That Wasn't My Doing

After all, by then my mind had already been corrupted, and whether I was corrupted actively or passively was no longer important.

Of course, Ma Xiaotao wouldn't deny her future self. After all, although it's the future, it's still herself, and whatever choices she makes, she will absolutely take responsibility for them.

Third, the instability of the organizational structure.

The Holy Spirit Cult relies on strength; whoever has the bigger fist gets to call the shots. This mechanism may inspire fighting spirit in the short term, but it harbors huge hidden dangers in the long run.

Because under this mechanism, everyone is climbing up, and everyone is eyeing that top position.

The internal power struggles within the Holy Spirit Cult have never ceased, but they are suppressed by the absolute strength of Ye Xishui and Zhongli Wu, preventing those below from making any rash moves.

However, if a vacancy appears at the top, the Holy Spirit Cult will immediately erupt into chaos.

Xu Tianran's ability to easily eliminate the high-ranking members of the Holy Spirit Cult was largely due to the Holy Spirit Cult's internal disarray.

Fourth, cultivation resources are unsustainable.

The cultivation of Evil Soul Master requires the absorption of Soul Power. Where does Soul Power come from? From living people.

The Holy Spirit Cult carried out so many massacres and blood sacrifices on the mainland in order to collect Soul Power for its followers to cultivate.

However, the population on the mainland is limited. Killing too many people would arouse public outrage and lead to a crackdown.

The Holy Spirit Cult could run rampant for a time under the protection of the Sun Moon Empire, but this method of cultivation was destined to be short-lived.

The reason why the Spirit Hall was able to suppress the Evil Soul Master so much back then was because the Evil Soul Master ' training method determined that they could never become powerful.

Once you grow larger, you need more Soul Power; more Soul Power requires more lives; the more people you kill, the more ruthless the encirclement and suppression becomes—it's a vicious cycle.

After reading the contents of the diary, Ning Tian felt somewhat relieved.

She always felt that while the Holy Spirit Cult's model might show quick results in the short term, it was a dead end in the long run.

She completely agreed with what was written in the diary about the cycle of death. The more people Evil Soul Master killed, the more forces they offended, and the inevitable outcome was that they would be besieged and wiped out by the entire continent.

But then she thought of something else: although Shrek Shrek wouldn't follow the path of the Holy Spirit Cult, its own teaching system wasn't without its problems.

She continued reading, wanting to know how Lin Ye would analyze Shrek's weaknesses.

Having discussed the Holy Spirit Cult, let's now look at Shrek.

Shrek's teaching system is top-notch in the orthodox Soul Master World, but it also has its own shortcomings.

First, the promotion channels are narrow.

Shrek's resources are concentrated in the hands of a few people: the Sea God Pavilion Elder, the Core Disciple of the Inner Court, and the key talents cultivated by the Outer Court. The resources of these people are incomparable to those of ordinary people.

Ordinary Shrek Academy students only have access to a limited amount of resources; to advance, they need both talent and luck.

Tang Ya's talent wasn't bad when she was at Shrek, but the resources she received were worlds apart from those of the Core Disciple.

This is why she couldn't break through to the Soul Douluo level at Shrek, but was able to soar to great heights at the Holy Spirit Cult.

Jiang Nannan felt a little heavy-hearted after reading the contents of the diary.

She has always had some reservations about Shrek's resource allocation.

Shrek claims to be fair, but in reality, there is a serious problem of resource imbalance.

Core Disciple receive the best cultivation resources, while ordinary students receive less than a fraction of them.

Jiang Nannan herself came from a common background, so she was all too aware of this disparity.

She got to where she is today at Shrek through her own hard work and a little bit of luck.

But what about those students who, like her, come from ordinary backgrounds and have average talent? They can't get resources, and no matter how hard they try, they can't break through.

Jiang Nannan took a deep breath, suppressing the resentment in her heart.

Shrek gave her a chance, and she couldn't take advantage of it and then act innocent, but she knew some things were going on in her mind.

Second, the hidden barriers of seniority-based promotion.

Within Shrek, core positions are mostly held by senior veterans, and younger trainees who want to enter the decision-making level have to wait.

Wait for the senior members to retire, wait until you have enough seniority, wait until everyone feels it's your turn to take over.

This waiting process could take several years, or even more than a decade.

The youthful vigor is worn down while waiting, and by the time they actually sit in that position, they have lost their initial drive.

The Holy Spirit Cult has no such threshold; whoever is strong can join, regardless of age or seniority.

This mechanism, though cruel, can indeed unleash human potential.

Third, the constraints of moral bottom lines.

This is Shrek's greatest strength, and also its greatest weakness.

It's considered an advantage because the Soul Master trained by Shrek Academy have principles; they won't indiscriminately kill innocent people or resort to any means to become stronger.

It's considered a disadvantage because moral boundaries often act as a constraint in competition.

If others use evil magic, you can only cultivate step by step; if others use plunder, you can only rely on yourself to accumulate Soul Power.

This gap may not be apparent in the short term, but it will become a significant divide in strength over the long term.

Shrek's ability to rival the Holy Spirit Cult in high-level combat power stems from its millennia-old foundation and the support of a select few geniuses, not from widespread, highly efficient training.

After seeing this, Zhang Lexuan felt a little heavy-hearted.

She knew better than anyone where Shrek's bottom line was, and she also knew better than anyone how heavy that bottom line could sometimes be.

She had witnessed the painful struggles of Inner Court disciples trying to break through bottlenecks, and she had also seen those geniuses exchange years of arduous training for a level one increase in Soul Power.

She acknowledged that there were no shortcuts in Shrek's teaching system.

However, she also had to admit that if the environment were different, those disciples might grow much faster.

Zhang Lexuan put those thoughts aside and continued reading.

She has feelings for Shrek, but the problems she wrote about in her diary do exist, and she can't pretend not to see them just because of her feelings.

[By placing both sides side by side, the difference becomes very clear.]

The Holy Spirit Cult's strengths lie in its efficiency and intensity, while its weaknesses lie in its sustainability and stability.

Shrek's strengths lie in its foundation and bottom line, while its weaknesses lie in its speed and resource allocation.

The Holy Spirit Cult is like a potent medicine; it works quickly, but has severe side effects, and excessive use can be fatal.

Shrek is like a mild tonic; it takes effect slowly but can be consumed for a long time without harming the body.

Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, but combining them is extremely difficult.

Because the underlying logic of the Holy Spirit Cult Cult's efficiency is plunder, while the underlying logic of Shrek Academy's bottom line is restraint.

Plunder and restraint are inherently contradictory; forcing them together will only lead to mutual destruction.

In fact, this problem can be seen in other fields as well.

Every organization must make trade-offs between pursuing efficiency and pursuing stability.

Organizations that prioritize efficiency often don't last long, while organizations that prioritize stability often don't grow quickly.

Organizations that can simultaneously achieve both efficiency and stability are extremely rare in history.

Shrek has been searching for a balance point for thousands of years, but that balance point is too difficult to find.