"Grandpa!"
"I want you to lead the Meng Family into Spirit Hall!"
It was easier to enjoy the shade with a great tree at your back. Meng Qianqiu understood that principle too. Spirit Hall had grown far too powerful, and its intentions were decidedly ill.
Following the principle of joining those he could not beat, Meng Qianqiu had come up with this idea. It was the perfect chance to pull off a switch of the beams and pillars.
"What, Qiu'er?"
"The Meng Family is a great secluded family of Heaven Dou City. We advance and retreat together with the Seven Great Sects. How could you entertain such a thought?"
Nangong Wan spoke up, immediately questioning him.
She was a successor of the Fire Leopard Sect herself, so her sympathies naturally lay with the Seven Great Sects and the two great empires. She was deeply opposed to Spirit Hall.
"The Seven Great Sects and the two great empires!"
"The Upper Three Sects each pursue their own agendas, the Lower Four Sects are languishing, and friction between the two great empires never stops. Only the Clear Sky Sect is flourishing."
"Look at Spirit Hall instead. It's brimming with talent and even has three Super Douluos and a Limit Douluo. How are we supposed to contend with that?"
"Through alliances and coalitions?"
"Before absolute strength, every scheme and trick is a joke. The Seven Great Sects' confidence rests on Tang Chen, nothing more."
"Clear Sky Douluo Tang Chen is said to be invincible on land!"
"But Tang Chen is the Clear Sky Sect's sect master. We have no connection to him. What we need most right now is time."
"If Grandpa joins Spirit Hall, he can dispel its misgivings while also remaining independent and managing his own affairs."
"Spirit Hall's elders have tremendous autonomy!"
"As the saying goes, it's easier to enjoy the shade with a great tree at your back. Our Meng Family has already risen. At this critical juncture, we must learn to choose a side!"
"In short, I have great faith in Spirit Hall!"
Everything Meng Qianqiu said emphasized one thing: finding a backer in name and borrowing Spirit Hall's influence.
"I understand!"
"Obey deployment, not summons-borrow a hen to lay eggs!"
Meng Zhongqi finally caught on. This approach meant taking the benefits without doing the work, then grabbing their buckets and running if trouble arose later.
This move was simply brilliant.
"Exactly!"
"Grandpa will enter Spirit Hall and become one of its elders, while Grandma holds the fort here at the Meng Family. We'll naturally be safe and sound."
"As for me, I'll stay hidden beneath the family's wings, or seek Spirit Hall's protection, and grow as quickly as possible."
"At the same time, I can use the family's resources to secretly gather talented people, so these heaven's chosen will serve me in the future."
Meng Qianqiu was not a man who kept every morsel for himself. These immortal herbs would otherwise just sit there, so he might as well use them to win over talent.
Leaving everything else aside, with Meng Qianqiu's methods, once he entered Spirit Hall, he could use these immortal herbs to turn several people to his side.
"Ju Yue Guan, Gui Mei, Ling Yuan, Dugu Bo, Bibi Dong-as long as the planning is sound, the Meng Family might well be able to switch out the beams and pillars!"
Meng Qianqiu had a grand plan in mind. If he planned it properly, he could take advantage of that window to ascend the Pope's throne.
"Ah!"
"The future belongs to you young people. Since you've already made your decision, the two of us will join you in another bout of madness."
No love ran deeper than a sense of indebtedness. Seeing that Meng Qianqiu had made up his mind, Nangong Wan said no more.
Meng Qianqiu's plan to switch out the beams and pillars had three steps. The first was to enter Spirit Hall and secure a high position.
Meng Zhongqi would enter Spirit Hall and become an elder, which meant Meng Qianqiu would have a powerful backer within Spirit Hall.
Riding that favorable wind, the second step was to cultivate a core group and trusted followers within Spirit Hall, gaining more people's support and trust.
The third and final step was to prevent the ill-fated relationship between Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang, while curbing the Secret Chamber Douluo's power!
However, this three-step strategy would require a great deal of time. Some parts would even require laying the groundwork fifty or sixty years in advance.
"Taking control of Spirit Hall won't be easy!"
Meng Qianqiu looked up at the sky, a glint of ambition flashing through his eyes.
