The Dao Followed Nature

"Junior, you still don't understand. Sword cultivators are common, but treasured swords aren't."

Oscar leaned against a stone pillar beside Suotuo City's gate, pointing one hand to the sky and the other to the ground.

"Look at the world around you. How many geniuses like you are there?"

"Seems like... quite a lot?"

Oscar's mouth twitched. In his current situation, he couldn't afford an especially expensive sword, and those were all collected by the nobles. If he wanted to keep practicing swordsmanship, his only option was to buy more swords and replace them often.

"Exactly. The fact that you could think of that proves you've made further progress during this time. There are countless geniuses in the world, so naturally, treasured swords aren't common.

"Do you know what your cultivation method needs you to work on most right now?"

Ma Hongjun shook his head, looking a little lost.

"Listen to your breath, quiet your thoughts, and do good deeds. People have desires. Once they're held captive by those desires, they become so busy that they can't appreciate the scenery of life, and they lose themselves.

"What we must do is let go of desire and do good, spreading more warmth throughout the world.

"That brings the satisfaction of realizing your own worth. That kind of happiness is far stronger than those vulgar desires."

As Oscar spoke, he held out his hand to Ma Hongjun.

"So, junior, could you use your Soul Coins to help out your impoverished senior?"

Ma Hongjun was utterly bewildered by what he'd heard, but at that moment, he felt that if he didn't help his senior, somehow nothing would make sense. So he pulled out every Soul Coin in his pocket.

"By the way, senior, should we go help those beggars too?"

Ma Hongjun scratched his head and asked Oscar, still confused.

"Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him to fish. The Soul Coins we gave them before are enough to let them start small businesses in Suotuo City, and I've taught them some skills too. There's no need to go back."

Oscar pocketed the Soul Coins and led Ma Hongjun toward a blacksmith's shop nearby.

He hadn't helped those beggars just to satisfy himself. His deeper goal was to turn them into well-informed peddlers.

He wanted to build a web of information channels across Suotuo City!

To ensure that this information network could operate safely in Suotuo City, they naturally had to eliminate the city's unstable elements.

That was also the real reason Flender had agreed to let all the teachers and students go out to hunt Evil Soul Masters!

Over the past two years, many powerful organizations had established themselves in Suotuo City. But Shrek Academy, which had taken an unconventional path by developing the common people, now possessed an intelligence organization stronger than all the others—the Sky Net.

Of course, only a few teachers at Shrek, along with Oscar and Ma Hongjun, knew that the Sky Net existed.

"Old Qing, the usual. One refined iron sword."

Oscar led Ma Hongjun to a blacksmith's shop, where a sturdy man was hammering at a piece of iron.

He tossed his money pouch onto the counter and started toward the courtyard.

"You don't have to pay. If you keep doing this, I won't make swords for you anymore."

When Old Qing saw Oscar, his honest face broke into a broad smile. He carefully wiped his hands on his trousers before grabbing the money pouch and trying to press it back into Oscar's hands.

He was one of the beggars Oscar had once helped. After two years of hard work, he had managed to save enough to set up this blacksmith's shop.

"Helping you is the right thing to do. Paying you is the proper thing to do. Besides, you don't owe me anything."

Oscar gave Old Qing a meaningful look and pushed the pouch back toward him. Then he turned to Ma Hongjun.

"Junior, go have a look around the city or head back to Shrek. I'll return tonight."

Seeing that Oscar was going into the Sky Net's headquarters, Ma Hongjun lost interest.

He watched Oscar pass through a small door into the backyard, then turned and headed back to Shrek.

The courtyard was already full of people. They were all the core members Shrek Academy had recruited from among the beggars.

When Oscar entered, everyone rose and clasped their fists.

"Greetings, Deputy Commander!"

Oscar swept his sleeve and took the seat of honor.

Once everyone was seated, Oscar looked toward the young woman on his left.

Her name was Li Wenhua, and she had been born into a noble family.

Unfortunately, her family had become entangled in a conflict. After it broke out, the family's Soul Masters were beheaded, the young men were sent to work in the mines, and the women were sent to brothels.

Three years ago, she had luckily escaped that living hell and made her way to Suotuo City, where she survived by begging. After Oscar saved her, she had devoted herself to planning for the Sky Net.

With the Sky Net behind her, Li Wenhua had drawn on the social skills she'd developed over the years to establish a formidable web of connections throughout the Star Luo Empire.

They even had plenty of people working for them in the capital of Star Luo!

"The struggle over the succession to the Star Luo Empire's throne has begun. The Third Prince, who's just turned eleven, is fleeing to the Heaven Dou Empire.

"The information came in after he'd already left the city. Judging by the timing, he should have entered the Star Dou Great Forest by now."

Oscar leaned back slightly. The people they'd planted in various cities were all peddlers. They had plenty of information, but little strength, so it took a long time for messages to get through.

Two years ago, after Oscar emerged from the Inner Scene, he'd already known roughly how many people would stand on Shrek Academy's side. The two who had left the deepest impression on him were Tang San and the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire—Dai Mubai.

And now... Dai Mubai had finally emerged.

"Have everyone keep their identities hidden and carry on with their usual work. Continue expanding the intelligence network. Within two years, I want us to have informants in every city in the Star Luo Empire."

After giving Li Wenhua her instructions, Oscar turned to the middle-aged man on his right.

This man was named Li Jianqiu, and he was a Soul Douluo. He had once fallen out with the imperial family of the Heaven Dou Empire. Oscar hadn't looked into the details. He only knew from his adoptive father, Flender, that the man had endured a truly tragic past.

"Most of the Evil Soul Masters in Suotuo City have been executed. The few who escaped haven't returned, and the ones who occasionally pass through are weaklings who can't compare to the Evil Soul Masters we dealt with before. The leader has already gone to take care of them."

Oscar furrowed his brows slightly. Only after Li Jianqiu finished speaking did he ask, "Uncle Li, there should be more to it than that, right?"

Li Jianqiu nodded slightly and spoke with some hesitation.

"I have a few suspicions, but I haven't confirmed them yet. Based on our past investigations, the Evil Soul Masters in Suotuo City all acted independently, with little contact between them. But last month, I found a few clues that made me uneasy. I suspect a powerful Evil Soul Master has formed an organization and is plotting something. They've also set their sights on us."

Oscar tapped the back of his chair lightly and spoke slowly.

"Uncle Li, we're still weak. We're not ready to go head-to-head with these Evil Soul Masters. Once the Evil Soul Masters around Suotuo City have been dealt with, focus on establishing our underground base. Let the people from Spirit Hall handle this possible tough opponent.

"Now, let's get down to business."