"Capable Lieutenants"

Shrek's freshman assessment?

Mu Feng did not take it to heart. The rewards were merely a spirit bone less than ten thousand years old and a core disciple slot. Compared to his grand plan of ascending to godhood, everything else had to take a back seat.

Thus, Mu Feng did not take Di Qiuli's little tantrum to heart either. "Perhaps she was merely sulking because Mu Jin hadn't chosen her for the championship team."

Mu Feng quickly cast the matter aside, for he was about to face a troublesome problem.

"This is the place." A group of furtive black-robed figures stood amid a concealed forest.

The black-robed figure in the center nodded and ordered, "Begin."

"Yes." A black-robed figure beside him vanished in an instant, appearing in a nearby village before slipping into a wooden house.

Soon, a cripple who was barely alive, his limbs limp and slack and his joints broken, was dragged out by two young men and tied to a tree trunk roughly three meters long. More than a dozen youths, including several Soul Masters, then worked together to raise it upright and secure it to the ground.

The base of the thick trunk was piled high with firewood. Before it stood an elderly man dressed in a pure white priest's robe, his peaceful face framed by a golden-patterned longsword embroidered upon his chest and a pair of dazzling gilded wings on the broad cloak behind him.

His rich voice did not match his aged appearance at all. "Yin Jue! This vicious, brazen apostate violated the decrees of the Angelic Holy God."

"He seized property, oppressed believers, deceived the Holy God—his crimes are unforgivable!"

The old man listed Yin Jue's crimes one by one, his tone growing ever more impassioned. By the time he finished his final word, he had completely ignited the emotions of every villager gathered below.

Everyone shouted in unison, "Unforgivable! Unforgivable!"

Just as the crowd's emotions reached their peak, the old man in priestly robes raised both hands and gently pressed them down. The restless crowd below strangely quieted.

He lightly closed his eyes and said devoutly, "The six-winged radiance of the Angelic Holy God protects all believers. Sacred wings shall help devout followers escape the sea of human suffering."

Then his tone shifted sharply, becoming exceedingly stern as he rebuked, "But the longsword of holy judgment shall not spare any heretic who betrays the faith."

The old man abruptly swept out his hand and said coldly, "Light it."

The villagers on the platform threw their torches into the woodpile together. Blazing flames rose, sending thick smoke into the sky. Yin Jue, bound to the trunk, had already had his Soul Power crippled before the execution and had been tortured mercilessly by Mu Feng. He was barely clinging to life; before the scorching flames could reach him, the smoke clogged his airway and suffocated him to death.

The black-robed figure hiding in the distance watched the scene, and a strange emotion stirred within him. That black-robed figure was Mu Feng.

Yin Jue, who had been sentenced to death by fire, was one of the first batch of "divine envoys" sent to the villages more than three weeks earlier.

Most of them had been selected from the various branch altars of the Holy Spirit Cult. Even if they tried their best to appear devout, evil Soul Masters were still evil Soul Masters. The vile roots within them could not be changed with a few words.

Mu Feng could tolerate certain acts of embezzlement and theft, but harming believers was an utterly vile act that destroyed their own foundations. Though Mu Feng had strictly forbidden it, there were still those who took the risk for the sake of fleeting pleasure.

Over the past three weeks, Mu Feng had often followed Xiao Hei and Little White in secret, killing those whose behavior was especially vile on the spot.

Yin Jue was the most typical example of such people. For today's trial, Mu Feng had specifically ordered that believers from several nearby villages be allowed to attend, precisely so everyone would realize that this was the fate awaiting those who violated the rules.

A tall, lean man beside Mu Feng, with gray-black eyes, spoke. "Your Highness, Holy Son, isn't this somewhat inappropriate? They were merely a few dead ants. Why use the life of a Soul Ancestor to accompany them in burial?"

"The Holy Spirit Cult's foundation in this region is already shallow. Killing our backbone forces so recklessly may not benefit our development."

"Yes," someone behind them hurriedly echoed. When Mu Feng turned around, he saw that it was the fat man who had initially asked him for resources.

Mu Feng looked once more at the towering blaze in the distance. A trace of barely perceptible disgust flashed through his eyes as he said, "I presume Lord Gui Xiao understands the consequences of failing to control one's subordinates."

Mu Feng continued, "Perhaps it does not matter if a few believers die in one village, but what about ten villages, or even more? Besides, if even the divine envoys do not abide by the doctrine, then what meaning does the Angel Holy Church have in existing? What meaning does this plan have?"

Gui Xiao nodded. "Your Highness, Holy Son, your view is indeed quite novel."

Seeing that neither of them paid him any attention, Zhu Man Cang sheepishly shrank back again.

"Then I'll leave this place to you and Senior Wei." Seeing Little White return to his side, Mu Feng bid Gui Xiao farewell first.

The Senior Wei Mu Feng referred to was the elderly man who had delivered that impassioned speech before the pyre.

These two were Gui Xiao and Wei Yan, who had arrived along with Zhongli Wu's reply. Zhongli Wu was very interested in Mu Feng's strategy of surrounding the cities from the countryside, expanding influence from the empire's borders toward its urban centers.

The Holy Spirit Cult had once attempted similar methods, developing its influence beneath the guise of orthodox religion, but every attempt had ended in failure. In his letter to Zhongli Wu, Mu Feng had summarized the reasons for those past failures. The most important was that a "divine envoy" did not necessarily need to be powerful, but at the very least, he could not be a madman.

Zhongli Wu was very interested in Mu Feng's novel proposal. Thus, in return, he provided Mu Feng with substantial financial support and specifically sent him two "capable lieutenants."

Wei Yan was only a Soul Ancestor, but his martial soul was extremely unusual: a horn. Because of the special nature of his martial soul, his voice was exceptionally deep and resonant, and his words carried great power to inspire others. He was highly skilled at guiding the faithful, which was why Mu Feng had him preside over this trial.

One had a big mouth and was responsible for the Holy Church's propaganda; the other had a big fist and was responsible for the Holy Church's overall coordination. The two men Zhongli Wu had sent had clearly defined roles.

Gui Xiao had not rushed to interfere in the church's affairs after arriving. He had not stopped Mu Feng from executing a Holy Spirit envoy with the strength of a Soul Ancestor today. During the past few days, he had merely watched, wanting to see exactly how far this Holy Son had developed the Holy Church.

Having seen enough, he now understood. Gui Xiao covertly glanced at Zhu Man Cang, who had spoken earlier, and the corner of his lips curled almost imperceptibly.

Yet Mu Feng did not believe Zhongli Wu had sent an eighty-plus-level Soul Douluo all this way merely to serve as his right-hand man. Mu Feng was deeply puzzled as to why Zhongli Wu, despite being separated from him by thousands of miles, still did not trust him enough to send a Soul Douluo.

On the way back, Mu Feng carefully reviewed his memories. He did not seem to have displayed any unusual behavior before Zhongli Wu.

Yet no matter how hard Mu Feng racked his brains, he could not imagine that the true root of this outcome lay with Ye Xishui.

Although Zhongli Wu was the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, the Supreme Leader Ye Xishui had always loomed over him. In comparison, he was more like a figurehead leader. Having failed for years to grasp the core power, Zhongli Wu's mindset had become somewhat twisted.

Mu Feng's proposed strategy delighted him. If the plan succeeded, the Holy Spirit Cult would establish enormous roots within the heartlands of the three great empires.

To escape Ye Xishui's shadow and cultivate a faction of his own, Zhongli Wu had sent his trusted aide Gui Xiao to seize this piece of cake firmly in his hand.