A Gentleman's Revenge

Gentleman's Revenge

"The two of you... are here to freeload a meal, aren't you?"

Just as the dishes were served, Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong rushed over. Tang Yuehua stood up to welcome them.

The atmosphere was harmonious and pleasant.

However, Nan Feng, who had been looking forward to some quality time for two, was not exactly thrilled by their arrival.

Damn it! Couldn't you two have waited until I finished eating before showing up?

"Uh..." Ning Fengzhi was momentarily at a loss for words.

To be honest, this was the first time he had encountered such a question.

He had been careless!

"Oh, don't be angry. This meal is on me," Gu Rong said with a chuckle, sitting down beside Nan Feng and draping an arm over his shoulder.

???

Gu Rong froze.

Level 40?

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

"Didn't I just say I'm only thirteen? What, you didn't hear me clearly?"

"Uh..." Gu Rong felt a bit awkward.

Was there anything more embarrassing than being caught eavesdropping?

Yes! Being caught eavesdropping and then walking right into it yourself!

"Young man, you are truly promising!" Gu Rong quickly brushed off the recent awkwardness and began his clumsy flattery.

"Alright, if you want to know something, just ask," Nan Feng said.

"Even if you want to inquire about the top-secret intelligence of Martial Soul Hall, it's not entirely off the table."

"???"

Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong exchanged a look.

They were completely bewildered.

What the hell??

Isn't this kid from the Martial Soul Hall?

"Hey, you two, don't be so vulgar." Nan Feng started eating on his own; after all, he really hadn't eaten anything good before.

"At the end of the day, it's all just a job. Who cares who I'm working for?"

"If you two can come up with a price that actually excites me, it's not like I couldn't be a double agent for you against the Martial Soul Hall."

The corporate culture of the Martial Soul Hall was deeply entrenched. It was impossible for Bibi Dong to shake it overnight; she could only go along with the ideas of those people to get things done, and only after securing enough power could she begin to do what she actually wanted.

Just like how the Martial Soul Hall grew and strengthened under Bibi Dong in the original timeline, if the organization had been declining under her, Qian Daoliu and the others would have ousted her long ago. Even if Bibi Dong wanted to destroy the Martial Soul Hall, she had to possess the capability to destroy such an organization first.

If you want to destroy something, you must first make it go mad.

The Martial Soul Empire, unifying the world, lasting for generations—what a massive pie in the sky that was.

"Hehe, Elder Nan Feng is joking." Ning Fengzhi didn't take it seriously.

Currently, the relationship between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Martial Soul Hall was still decent. After all, most spirit master factions didn't dare to trade with the Martial Soul Hall directly and had to use the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as an intermediary, so their relationship with the Martial Soul Hall, at least on the surface, was still acceptable.

The only one that had openly broken ties with the Martial Soul Hall was the Clear Sky Sect.

"Do you think I look like I'm joking?" Nan Feng's expression remained unchanged.

Ning Fengzhi's expression shifted slightly. "It seems Elder Nan Feng doesn't have much sense of belonging to the Martial Soul Hall."

"Sense of belonging?" Nan Feng raised an eyebrow.

"That's ridiculous. Aside from holding a title, I haven't gotten a single thing from the Martial Soul Hall. Why would I have a sense of belonging to that dump?"

"I risked my life fighting the Clear Sky Sect to the death, and after I came back, all I got were a few empty words of praise and a useless Elder title. If I weren't unable to beat those bastards, I would have flipped out on them right then and there."

Honorary Elder—at first, he thought this thing was a big deal, but it turned out to be just a title. It wasn't worth a single cent.

When he walked outside, people respected him, and Xue Ye gave him five million, all because Yue Guan was by his side and because his relationship with Pope Bibi Dong was ambiguous. It was because those two were Title Douluos, not because of that useless Honorary Elder title.

In other words, he had risked his life to kill two Clear Sky Sect elders, and all he got was a useless certificate!

There wasn't a single practical benefit!

"Screw that stupid Elder Hall. They really thought I cared about this crappy Elder title," Nan Feng grumbled.

"Talking about honor and glory—can you eat honor for dinner?"

"Every one of them acted like it was such a huge honor for a mere Soul Ancestor like me to stand alongside those Title Douluos. Honor my ass!"

At the Honorary Elder investiture ceremony, the atmosphere was exactly like walking into a damn pyramid scheme!

Trying to fool him like he's a three-year-old?

"This..." Ning Fengzhi felt puzzled.

"Elder Nan Feng, did you really... not get any benefits at all?"

