul Ancestor like me to stand among their Titled Douluo. Privilege my ass!"

The Honorary Elder investiture ceremony had felt just like walking into a damn pyramid scheme!

Did they think he was three years old?

"Uh..." Ning Fengzhi was puzzled.

"Elder Nan Feng, you really didn't get any benefits at all?"

That couldn't be right. According to Spirit Hall's public account, this Elder Nan Feng had turned two Clear Sky Sect elders against their own sect, triggering an internal conflict and giving Spirit Hall a great victory.

Surely even Spirit Hall wouldn't be so stingy as to give him nothing?

"Don't believe me? Go ask around yourself," Nan Feng said irritably.

"Those idiots did nothing but praise me. They didn't give me a single Gold Soul Coin!"

"Even these clothes were bought for me by Bibi Dong out of her own salary."

Ning Fengzhi's eye twitched. He had more or less guessed why. "Elder Nan Feng, you belong to Pope Hall, right?"

"I do. What about it?" Nan Feng said.

"That explains it," Gu Rong said, catching on as well.

The earlier Coronation Ceremony had made it clear that the new Pope and the Elder Hall were at odds.

Nan Feng had contributed far too much in Spirit Hall's battle against the Clear Sky Sect. Any reward for him would have required the Elder Hall to approve it at a meeting. But clearly, the elders there weren't ready to support Bibi Dong, the new Pope.

So...

"Was I being punished by association?" Nan Feng froze.

The Elder Hall disliked Bibi Dong, and he worked with her. Rewarding him would be helping her, so they'd given him nothing?

What kind of rotten bureaucratic bullshit was this?!

Was this the Han clan faction or the Qian Family faction?

"Did I risk my life fighting the Clear Sky Sect for Bibi Dong?" Nan Feng couldn't hold back any longer.

"Wasn't I helping Spirit Hall save face?"

"If that idiot Qian Xunji hadn't tried to steal something that belonged to them, would he have ended up in that sorry state?"

Ning Fengzhi's eye twitched violently, while Gu Rong couldn't help laughing.

Spirit Hall had indeed started the trouble, and everyone knew it. The problem was that the Clear Sky Sect wasn't what it had once been. Even if Spirit Hall had been in the wrong, the Clear Sky Sect had no choice but to accept it.

In the end, whoever had the bigger fist was in the right.

If Tang Chen had still been around back then, then even if Tang Hao had a 100,000-Year Transformed Spirit Beast with him, he could've taken her for a stroll around Spirit City. Qian Xunji wouldn't have dared to say a word!

"So, why not go make a scene at the Elder Hall?" Gu Rong asked with a laugh.

"Make a scene, my ass." Nan Feng shot him a look.

"Those bastards are all Titled Douluo. You think I'd go pick a fight with them? I'd have to be out of my mind!"

"A gentleman's revenge can wait ten years!"

Gu Rong paused. "Ten years is too soon. With your talent, you'll need at least another twenty."

A thirteen-year-old Soul Ancestor—his talent was no wonder Bibi Dong had started that rumor. Given time, he'd surely become another Titled Douluo, and a Peak Douluo at level ninety-five or above. He might even reach the heights Tang Chen had once attained.

The only question was what kind of Martial Soul the boy had. Once someone reached the Soul Saint rank, differences in Soul Power Level could be made up for by the quality of their Martial Soul.

Take the Clear Sky Avatar, for example. Once it was activated, even a Soul Douluo wouldn't dare take a direct hit.

Back then, Tang Chen had advanced like a storm, leaving the Clear Sky Sect as a Soul Saint and continuing all the way to Titled Douluo without a single defeat!

Even the Grand Priest of Spirit Hall, who'd been hailed as one of the two great pillars of the Spirit Master World alongside him, had never been known to lose to Tang Chen. At least, they'd never heard of such a thing.

Decades had passed. The Grand Priest of Spirit Hall had withdrawn from the Spirit Master World, appearing only on special occasions, while Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect had vanished without a trace. No one knew whether he was still alive.

But judging from Spirit Hall's conduct toward the Clear Sky Sect in this battle, even they probably didn't know if Tang Chen was alive or dead. Otherwise, with such a perfect opportunity, the Elder Hall and the High Priests hidden away in the shadows wouldn't have sat idle.

In fact, from beginning to end, Spirit Hall had never set foot inside the Clear Sky Sect's mountain gates!

They were most likely afraid of what Tang Chen might do if he was still alive.

The wrath of a single Titled Douluo was already hard to handle. But Tang Chen was a legendary level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo!

If they drove a man like that mad, the people of Spirit Hall would probably have to spend the rest of their lives hiding in Spirit City, under the Grand Priest's protection.