After their initial shock and disbelief, the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils finally began to recover their composure.
Without their realizing it, the way they looked at Tang San and Yu Xiaogang had also changed.
Once, they had regarded Tang San as a companion they could trust with their backs, and Yu Xiaogang as a teacher who guided them forward.
But now, seeing the two disregard the lives of ordinary people just to please the Asura God, even turning black into white to defend nobles who wantonly oppressed the populace, their convictions finally began to waver.
This was especially true of Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Oscar.
It was not as though they had never witnessed the darkness of the Douluo Continent.
On the contrary, precisely because they had experienced this world's cruelty firsthand, they understood all the more clearly what a heavy price ordinary people had to pay just to survive on this continent.
Yet in the past, they had never truly considered these questions from the perspective of those at the bottom.
Not until the Sky Screen descended and laid everything bare before their eyes.
"If Huaxia Star truly has none of these problems, just how far have they developed their people's living conditions?"
Zhu Zhuqing spoke softly, her gaze never leaving the Sky Screen.
Her cool voice held a trace of curiosity she could not conceal.
Her question also plunged Dai Mubai, who stood beside her, into thought.
As a prince of the Star Luo Empire, he had received a royal education from childhood. He had grown accustomed to the nobles' struggles for power and long since accepted the law of survival that placed the strong above all.
In the past, Dai Mubai had believed that how ordinary people lived had little to do with him.
After all, an almost insurmountable gulf already separated Soul Masters from ordinary people.
But now, he had seen with his own eyes merchants painstakingly building their businesses, only to be ruthlessly fleeced by nobles and the powerful!
Only after seeing ordinary people toil all day and still struggle to fill their stomachs did he finally realize that everything he had once taken for granted might not be natural or inevitable at all.
Tang San disappointed him even more.
The companion who had once fought shoulder to shoulder with them and ventured through the Soul Master World alongside them could now utter such words without so much as a change in expression.
That people's livelihoods did not matter.
That commoners were nothing more than dependents of the strong.
Such remarks had actually come from Tang San's mouth!
Dai Mubai could not help clenching his fists.
He suddenly remembered the commoners living in the remote regions of the Star Luo Empire, and the ordinary people he had once seen working themselves to the bone for a few Copper Soul Coins.
If they could have better lives, if they did not have to fear oppression by nobles every waking moment, why would this continent remain forever trapped in the cycle of the strong devouring the weak?
For a moment, a hundred emotions surged through Dai Mubai's heart.
Beside him, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and the others also turned their eyes toward the Sky Screen.
They all wanted to know.
Just how much could a civilization so highly praised by the Sky Screen improve the lives of ordinary people?
At that very moment, the light upon the Sky Screen suddenly blazed.
Dazzling radiance pierced the clouds, as though an immense sun stretched across the heavens, drawing the gazes of countless living beings on both planets.
The next instant, the sights of Huaxia Star finally appeared before everyone's eyes!
There were none of Douluo Star's lofty, overbearing nobles.
There were no Soul Masters barging into shops at will and plundering their wealth.
Nor were there miserable scenes of ordinary people struggling desperately to survive.
What greeted everyone's eyes was a world of prosperity, stability, and abundant vitality!
Broad, immaculate streets crisscrossed the cities, and the pedestrians passing along them looked at ease.
Towering buildings rose from the ground, while advanced soul guidance devices filled every corner of the cities.
In the shops, merchants could conduct their businesses in peace; inside the factories, workers carried out their tasks in an orderly fashion; and in the schools, children's clear voices rose and fell as they read aloud.
Men and women, young and old, regardless of their birth, could all find a place of their own on this planet.
More importantly, there were those heartfelt smiles on their faces!
Such smiles had been far too rare in the earlier scenes of Douluo Star.
Now, as they appeared across the Sky Screen in great swathes, countless people on Douluo Star stared, momentarily entranced.
[For every citizen of Huaxia Star, public welfare has never been an unattainable slogan, but a reality present in every moment of their lives.] [From a child's birth, through education, to choosing their own path in adulthood, Huaxia Star has always worked to provide basic security for everyone.] [Here, ordinary people need not spend every day fearing they cannot fill their stomachs, nor are they stripped of the right to pursue a better life simply because of humble birth.] [Regardless of their origins or talents, everyone can strive for a future of their own through their own efforts!]
