"Xiao Chen?"
Bibi Dong did not know why Luo Chen had suddenly stopped Yu Xiaogang.
Out of her affection for Luo Chen, she did not speak immediately. Instead, she looked curiously at the boy, wanting to hear what he intended to say.
"Did you need something, little one?"
Yu Xiaogang turned around and saw Luo Chen, who had been standing beside Bibi Dong, walking toward him with his crutch.
"Ahem."
Luo Chen stopped a short distance from Yu Xiaogang. Raising his hand, he pointed at the money pouch Yu Xiaogang held. "Uncle, is that the Soul Master subsidy from Spirit Hall?"
"..."
Everyone present froze at these words.
Yu Xiaogang instinctively felt that something was off, but still answered frankly, "Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Since you've collected the Soul Master subsidy, Uncle, objectively speaking, you should count as having received a kindness from Spirit Hall, shouldn't you?"
Yu Xiaogang frowned slightly at Luo Chen's words. He knew what Luo Chen was getting at.
Not only Yu Xiaogang, but Bibi Dong and the two Douluos, Chrysanthemum and Ghost, also understood Luo Chen's meaning.
Bibi Dong's feelings were a jumble. She knew Luo Chen was perceptive; he had clearly seen through her relationship with Yu Xiaogang.
She was somewhat touched, but she did not want to make things too difficult for Yu Xiaogang.
"Hmph."
Faced with Luo Chen's pointed words, however, Yu Xiaogang snorted disdainfully. "Child, you've only seen what's on the surface. But do you know what's buried underneath?"
"I'd like to hear the details."
Luo Chen behaved very humbly, showing no sign of throwing his weight around or making unreasonable trouble.
Seeing Luo Chen's behavior, Yu Xiaogang actually developed a somewhat favorable impression of him.
He did not know Luo Chen's identity, but someone who could accompany Bibi Dong and even have her personally hold his hand surely came from no ordinary background.
Truthfully, Yu Xiaogang had never seen Bibi Dong act so intimately with anyone else.
Had Luo Chen not looked unlike Bibi Dong, Yu Xiaogang would have suspected that the boy was her biological son.
Looking at the other boy and girl, they were around six years old and should both have only recently awakened their Martial Souls.
For Bibi Dong to bring them along personally, these three children's aptitude must be extraordinary.
What a pity they've joined Spirit Hall.
Had Yu Xiaogang known the allusion from the previous life, he would surely have said, "You were a fine beauty; why turn to banditry?"
Now, Yu Xiaogang intended to teach Luo Chen a little lesson. He should not think that knowing a few things floating on the surface entitled him to be so self-righteous. He still had a long way to go.
"Let me guess. You want to say that Spirit Hall distributes this Soul Master subsidy, and since I've collected it, I should be eternally grateful to Spirit Hall, correct?"
"Utterly ridiculous!"
Without waiting for Luo Chen to answer, Yu Xiaogang said coldly, "The money for this subsidy comes from the two great empires. Spirit Hall takes their money and uses it to spread its own good name. Thank Spirit Hall? Why wouldn't I thank the two great empires instead?"
"This fellow..."
Ghost Douluo remained silent, but Chrysanthemum Douluo's expression turned ugly.
Had Bibi Dong not been there, he would have gone up and taught that useless Yu Xiaogang a lesson.
"What, do you think I'm wrong?"
"..."
Although Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo were Titled powerhouses, they clearly could not match Yu Xiaogang's eloquence.
Moreover, Yu Xiaogang was not wrong. These Gold Soul Coins did indeed come from the two great empires, and Spirit Hall's distribution of Soul Master subsidies in its own name was also intended to weaken the empires' influence.
Bibi Dong could not refute Yu Xiaogang. As the Pope and a former Holy Maiden, she knew the Soul Master subsidies undermined the prestige of the two great empires.
But even if that was true, Yu Xiaogang's righteous tone, as though everyone in Spirit Hall had bellies full of wicked schemes, still made her chest feel tight. She felt the anger of being stabbed in the back by one of her own.
I'm the Pope of Spirit Hall now.
Although she had only succeeded to the position a little over two months ago, and Qian Daoliu had not yet fully handed over authority, that was merely a matter of time.
Bibi Dong had great confidence in herself. With her methods and abilities, she would certainly turn Spirit Hall into her own possession within five or six years at most.
For Yu Xiaogang to speak ill of Spirit Hall like this was no different from slapping Bibi Dong in the face.
"Of course, you can take back these ten Gold Soul Coins in subsidies."
Yu Xiaogang extended his hand, looking ready to toss the pouch over. "Spirit Hall's power reaches the heavens, while I'm merely a Soul Grandmaster. If you forbid me from collecting subsidies in a fit of anger, I'll have nothing to say."
