Ascending Over Qian Xunji's Corpse

In the Pope Palace square, the sounds of killing shook the heavens.

Nearly ten thousand soul masters, whether bishops or guards, whether gray-haired elders or fresh-faced youths, all had bloodshot eyes and flailing arms, as if a pack of bloodthirsty beasts had finally found their prey.

"Blood for blood! Trample the Clear Sky Sect into the dust!!"

"Long live the Pope!!"

That fanatical wave surged again and again, crashing against the thick walls of the Pope Palace and striking at the heart of everyone on the high platform.

Golden Crocodile Douluo stood behind Bibi Dong, watching that figure with her back to him, hands raised high as if accepting the worship of the masses, his expression grim.

He had originally expected Bibi Dong to at least put on a show, but he never imagined this woman would dare to be so rebellious! So audacious!

A new Pope with an unstable foundation, instead of thinking about how to leverage her status as the former Pope's personal disciple to win hearts, had instead made such a clean break from Qian Xunji!

But looking at the soul masters below, who had been thoroughly incited and could even be described as delirious, Golden Crocodile Douluo had to admit—this woman was a natural leader.

Although her methods were crude, her words rebellious, and she had even publicly humiliated the former Pope, the results were immediate.

She didn't use hypocritical platitudes or grand, empty rhetoric. She simply and brutally told everyone:

We are strong!

The reason we lost before was because the leader was a piece of trash!

Now that you have a stronger one in me, I will lead you to kill, to seize territory, and to take back the face we lost!

This was the most naked law of the soul master world—the weak are prey to the strong, and the victor is king.

For this group of soul masters who licked blood from the edge of a blade every day, craving power and status, this simple and direct "war mobilization" was more seductive than any benevolence or morality.

Yet, did this really feel like Bibi Dong?

The woman had always felt like a sinister viper to him, but the person standing on the high platform now was clearly a young, arrogant lion!

Nan Feng stood on the high platform, feeling the countless eyes below, bloodshot from desire, hatred, and fanaticism, and the crazy smile on his lips grew more intense.

"Look, Little Dongdong."

Nan Feng said leisurely within the Sea of Consciousness, "This is human nature."

"These people, who usually look so righteous, are actually greedier than anyone in their bones. What does war mean to them? It means merit, it means territory, it means they can legitimately plunder the wealth the Clear Sky Sect has accumulated over thousands of years!"

"As long as we raise the banner of righteousness, they will risk their lives for the sake of profit themselves."

"Your so-called biding your time and showing weakness is seen as cowardice and incompetence in the eyes of these soul masters. They hold the power to easily take lives, and the blood of plunder and violence flows through their veins."

"They don't need a politician who only knows how to lecture; they need a bandit leader who can lead them to kill, burn, and loot!"

"As long as you tell them that following me means meat on the table, even if there is a mountain of blades or a sea of fire ahead, they will howl and charge forward."

Bibi Dong's original consciousness remained silent, watching those faces twisted with excitement and listening to the deafening cries of "blood for blood."

She had to admit, Nan Feng was right.

In the world of soul masters, there had never been any room for gentleness, kindness, or humility.

Power breeds desire, and war is the best way to unleash that desire.

"I admit what you say makes sense, but to be so flagrantly arrogant and even insult Qian Xunji—what comes next?" Bibi Dong asked.

"Not to mention that such a radical Pope taking office will inevitably alert the various soul master sects; they will pay closer attention to every move Martial Soul Hall makes. If there is even the slightest disturbance, the whole world will know. How am I supposed to advance my plan to slowly erode and annex the soul master world?"

"Martial Soul Hall does control nearly fifty percent of the soul masters in the world, but I must tell you clearly: more than half of these fifty percent are useless, flashy vases. They might be able to bully a regular army, but if we really go to war with the soul master sects, less than one percent of them have any real combat power!"

"While the number of soul masters in those sects is small, they are all elites. Whether it's the quality of their martial souls or their individual strength, most of Martial Soul Hall's common soul masters cannot compare to them. If you really calculate it, within the same rank, one of their soul masters is worth two or three of ours!"

"If it's a top-tier sect like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan or the Clear Sky Sect, that ratio would double, or even more!"

"Once we start fighting, it will be mutual destruction; there is no such thing as the one-sided crushing you speak of!"

"Furthermore, once Martial Soul Hall's soul masters suffer too many losses, they will scatter like birds and beasts at any moment. There is no such thing as loyalty or fighting to the death. In terms of both strength and stability, they cannot compare to those sects!"

"The true strength of Martial Soul Hall has always been the Pope Palace! The Elder Hall! Because we have Title Douluo, and more of them than other sects, we hold a lofty status!"

"That group of soul masters below might buy your pitch, but the true upper echelons of Martial Soul Hall—those Platinum Cardinals, those Title Douluo elders—they are all looking at Qian Daoliu's face, looking at Golden Crocodile's face."

"A new Emperor with an unstable foundation, or rather, no foundation at all, has just taken office and made a clean break from the former Pope. By doing this, I have effectively abandoned my political legacy as the former Pope's personal disciple."

"Those elders who obey Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile will definitely not cooperate with me from now on, and they might even target me to curry favor with Golden Crocodile."

"In other words, the true power of Martial Soul Hall, the real core, is not on my side now. Because of your words, they are highly likely to stand in opposition to me!"

