The Insatiable Noble

Qian Yu rented a carriage and headed toward his destination.

It had been over half a year since the fall of Martial Soul Hall.

By now, the two great empires had seized the vast majority of Martial Soul Hall's legacy, and one could say they were overflowing with wealth.

Logically speaking, with a behemoth like Martial Soul Hall collapsing—a whale falling to nourish all life—it should have given rise to many other factions.

Even if no new factions emerged, with so many people dead and so many resources suddenly available, the lives of the middle and lower-class commoners should have improved.

However, Qian Yu discovered that things had not developed as he had envisioned.

"Big Brother, as a noble Soul Master, why are you doing work that only commoners should be doing?"

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

He could sense that the man was also a two-ring Soul Master.

On the Douluo Continent, Soul Masters were incredibly noble; let alone a two-ring Soul Master, even a one-ring Soul Master was treated as an honored guest in many places.

"Why?"

"Naturally, to survive."

"The empire won, which is a very happy thing, but for us, not only has life not improved, it has become even worse."

"Aside from no longer being able to collect Gold Soul Coin from Martial Soul Hall, five or six new taxes have been added."

"Most importantly, it seems those of us who are one-ring or two-ring Soul Masters have become useless. Back when Martial Soul Hall was around, there were positions specifically provided for us—maintaining the Soul Hunting Forest, awakening martial souls—these were jobs commoners couldn't do and powerful Soul Masters didn't want to do. But now, all of that is gone..."

"The most ridiculous thing is that even the carriage-driving jobs that commoners used to be able to do are now off-limits to them, because the roads aren't safe, and because we've stolen their work..."

Mentioning this, the carriage-driving Soul Master rambled on, as if reminiscing about the good old days, and as if complaining about the state of the world.

Are they even greedier than I imagined?

Having swallowed such a massive foundation from Martial Soul Hall, are they still not satisfied?

Qian Yu whispered in his heart; the greed of these nobles was even more potent than he had imagined.

However, he felt that this was actually a very good era.

Without experiencing hardship, without having lost something, one can never truly know the value of possessing it once more.

If another few hundred years passed and this generation died out, their descendants would have been completely domesticated, and at that point, trying to accomplish anything would be a difficult task.

In this current timeframe, if he could succeed, he would truly be able to command a response from everyone.

Of course, this did not include those nobles.

For the remainder of the journey, aside from necessary cultivation, Qian Yu spent most of his time admiring the scenery along the way.

The Soul Master driving the carriage might have sensed the fluctuations of soul power leaking from him, as he did not make a single overstepping move from start to finish.

It took over ten days before he finally arrived at his destination.

Black Stone Village, a very ordinary little village.

Not long after he arrived, three figures appeared before him.

One of them was Hu Liena.

As for the other two, one had a flamboyant temperament, while the other was gloomy and deep.

Clearly, they were Yan and Xie Yue.

Although he had never seen them in their former glory, one could tell from their attire, which was completely out of place with the surrounding environment, and their dejected moods that these two had not been doing well lately.

"Why was it necessary for me to come here?"

Qian Yu did not engage with the other two immediately, instead looking at Hu Liena.

"Snake Lance and Pufferfish, those two seniors, do not trust me!"

Hu Liena was also very helpless about this; she knew that even without the things she had done, she was not favored by these two.

After all, they were closer to Qian Renxue.

"Let's go, I will go and meet these two seniors!"

Qian Yu hesitated for a moment, but still chose to risk contacting them.

In the current situation, he needed a Title Douluo to provide protection.

"Brother, you take Qian Yu to see the two seniors; I have words for Yan."

Hu Liena did not step forward to lead the way, but instead looked at Yan with a fierce glare.

Qian Yu naturally knew why Hu Liena was like this; from the moment he appeared and spoke, Yan had been extremely dissatisfied with him, wanting to speak several times but holding back. If not for whatever Hu Liena had told him earlier, he might have already turned hostile.

Afterward, accompanied by Xie Yue, he headed into the village.

Along the way, Xie Yue greeted the passing pedestrians with great familiarity.

"Auntie Guihua, you're off to the back mountain to dig for wild vegetables again!"

"So early in the morning!"

"This is my distant cousin; he's never been to the countryside, so I brought him over to stay for a couple of days."

"..."

Clearly, Xie Yue had achieved a better fusion than Yan, and his mindset was also superior.

Among the former Golden Generation of Martial Soul Hall, Xie Yue's martial soul quality was relatively the lowest, and his talent was the worst, yet Qian Yu valued him the most.

The fundamental reason for this was naturally his temperament.

"It seems you've adapted quite well. I just wonder if this kind of life has made you forget the obsession in your heart."

"If you choose comfort, no one will blame you. There is absolutely no need to risk your life with us."

"Perhaps, with you around, there might even be someone left to collect our corpses."

Qian Yu looked at the composed Xie Yue and asked with a smile.

"If there were no chance, I might truly choose this kind of life. Living in such comfort for a lifetime wouldn't be bad at all."

"But if there is a chance, even if it is a one in a billion chance, I would abandon everything to try!"

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

At the same time, he finally understood why his sister had said this child was different from the others.

With just a single encounter, he had pinpointed his state of mind.

This was something that even the two Title Douluo, Snake Lance and Pufferfish, had not noticed.

While they spoke, the two of them had already arrived at their destination.

Within their line of sight, two men were lounging leisurely on reclining chairs, looking exactly like two farmers.

One could not discern any of the grandeur of a Title Douluo from them.

"Seniors, the person has arrived!"

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

The next moment, the relatively thinner Snake Lance Douluo suddenly opened his eyes, and a sharp aura surged directly toward Qian Yu.

He was attempting to intimidate him right from the start.

Xie Yue did not step in to block this pressure, choosing instead to watch quietly from the side.

He also wanted to see for himself if this child before him was truly as extraordinary as his sister had claimed, and if he was worth them gambling their lives on once more.

"A test?"

Facing the powerful mental pressure that Snake Lance Douluo had unleashed immediately, Qian Yu felt no fear.

He activated his Flame God Eye, meeting the pressure head-on.