Inside the conference room.
After Jiang Daoguo mentioned the Sacred Soul Hall, all of the Ten Elders fell silent.
This mysterious global organization could interfere with Evil Spirit Instances to a certain extent.
But the price it demanded was utterly outrageous!
The most unacceptable part was human sacrifice!
As mentioned before, the Sacred Soul Hall could send players items midway through an Instance or allow brief conversations with them, increasing their chances of clearing it.
But naturally, none of this came free.
Most of the time, it required a terrifying amount of Spirit Coins.
If the Instance was too difficult, it could even require human lives as sacrifices!
At least ten thousand people had to be sacrificed!
For Instances rated Extreme or higher, that number could easily reach a hundred thousand or even a million!
For this very reason, many countries wanted to work with them but lacked the population to pay the price and could only back away.
Still, the world never lacked national leaders who had lost their minds.
India, for instance, had an enormous population and simply did not care.
Its efforts to produce more players who had cleared Instances had reached a truly deranged level.
Over just five Instances, it had sacrificed ten million civilians!
It had piled up human lives to produce three successful players!
But the good times did not last. Within six months of clearing their Instances, all three players defected one after another.
They joined the Sacred Soul Hall instead, becoming its devoted followers!
In fact, it was not just India. Many other countries, including Dragon Country itself, had done the same.
In the early days, they had all worked with the Sacred Soul Hall.
But unexpectedly, every player the organization helped clear an Instance ultimately joined the Sacred Soul Hall, without exception.
As a result, many countries immediately terminated their cooperation with it.
The countries that severed ties with it even independently enacted a series of constitutional provisions targeting the Sacred Soul Hall!
At that moment, the conference room was utterly silent.
After a long while, Li Yan slapped the table and shouted in a low voice:
"No! Those people have sinister ambitions, and they're shrouded in mystery!"
"We still haven't been able to uncover any information about them!"
"If we approach them rashly, we could be inviting a wolf into our home!"
Hearing this, Jiang Daoguo sighed softly.
"That's true, but do we have a better option right now?"
"We worked with them back then, and we did benefit from it."
"The price was high, but ultimately, we could afford it."
At his words, everyone's expression grew hesitant.
Zhao Qian straightened in his seat and asked:
"Jiang, are you approaching the Sacred Soul Hall because you want to arrange for someone to enter?"
"That's right." Jiang Daoguo nodded.
"Everyone, you all heard what Tang Long said just now."
"He specially prepared a gift for Tang Xiaoling and left it in the next Evil Spirit Instance."
"If we can arrange for someone to enter and befriend Tang Xiaoling..."
"Not only can we guarantee that they clear the Instance, but we might even get to know the mysterious Tang Long!"
"We have to seize this incredible opportunity!"
Everyone drew a deep breath at that.
Indeed, this was an opportunity that came once in a lifetime!
Even setting aside whether they could get to know Tang Long...
The guarantee that a player could clear the Instance was enough to stir their excitement!
The problem was that they were deeply opposed to contacting the Sacred Soul Hall!
They had never stopped investigating this organization.
They had even sent a top agent to infiltrate it and gather information.
But not only had they failed to uncover anything, even that elite agent, whom Dragon Country had painstakingly trained for thirty years...
Had been thoroughly brainwashed within just three months of entering the Sacred Soul Hall, becoming a devoted follower.
Most infuriatingly, that agent had also successfully cleared an Instance with the Sacred Soul Hall's help!
That achievement had even catapulted the agent into its upper ranks!
What national leader would willingly deal with an organization like that?
"Jiang, we have to be cautious about this!" Li Yan warned.
"We can send someone over. Even if that person defects after clearing the Instance, it won't matter."
"But this person will be making contact with Tang Xiaoling!"
"She may be a princess, but she's still a child. Her character isn't fully formed yet."
"If the Sacred Soul Hall really lures her away, it will spell utter disaster for Dragon Country!"
At those words, the others voiced their agreement.
"Exactly, Jiang. After everything that happened before, I don't have the slightest goodwill toward that damned Sacred Soul Hall!"
Wu Guang, a man from the northeast, cursed indignantly.
Beside him, Chen Jie wore a scornful expression.
"Sacred Soul Hall, my ass. They gave themselves such a holy-sounding name, but when you get down to it, they're nothing but a cult!"
"If they didn't have over a thousand players who had cleared Instances, Blue Star's major powers would have wiped them out long ago!"
At that moment, Zhou Han, who sat at the far end of the table, spoke helplessly.
"Alas... those national leaders may all think that, but who would dare be the first to stick their neck out?"
"They have over a thousand successful players. We should count ourselves lucky they aren't invading other countries!"
"Don't forget, they occupied the Vatican not long ago."
"And declared it their new headquarters!"
"They're acting so brazenly. They're showing less and less regard for the major powers!"
Hearing this, everyone frowned slightly, their expressions tinged with helplessness.
As the nation's leaders, they knew the Sacred Soul Hall's existence already posed a serious threat to Dragon Country!
Its occupation of the Vatican, in particular, had instantly sounded alarm bells for every country on Blue Star!
Those people acted without any rules or restraint. Who knew whether they might suddenly go mad and turn their sights on them?
Yet in this age of Evil Spirits, no one dared launch a major conflict unless they had absolutely no other choice.
Moreover, the Sacred Soul Hall was genuinely powerful, so they could only swallow their anger and watch it do as it pleased!
Looking at the dispirited group, Jiang Daoguo said softly:
"All right, we can discuss that another time."
"Back to the matter at hand. Raise your hand if you agree to contact the Sacred Soul Hall and arrange for one of our own people to enter the Instance."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Daoguo was the first to raise his hand.
The other nine exchanged glances, and three more raised their hands in succession.
But even after a long wait, no one else moved.
Looking at the four-to-six vote, Jiang Daoguo let out a heavy sigh.
"Everyone, there's an old saying: fortune favors those who take risks!"
"From our ancestors' time to the present, Dragon Country has been playing this game for five thousand years!"
"There have been times when we fell asleep from exhaustion, and others tried to seize the chance to overturn the board."
"But Dragon Country has its patriots, and Huaxia has its iron-willed sons. What have we to fear?!"
"Now the game has been entrusted to you and me, just as the world undergoes a tremendous upheaval. Perhaps this, too, is a test for us."
"I won't say any more. The opportunity is right before us. Decide for yourselves!"
With that, Jiang Daoguo fell silent and merely watched those who had not raised their hands.
About half a minute later, led by Li Yan, the remaining six raised their hands one after another.
Ten Elders, ten votes. Unanimously approved!
Before you continue