Bibi Dong's Misery

A dying Golden Sub-Dragon lay beneath Little Golden Dragon's claws.

Sensing Little Golden Dragon's summons, Bai Fan steadied his emotions and slowly made his way outside the city gates.

The weakened Golden Sub-Dragon came into view. Little Golden Dragon suppressed it with dragon might, then shrank down and rubbed wildly against Bai Fan's leg.

Bai Fan gently stroked Little Golden Dragon's head. "A seventy-thousand-year Golden Sub-Dragon? It can become my seventh soul skill."

Little Golden Dragon had already reached adulthood. Its strength was nearing that of a hundred-thousand-year-old Soul Beast, and with the suppression of its bloodline, subduing a seventy-thousand-year Golden Sub-Dragon had been effortless.

Its cultivation had risen so quickly thanks to the Immortal Herbs it had devoured before.

Those Immortal Herbs tainted with dragon aura had not only helped Little Golden Dragon break through the shackles of its bloodline, but had also rapidly increased its cultivation.

One noteworthy point was that Little Golden Dragon was not a pure Soul Beast. He was Bai Fan's martial soul, a unique existence.

This meant that Little Golden Dragon could cultivate as quickly as humans and would not be suppressed by the God Realm.

Bai Fan swiftly ended the Golden Sub-Dragon's life. A black Soul Ring emerged from the corpse and entered Bai Fan's body.

Inside Spirit Hall.

The young Bibi Dong sat curled up on the bed, her face and body covered in bruises and wounds.

Qian Xunji's expression was grim. There was not a trace of a Pope's sacred bearing about him.

"Bitch, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up like this."

The more Qian Xunji spoke, the more agitated he became. He strode to the bedside, grabbed Bibi Dong by her hair, and said madly, "Don't you like that worthless Yu Xiaogang? Once my Spirit Hall unifies the continent, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan will have no reason to exist."

"I'll drag that trash before me and make him watch how lovingly the two of us treat each other!"

Qian Xunji wore a crazed expression when an urgent voice suddenly reported, "Reporting to the Pope, important information has arrived."

Qian Xunji casually tossed Bibi Dong back onto the bed before leaving the bedchamber.

"Xiao Gang, I'm so scared."

Bibi Dong was still a girl under twenty. Faced with all this, she had no power to resist.

The only person she could think to rely on was Bai Fan.

Inside Spirit Hall's Pope Hall.

The returning deacons knelt in the center of the hall while Qian Xunji sat high upon the Pope's throne.

"Tell me exactly what happened."

"Your Holiness, the Skyfrost Duchy that our Spirit Hall had infiltrated was taken by those Heaven Dou Empire rebels."

Qian Xunji's formerly relaxed expression turned serious.

"Good! They even dared to seize Spirit Hall's territory. It seems you have no reason to exist anymore."

The purple-robed deacon kneeling on the ground rolled his eyes, then reported to Qian Xunji, "Your Holiness, while they were torturing me, this subordinate overheard some information."

"Oh? What information? Tell me."

"Your Holiness, those people thought I had fainted from their torture, so they spoke in low voices. Little did they know that my hearing is very sharp."

"Their next step is to seize Star Luo Empire territory. It seems they intend to wage war against both great empires at once."

Qian Xunji tapped his fingers against the Pope's throne as he considered the group's purpose.

"What are these people's intentions? Why attack both great empires at the same time?"

Unable to understand the reason, Qian Xunji directly asked the question.

"Where exactly did those people come from? Are they truly that powerful?"

To avoid embarrassing himself, the purple-robed deacon greatly exaggerated Bai Fan and the others.

"Your Holiness, those people are monsters. They possess a weapon that can kill dozens of armored soldiers in an instant."

"Their leader is an exceptionally powerful Soul Master. Several of us were utterly incapable of resisting him."

At those words, Qian Xunji immediately grasped the situation.

"So that was it. It seems the battle for Skyfrost Duchy gave them considerable confidence, enough to make them dare challenge both great empires at once."

"In that case, Spirit Hall might as well let the snipe and clam fight while the fisherman reaps the benefits."

Qian Xunji slapped the armrest and burst into hearty laughter, blissfully falling straight into Bai Fan's trap.

Naturally, news of Skyfrost Duchy's fall reached Emperor Xue Ye's ears.

The Heaven Dou Empire court was deathly silent.

Emperor Xue Ye's furious voice echoed through the court. "You are all useless! You can't even deal with a pack of lowly commoners!"

None of the nobles below dared respond. They all kept their heads lowered.

Xue Jingyuan's death had already served as a warning to these old foxes. This was not a mission for earning easy merits, and they could not accept it lightly.

One stubborn noble stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I suspect those rebels will next head for the Sylvis Kingdom in the east. This subject is willing to go there and prepare in advance, waiting for those rebels to take the bait."

Emperor Xue Ye was highly pleased with this noble who had volunteered.

"Good. In that case, I hereby grant Yuwen Huai'an the royal gold token. Seeing this token is the same as seeing me. From now on, you will take full charge of the Sylvis Kingdom."

"This subject accepts the decree."

Would reality truly unfold as Emperor Xue Ye expected?

Outside the gates of the Republic Empire.

Bai Fan successfully absorbed the Golden Sub-Dragon's Soul Ring, and his soul power had reached level seventy-two.

"Congratulations, Boss, on obtaining your seventh Soul Ring."

"Congratulations, Holy Lord, on obtaining your seventh Soul Ring."

Little Golden Dragon abruptly grew larger, and Bai Fan stepped onto his back before soaring into the sky.

"All of you, heed my command. From this day onward, this place will be the Republic Empire's main base."

"You must remember: this is an empire of the common people, our shared home. We are merely servants of our fellow villagers."

"Here, Soul Masters and common people are equal. Privilege will never exist!"

The impassioned speech drew cheers from the common people.

No matter how loudly slogans were shouted, they were ultimately empty promises. What mattered was how they would be carried out.

Over the following days, Bai Fan accompanied Da Niu and the others in discussing further development and construction, slowing the pace of their advance.

"Da Niu, I see quite a few impoverished commoners in our Republic Empire. How have you been handling them?"

"Boss, we've already arranged for people to bring them food and build houses for them."

Da Niu answered without hesitation, but Bai Fan's expression turned somewhat displeased.

"Da Niu, do you think what you did was right?" Bai Fan's expression was stern as he turned to the others. "Goudan, Monkey, do you think what you did was right?"

Everyone sensed the shift in Bai Fan's mood, yet they did not know what they had done wrong. They could only lower their heads in silence.

"None of you know? Then let me tell you: you were wrong, terribly wrong!"

"I advocate equality for everyone, but what? Is this how you understood it? Are you going to treat these people like your ancestors?"

"We are servants, but we are not slaves. To put it even more bluntly, you are the ones in power. You can respect equality for all, but you are also the builders, and you must possess privileges."

"Privilege is not for you to indulge yourselves. It is for building the empire better."

"Think back to when our group was first formed. Weren't you in the same situation as they are now?"

"What did I do? I didn't give you money or build houses for you. I kept telling you about a better future and that happiness had to be fought for with your own hands."

By this point, the people below seemed to understand somewhat, their expressions filled with guilt.