69novels Page 10
Page 10
"Huh? Oh cough, right, this mirror image that looks exactly like me is an ability derived from my martial soul. I was just checking if there were any bad guys around."
Oh, I see?
. . .
"Yao'er, what do you think of the Spirit Hall?" Dongfang Jing asked seriously.
Dongfang Yao thought for a moment, then raised her right hand high like a student answering a question: "The Spirit Hall will help all children awaken their spirits, and will also provide subsidies to ordinary spirit masters. Becoming a member of the Spirit Hall offers very generous benefits. At the same time, they are the mediators between the two great empires of Tian Dou and Xing Luo. Hmm, that should be pretty good, right?"
The little girl hesitated before finally giving her answer.
She knew that her parents had joined the Spirit Hall.
Despite being low-income individuals, they were able to ensure their family had enough to eat and wear.
Despite the passing of their parents, the Spirit Hall still helped his brother awaken his spirit for free, and plans to do so for him in the future.
Therefore, Dongfang Yao thought the Spirit Hall was very good.
If nothing unexpected happens, she will probably choose to join them when she grows up.
But judging from his brother's expression, he doesn't seem to like the Spirit Hall?
"The Spirit Hall has indeed done a lot of practical things for the continent, especially for us ordinary people and orphans, it has almost been a life-saving grace." Dongfang Jing's tone was calm, revealing no emotion.
He then subtly changed the subject: "But Yao'er, the world is not black and white. No matter how great an organization is, when it possesses too much power and too much authority, it will inevitably give rise to another side."
Dongfang Yao is intelligent, but she has too little experience and can only see the surface of things.
So she listened attentively to her brother's words.
In her heart, nothing is bigger than her brother, no matter how vast the world is.
“I once heard my father mention that the funds for the Soul Master subsidy actually came from the national treasuries of the two great empires, and the Spirit Hall was responsible for distributing and implementing it. This alone has allowed the Spirit Hall to accumulate immeasurable prestige in the hearts of countless Soul Masters—especially commoner Soul Masters.”
"The Empire provides the funding, and the Spirit Hall gets the name. In the long run, the vast majority of talented Spirit Masters will naturally be drawn to the Spirit Hall, making its power grow stronger day by day. As for the two great empires... although they seem to have a prestigious status, in reality, their Spirit Master power is constantly being eroded, and their control over the grassroots is far inferior to that of the Spirit Hall."
He looked at his sister, his voice gentle yet carrying a hint of meaning: "Tell me, is this the situation the Empire wants to see? Or is it that they actually have no other choice?"
Dongfang Yao blinked, seemingly understanding somewhat, but not quite.
"Brother, do you mean... the Empire is actually quite helpless?"
"That's fair to say. The Spirit Hall has a complete system that extends to every village, making it irreplaceable by the Empire. Moreover, the Spirit Hall's top-tier Spirit Masters may even surpass those of the Empire."
He didn't continue, but simply ruffled his sister's hair: "These things are still far from us. You just need to know that neither the Spirit Hall nor the Empire is absolutely bright or dark. The important thing is that we ourselves must be clear about the path we are on."
Dongfang Yao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
She hugged the little squirrel in her arms tightly, as if digesting her brother's words.
Dongfang Jing looked at her youthful face, his eyes soft yet firm.
He wouldn't completely deny the Spirit Hall, after all, it did bring hope to countless people.
But he was even more unwilling to let his sister only see the light that others showed her in the future.
This world is complex. The Spirit Hall has its good aspects, but it also has its ever-expanding ambitions.
Empires have their helplessness, as well as their arrogance and limitations.
He, Dongfang Jing, would never allow his and his sister's future to be bound by either party's framework.
He is going to walk a path that belongs to him.
There were too many complaints from readers, and the author indeed didn't express it well, so I made a simple revision, and then deleted the rest.
Chapter 10 Dongfang Yao is surprised, Su Yuntao's expression changes
"Oh, right, brother!"
Dongfang Yao snapped out of her shock, her big eyes blinking with pure curiosity: "You've said so much, but you still haven't told me! What level is your soul power now?"
"Hmm?" Dongfang Jing snapped out of his reverie, his tone as flat as if he were saying the weather was nice today. "Level 17, huh?"
Dongfang Yao: Σ(⊙▽⊙“a!!!
The little squirrel she had just brought back fell onto the cushion with a 'thud'.
She froze completely, her mouth agape wide enough to fit an egg!
The little girl was surprised.
Southwest of Winchester.
Nottingham, Fasno Province.
Su Yuntao, the patrol officer of the Spirit Hall who had been traveling non-stop through the night, had now returned from Linfeng City to the Spirit Hall branch in Notting City.
Upon his return, he went to see his superior.
After receiving a response to my knock, I entered the bright office.
“Master Matthew, this is the record of the children in Linfeng City and the surrounding villages who awakened their martial spirits this year.”