"Do you expect to accomplish anything by relying on that group of trash below? Don't dream! They can shout a few times to boost your momentum when things are fine, but if we really need to do something, if we really go to war, the only use for these fence-sitters is to be cannon fodder!"

"Just for the sake of a thrill?"

"Losing the big picture for a small gain?"

Bibi Dong's voice grew increasingly dangerous.

"You had better explain this clearly to me, and explain the solution as well, otherwise, prepare to go on a honeymoon with me in the Rakshasa Secret Realm!"

Nan Feng was speechless. "Threatening me with the Rakshasa Secret Realm at every turn—are you sick?"

"If I'm driven insane by that hellhole, won't you be finished right along with me?"

Bibi Dong's expression remained calm. "Rest assured, I have a sense of proportion. After all, our souls are fused; when you are on the verge of madness, I will pull you out, and once you have regained a shred of sanity, I will shove you back in."

"Would you like to taste the sensation of dying over and over again?"

"..."

Nan Feng was left completely speechless.

"Fine, fine, I'll talk, I'll talk, is that enough?"

"You say I'm radical? That I'm sacrificing the big picture for the sake of the small?"

"What are you worried about? Worried that the various sects will be on guard?"

"Wake up!"

"What kind of place is Martial Soul Hall? You said it yourself: it is the strongest spirit master organization on the entire continent, controlling fifty percent of the world's spirit masters! Even if you stayed home embroidering every day, such a behemoth would still be viewed as a thorn in the side by those spirit master sects and the two great empires!"

"Vigilance is inevitable! Since you will be targeted regardless, why bother putting on a facade of being harmless?"

"Endurance? In this world where the weak are prey to the strong, endurance is only seen as weakness to be bullied!"

"People on the outside might lower their guard against Martial Soul Hall because of your endurance, but your own spirit masters will feel stifled and aggrieved by it!"

"One must settle internal affairs before resisting external aggression!"

"If the internal state of Martial Soul Hall is unstable, why do you care about what happens outside?"

"You say Martial Soul Hall went to snatch Tang Hao's wife and got beaten to a pulp instead—what do you call that? Morally, that is the act of a bandit, and he deserved to die! The whole world thinks so!"

"But can Martial Soul Hall admit it? No!"

"Since reason doesn't work, then we speak with our fists!"

Nan Feng pointed to the spirit masters in the square outside, who were shouting at the top of their lungs, their blood boiling with fervor:

"A gentleman fears virtue, not force; a petty man fears force, not virtue. Look at this world—are there more gentlemen, or more petty men?"

"Especially this bunch of spirit masters who carry blades in their hands and weeds in their hearts! The only truth they believe in is this: whoever has the biggest fist is the boss!"

"If we display absolute dominance, absolute force, and even go so far as to wage war to wash away our shame, what will those small and medium-sized sects, who are currently watching and wavering, think?"

"They will think: if even a behemoth like the Clear Sky Sect can be ground into the dirt by Martial Soul Hall, what are we?"

"At that point, there are only two paths before them: either die alongside the Clear Sky Sect, or kneel at the feet of Martial Soul Hall like dogs!"

"Which one do you think they will choose?"

"As for the strength gap you mentioned between Martial Soul Hall and other sects, please, did I ever say we were going to war with every single one of them?"

"The world of spirit masters isn't just about killing; it's about human relationships and worldly wisdom!"

"We are resorting to killing now only because this specific matter can only be solved by killing! The Pope has been beaten to death; worldly wisdom has to take a backseat!"

"Those other sects won't jump out to invite trouble for themselves at a time like this. You only need to focus on the Clear Sky Sect right now; stop acting with a mindset of being isolated and helpless!"

"Martial Soul Hall isn't truly that invincible, but the other sects won't unite so easily either. Even if there were signs of that, you don't need me to teach you how to win over one group while suppressing another, do you?"

Bibi Dong was silent for a moment before retorting, "That applies to outsiders. But what about internally? Humiliating Qian Xunji like this is a slap in the face to Golden Crocodile and those old stubborn fools! I will not only lose the political legacy of being the late Pope's disciple, but I will also be viewed by them as a heretic who has strayed from the path!"

"Political legacy?" Nan Feng was a bit bewildered. "Bibi Dong, has water gotten into your brain?"

"What is Qian Xunji? A piece of trash beaten to death by a newly promoted Titled Douluo! A laughingstock who brought shame upon Martial Soul Hall!"

"Inherit his legacy? Do you want to inherit his incompetence, or his humiliation?"

"I..." Bibi Dong was momentarily at a loss for words.

"You say the elders will target you if you discard the political legacy of being Qian Xunji's direct disciple?" Nan Feng said.

"Please, as long as you hold the title of Qian Xunji's disciple, no matter how well you perform, in the eyes of those old fogies, you are merely a gatekeeper for the Qian family, the daughter-in-law of Qian Daoliu, and a nanny working for Qian Renxue!"

"Will they respect you? No! They will only treat you as an obedient junior, and the moment things don't go their way, they will use their status as elders to suppress you!"

"Do you want to live in the shadow of the Qian family father and son for the rest of your life?"

Bibi Dong fell silent.

This was the deepest, most painful thorn in her heart.

Nan Feng continued his output: "Therefore, I want to help you sever this connection! I want you to step over the corpse of Qian Xunji to reach the top!"

"I want to tell everyone that you sit in this position not because of whose disciple you are, but because you are stronger than that piece of trash! A hundred times, ten thousand times stronger!"

"Only then will you be Bibi Dong—a pioneer, not a successor!"