The Jiangnan Leather Factory Has Gone Bankrupt

"If that brat's moves could truly control others at will, he wouldn't have deliberately provoked you into attacking him," Golden Crocodile said.

"Perhaps his martial soul requires specific conditions to be met before it can be activated, and those conditions are passive."

Falling Devil's expression stiffened. "Does that mean we really can't lay a hand on that brat?"

Once they took the initiative to attack, there was a risk of being controlled?

"At least for now, that is the case. After all, even the High Priest couldn't resist that brat's control, so it's impossible for us to resist it either," Golden Crocodile said.

"If we're talking about weaknesses, he should only be able to control one person at a time. Furthermore, when he activates the control, his own body loses control—it's highly likely a backlash. That clone of his was probably summoned to protect his physical body."

"Then does that mean we're helpless against him?" Falling Devil asked with a heavy expression.

"No," Qian Daoliu frowned.

"His type of control definitely has other limitations. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had me sneak attack Golden Crocodile just now; he should have made me commit suicide just like Demon Bear!"

Perhaps his spiritual power was strong enough, or perhaps the angel god power within him had resisted a portion of the control.

But that brat's mental control was absolutely incapable of doing whatever he pleased!

"Then what should we do next?" Qian Jun Douluo asked.

"The people in the Elder Hall have already been scared out of their wits by him. I'm afraid they'll all defect to Bibi Dong's side next."

"Don't move for now," Qian Daoliu said.

"Before we figure out that brat's abilities, we absolutely must not take the initiative to attack."

"Then... what about Xiao Xue?" Golden Crocodile asked worriedly.

"You saw it yourself; that brat is a complete lunatic. He really is capable of anything!"

Qian Daoliu was silent for a moment. "He shouldn't. If he really wanted to take us down with him, he wouldn't have used Xiao Xue to provoke me time and time again."

"He is reminding me where my weakness lies."

His biggest concern in not letting Qian Jun and Falling Devil attack earlier was Qian Renxue!

If they couldn't completely finish that brat off today, it would truly be a fight to the death!

A lunatic hiding in the shadows!

Damn it! He hadn't taken action against the Clear Sky Sect precisely because he feared this kind of madman!

First Tang Chen, and now this even more dangerous lunatic!

"What if?" Golden Crocodile said with concern.

Qian Daoliu was silent for a moment. "I will go talk to Bibi Dong. I hope that madwoman hasn't completely lost her mind yet."

"Will she even care?" Golden Crocodile asked skeptically.

"Perhaps. It is the only way for now. If that doesn't work..." Qian Daoliu's eyes narrowed.

"Then we go down together!"

"Yo-ho? Where is everyone heading?"

After Qian Daoliu left, Nan Feng walked up to the conference table and picked up two spirit bones.

Seizing this opportunity, the six Title Douluo, led by Ghost Leopard Douluo, tried to sneak away.

"Uh..."

Seeing Yue Guan and Gui Mei standing silently at the entrance of the Elder Hall, the group of elders stiffened and halted their steps.

Damn it! You two really have no loyalty!

"My business with Qian Daoliu is finished for the time being. What about you lot?" Nan Feng smiled.

"Don't you intend to show some sincerity? Or do you need me to take the initiative?"

"No, no, no!" The elders panicked.

Let you take the initiative? Would we even have our lives left?

They were afraid of death, but not that afraid. The problem was that no one wanted to die for no reason!

It was infuriating!

"But we don't have any spirit bones," Ghost Leopard Douluo said awkwardly.

Spirit bones were entirely a matter of luck!

Most Title Douluo didn't even have a single spirit bone on them!

Even if they did, they would have absorbed them immediately; it was impossible to have any spares lying around.

"None? You're that poor?" Nan Feng raised an eyebrow.

"You've spent half your lives working for Martial Soul Hall and you haven't even managed to scrape together a single bone?"

As soon as these words were spoken, even the expressions of Yue Guan and Gui Mei became somewhat unnatural.

No, really, what do you take spirit bones for?

Cabbages on the side of the road?

If a spirit beast could drop a spirit bone when hunted, it would basically be absorbed by that spirit master along with the spirit ring; it would never flow out into the open market.

If a spirit master dies of old age, the spirit bone will dissipate along with that spirit master's spirit power, turning into an ordinary piece of bone!

To seize a spirit bone from a living person, one must use special means to excise the part of the body where the spirit bone is absorbed while the person is still alive. If one tries to force it out, the spirit bone will shatter, lose its spiritual essence, and become a broken piece of bone.

Moreover, spirit bones that have already been absorbed will inevitably suffer damage during the extraction process, and most are incomplete.

After being passed down for two generations, they would still turn into worthless scrap.

The only way to extract a spirit bone without any loss is for a title douluo to cut off their own cultivation before death!

Just like the inherited spirit bones of the Clear Sky Sect or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, they are only granted when it is confirmed that the successor has the potential to become a title douluo.

As for most spirit masters—or rather, any spirit master who can cultivate to the level of spirit saint or above—they all want to die with some dignity. Who would want to die with their corpse incomplete?

"Don't be nervous. Sit. Treat it like your own home," Nan Feng said.

The elders walked back with pained expressions and sat in their seats.

What on earth did they come here for today?!

Excluding the Pope, Martial Soul Hall had a total of sixteen title douluo, more than the seven great sects combined. Aside from the seven high priests led by Qian Daoliu, there were nine title douluo elders. Yue Guan and Gui Mei followed Bibi Dong, Demon Bear had just died, and now only six title douluo elders remained.

Pufferfish, Snake Lance, Ghost Leopard, Ling Yuan, Sacred Dragon Sect master Tuoba Xi, and the "Ninth Elder," who had almost no presence at all.

"Tsk, died so miserably." Nan Feng walked to the side of Demon Bear's corpse, his face showing a hint of pity.

"Look at this. This is a good dog of the Qian family. He died and no one even collects his body."

Callous and ungrateful—Qian Daoliu was like this, Qian Xunji was like this, and Qian Renxue was the same. It was a character trait inherited through the Qian lineage, and Bibi Dong, who had been taught by Qian Xunji, was much the same.

He saw not a shred of human warmth in this Martial Soul Hall, nor did he see any sense of belonging to the organization from these elders and bishops, because the corporate culture of this organization was exactly like this.

The incompetent go down, the capable go up. This made Martial Soul Hall the most popular spirit master organization and allowed it to become powerful, but it also destined this organization to be extremely fragile.

There was not a shred of cohesion!

Except for the very few spirit masters who grew up being brainwashed from a young age, every spirit master who joined Martial Soul Hall halfway through treated it like an "electronics factory." They were more active than anyone else when there was money to be made, just like the Martial Soul Empire that Bibi Dong established later; in just a few short years, it expanded to the point where it could suppress the two great empires.

But when there was no money to be made, they ran faster than anyone else!

After the deaths of Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue, the Martial Soul Empire collapsed almost instantly!

It's just like the Jiangnan Leather Factory going bankrupt—once it's gone, it's gone.

Human sentiment—to those outside the circle, this thing is disgusting. Because the existence of these personal connections creates privilege and breeds corruption. But in human society, is it even possible to exist without them?

Most people dream of the saying, "When one person attains the Tao, their pets ascend to heaven," rather than cutting off all ties with their kin.

Who doesn't wish they had a relative with heaven-reaching power?

And why? Naturally, it's to bask in a little of that reflected glory.

But what if someone else has such a powerful relative?

Corruption! It's just too corrupt! Why don't they just go die!