Lin Fan's Advice

When Lin Fan finished speaking, the room fell utterly silent.

Qian Daoliu had been slapped in the face on the spot, and his cheeks burned.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei could no longer bear to watch.

The two lowered their heads and stared at their toes, wishing they could vanish then and there.

Qian Xunji's mouth twitched. He wanted to laugh but did not dare.

Bibi Dong stood in the corner, a thought stirring in her mind.

If Qian Daoliu in the story really had given his tacit approval, then her future self probably hated not only Qian Xunji, but also that lofty Grand Worshipper.

I'm not touching that one, Blue Silver thought.

After a while, Qian Daoliu was the first to speak.

"Lin Fan, you said Qian Daoliu agreed to Bibi Dong sending Qian Renxue to the Heaven Dou Empire. What was the point of that?"

Lin Fan answered without a moment's thought. "What else? To unify the continent, of course. Somehow, they came up with the stupidest plan imaginable."

"They sent Qian Renxue, Spirit Hall's most talented member, to infiltrate the Heaven Dou Empire. She killed the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, impersonated him, and tried to take the throne peacefully so she could rule the empire."

"In the end, Qian Renxue spent more than a decade undercover, failed anyway, and lost precious cultivation time. If she'd stayed at Spirit Hall to cultivate, she might have become a god in her twenties. Why wait until her thirties?"

Qian Xunji could not help asking, "What if Spirit Hall wanted to avoid too much bloodshed? Many people see it as an organization that keeps the continent stable. Perhaps that's why it chose a bloodless method."

Lin Fan sneered. "That makes it even stupider. Even if Qian Renxue had taken the throne, the truth would have come out sooner or later. Once the generals and soldiers learned their emperor wasn't actually royalty, they'd rebel. More people would die. Bloodline matters most when a throne changes hands."

"Princes can fight among themselves, and the soldiers won't care which one takes the throne as long as he belongs to the royal family."

"Think of it this way. If Spirit Hall's Pope died, would they put some random Soul Master in the Pope's seat, someone with no connection to the Qian family? Of course not."

"In the novel, Bibi Dong only became Pope because she was Qian Xunji's disciple, Spirit Hall's Saintess, and Qian Renxue's mother. With Qian Daoliu backing her as well, the elders and the Worship Hall accepted her."

"Without those ties, the elders and worshippers never would have agreed."

Qian Xunji and the others looked at one another. He had a point.

Who would let a complete outsider become their leader?

Qian Daoliu asked, "Then how should Spirit Hall go about unifying the continent?"

Lin Fan smiled. "It's simple. Spirit Hall hardly needs to do anything. Once it decides to unify the continent, it just needs to take a somewhat firmer approach."

"First, let Qian Renxue become a god. Then, in the name of a Deity, bring the duchies around Spirit Hall under her rule. Spirit Hall already has seventy percent of the continent's Soul Masters. Unification would be much easier after that."

"Spirit Hall lost because it spent too long dithering."

Bibi Dong asked, puzzled, "Wouldn't that cause massive casualties?"

Blue Silver agreed. "Wouldn't slaughter on that scale draw the Divine Realm's attention?"

Lin Fan nodded. "That's why I said Qian Renxue should become a god first. Besides, the Divine Realm has rules against interfering with the lower world. They aren't Tang San after his ascension, meddling whenever he pleases."

"And when has unification ever come without bloodshed? One general's glory is built on ten thousand bones. Bloodshed is inevitable."

"You've all studied history, right? Qin State spent a century pursuing unification, building on the achievements of six generations. The seventh ruler, Qin Shi Huang, conquered the six other states and finally unified the land. Well over a million people died along the way."

"In the end, Qin Shi Huang founded the first unified empire, the Qin Dynasty. And the dynasties that followed? Every one that sought unification had to carve its way through a sea of people."

Qian Xunji sighed. "Qin conquered six states. This Qin Shi Huang was truly great!"

Qian Daoliu nodded. "Indeed. One state conquering six others—what a magnificent imperial undertaking!"

Both men held positions of power and saw things differently. They knew nothing of the Qin Shi Huang Lin Fan spoke of, but his explanation was enough.

They could imagine how much Qin State had sacrificed on the road to unification.

Lin Fan smiled. "I'm getting off track. Spirit Hall's methods and structure on the continent are actually quite good."

"Sending people across the continent every year to awaken Martial Souls for commoners has earned it plenty of public support. Securing subsidies from the Two Great Empires for newly awakened Soul Masters has also won their loyalty."

"That's why Spirit Hall has seventy percent of the continent's Soul Masters."

"Whatever Spirit Hall's original intentions were, those actions genuinely benefited people and won them over."

"If not for the absurd moves made by Spirit Hall's leadership and Pope Bibi Dong's descent into madness, any halfway sensible Pope might have unified the continent already."

When Lin Fan finished, Qian Xunji and Qian Daoliu exchanged a look.

Lin Fan had laid all their family's affairs bare to their faces. Worse, everything he said made sense. They could not find a single point to argue.

Qian Daoliu had lived nearly a hundred years and seen just about everything. But having a young man in his early twenties point out Spirit Hall's leadership blunders to his face? That was a first.

And he still had to humbly accept Lin Fan's advice.

Qian Daoliu said slowly, "Young man, you've explained it clearly. I do enjoy hearing such things. But you've spoken at length, and you only took your medicine a little while ago. I'll come bother you another day."

Lin Fan nodded. "Sure thing, old village chief."

Everyone except Blue Silver left the room in silence.

Lin Fan had talked about Douluo Continent the whole time without noticing that the silvery-white sphere in his mind flashed whenever he finished a point. After each flash, a new line branched off from it.

"Xiao Lan, have they all gone?" Lin Fan asked softly.

"Mm. The village chief and the others went back," Blue Silver said with a nod.

"Did I say anything wrong? Did I get too worked up?" Lin Fan asked uncertainly.

"No. You spoke with feeling. The village chief and the others were drawn right in."

Lin Fan nodded. "That's good. I was afraid I got too emotional."

Blue Silver smiled. "All right. You smell awful. You've just taken those herbs, so wash up and get some rest."

"You don't need me to help you bathe, do you?"

"Uh, no, no need," Lin Fan said.

Blue Silver gave a soft laugh. "Then I'll head back too. My teacher brought back quite a few herbs, and I need to identify them and learn about them."

"Mm, go ahead. Don't worry about me."

After Blue Silver left, Lin Fan bathed and lay on the bed, feeling refreshed.

The Pope's Palace.

Qian Daoliu now sat in the seat of honor.

He looked at the four people below him. About ten minutes passed before he spoke. "Tell me what you thought of everything Lin Fan said today."

"Ji'er, especially you. You must never make the foolish mistakes Lin Fan described."

"But you also need to bring Qian Renxue into this world as soon as possible!"