The Insatiable Nobility

Qian Yu rented a carriage and headed for his destination.

More than half a year had passed since Spirit Hall's defeat.

By now, the two great empires had seized most of Spirit Hall's legacy. They were practically rolling in wealth.

In theory, with a behemoth like Spirit Hall fallen, its collapse should have let a hundred flowers bloom and given rise to even more factions.

Even if no new factions emerged, so many people had died and so many resources had become available. Life should have gotten a little easier for ordinary people, especially those in the middle and at the bottom.

But Qian Yu had noticed that things weren't developing as he had expected.

Sir, as a noble Soul Master, why are you doing work meant for ordinary people?

Qian Yu looked at the middle-aged man driving the carriage and asked.

He could sense that the man was a Two-Ring Soul Master as well.

Soul Masters held such lofty status on the Douluo Continent. Forget Two-Ring Soul Masters—even a One-Ring Soul Master could be treated as an honored guest in many places.

"Why?"

"Obviously, it's so I can stay alive."

"The empire won. That's certainly worth celebrating, but our lives haven't improved. They've actually gotten worse."

"Besides no longer being able to collect Gold Soul Coins from Spirit Hall, we've also been saddled with five or six new taxes."

"Most importantly, Soul Masters like us, with one or two rings, seem to have become useless. Back when Spirit Hall was around, they had jobs specifically for us: maintaining the Soul Hunting Forest, awakening Martial Souls. These were jobs ordinary people couldn't do, and powerful Soul Masters wouldn't do. But now, all of that is gone..."

"The funniest part is, ordinary people used to be able to earn a living driving carriages. Now even they can't do that, because the roads aren't safe, and because we've taken their jobs..."

Once the driver started talking about it, he wouldn't stop. He seemed to be reminiscing about the good old days, or perhaps cursing the times they lived in.

They're even greedier than I imagined.

They swallowed up Spirit Hall's vast estate. Was that still not enough to satisfy them?

Qian Yu murmured to himself. The nobles' greed was even worse than he had imagined.

Still, he felt this was a wonderful era.

If you had never suffered, never lost anything, you could never know how precious it was to have it again.

If several hundred more years passed, and the people of this generation died off, their descendants would have been thoroughly tamed. By then, trying to do anything would be difficult.

At this point in time, if he could succeed, the masses would answer his call.

Of course, the nobles wouldn't be among them.

For the rest of the journey, aside from the time he spent on necessary cultivation, Qian Yu mostly enjoyed the scenery along the way.

Perhaps the Soul Master driving the carriage had sensed the Soul Power he let slip. From beginning to end, the man never overstepped his bounds.

It took more than ten days for him to reach his destination.

Black Stone Village, a very ordinary little village.

He had only just arrived when three figures appeared before him.

One of them was Hu Liena.

As for the other two, one had a flamboyant disposition, while the other was gloomy and reserved.

They were obviously Yan and Xie Yue.

Though he had never witnessed their former glory, their clothes—so out of place against their surroundings—and their dejected expressions were enough to tell him that neither of them had been doing well lately.

"Why did you have to make me come all this way?"

Qian Yu didn't approach the other two right away. Instead, he looked at Hu Liena.

"Snake Lance and Pufferfish don't trust me!"

Hu Liena felt helpless about it. She knew that even without everything she had done, those two wouldn't have taken kindly to her.

After all, they were closer to Qian Renxue.

"Come on. I'll go meet those two seniors!"

Qian Yu hesitated, but in the end, he decided to take the risk and meet them.

Given the situation, they needed Titled Douluos to keep them safe.

"Brother, take Qian Yu to meet the two seniors. I have something to say to Yan."

Hu Liena didn't step forward to lead the way. Instead, she shot Yan a furious look.

Qian Yu knew exactly why Hu Liena was acting that way. Ever since he showed up and spoke, Yan had been unhappy with him. Several times, Yan had seemed ready to speak, but held back. If Hu Liena hadn't told him something beforehand, he might have already picked a fight.

Then, accompanied by Xie Yue, Qian Yu headed into the village.

Along the way, Xie Yue greeted the passersby with easy familiarity.

"Auntie Guihua, heading up the back hill to pick wild vegetables again?"

"So early in the morning!"

"This is my cousin from far away. He's never been to the countryside, so I brought him over to stay for a couple of days."

"..."

Clearly, Xie Yue had adapted better than Yan, and his state of mind was better too.

Among Spirit Hall's Golden Generation back then, Xie Yue's Martial Soul had been the least impressive, and his talent the weakest. But Qian Yu thought more highly of him than the others.

The most fundamental reason was his character.

"Looks like you've adjusted pretty well. But I wonder if this kind of life has made you forget the obsession in your heart."

"If you choose a peaceful life, no one will blame you. You don't have to risk your life with us."

"Who knows? With you around, someone might even be able to bury us."

Qian Yu smiled at Xie Yue as he spoke.

"If I had no chance, I might really choose this life. There'd be nothing wrong with living in peace like this for the rest of my days."

"But if there's a chance—even one in a hundred million—I'll give up everything and try!"

As Xie Yue spoke, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

At the same time, he finally understood why his sister had said this child was unlike anyone else.

With just one glance, Qian Yu had seen straight through his state of mind.

Even the two Titled Douluos, Snake Lance and Pufferfish, hadn't noticed.

As they spoke, the two reached their destination.

Two men lay leisurely on deck chairs within view, looking just like a couple of farmers.

There was no trace of a Titled Douluo's bearing about them.

"Senior, he's here!"

Yan looked at the two men, who were still resting with their eyes closed, then spoke softly.

The next moment, the comparatively slender Snake Lance Douluo opened his eyes. A sharp aura shot straight toward Qian Yu.

He was giving the boy a show of force right from the start.

Xie Yue didn't step in to block the pressure. He simply stood to the side and watched.

He wanted to see for himself whether this child was really as extraordinary as his sister claimed—and whether he was worth risking their lives for again.

A test?

Snake Lance Douluo had immediately used powerful mental force to intimidate him, but Qian Yu wasn't afraid in the slightest.

He activated the Flame God Eye and met the other man's pressure head-on.