"Silence!" Bibi Dong struck the floor several times with the bottom of her scepter. Her stern voice rang throughout Pope Palace, and the elders who had been whispering among themselves immediately fell quiet. They obediently turned their eyes to Bibi Dong and waited for her decision.
They still felt some wariness toward Bibi Dong's authority. After the former pope's unexpected death, she had stepped forward as the Holy Maiden and, with the Great Enshrined's assistance, taken the papal seat. Then, with an iron fist, she had cowed the troublemakers and stabilized Spirit Hall's position, before leading it into a new period of rapid growth.
In just six years, Bibi Dong had made Spirit Hall stronger than ever—and more unfathomable, too! It could be said that Spirit Hall's growth to its present scale owed a great deal to His Holiness the Pope.
Xu Mochen naturally knew that this decision would not be easy to make. He simply intended to use this opportunity to add a substantial bargaining chip in favor of Spirit Hall agreeing to their request. "Your Holiness, if your esteemed organization is willing to grant our request, then we will not establish a Concession in any of your cities."
"Furthermore, we would be willing to provide your esteemed organization with even more advanced Soul Guidance Weapons and equipment. This would include three thousand three hundred 'Silver Star 333' Semi-automatic Rifles, eight hundred thousand standard rifle rounds, eighty thousand armor-piercing rifle rounds, three thousand 'T132-Type Attack Grenades,' three thousand 'T232-Type Defensive Grenades,' and two hundred 'T333-Type High-Explosive Grenades.'"
"There would also be three hundred 'T133-Type Attack Grenades,' three hundred 'T233-Type Defensive Grenades,' and forty 'T334-Type High-Explosive Grenades'! In addition, if we develop standard Soul Guidance Weapons for Soul Masters in the future, we will give your esteemed organization priority consideration as a supplier!"
His words landed like another Spirit Guidance Bomb exploding inside Pope Palace, drawing gasps from the elders. Thankfully, Bibi Dong's authority kept them from whispering among themselves again, but they could not hide the shock in their eyes. These terms were simply too generous for Spirit Hall!
Not only would Spirit Hall avoid establishing that humiliating Concession, but the weapons they were being given had doubled in both quantity and quality! And Spirit Hall would receive priority access to the whole range of Soul Guidance Weapons that followed! It was like manna from heaven!
Spirit Hall's Martial Souls were superior to those of the Sun Moon Empire only among mid- and high-level Soul Masters. At the grassroots level, the quality of their Martial Souls was no better than that of the Sun Moon Empire's! If Spirit Hall obtained so many Soul Guidance Weapons, its overall strength would surely soar. Their noble status might be threatened, but if they did not equip themselves with these weapons, other nations and factions would.
If Spirit Hall's interests suffered as a result, their own interests would be shaken, too! More importantly, these weapons were not yet enough to truly undermine the position of Titled Douluo. After all, as long as they did not stupidly stand head-on and take the weapons' attacks, Titled Douluo would still possess formidable deterrent power under normal circumstances!
Yet Bibi Dong, seated at the head of the hall, continued to ponder the costs and benefits in silence. On the surface, this deal looked like an excellent bargain. Even if Xu Mochen studied alongside Spirit Hall's young geniuses, one person's capacity to absorb knowledge was limited.
Moreover, when Spirit Hall trained these young geniuses, they could not simply give them the cultivation methods and knowledge meant for high-level Soul Masters. Even if Xu Mochen were allowed to study whatever he pleased, how much knowledge could he actually gain? Compared with Spirit Hall's ocean of accumulated knowledge, it would be no more than a drop in the bucket!
But Spirit Hall's gains would be real and tangible! If it could purchase large quantities of the Soul Guidance Weapons the Sun Moon Empire made specifically for Soul Masters, then Spirit Hall's combat strength would undoubtedly undergo a qualitative leap!
But was everything really as good as it seemed? Once Spirit Hall's grassroots Soul Masters grew accustomed to using Soul Guidance Weapons in battle, their ability to fight with their own Martial Souls would inevitably stagnate, or even decline. Overreliance on the Sun Moon Empire's weapons would become an addiction; they would never be able to give up the formidable power those weapons provided!
As time went on, Spirit Hall's grassroots Soul Masters might even reach the point where they did not know how to fight without Soul Guidance Weapons! But the source of those weapons was in the hands of the Sun Moon Empire. It might publicly promise to give Spirit Hall priority, but a promise unsupported by any other chain of mutual interests was meaningless! If the Sun Moon Empire wished, it could come up with countless reasons to cut off Spirit Hall's supply!
But worse still, Spirit Hall had no choice but to buy them. Even if Spirit Hall refused, other factions would buy the weapons! Spirit Hall could not stop them, either, or it would make enemies of both the Sun Moon Empire and those other factions! Naturally, everyone else understood the same principle as Spirit Hall, yet there was no answer to this open strategy that took full advantage of everyone's concerns. So they could only pin their hopes on being able to copy the weapons!
But if the Sun Moon Empire dared to sell these weapons, surely it had considered that possibility? Clearly, it must have. There could only be one explanation: the Sun Moon Empire had other methods of preventing its manufacturing techniques from leaking out! Bibi Dong did not know what those methods were, but she certainly would not pin her hopes on cracking the secrets of their Soul Tools.