As the Sky Screen's voice continued to ring out, the picture of life on Huaxia Star grew ever clearer.
Children studied in spacious, brightly lit classrooms.
Ordinary workers worked in safe, orderly factories.
Merchants accumulated wealth through their business acumen, while researchers continually explored new frontiers in soul guidance technology.
Some pursued wealth, some yearned for knowledge, some wished to protect their homeland, and others simply wanted to live their own lives in peace.
What Huaxia Star did was provide as much support as possible for these aspirations.
Everyone had the right to strive.
Everyone could have a life of their own.
This was public welfare in its truest sense!
Watching scene after scene unfold before them, countless people on Douluo Star were utterly stunned.
Especially those ordinary people who had suffered oppression by nobles and plunder at the hands of the strong.
As they watched the people on the Sky Screen living peacefully and working contentedly, a longing they had never known before gradually emerged in their eyes.
So ordinary people could live with such dignity!
So being born without a powerful martial soul did not mean spending an entire lifetime at the mercy of others!
So a truly powerful civilization did not need to be built upon the suffering of countless weak people!
"This is the life we want..."
An elderly woman on Douluo Star gazed at the Sky Screen, tears gradually welling in her clouded eyes.
She could no longer remember how many years it had been since she had seen a life so peaceful and secure.
At that moment, she hardly dared imagine what kind of life her children might have had if they had been born on Huaxia Star.
She was far from the only person harboring such thoughts.
More and more ordinary people felt the same longing arise within them at that moment.
And the Sky Screen's voice continued.
[Huaxia Star's current standard of living is inseparable from the Federation's long-term development efforts and investment.] [Among those responsible, the God of Wealth Zhao Gongming, who oversees Huaxia Star's economic affairs, is one of the key figures driving all of this forward!]
As those words ended, the scene abruptly changed.
A figure wearing luxurious robes and possessing an extraordinary bearing appeared at the center of the Sky Screen.
It was none other than Zhao Gongming!
He stood in the air above a magnificent city. Countless buildings stretched in tightly packed rows behind him, an immense soul guidance transportation network ran between the cities, and farther away, factories operated day and night.
There was nothing particularly ostentatious about his presence, yet the instant he appeared, an invisible force seemed to connect every strand of Huaxia Star's economic lifelines.
[As Huaxia Star's God of Wealth and the principal official responsible for its economic affairs, Zhao Gongming spearheaded the far-reaching "One-Basket Plan."] [Under this plan, the Huaxia Federation systematically developed education, healthcare, employment, and basic living support, doing everything possible to address the difficulties people faced in birth, aging, illness, death, and everyday life.] [At the same time, relying on its advanced technological framework and ample resource supplies, Huaxia Star continually improved its production capacity and public welfare system, ultimately creating its current prosperity and stability.] [Public welfare does not exist in isolation. It is a vital foundation for the functioning of an entire civilization!]
With each introduction, Zhao Gongming's figure drew ever more attention.
This so-called One-Basket Plan had actually brought order to the development of such an enormous planet!
Such ability was simply beyond imagination!
Yet compared with the astonishment of Douluo Star's people, the Asura God in the Divine Realm seemed particularly dismissive.
He watched Zhao Gongming on the Sky Screen, his brows drawing together slightly.
"A deity dedicated to economics and public welfare?"
The Asura God scoffed, his tone filled with incomprehension.
"I am rather curious. What is so important about this so-called public welfare that it deserves such attention?"
"Are they actually going to establish rules specifically for those ordinary people, just so they can live in comfort?"
In his view, the Divine Realm's most important duties were naturally to control power, maintain its rule, and ensure that the gods' standing remained unshaken.
As for ordinary people's lives?
As long as they could provide faith and contribute power to the Divine Realm, that was enough.
Why go to all this trouble?
As soon as the Asura God finished speaking, Tang San immediately showed his agreement.
"You are absolutely right, Lord Asura God!"
Tang San looked at the Sky Screen and sneered. "Those people on Huaxia Star have clearly grown far too comfortable. They actually waste so many resources on ordinary people."
"Soul Masters should stand above ordinary people by right, yet they insist on emphasizing this so-called equality. Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"
Yu Xiaogang, standing nearby, quickly picked up the thread.