That shouldn't be right, should it? If the rumors spread by Martial Soul Hall were to be believed, it was this Elder Nan Feng who had turned two elders of the Clear Sky Sect, leading to internal strife within the sect and a major victory for Martial Soul Hall.

Even if they were stingy, they wouldn't give absolutely nothing, would they?

"If you don't believe me, go ask around yourself," Nan Feng said irritably.

"Those idiots didn't give me a single Gold Soul Coin, other than blowing smoke up my ass!"

"Even this set of clothes I'm wearing was bought by Bibi Dong with her own salary."

The corner of Ning Fengzhi's eye twitched as he roughly guessed the reason. "Elder Nan Feng, you belong to the Pope Hall, right?"

"Yeah, so what?" Nan Feng said.

"That explains it," Gu Rong also realized the situation.

It had been evident since the previous Pope's coronation ceremony that there was a problem between the new Pope and the Elder Hall.

Nan Feng's contributions in the battle between Martial Soul Hall and the Clear Sky Sect were too significant. If he were to be rewarded, it would require approval from an Elder Hall meeting, but it was clear that the elders of the Elder Hall had no intention of supporting the new Pope, Bibi Dong, at this time.

So...

"I'm being punished by association?" Nan Feng was stunned.

Because the Elder Hall was unhappy with Bibi Dong, and he was working with her, giving him a reward would be equivalent to aiding the enemy. So, they just gave him nothing?

What kind of bullshit bureaucracy is this?!

Is it the Han family's gang? Or the Qian family's gang?

"Don't tell me I fought the Clear Sky Sect just for Bibi Dong?" Nan Feng couldn't hold back anymore.

"Wasn't it to help Martial Soul Hall save face?"

"If that idiot Qian Xunji hadn't insisted on trying to rob others, would he have ended up in that pathetic state?"

Ning Fengzhi's eye twitched violently, while Gu Rong couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It was true that Martial Soul Hall had started the conflict, as everyone knew. But the problem was that the Clear Sky Sect was no longer the Clear Sky Sect of the past; even if Martial Soul Hall was being unreasonable, they had to accept it.

At the end of the day, whoever has the bigger fist makes the rules.

If Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect were still around back then, let alone Tang Hao having a 100,000-Year Transformed Spirit Beast by his side, even if Tang Hao had taken that Humanoid Spirit Beast for a stroll through Martial Soul City, Qian Xunji wouldn't have dared to let out a single peep!

"So, why don't you go make a scene at the Elder Hall?" Gu Rong chuckled.

"Make a scene, my ass," Nan Feng rolled his eyes at Gu Rong.

"Those idiots are all Title Douluos. You want me to go make a scene? Do I look like I have a death wish?"

"A gentleman's revenge is never too late!"

Gu Rong paused. "Ten years is too short. Even with your talent, it will take at least twenty."

A thirteen-year-old Soul Ancestor—with talent like this, it was no wonder Bibi Dong had started those rumors. Given time, he would undoubtedly become another Title Douluo, and certainly a Peak Douluo of level 95 or higher. He might even have the potential to reach the heights of Tang Chen from the Clear Sky Sect back in the day.

The only mystery was the type of his martial soul. Once one reached the level of a Soul Saint, the gap between Soul Power Levels could be entirely bridged by the quality of one's martial soul.

Take the Clear Sky Avatar, for instance; once activated, even a Spirit Douluo wouldn't dare take it head-on.

Back then, Tang Chen had marched forward with unstoppable momentum. From the moment he stepped out of the Clear Sky Sect as a Soul Saint until he became a Title Douluo, he had never lost!

Even the Grand Priest of Martial Soul Hall, who was known alongside him as one of the two pillars of the Spirit Master World, had never managed to defeat him—or at least, no one had ever heard of such an outcome.

Decades had passed. The Grand Priest of Martial Soul Hall had retreated from the Spirit Master World, appearing only on special occasions, while Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect had vanished into thin air. No one knew where he had gone, or if he was even still alive.

However, judging by Martial Soul Hall's attitude toward the Clear Sky Sect in this war, they likely didn't know whether Tang Chen was dead or alive either. Otherwise, given such a perfect opportunity, the Elder Hall and those High Priests hidden in the shadows would never have remained idle.

In fact, throughout this entire war, Martial Soul Hall hadn't stepped a single foot inside the gates of the Clear Sky Sect!

The high probability was that they were wary of Tang Chen's fate.

The wrath of a single Title Douluo was already difficult to handle, and Tang Chen was a legendary level 99 Peerless Douluo!

If they were to drive a man like that to madness, the people of Martial Soul Hall would likely have to cower in Martial Soul City for the rest of their lives, seeking the protection of that Grand Priest.