After leaving Grandmaster's room, Tang San was just about to head to Spirit Hall in Nuoding City to register as a Soul Master and collect his stipend when he ran into Xiao Yan, who had just come out of the library.
"Little San, where are you heading?" Xiao Yan asked.
Tang San said, "To Spirit Hall in Nuoding City."
"What for? Haven't we already awakened our martial souls?" Puzzled, Xiao Yan pressed him.
"Teacher told me to have my Soul Master assessment done, first to test what level my soul power has reached, and second to collect Spirit Hall's Soul Master stipend. That way, I won't have to be a work-study student anymore," Tang San replied.
Then Tang San told Xiao Yan everything, down to the last detail, about the stipend one could receive from Spirit Hall after becoming a Soul Master.
"Spirit Hall really is pretty good. Not only does it awaken commoners' martial souls for free, it also provides financial assistance to Soul Masters at the bottom." Hearing that becoming a Soul Master meant receiving Gold Soul Coins, Xiao Yan, who had spent six years living on thin porridge with the drunkard Tang Hao, could not help smiling.
I really don't know what that old fellow Tang Hao was thinking. Spirit Hall is such a good organization, yet he threatened me not to join it.
Xiao Yan sighed inwardly.
"Brother, you mustn't think Spirit Hall is a good organization. Teacher said the money for the Soul Master stipends all comes from the Two Great Empires. For various reasons, Spirit Hall overstepped its bounds and took over distributing the money, all to buy the Soul Masters' loyalty." Seeing that Xiao Yan thought highly of Spirit Hall, Tang San frowned and warned him.
According to what Grandmaster had just said, the Two Great Empires had long since stopped allocating funds for the stipends, yet Spirit Hall continued paying them to commoner Soul Masters. Just like Shen Wansan funding rewards for the armies during the Ming Dynasty, this clearly suggested intentions of rebellion.
Rebellion? That went against the ideals of loyalty to the sovereign and country that Tang San had held in his previous life!
"Heh. Spirit Hall is buying people's loyalty?" At Tang San's words, Xiao Yan's expression shifted. In a grave voice, he challenged him, "Little San, have you ever truly looked into Spirit Hall's history? Spirit Hall was founded to rid the world of evil Soul Masters. It's no ordinary religious organization. Its fame spread across the continent long ago, and it already has the people's support. Does it still need to buy their loyalty by handing out stipends?"
"I heard the academy's teachers say Grandmaster seems to have been born a noble in a major sect. He grew up clothed in fine silk and dining on delicacies, so naturally he wouldn't consider things from ordinary people's perspective. Every year, Spirit Hall awakens martial souls for children everywhere. Aside from the empire's funding, doesn't Spirit Hall itself pay for registration and martial soul awakenings, which consume manpower, resources, and money? Without Spirit Hall, who would awaken martial souls for mountain children like you and me? If we couldn't awaken our martial souls, wouldn't we be stuck in Holy Soul Village for the rest of our lives?"
Back in Douluo I, when Spirit Hall existed, Spirit Hall Deacons personally climbed up and down mountains, visiting more than a dozen villages a day to awaken commoners' martial souls without stopping.
By Douluo II, with Spirit Hall gone, even if you were an imperial relative living in Heaven Dou Imperial City, you still had to travel to the main city and pay to awaken your martial soul.
Look closely: pay. What an ugly display of greed!
One brought aid to the whole world; the other sat entrenched at the center.
There's no need for me to spell out which was good and which was bad, is there?
Actually, none of that was the most important point. The crucial thing was that imperial relatives and nobles could ride carriages to have their martial souls awakened, but what about the children in remote mountain regions?
They couldn't get out of the mountains. Even if they possessed extraordinary talent, without anyone to awaken their martial souls, wouldn't their entire lives be wasted?
In effect, Spirit Hall gave everyone a chance to become a Soul Master. It also provided children from poor families with a path to rise beyond their social class. How could commoners not be grateful?