"However, using the two great empires' Gold Soul Coins to suppress Soul Masters unwilling to obey Spirit Hall..."
Yu Xiaogang chuckled. "If word of this gets out, those who don't know better might think Spirit Hall is the master of the two great empires."
"Xiao Gang, you..."
Bibi Dong might have been unhinged, but however madly she acted, she was especially tolerant toward those she cared about.
Don't get angry. I'm not angry.
Thinking of her past with Yu Xiaogang, and how she had been the one to abandon him first, Bibi Dong forcibly suppressed her anger and quietly waited for Luo Chen's response.
For some reason, Bibi Dong very much wanted Luo Chen to refute Yu Xiaogang for her and help her vent this resentment.
But she truly could not find a flaw in Yu Xiaogang's words.
The two great empires funded the Soul Master subsidies. Spirit Hall only had the right to distribute them, not to withhold them.
Otherwise, it would be just as Yu Xiaogang had said: if you refused to obey Spirit Hall, it would deny you the subsidy, acting as though the money for the Soul Master subsidies belonged to Spirit Hall itself.
"No."
Luo Chen shook his head. "That's not right."
"What?"
"I said you're wrong, Uncle."
Luo Chen shook his head. The Douluo Continent was in a feudal era, and that remained unchanged even ten thousand years later.
At that moment, Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, Hu Liena, and Wang Sheng all looked at Luo Chen.
Wang Sheng was different from them. He knew something of Luo Chen's intelligence.
Just because he could not think of anything did not mean Luo Chen could not refute it.
Wang Sheng had always possessed a mysterious confidence in Luo Chen. Apart from his poor health, there was nothing about his brother that did not earn his admiration.
"Uncle, you said that the Gold Soul Coins used for the Soul Master subsidies belong to the two great empires. I have a different view on that."
"If they don't belong to the two great empires, do they belong to Spirit Hall?"
"No."
Luo Chen glanced at Bibi Dong, then shook his head. "They don't belong to Spirit Hall either."
"Indeed, the two great empires provide the Soul Master subsidies."
Luo Chen asked, "But when you trace them back to their source, where do these gold coins come from?"
"The commoners!"
"The countless commoners of the two great empires pay taxes. Only then do the empires have the monthly subsidies they provide to Soul Masters."
There was indeed nothing wrong with Luo Chen's logic.
But what did that have to do with Spirit Hall?
"Even so, it's still the empires' own business. What does it have to do with Spirit Hall?"
"Of course it has something to do with Spirit Hall!"
Luo Chen looked at Yu Xiaogang and said, "Uncle, you weren't born a commoner, were you?"
"What?"
Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment. He did not answer, and that was the best answer of all.
On the Douluo Continent, powerful Soul Masters could easily obtain noble titles from various countries.
Thus, Soul Masters and nobles could basically be equated.
Yu Xiaogang came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and was the legitimate son of its clan master, Yu Luozhen.
In a world like the Douluo Continent, where Soul Masters reigned supreme, calling someone of his background a noble among nobles would be no exaggeration.
"As I thought, you were born a noble, Uncle."
"That's why you don't understand, Uncle," Luo Chen sighed. "You don't understand the hardships we commoners face at all."
"The Soul Master subsidies are intended for Soul Masters born as commoners. Before they grow strong, they have no source of income, while working to earn money would consume their time and waste their talent for nothing."
"Precisely for that reason, Spirit Hall proposed Soul Master subsidies, giving Soul Masters at large a stable environment for the early stages of their cultivation."
"Uncle, let me ask you something."
Luo Chen looked at Yu Xiaogang. "Would you take out your own money to help others?"
"You wouldn't, would you?"
Without needing Yu Xiaogang to speak, Luo Chen had already answered for him. "What about the two great empires, then? Without Spirit Hall, would they provide this money to help Soul Masters born as commoners?"
"Clearly, they wouldn't."
History had already proved everything. Before Spirit Hall proposed Soul Master subsidies, the two great empires had never distributed any Gold Soul Coins to commoner Soul Masters.
"And there's Martial Soul awakening, too."
"If Spirit Hall's members didn't cross mountains and rivers to awaken Martial Souls for commoners in remote villages free of charge, we wouldn't even have a chance to change our destinies."
"Would nobles awaken commoners' Martial Souls for free?"
"Perhaps they would, but what would the price be?"
Luo Chen said disdainfully, "Would commoners have to sign contracts selling themselves into servitude? Would some parents sell their daughter to a noble family's young master so she could have a chance to awaken her Martial Soul?"
The others had little reaction to these words, but as women, Hu Liena and Bibi Dong could not help feeling a chill of revulsion.
Especially Bibi Dong: a woman's chastity and dignity were the deepest wounds in her heart.
At the thought of the scene in which, without Spirit Hall's free awakenings, common people would have to sell their bodies and futures to change their destinies...
