Mo Lin the "Country Bumpkin"

Mo Lin calmed his restless heart, then thought of something else:

"Master, is it really okay for you to extend the request I made to the entirety of Spirit Hall?"

Bibi Dong naturally knew that if those old men of the Elders' Hall learned what she had done, they would definitely send someone to question her and spout all sorts of nonsense. But she had already made up her mind. No matter what attitude the Elders' Hall took, she would see it through. Her own tragedy should not be repeated in the younger generation:

"Mo Lin, you don't need to worry about that for your master. You only need to focus on cultivating properly."

Mo Lin pressed his lips together.

"Actually, Master, I've already thought of something to say."

The next day, the Elders' Hall indeed sent an envoy to hold Bibi Dong accountable.

"Your Holiness, you should know why the Elders' Hall sent me. Shouldn't you give us a proper explanation?"

The man was utterly arrogant. After all, aside from Bibi Dong, Yue Guan and Ghost, two Title Douluo, stood on either side of the hall.

Bibi Dong snorted coldly.

"An explanation? If everything the Pope of Spirit Hall says or does requires the Elders' Hall's approval, then why not simply abolish this position? Wouldn't it be better for them to manage everything themselves? Since this position exists, they should focus on matters within their own duties and stop meddling in things that do not concern them!"

The envoy was quite surprised. The Elders' Hall possessed far more Title Douluo than the Papal Palace. Because of that, Bibi Dong had always been very restrained in her dealings with the Elders' Hall before, never as forceful as she was today. Still, he was an envoy after all; the Elders' Hall would not have sent him without a sharp tongue.

"Your Holiness! Please do not change the subject! The Elders' Hall handles countless affairs every day. If this were not a matter of great importance, why would we question you? Do you know that the new rule you issued yesterday will shake the future foundation of Spirit Hall?!"

"Shake the foundation?"

Bibi Dong's face was full of disdain.

"Tell me, then. How does the new rule I proposed shake our foundation?"

The envoy felt that Bibi Dong was merely stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, so he said:

"Can it be that Your Holiness cannot even see something so obvious? Spirit Hall is only an organization. If we want Soul Masters from the two great empires to serve us, we must cultivate them from childhood, prevent them from coming into contact with the two great empires, let them know that everything they have was given by Spirit Hall, and make them believe in their hearts that they must remain in Spirit Hall to repay us!

"And now? Not only have you given them the chance to come into contact with the two great empires, but for as long as three months every year! Once people from the two great empires try to win them over, can they still serve Spirit Hall wholeheartedly? Will they still remain in Spirit Hall?!"

The envoy launched into a fierce tirade, showing Bibi Dong no respect at all.

"Give you a chance to speak, and you really start thinking you're somebody."

At that moment, Mo Lin walked out from the shadows.

Seeing that he was merely a child, the envoy looked toward Bibi Dong.

"Your Holiness, you actually allowed a child to remain in the Papal Palace at a time like this. Are you slighting the Elders' Hall?!"

"Y-You, stop changing the subject!"

Mo Lin immediately fired back, not giving the envoy another chance to speak.

"Didn't you just say something about how my master's new rule was problematic? I truly never expected the Elders' Hall to send such a blind, pompous, shameless, bully-backed-by-power fool as their envoy. Not a single thing you said was right, yet you spoke with such self-righteous confidence. I have never seen someone so brazenly shameless!"

"You..." The envoy faltered.

"What do you mean, 'you'?! Tell me, why did Spirit Hall initially use such a simple and crude method to make Soul Masters serve us?" Mo Lin demanded.

"That was because..." the envoy began.

"That was because Spirit Hall had only just been established back then. Even though its founder was powerful, compared to the two great empires, Spirit Hall was still weak and isolated, with little reputation among the common people. At the time, if we wanted a Soul Master to give up the chance of becoming a government official and join us, we could only use the most brainless, crude, and low-level method.

"But what about now? Spirit Hall's standing among the common people has already surpassed that of the two great empires, and we possess the greatest and richest resources for martial soul cultivation. Those two points alone are enough to make the vast majority of Soul Masters and talented children place Spirit Hall first when choosing a faction." Mo Lin said.

"Then..." the envoy tried again.

"Then there's no need to change the training methods, is that it? The ancestors' methods must never change, is that it? Open your damn eyes and take a good look! Haven't the Soul Masters produced by Spirit Hall over the years all become arrogant and full of themselves, each one thinking they're some big shot? They're all the type who think, 'Heaven comes first, I come second'! Whenever anything happens, they drag out the name 'Spirit Hall' to throw their weight around! With temperaments like that, with people like that, are these the future foundation of Spirit Hall you're talking about?! If Spirit Hall didn't have so many Title Douluo, it would have been destroyed long ago! Letting them go outside early to see the world, learn exactly how much they're worth, and recognize themselves—that is how those who leave Spirit Hall in the future will deserve to be called our 'foundation'!" Mo Lin practically shouted the last of his words.

The envoy no longer dared to speak. In terms of sheer presence, he, an adult, had been completely overwhelmed by Mo Lin, a child.

Yue Guan and Ghost were dumbfounded. If they had not heard it with their own ears and seen the scene with their own eyes, they could never have imagined that such a speech had come from the mouth of a six-year-old child.

Since Bibi Dong had already heard Mo Lin say it once before, she was prepared, and her shock was greatly reduced. Thus, she spoke to the envoy in an extremely cold tone:

"Do you have anything else to say? If not, you may leave."

The envoy gave a trembling salute, then walked out of the Papal Palace on unsteady feet.

Seeing the envoy leave, Bibi Dong actually let out a sigh of relief. Yue Guan and Ghost noticed and asked:

"Your Holiness, wasn't that just now arranged by you?"

Bibi Dong shook her head.

"Of course not. Mo Lin was the one who suggested doing it."

The two of them looked at Mo Lin, their eyes filled with only four words: utterly unbelievable.

Mo Lin smiled.

"Elders, you'd better get used to it. There will be plenty more shocking things in the future!"

That afternoon, just after Mo Lin finished a period of soul power cultivation, Hu Liena came looking for him.

"Mo Lin, I heard you scolded the Elders' Hall's envoy stupid this morning?"

"Did Master tell you?" Mo Lin asked.

Hu Liena nodded.

"Yes. Ever since Master said yesterday that she would turn your request into a regulation for all of Spirit Hall, I knew the Elders' Hall would cause her trouble. Out of concern, I asked Master about it."

Mo Lin:

"So you came to see me just to confirm that?"

"More or less. I felt you had sacrificed too much this time, so I came to check on you." Hu Liena

"Sacrifice? What have I sacrificed?"