Bibi Dong was dazzled by everything she saw. Although she was the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, she had rarely left Spirit City over the years, so it was only natural that she was interested in new things.
"What would you like to eat?"
"Huh? I don't know. You can decide."
"Hmm, can you handle spicy food? If you can, I'll take you for hotpot."
"Yes, I quite like spicy food."
Before long, Tang Fan arrived at a shopping mall. He parked in the underground garage and took Bibi Dong up to the fifth floor in the elevator. The entire floor was filled with restaurants, including a hotpot place Tang Fan had visited several times. The food there was very good.
"What are you looking at? If you need to buy clothes, we can look around downstairs after we eat. There are plenty of clothing stores down there."
"No, there's no need. I have a few changes of clothes in my Storage Soul Tool.
"I just feel like people around us are looking at me strangely."
"Haha... isn't that normal? If you went to a comic convention, countless people would want to collect your photo."
"Collect my photo?"
"I mean they'd want to interact with you and take photos together. You and Qian Renxue, the mother-daughter pair, are pretty popular too, though the buzz has died down quite a bit over the past two years."
As they talked, the two of them sat down in the restaurant, and Tang Fan handed Bibi Dong the menu.
"See what you'd like to eat. There are pictures, so just use those to order."
The menu in Bibi Dong's hands also appeared on the sky screen. The nobles watching it looked down on the dishes on the menu. They ate high-level Soul Beast meat every day and couldn't be bothered to spare ordinary livestock meat a glance.
For commoners, however, it was a completely different story. Having enough to eat was good enough; meat was truly a luxury.
Old Jack of Holy Soul Village, who wasn't quite so old yet, wiped away his drool. "Sigh, I might not get a single bite of meat all year. I'm really craving some.
"That young man on the sky screen must be a noble lord too."
Bibi Dong looked over the menu and ordered some vegetables and meat that looked good. Tang Fan added a few more dishes and ordered a medium-spicy broth.
"Wait a bit. We'll be eating in no time."
"Mm, this place really is very different from the Douluo Continent. When I was little, it was hard enough just to get my fill.
"It was only after my Martial Soul Awakening, when the Spirit Hall discovered my talent, that I began to live well.
"There are many children like me in the Spirit Hall. It was the Spirit Hall that gave us a chance to change our fates."
Tang Fan shook his head. "But the you in the book wanted to destroy the Spirit Hall, and even the world, all for the sake of Yu Xiaogang and to take revenge on Qian Xunji.
"That's why I don't like the you in the book. The moment you killed Qian Xunji and began the Rakshasa God Inheritance, you had gone completely mad."
"I'll never become like the person in the book."
"I hope so. Actually, there's something I can't quite figure out. Can you clear it up for me?"
"What do you want to ask?"
"Most of the Spirit Hall's Soul Masters come from the commoner class, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then did those Soul Masters ever return to their hometowns afterward? Forget everyone else-what about you? Have you ever gone back?"
"I... I... haven't..."
"Just as I thought. We have a saying here: the dragon slayer eventually becomes the evil dragon. You haven't gone quite that far, but you're not far off.
"In my view, this is another foolish thing about the Spirit Hall. You've forgotten your original purpose."
Tang Fan's words made many people in the Spirit Hall pause in unison.
"Old Ghost, how long has it been since you went back to visit your hometown?"
"I don't know. I've forgotten. I was an orphan, so there's nothing much to go back for anyway."
"I've forgotten how long it's been since I went back too. Is that right? Does 'the dragon slayer eventually becomes the evil dragon' mean us?"
"Don't think so much. Hasn't the Douluo Continent always been like this?"
In the Worship Hall, Qian Xunji frowned. "What does he mean by that? What does he mean, the Spirit Hall has lost its original purpose?"
"Original purpose? What was the Spirit Hall's original purpose?"
Qian Daoliu was deep in thought when Bibi Dong beat him to the question.
"What was the Spirit Hall's original purpose?"
"Do you really need me to teach you the history of your own Spirit Hall? Who founded the Spirit Hall, and why was it founded?"
"Um... I really don't know."
Seeing that Bibi Dong's expression didn't look feigned, Tang Fan was shocked too.
"Wait, you're not joking? You're the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, and you don't know its history? Did you refuse to learn it yourself, or does the Spirit Hall simply not teach it?"
"They never taught it. All I know is that the Spirit Hall's origins are connected to the Angel God. Other people might not even know that much."
The corner of Tang Fan's mouth twitched. He really was having trouble keeping his composure.
"The Spirit Hall deserved to lose. Even without outside enemies, it would have brought about its own downfall sooner or later. Saying you've lost your original purpose is putting it mildly. It wouldn't be going too far to say you've all betrayed the Angel God."
"What gives you the right to say that?"
Bibi Dong pouted, looking unhappy.
"Don't get upset. What I'm saying is the truth. The Spirit Hall's predecessor was a church founded by the Angel God.
"The Angel God became a god by purging evil, protecting the people, and gathering the faith of the masses.
"The church she founded had the same purpose. In other words, the foundation of the Angel God's faith wasn't commoner Soul Masters, but the entire commoner class.
"Yet after it changed its name to the Spirit Hall, it no longer represented commoners, but commoner Soul Masters. There's a huge difference between the two.
"To put it bluntly, that in itself is a betrayal."
As they spoke, the broth and dishes began arriving at the table.
"Come on, let's start eating. We can talk while we eat. Would you like a drink?"
"No, thank you."
"Then let's dig in."
Back on the Douluo Continent, Qian Daoliu, Qian Xunji, and all the worshipers in the Worship Hall changed color.
Tang Fan's accusation was too grave for them. Betraying a god was an absolute felony.
"Big brother..."
"Don't ask... Let's hear what else that boy has to say."
After a few bites, Bibi Dong was clearly overwhelmed by the heat. Tang Fan handed her a carton of milk.
"Drink this to cool the spice. Didn't you say you could handle spicy food?"
Bibi Dong gulped down some milk and finally felt a little better, though some milk remained at the corner of her mouth.
"Whew, whew, this is way too spicy. You didn't do it on purpose, did you?"
"Of course not. This is only medium spicy. If you can't handle it, let's go somewhere else."
"There's no need. I can manage."
That was how spicy food was: it left you huffing and puffing, but you still wanted to keep eating.
"No rush. Let's continue. We have another saying here: to destroy a nation, first destroy its history.
"The Spirit Hall doesn't teach its own history at all. It's practically destroying itself.
"My guess is that the generation that changed the church's name to the Spirit Hall had already betrayed the Angel God. That's why they didn't dare teach the earlier history and could only shelve the history of the church era.
"That's how the bizarre situation on the Douluo Continent came about: people know of the Spirit Hall, but not the Angel God."