Qian Zong's Ambition

"Brother, what does the young master mean by this?"

"I'm not sure either."

Qian Jun turned his head, his gaze falling on Ci Xue and She Long beside him.

Qian Daoliu had originally confined the two of them to the Worship Hall grounds. But after the Martial Soul Library was established, it needed people who could command respect, so Qian Zong had invited the two Titled Douluo over.

Qian Zong knew Ci Xue and She Long were loyal. He trusted them.

Qian Daoliu was less at ease. Worried they might leak secrets, he sent Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, two Super Douluo, to guard the Library as well.

Guarding the Library was the stated reason. Everyone understood the real one without saying a word.

And so a single library ended up with four Titled Douluo.

Being watched by the two elders, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, made Ci Xue uncomfortable all over. She Long, meanwhile, was impatient and arrogant by nature, with little head for schemes.

After some thought, Ci Xue braced himself and said:

"Seventh Elder, Sixth Elder, I believe the Young Hall Master wants us to act as the situation demands."

Ci Xue had spent years undercover in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. Though no master strategist, he had picked up a thing or two.

That was more than could be said for most elders, who spent years at a time cultivating in seclusion at Spirit Hall.

"Makes sense." Jiang Mo nodded. "In that case, we'll give the young master our full support when the time comes."

Perhaps the elders of Spirit Hall had spent too long in seclusion. They all shared the same flaw: arrogance that ran bone-deep. If they could fight, they would not waste words; if they could fight one-on-one, they would never gang up.

Admirable spirit, but against someone like Tang San, it would only make them stepping stones.

Ci Xue and She Long answered, "Yes."

Downstairs, Qian Zong withdrew his gaze, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and left the stairway to join Ling Yuan.

His expression changed abruptly. A chilling killing intent radiated from him as he demanded:

"Star Luo Empire, you have some nerve, openly attempting to assassinate me!"

"Speak! Who sent you?"

Everyone in the Library was a Soul Master, with hearing far beyond that of ordinary people. Even without using Soul Power to raise his voice, Qian Zong's words reached every one of them.

"What? That boy is actually the master of Spirit Hall? How can he be so young?"

"No wonder a Soul Douluo is guarding him. So he's the Hall Master. I wonder which title he holds—Young Hall Master or junior Hall Master?"

"How strange. Why is the Hall Master's level so low?"

"Hm? Haven't you noticed? His breathing is shallow and his vitality is depleted. He's clearly suffered a serious injury."

"No way. With a personal guard protecting him, who could have hurt him?"

"I don't know. If you don't believe me, release your Soul Power and sense for yourself. The Hall Master doesn't seem to mind us examining him."

At that, the surrounding Soul Masters released their mental power to examine Qian Zong's body.

They reached the same conclusion as the speaker: Qian Zong was in terrible condition.

"Hm?"

Qian Zong swept his gaze across the crowd. His eyes were savage, like a ferocious beast in a flood, enough to make hearts tremble.

Even with his meridians shattered, the ferocity he had developed from years spent on the brink of death was more than ordinary Soul Masters could withstand.

"The Hall Master's looking this way! You bastard, didn't you say he wouldn't mind us examining him?"

"That's impossible. When I examined him just now, I sensed more than thirty different auras doing the same thing, and he didn't react."

"Hm? Could he have noticed because I sent my Soul Power into his body?"

"What? You idiot! Have you no common sense? You're going to get us killed!"

"Those eyes are terrifying. One glance made me feel afraid. What on earth has he been through?"

"I'm finished. He didn't notice me, did he?"

The Soul Masters who had released Soul Power to examine Qian Zong hastily withdrew it and lowered their heads when his gaze passed over them, afraid he might remember them.

Qian Zong looked over the crowd once, then withdrew his gaze.

He did not mind the Soul Masters in the Library examining his condition. But using Soul Power to invade his body crossed a line.

He could not tell whether those few were genuinely stupid or simply had a screw loose.

Dai Yan had been looking for a chance to regain some face at Qian Zong's expense. She had not expected him to be foolish enough to expose his own weakness.

She stepped forward and sneered:

"Heh. Hall Master? A good-for-nothing like you thinks you deserve that title?"

Spirit Hall was a first-rate power on the continent. How could its master be a good-for-nothing whose Soul Power had not even reached level ten?

Dai Yan was not alone in thinking this. Many Soul Masters present felt the same.

They simply did not dare voice it loudly, restrained by Spirit Hall's reputation.

Dai Yan had no such qualms. Arrogant and overbearing since childhood, she acted without restraint.

Qian Zong frowned slightly.

Dai Yan was not bad-looking; she had something of a fiery beauty about her. But there seemed to be something wrong with her head, too. Deep thought was apparently beyond her.

They were in the heart of Spirit Hall's territory. Qian Zong had loudly declared himself its master. How could that be a lie?

Forget it. The people here seem to lack common sense. Once the continent is unified, I'll put nine years of compulsory education in place.

That should enlighten the whole population and help separate the sensible people from the rest. It might also bring in a great deal of faith.

If I can unify Douluo Star, then with its standing, gathering the faith of the entire planet might let me create a divine position even more powerful than those of the first Angel God and the First Generation Sea God.

At the thought, Qian Zong sighed softly.

Every ambitious Soul Master with potential on the continent aimed to ascend to the Divine Realm.

But Qian Zong alone knew that gods could fall. Gods were not omnipotent, and they too had their ranks. In essence, things worked much the same way as Spirit Hall, except that gods lived longer.

Becoming a god merely gave one an entry ticket to pursue a higher realm.

Douluo Star had an exceptionally high standing. It held Douluo Continent, Sun Moon Continent, Star Luo Continent, Heaven Dou Continent, and more. It was also where ancient gods had fallen, and at least two First-Level Divine Cores had been born there.

Its cultivation paths were extraordinarily varied as well. Soul Cores, Soul Spirits, Soul Tools, Battle Armor Masters, Interstellar Soul Guidance Technology, Ecological Warships—new developments emerged one after another.

If he could integrate all of Douluo Star's resources and put them to use, perhaps a God King-level Divine Core could be born.

After all, in the age of the old gods, the Divine Realm had been home to the Dragon God and eighteen God Kings.

The Divine Realm of this era was fully capable of supporting the birth of a sixth God King.

Besides, even if he ultimately failed to create a divine position of higher rank, he could at least create a First-Level God's position.

And gathering the people's faith was unquestionably a viable path to godhood. The first Angel God and the First Generation Sea God had already shown the way.

The amount of faith required might be immense, but that did not mean the path was impassable.

Qian Zong wanted more than simply to become a god. He wanted to establish himself quickly once he reached the Divine Realm.

Otherwise, he would not be trying to bring about the founding of the Spirit Hall Empire and unify the continent.

He could simply take the Sea God's Heart, seal off Slaughter City, seize the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and avoid Tang San altogether while cutting off his path to godhood.

After that, he could wait peacefully for Qian Renxue to become a god. It would be easy.

Of course, these were only Qian Zong's conjectures. There was still a long way to go before he could build anything on that scale.

But Qian Zong had ample time and could afford plenty of trial and error.

As everyone knew, the world was fair: gain status, and you lost the trouble of going to work.

Without work, he had a vast amount of free time on his hands.