Joining Spirit Hall was the result of Meng Qianqiu's careful deliberation. Spirit Hall was not somewhere one could enter and leave at will.
However, the Meng Family's circumstances were quite unusual. Although Spirit Hall would accept Meng Zhongqi, it would not actually dare squeeze the Meng Family too hard.
Without powerful strength, there was no right to speak!
That was realistic, and brutally stark!
"Grandpa, Grandma, we can leave now!"
Meng Qianqiu took a large number of gold, silver, and jade boxes, wooden boxes, lead boxes, and other containers out of his Soul Tool, packing up every last medicinal herb to take away.
More than two hundred medicinal herbs grew throughout the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, most of them eighth- and ninth-grade herbs. Their value was immeasurable.
Meng Qianqiu gave this enormous batch of spirit herbs and great herb kings to his grandfather, letting the old man use them to prepare medicines and turn them into cash.
As for the most precious immortal herbs, Meng Qianqiu chose to carry them himself. These dozen or so immortal herbs were also what gave him the confidence to win over heaven's chosen.
"You two really are just short of scraping three feet off the ground!"
Watching from the side, Nangong Wan's mouth kept twitching. Their actions were no different from banditry; all they had left to do was carry off the spring water.
"You're just a woman. If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense."
"These are rare eighth-grade spirit herbs, and there are even several dozen ninth-grade great herb kings. They're worth cities-their value is beyond measure."
"As for the immortal herbs!"
"I don't understand them, but my dear grandson does!"
"Rather than leave these spirit herbs here, we should uproot them all and make them part of the family's reserves to increase our strength."
To Meng Zhongqi, abandoning these medicinal herbs here would have been a serious waste. Wouldn't that be squandering heaven's treasures?
"All right, all right!"
"You have a point!"
Nangong Wan smiled. In truth, she understood their value too. With this haul, the Meng Family had taken flight straight from where it stood.
The three swept the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well clean. Only then, thoroughly satisfied, did they turn and leave this blessed grotto paradise.
Heaven Dou Royal City, the Dugu Aristocratic Family!
When news of Meng Zhongqi's breakthrough to Titled Douluo reached Dugu Feng's ears, the old man could not help letting out a long sigh.
"Father!"
"By all rights, Uncle's breakthrough to Titled Douluo is a joyous occasion. Why do you seem so unhappy?"
Dugu Xin looked at his father and could not help asking.
"You don't know a damn thing!"
"That old toad and I grew up together. The moment he sticks his backside out, I know what color fart he's going to let loose!"
"For that old toad to break through to Titled Douluo at this juncture can only mean someone has made him feel pressured."
"That old toad's circumstances are very similar to mine!"
"To protect his grandson, that old fellow was determined to break through to Titled Douluo, even at the cost of shortening his lifespan."
"It seems Qiu'er's innate aptitude is remarkably high!"
Age had honed Dugu Feng's shrewdness, and he quickly saw beneath the surface. In truth, the Meng Family and the Dugu Family were in very similar circumstances!
"Qiu'er's innate Soul Power is at least rank nine."
Dugu Xin spoke in a clear voice. On the day Meng Qianqiu awakened his Martial Soul, the two of them had also made a brief visit, so they knew the situation perfectly well!
"I'm afraid there's more to it!"
"That old toad is risking his life to protect him!"
"Qiu'er's innate Soul Power is definitely not rank nine. The little fellow might even have the exceedingly rare innate full Soul Power!"
Dugu Bo's innate Soul Power had also been rank nine, yet he had not provoked such a tremendous reaction. There could only be something more behind this.
"Innate full Soul Power!"
"If he really does have innate full Soul Power, then it all makes sense. No wonder Uncle was in such a hurry!"
As the foremost of Heaven Dou Royal City's five great secluded families, the Meng Family possessed its own inherited Martial Soul, inherited secret techniques, and a set of inherited Soul Bones.
Although this information was extremely confidential, the Dugu Aristocratic Family and the Meng Family had close ties spanning generations, so they naturally knew these things.
"That old toad suffers from poison just as I do."
"Although he has broken through to Titled Douluo, he has damaged his foundation. All I can say is that this has both its advantages and disadvantages!"
Dugu Feng's face was solemn. That said, Meng Zhongqi's breakthrough to Titled Douluo had still sparked an enormous amount of discussion.