Why did eighty percent of the continent's Soul Masters belong to the Spirit Hall Empire during the final battle of Douluo I? Why did none of those Soul Masters switch sides, even knowing during that final battle that the Spirit Hall Empire might lose to the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire?
Simply because Spirit Hall had done right by those Soul Masters and had won the people's hearts.
"Besides, the empire's funding comes from taxes collected from commoners. Shouldn't what comes from the people be used for the people? Without Spirit Hall, do you think the empire would allocate that money? The nobles would probably have embezzled every last bit of it long ago."
"Well..." Xiao Yan's retort left Tang San speechless.
"But the empires have already stopped allocating funds, and Spirit Hall is still paying Soul Masters stipends in its own name. That proves it harbors rebellious intentions." Tang San had been born in a feudal era in his previous life. Feudal beliefs about loyalty to imperial authority had long since taken deep root in him, and he never considered matters from the common people's perspective. Thus, he resorted to sophistry.
At this, Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly and gave Tang San a contemptuous glance. He said flatly, "In that case, don't collect Spirit Hall's Soul Master stipend. You take their benefits while bad-mouthing them. You lift the bowl to eat, then set it down and curse the cook. Don't you think you're holding a double standard?"
"You..." Tang San's expression darkened, his face flushed red, and his breathing quickened.
Xiao Yan's words grated on Tang San's ears. Had they not spent six years together and been born to the same parents, a Sleeve Arrow would probably already have pierced Xiao Yan between the brows.
Although Tang San did not say this time that Xiao Yan had courted death, a crack opened in their relationship nonetheless, planting the seeds of their eventual complete rupture.
"If we follow different paths, there's no point making plans together."
After saying that, Xiao Yan headed to Spirit Hall in Nuoding City without looking back. He intended to undergo his Soul Master assessment. For a child who had already spent six years living on thin porridge, a stipend of one Gold Soul Coin still mattered a great deal.
Currency on the Douluo Continent was exchanged as follows: one Gold Soul Coin equaled ten Silver Soul Coins, or one hundred Copper Soul Coins. A single Gold Soul Coin was enough to cover several months of living expenses for an ordinary family of three.
On the Douluo Continent, whether in the Heaven Dou Empire or the Star Luo Empire, every city had a landmark building belonging to Spirit Hall.
Spirit Hall in Nuoding City was an enormous domed building. Its front alone spanned a hundred meters, and it stood twenty meters tall, with three floors in total.
The entire building was brown, and a winged longsword adorned the front entrance, looking somewhat like the Angel Holy Sword.
"Little fellow, this is Spirit Hall. You can't just wander in." Xiao Yan had barely reached the entrance of Spirit Hall in Nuoding City when a guard stretched out his hand to stop him.
At this, Xiao Yan took out his martial soul certificate and handed it to the guard, saying calmly, "Uncle, I'm a Soul Master. I'm here to have my martial soul level assessed."
Taking Xiao Yan's martial soul certificate with both hands, the guard glanced at it, and envy immediately shone in his eyes. He said respectfully, "Oh, I see. Then hurry on in. Master Ma Xiunuo happens to be here today."
The two guards were around twenty years old. Xiao Yan sensed not the slightest fluctuation of soul power from either of them; they clearly were not Soul Masters. Thus, after looking at his martial soul certificate, both guards wore envious expressions.
"All right, thank you." Xiao Yan answered and strode into Spirit Hall.
Meanwhile, both guards' envious gazes followed Xiao Yan into Spirit Hall. One of them said, "If only I'd awakened soul power back then, I'd probably be a Soul Master now too. Ah..."
"What are you sighing for? There's nothing wrong with not becoming a Soul Master. Aren't we living pretty well now?" the other guard replied.
It was a little like modern society: you got into Tsinghua, I got sweet potatoes into the oven, and we all had bright futures.
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