"Exactly! Still, I do believe this Zhao Gongming possesses some genuine ability."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes shifted, and a measure of deliberate flattery entered his tone.
"After all, managing an entire planet's economy to such a degree is certainly not something an ordinary person could accomplish. If Lord Asura God intends to deal with Huaxia Star, this man may warrant attention as well."
The two echoed one another. On the surface, they were discussing Zhao Gongming's abilities, but in truth, their contempt for ordinary people had not changed at all.
Indeed, in their eyes, Huaxia Star's emphasis on public welfare was itself utterly incomprehensible.
To the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils, however, the sight was painfully jarring.
They had seen the same lives on Huaxia Star.
They had heard the same explanation of public welfare from the Sky Screen.
Why could Tang San and Yu Xiaogang still belittle ordinary people as though it were only natural?
Watching the people in the images living peacefully and working contentedly, Ning Rongrong suddenly thought of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's wealth.
The sect possessed countless businesses and vast resources.
But how much of that wealth had truly found its way into ordinary people's lives?
Zhu Zhuqing also thought of the brutal competition within the Star Luo Empire's royal family.
There, birth and status often determined a person's fate.
Even those with talent might not be free to choose their own lives.
If the world could give everyone more opportunities, might many tragedies that once seemed inevitable be avoided?
Oscar lowered his head, a jumble of emotions stirring in his heart.
He had come from an ordinary background and had once agonized over his insufficient innate soul power.
If he had never encountered Shrek Academy, where would his life have led?
Huaxia Star's existence made him realize for the first time that a civilization's strength should not be reflected solely in the number of powerful individuals it possessed.
It should also be reflected in whether it could give more ordinary people the chance to change their fates!
At that moment, profound shame arose in the hearts of the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils.
In the past, they had enjoyed the advantages their strength and status brought them, yet seldom truly considered the circumstances of the weak.
Now, at least, they no longer wished to take everything for granted as Tang San and Yu Xiaogang did.
Their gazes toward Tang San and his teacher grew ever more distant.
The bond forged through fighting shoulder to shoulder had not vanished completely at that moment.
But those words they could not accept had already carved a rift between them that was impossible to ignore.
Meanwhile.
On Douluo Star, at Spirit Hall.
Bibi Dong stood in the great hall with Spirit Hall's senior officials.
Around them, intricate, profound patterns covered the floor. Vast soul power flowed continuously along the formation's lines, faintly shaping an enormous formation that enveloped heaven and earth.
The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Dragon-Trapping Formation!
This was the crucial formation Bibi Dong and Spirit Hall's many powerful members had just finished setting up.
At this moment, however, Bibi Dong's attention was wholly captured by the images on the Sky Screen.
She watched Huaxia Star's people living happy lives, working without fear, and freely choosing their futures. Seeing an entire civilization treat public welfare as a foundation that demanded serious attention, she could not calm her heart for a long time.
As Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff, she understood the Douluo Continent's problems better than most.
Nobles monopolized resources, kingdoms waged war against one another, and ordinary Soul Masters struggled to obtain sufficient cultivation resources. Those without martial souls or with mediocre talent had even fewer chances to change their fates.
In the past, Bibi Dong had focused on how to break the existing order and give Spirit Hall enough power to reshape the continent.
But now, as Huaxia Star's true face unfolded before her, she finally saw a clearer direction.
Unifying the continent should not merely be about granting Spirit Hall greater power and influence.
What truly mattered was what they could bring to this continent after unification!
If Spirit Hall ultimately did nothing more than replace those kingdoms and nobles, leaving ordinary people under oppression, then what meaning would there be in unifying the continent, even if she succeeded?
At that thought, Bibi Dong slowly clenched her hand.
She raised her head and gazed firmly at the Sky Screen.
[What Huaxia Star can accomplish, my Spirit Hall may well accomplish too!]
[Since they can give ordinary people better lives, I, Bibi Dong, must strive forward as well!]
[I will make the entire Douluo Continent understand that Spirit Hall can not only reshape this continent, but also become the next Huaxia Star!]
At that moment, the goal in Bibi Dong's heart finally became clearer than ever before.
And because of it, she and Spirit Hall were certain to set their actions on an entirely new course!