Su Yuntao handed a thick document to the old man in front of him.
The old man had a kind face and wore a neat Soul Master's uniform with the standard three-sword insignia, indicating that he was a Great Soul Master-level Battle Soul Master.
"Well, thank you for making this trip." Matthew took the document, opened it, and casually asked, "Yun Tao, you haven't been in contact with any members of the Rinfeng City branch, have you?"
Su Yuntao nodded, puzzled. "Master, I don't understand. Why do you need me?"
Before he could finish speaking, Matthew interrupted him by raising his hand.
The old man sighed, placed the file on his desk, and looked at the young man with a serious expression: "Didn't you hear about what happened in Linfeng City on your way back?"
On his way back, Su Yuntao did not stop in any towns he passed through, so he knew nothing about it.
After a moment's hesitation, Matthew recounted the whole story.
Upon hearing that the branch hall had been infiltrated by a fallen soul master, Su Yuntao was extremely shocked.
It should be noted that the Purple-Robed Bishop is in charge of the Frostwind City branch temple.
Doesn't this mean that a traitor has appeared in their most proud and sacred Spirit Hall?
The Pope surprisingly dispatched two elders, Kikuki and Kikuki, to carry out the cleanup mission.
It should be noted that both of these elders are titled Douluo.
"It seems His Holiness the Pope takes this matter very seriously." Su Yuntao was only in his twenties and couldn't imagine the scene at all.
His face turned pale instantly, and he felt a wave of fear wash over him.
He's not stupid; he's already realized what's going on.
The branch hall was infiltrated by a fallen soul master.
Doesn't that mean that Su Yuntao had a brush with death?
Seeing the young man's bloodless face, Matthew knew that the other party had already guessed, so he simply didn't hide it and explained.
"That's right. The Spirit Hall discovered the Fallen Ones' whereabouts just in time for the annual Spirit Awakening Day. In order to successfully wipe them out in one fell swoop, while also avoiding arousing suspicion and unrest among the public, and not wanting to delay the awakening and alert the Fallen Ones, they also didn't want those guys to know about the children's Spirit information."
After a pause, Matthew glanced at Su Yuntao with a hint of pity: "So, the higher-ups have decided to send a patrol deacon with the lowest soul power within the Heavenly Dou Realm to oversee the awakening, and that person... cough cough."
Su Yuntao was shocked, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
It was a mixture of lingering fear and anger.
But he dared not say anything; such is the tragic fate of a working-class man.
Seeing Su Yuntao's distraught and soulless appearance, Matthew took out a card from his storage soul tool and handed it to the young man.
The card is golden and looks very high-end.
"Ok?"
Su Yuntao recognized the card; it was a gold card.
Then Matthew lowered his voice and explained, "You really have been wronged this time, so the higher-ups will compensate you. Here, this gold card has 20 gold soul coins in it."
Before the old man could finish speaking, the card in his hand vanished completely.
Looking up, I saw Su Yuntao stuffing something into his pocket with lightning speed.
His face was full of sunshine and vitality, with not a trace of frustration.
Matthew's lips twitched; his expression changed drastically.
He coughed, picked up the file on the table and continued reading, saying, "Yun Tao, are there any promising talents in Linfeng City?"
Okay, let's change the amount here too.
Chapter 11 Sensible Little Sister
Su Yuntao happily pocketed the gold card and replied, "Yes, Master, yes."
He thought for a moment: "There is a girl who awakened the food-type lemon and has 2.5 level soul power, and there is a boy who was born with full soul power, but unfortunately his martial soul has undergone a malignant mutation."
“Innate full soul power!” Matthew immediately searched through the file. “Dongfang Jing, innate full soul power, martial soul is Shattered Mirror?”
"Yes, they were just some broken pieces of mirror. It's a real shame. It's a shame that it took so long to awaken this child's potential, but in the end... I guess we were just unlucky."
After explaining, Su Yuntao also looked regretful and said, "I have extended an invitation to these two children. The girl will join our Spirit Hall, while the boy said he needs to go back and discuss it with his family."
Hearing these words, Matthew frowned.
"If a martial soul undergoes a malignant mutation, its innate soul power will usually be affected as well."
He slowly stroked his beard: "But we can't rule out the possibility of exceptions, and this child might be one of them."
Su Yuntao nodded in agreement, sharing the same view, and then asked, "Master Matthew, what kind of achievements do you think this child will make in the future?"
The old man slowly shook his head: "It's hard to say. In that case, I will report the child's situation to His Holiness the Bishop and let him make a decision."
"Yes, that would be best. I hope that child will be appreciated and join our Spirit Hall in the future, which would be a great thing," Su Yuntao said with a smile.
At the border between the two major territories of Tiandou and Xingluo, there is a hill.
A hexagonal city, its walls entirely constructed of granite, was built around the hill.
This is the sacred place that all Soul Masters yearn for—Wuhun City.