Everyone present, especially Bibi Dong, Hu Liena, and Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, who came from Spirit Hall, drew in a sharp breath.
"You, you... you're spouting alarmist nonsense!"
Yu Xiaogang trembled all over at Luo Chen's words. He wanted to refute them, but could find nothing to say.
Precisely because they understood, Yu Xiaogang and the others knew all the more clearly that Luo Chen had not exaggerated.
The ugliness and darkness of high society could only be ten or a hundred times more terrifying than what Luo Chen had described!
"Whether there's anything wrong with what I've said, Uncle, you should know very well."
"Without Spirit Hall, no one would awaken commoners' Martial Souls for free. Ordinary people wanting to change their destinies could only become slaves and servants to the nobility."
"Without Spirit Hall, why would the two great empires waste money on people who have nothing to do with them?" Luo Chen said. "To obtain subsidies, Soul Masters would have no choice but to give up their freedom and join the various countries."
"Otherwise, they could only waste their time and potential, going to work early in life to earn their living expenses."
At this point, Luo Chen finally turned his spearhead on Yu Xiaogang. "Uncle, you collect the Soul Master subsidy that Spirit Hall single-handedly pushed for, yet every time you open your mouth, it's to criticize Spirit Hall."
"You say Spirit Hall earned a good name through this?"
"That's utterly ridiculous!"
Luo Chen said, "Has Spirit Hall not contributed to commoner Soul Masters? Must someone who does a good deed refuse to accept others' praise?"
"Besides, what's wrong with a good name?"
"If Spirit Hall didn't have enough influence, why would the two great empires provide Gold Soul Coins?"
"You..."
Yu Xiaogang's favorable impression of Luo Chen vanished instantly, leaving only heartfelt loathing.
"You lift your bowl to eat, then put it down to curse the mother who fed you!"
This saying did not exist on the Douluo Continent, nor was there any similar expression.
But after everyone savored its meaning and compared it with Yu Xiaogang's behavior, it did fit somewhat.
At that moment, watching Yu Xiaogang rendered speechless by Luo Chen's retorts, Bibi Dong felt an inexplicable pleasure. Her disciple had truly done her proud.
Thinking back to how Yu Xiaogang had lectured Luo Chen earlier, just who was the one who only saw the surface?
"That's enough, Xiao Chen."
Bibi Dong gently stroked Luo Chen's head and said tenderly, "Xiao Gang is an old acquaintance of your teacher's. Presumably, he only acted this way because he didn't understand the significance of the Soul Master subsidies."
Even so, Yu Xiaogang had failed to understand a principle that even a child could think of.
What, Bibi Dong herself had failed to see it too?
So what!
Her disciple had seen it. As his teacher, surely she deserved a little credit?
And besides...
Looking at Yu Xiaogang, Bibi Dong suddenly had the thought that his wisdom seemed to amount to no more than this. It seems my Xiao Chen is still the cleverer one.
"Bibi Dong, you've certainly taken in an eloquent disciple."
With that, Yu Xiaogang lingered no longer. He turned and headed toward Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy.
One additional point: Yu Xiaogang did not leave the Soul Master subsidy behind.
"That fellow really has no shame!"
Watching this, Na'er felt that her eyes had truly been opened.
Yet Yu Xiaogang's collection of the Soul Master subsidy was entirely reasonable and legitimate. Spirit Hall had no grounds to forbid it.
As for Bibi Dong, Luo Chen did not even need to guess what she would think upon seeing this.
Would she disdain Yu Xiaogang?
No!
She would only feel that Yu Xiaogang had fared so miserably over the years that he had to endure humiliation just to accept a paltry ten Gold Soul Coins.
"Alas, if I hadn't abandoned Xiao Gang back then, he wouldn't have fallen into such circumstances today."
Looking at Bibi Dong's expression of private sorrow, Luo Chen shrugged, feeling that women with love-addled brains were truly frightening.
Fortunately, Luo Chen had not stepped forward to argue with Yu Xiaogang for Bibi Dong's sake in the first place.
He had chosen to step forward entirely out of gratitude to Spirit Hall for raising him.
Having received its care for so many years, Luo Chen could not sit idly by when someone insulted Spirit Hall.
In front of Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, Bibi Dong maintained her bearing as Pope and did not choose to seek out Yu Xiaogang.
Bibi Dong was a proud person. Although she acknowledged Yu Xiaogang's wisdom in Martial Soul Theory, she did not consider herself inferior to him.
If she could solve a problem herself, Bibi Dong did not want to ask Yu Xiaogang for help either.
"Let's go."
Bibi Dong led the three little ones into the Spirit Hall Branch. When the two guards stationed there saw the token Chrysanthemum Douluo produced, they hurriedly knelt. "We respectfully welcome His Holiness the Pope!"
(End of chapter)