A gentle breeze stirred beneath a cloudless sky.
In a slum.
Under a large tree.
Xu Cheng gently handed the kitten in his arms to the little girl, then smiled and patted her head.
"Thank you, big brother!"
Looking at Xu Cheng's handsome face, the little girl blushed and lowered her head to thank him.
"You're welcome."
Xu Cheng waved goodbye.
His expression was warm and gentle.
Only after the little girl disappeared around the corner, looking back three times with every step, did his expression slowly cool.
A figure slowly emerged behind him.
"Your Highness the Holy Son."
The black-robed man looked utterly helpless.
"The goods you requested have been brought from South City. The homeless children in the Holy Spirit Cult have also been settled according to your instructions. They will find new lives, thanks to your mercy..."
Hearing this, Xu Cheng nodded in satisfaction.
"Well done."
"But..."
The black-robed man looked deeply conflicted.
"Your Highness, we're the Holy Spirit Cult! The mere mention of our name should make everyone tremble in terror and stop children from crying. Why are we doing good deeds like these? Now, whenever I see those grateful looks..." The black-robed man shuddered. "It feels like ants are crawling all over me. I can't stand it."
"Wrong! Completely wrong!"
Xu Cheng frowned slightly, looked at the black-robed man, and sighed in anguish.
"I thought you would understand the painstaking care behind my efforts. Who knew... ah..."
"Holy Son! No... I was wrong!"
The black-robed man instantly felt as though a suffocating python had coiled tightly around his conscience.
Flustered, he tried to explain.
"Ah, I don't blame you. After all, those who achieve great things and blaze a trail for their successors are always lonely. Their era cannot understand their painstaking efforts..."
Xu Cheng waved a hand and turned to face the setting sun.
"What did you feel while saving those children?"
"I felt..."
The black-robed man racked his brains.
"Search your heart and remember."
Xu Cheng's voice softened, like a beam of light guiding the black-robed man's heart.
Recalling those gazes filled with respect, affection, and gratitude, the black-robed man slowly said, "I think... there was a little joy. They admired me. One little boy even said he wanted to become a hero like me someday..."
"Exactly."
Xu Cheng snapped his fingers.
"Then let me ask you another question. What did you gain in the process?"
"Affection and respect. Those children seem less afraid of the Holy Spirit Cult now."
The black-robed man pondered aloud, answering much faster this time.
"If someone now told them that the Holy Spirit Cult was an organization that slaughtered innocents, reveled in bloodshed and violence, and plunged the continent's people into misery, do you think... they would believe it?"
"N-no... Hiss..."
The black-robed man's pupils abruptly contracted.
His scalp prickled.
He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing.
Not only would these ordinary commoners refuse to believe it, they would become even more grateful to the Holy Spirit Cult. Though they dared not openly resist the nobles' oppression, in private they ground their teeth in hatred, longing to devour their flesh and drink their blood.
And so, the picture changed.
What?
To secure the ruling class's hold on power, those noble lords actually slandered benevolent organizations like the [Holy Spirit Cult]! They even called them Evil Soul Masters?
These are all the feudal class's plots and schemes!
We must keep our eyes wide open!
I want to join the Holy Spirit Cult and overthrow the noble ruling class!
As for whether the common people's talent was too poor...
Sorry, but a substantial portion of the Holy Spirit Cult's members came from commoner backgrounds.
Besides, commoners made up an enormous share of the continent's population. If they could win over this class...
Then they truly would be mandated by Heaven, blessed with longevity and eternal prosperity.
"Exactly."
Xu Cheng tilted his head slightly toward the sky, his hands clasped behind his back.
His voice was calm, but to the black-robed man, it was a thunderclap that shook him awake.
"If we want to unite the world, slaughter is not the way. Our Holy Spirit Cult must put down roots among the common people, draw upon their faith, and establish ourselves as the opposition to the nobility. That way, we can flourish endlessly, drawing nourishment from them..."
"These innocent children merely lack a way to awaken their Martial Souls. That doesn't mean they are all lambs waiting to be slaughtered. With enough of them, this power could shake the four great empires!"
The black-robed man's breathing grew increasingly rapid.
What a grand ambition. What an awe-inspiring vision.
Unite the world!
So we... all misjudged His Highness the Holy Son!
But...
Aren't you a noble too?
"..."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission [Help the little girl find her kitten]. Reward: level +0.5. Current level: Level 30 Soul Elder, awaiting a Soul Ring hunt..."
Listening to the pleasant system notification ringing in his ears, Xu Cheng's face lit up with joy.
"Finally a Soul Elder..."
Eleven years had passed since he transmigrated into this world.
His status was quite decent: Xu Cheng, the eleventh son of the reigning Sun Moon Emperor. His mother had been an imperial consort, not some maid without title or standing. Unfortunately, she had passed away soon after giving birth to him.
The only inheritance she had left him was a border division. Its commander had been one of his mother's maids, a woman of unwavering loyalty who also possessed considerable talent with Soul Tools. In memory of Xu Cheng's mother, the emperor had appointed her division commander, entrusting her with a division guarding the border between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire.
Her strength seemed to be... just into the eighth realm?
Xu Cheng could no longer remember clearly.
After all, she guarded the frontier and could not leave her post without permission. Unless that old emperor gave the word, she might not return even once in ten years...
As for why a distinguished imperial prince had gotten mixed up with Evil Soul Masters and even become their Holy Son...
Naturally, it was because, at six years old, Xu Cheng had awakened not only the Sun Moon Empire's Martial Soul, the sun, but also a hidden Martial Soul, [Blood Eyes]. Unfortunately, when he secretly revealed it on one occasion, the Holy Spirit Cult's leader, Zhongli Wu, discovered him and invited him to join the cult.
Xu Cheng had initially refused, but then his cheat, the [Charity King] system, suddenly arrived.
And the system's main quest was to join the Holy Spirit Cult, then... persuade people to do good.
To complete the quest, Xu Cheng had no choice but to associate with this bunch of Evil Soul Masters.
After all, the main quest's reward was simply too tempting.
And he had become the Holy Spirit Cult's one and only oddball...
Forget it.
Xu Cheng shook his head, casting the memories aside.
Since this was the Douluo Continent, he naturally had to make something of himself in the spirit of "well, I'm already here." But unifying the continent would naturally run counter to God King Tang's ten-thousand-year grand plan.
Besides, what was the difference between not opposing Tang in Douluo II and transmigrating to the Qing dynasty without rebelling?
So, from the moment he transmigrated, Xu Cheng had already begun considering his own strength and how to oppose Tang.
Weakening Huo Gua, going to the Star Dou Great Forest to attract the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Electrolux, engaging in friendly exchanges with the Auspicious Beast, driving a wedge between Wang Dong'er and her father Tang San, vigorously developing Soul Tools, and so on...
These were all part of his future plans.
But at this point in the timeline, Huo Gua was only a pitiful seven-year-old boy who had recently awakened his Martial Soul, living with his mother in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, each relying on the other to survive.
There were still four years before the story began.
Then, before that...
Xu Cheng smiled.
Just as the system's quest prompt indicated, Tang Ya, one of the Holy Spirit Cult's future Holy Maidens, would suffer a tremendous upheaval tonight. The sect that carried ten thousand years of history, the [Tang Sect], would also vanish like smoke after tonight...
Then let's lay the groundwork in advance...
Before you continue