And the truth was exactly as Bibi Dong suspected. Although the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance Weapons used none of the complicated anti-disassembly mechanisms found in Tang San's Godly Zhuge Crossbow,
the Godly Zhuge Crossbow used such mechanisms because, despite its complicated appearance, all it took was an artisan from the Douluo Continent with a bit of skill to understand its structure and reproduce it with ease! Its materials were expensive, but not complicated. Even the alloy used in its precision components was low-grade. After all, in the era when the Tang Sect existed, there had been no technology or equipment capable of producing advanced alloys!
The Soul Guidance Weapons Xu Mochen had provided might look as if their components were not particularly complicated, and they had only been developed in the past few years. But one must not forget that behind that seemingly short development period lay the combined wisdom of generations of people from the nations of Blue Star, blended with the Sun Moon Empire's own accumulated experience from tens of thousands of years of researching and advancing Soul Tools!
The original samples of those first few guns and cannons had been developed by top Soul Guidance Weapon engineers of the Sun Moon Empire. They had drawn upon the wisdom of great minds from both worlds and applied decades of painstaking Soul Tool craftsmanship!
As for later mass production, it had only become possible through the combined efforts of experienced, well-educated artisans and Soul Engineers, alongside a whole range of Soul-powered machinery and precise technical drawings! The components of those Soul Tools, along with the techniques for processing and manufacturing the advanced alloys they used, were far beyond what the pitiful level of Soul Guidance Technology on the Douluo Continent could comprehend.
Bibi Dong did not know the precise details, but she understood that she had to find a way to change this situation! The Sun Moon Empire's visit might be a test for Spirit Hall, but it was also an opportunity. How to seize it would depend on the decision she made next!
After a long while, Bibi Dong finally made up her mind. She rose slowly from the papal seat and walked over to Xu Mochen, her gaze unwavering.
Oh, boy! What is this woman up to? At this distance, either she wants to fight—or she... Cough, cough. Xu Mochen's face twitched slightly as alarm stirred in his heart. He did not think he was so charming that a few words could make His Holiness the Pope fall for him!
Still, her actions had made even the usually calm and composed Xu Mochen nervous. Mo Wuying, standing behind him, was just as tense! He knew Spirit Hall was unlikely to attack them, given that it knew the Sun Moon Empire's strength. But if the Pope and all twelve elders suddenly lost their minds and attacked Xu Mochen, then even if Mo Wuying fought to the death, he would not be able to stop them!
If things really came to that, he still had several high-grade defensive and speed-enhancing Soul Tools on him to keep the Crown Prince safe for a while. He also carried a specially made Soul Magnetic Communication Orb. The moment he crushed it, the nearby Yan Yang Fleet would immediately receive a distress signal!
To ensure the Crown Prince's safety, the Sun Moon Empire's entire leadership had armed the Yan Yang Fleet to the teeth. The fleet had brought no fewer than forty-eight eighth-grade Spirit Guidance Shells on this trip, along with two hundred and eighty-six seventh-grade shells! The remaining fifth- and sixth-grade Fixed Soul Cannon Shells numbered in the thousands!
It also carried all kinds of Soul-powered cannons capable of firing energy beams and Spirit Guidance Shells! Those weapons were enough to carpet-bomb the entire inner city of Spirit City. But unless there was no other choice, no one wanted things to come to that.
But Bibi Dong's next move left everyone present utterly dumbfounded!
To everyone's astonishment, Bibi Dong bowed slightly to Xu Mochen and spoke with utmost sincerity, her voice carrying a hint of entreaty. "Your Highness, the fact that you have personally deigned to study at Spirit Hall is a tremendous honor for us. Although Spirit Hall is the sacred ground of Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent, that does not mean we would turn away Soul Masters who come from abroad to study."
"Spirit Hall warmly welcomes Your Highness to study here, and promises to provide you with the finest educational resources and cultivation knowledge. But I have one personal request: might we arrange an exchange between Spirit Hall Academy and your country's academy? That way, we could learn from one another's strengths, share our knowledge, and gain a deeper understanding of each other's cultures, knowledge, and societies. What do you think, Your Highness?"
The Spirit Hall Soul Masters around them nearly erupted! Good heavens! Who was Bibi Dong? His Holiness the Pope, the representative of the Angel God, and the leader of countless Spirit Hall followers across the Douluo Continent! Even the emperors of the two great empires had to show her deference!
And now she had lowered her lofty bearing before a prince from a foreign land! She had not only personally promised him the best possible treatment, but had even bowed slightly before him! All for the chance to send government-sponsored exchange students to study at the Sun Moon Empire's academy!
Before, Soul Master students from every corner of the Douluo Continent had been desperate to study at Spirit Hall Academy. Since when had Spirit Hall fallen so far that it had to ask for permission to send exchange students? The members of Spirit Hall felt as if their entire worldview had shattered.
Mo Wuying, Gu Yuntong, and the others who had accompanied him were just as troubled! Deep down, they did not think much of this continent's backward technology. They felt even less reverence for this supposedly supreme holy ground of the Douluo Continent, with its almost religious air.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire's prevailing belief was that human rights came before divine authority! If the two sides really began exchanging students, then even setting aside the risk of the Sun Moon Empire's technology leaking, their values alone were likely to cause conflict!
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