Douluo Continent: This Tang San is different

Chapter 259 Bibi Dong and Hu Liena have a secret talk

"Nana, what do you think of Tang San?"

Inside the Papal Palace, Bibidon's voice echoed above the beams.

"Confident, easy-going, and with a touch of humor."

"Strong, confident, and with a gentle heart."

After some thought, Hu Liena gave the above assessment, and then said, "As for whether he is hiding anything, I don't know, but he is undoubtedly worthy of being the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall."

"Yes, he deserves it, but you, as the Holy Maiden, have not yet been recognized by those guys in the Elder Hall." Bibi Dong changed the subject, her voice becoming somber.

Tang San has the strength to be named a Holy Son, and the guys in the Hall of Offerings also accepted it. Although he has the bloodline of the Clear Sky Sect, he is exceptionally talented and grew up outside, so he was not influenced by the Clear Sky Sect's ideology. He can be considered to have a clean background.

Moreover, Qian Daoliu also had ulterior motives, namely, using Tang San as a safety net—

If Qian Renxue had not successfully inherited the Angel Godhood (as per the book's setting: due to the fall of the previous Angel God, the inheritance failed, but she would not die), then she could have married Tang San. The offspring born from the union of two exceptionally talented Soul Masters would undoubtedly possess even greater talent, and because of the domineering and powerful nature of the Angel Martial Soul, their descendants' Martial Soul would certainly be the Angel Martial Soul.

Even if one possesses twin martial souls, one of them will inevitably be an angel.

And what about Hu Liena?

Although she was named a saintess, the elders in the Hall of Elders did not acknowledge her, and the members of the Spirit Hall who followed the angel lineage were also outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant towards her as the pope.

If it weren't for some concerns (Qian Daoliu's strength and Qian Renxue's feelings), she would have killed Qian Daoliu long ago!

Hu Liena's heart sank, and she said, "The elders on the other side of the Elder Hall are indeed a bit troublesome."

Unless Bibi Dong is in charge of the Spirit Hall one day, she will forever remain a saintess in name only. Even if the great cause is accomplished in the future, she will not be able to succeed to the throne.

"Although they are all old fogies, their influence in the Spirit Hall is still greater than mine. You must gain their approval, and the best way to do that is to demonstrate your talent," Bibi Dong said seriously. "When I discussed the unification cause with Tang San before, he said that productivity determines production relations, and the basic economy determines the superstructure..."

Upon hearing this, Hu Liena absorbed the knowledge rapidly, like a dried-up sponge, her eyes almost gleaming with brilliance. She murmured, "He sees things so clearly! I'm no match for him! But—"

"Just what? Speak up. It's just you and me here. You are my disciple, and we are like mother and daughter. There's nothing to hold back." Bibi Dong gave her an encouraging look. "If the Spirit Hall were to establish an empire in the future, it would be left to you. As for Tang San... I can see that he is a pure person, focused on research and cultivation, not on power."

Hu Liena was deeply moved and slowly said, "However, according to Tang San, our preparations were far from sufficient, or rather, the direction of our preparations was wrong from the beginning."

Even disregarding everything else, just considering the military—

"The Spirit Hall has a huge number of Spirit Masters. In addition, Tang San joined the Spirit Hall, and many ordinary Spirit Masters from all over the continent also joined the Spirit Hall, but they are only superior in number."

"In terms of discipline, since each branch temple has a great deal of independence, although their methods of training grassroots personnel are similar, they are ultimately different. Without coordination, it may be fine in a single city, but when they unite, the lack of cooperation between them will inevitably lead to chaos, and they may even lose their composure during the process of conquering other countries."

"The situation in Wuhun City is alright, but the number of soul master troops in Wuhun City alone is not large enough."

In conclusion, even in terms of military strength, the Spirit Hall may have more Soul Masters than the two great empires, but in a direct confrontation, it might not be able to defeat them.

Moreover, Hu Liena also noticed that if the Spirit Hall wanted to unify the continent, it had to end the war as soon as possible, because the Spirit Hall did not have much food or supplies stored up.

The members of the Spirit Hall are all Spirit Masters who do not engage in production. In the past, their money mainly came from the two great empires. If the war cannot be ended in a very short time, the internal structure will become empty, and a mutiny will inevitably occur.

War is extremely costly in terms of money and lives. Apart from merchants who profit from the war by selling weapons, no one wants a war to continue for a long time.

The Spirit Hall is the one that can't afford to delay the longest.

In fact, according to Tang San, the Spirit Hall's productivity is almost zero. It relies on the productivity of the two great empires to develop and grow. Once a war breaks out, its economic foundation will be completely broken!

A force without an economic foundation will never last long!

This is also the Spirit Hall's fatal flaw!

Although nowadays, because Tang San has proposed the so-called "intellectual property rights" and "patents", the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan, and other large and small sects and families pay a considerable amount of money every year, forming a network of interests with them.

However, if the Spirit Hall launches a war, it is unknown how many lines of this network will be cut.

The Spirit Hall's foundation is severely inadequate!

Under such circumstances, even if the two great empires were quickly conquered, it would be of no use, and true unification could not be achieved.

"Productive forces determine the relations of production, and the economic base determines the superstructure."

Hu Liena snapped out of her reverie, rubbed her temples, and sighed, "These two sentences can be said to have revealed the pattern of rise, development, prosperity, decline, and eventual demise of all sects, families, and nations that have appeared throughout history."

Suddenly, she felt attracted by Tang San's talent and had an urge to get to know him better.

Wasn't Bibi Dong the same?

Unfortunately, Tang San didn't want to get involved in these important matters. Instead, he focused on his martial soul, his personal cultivation theory, and even the cultivation theory of "controlling one's own microcosm with the three treasures of human essence, qi and spirit to reflect the external macrocosm" shocked him so much that he even wanted to try it out.

This is the instinct of a Soul Master to pursue a higher realm!

"Teacher, how should I treat Tang San in the future?" Hu Liena suddenly asked.

"You are the Holy Maiden, and he is the Holy Son; naturally, you share weal and woe." Bibi Dong smiled slightly. "So what if the elders of the Hall of Offerings don't recognize your status as the Holy Maiden? Now and in the future, the Spirit Hall is under my control!"

"yes···"

Hu Liena lowered her head, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. She unconditionally approved of her teacher's arrangement...

···

"Fire Dance, you should continue to study gravity; don't try the Fusion Ring."

Compared to Xiao Wu, Huo Wu's body is much weaker. Without the Jade Bone Golden Muscle Divine Treasure Technique, her physical strength is only comparable to a Soul Emperor. Cultivating the Fusion Ring would be too much for her body to handle, and would be more harmful than beneficial. It would be better for her to specialize in the path of gravity.

Huo Wu knew that her physical strength was not as good as Tang San's, and the law of gravity was so profound that it was enough for her to study for a lifetime. She didn't have any extra time to hone her physical body.

Moreover, in the process of studying gravity, Huo Wu also discovered that gravity can be used as a special force to passively and comprehensively strengthen her bones, internal organs, and muscles.

Therefore, there is no need to specifically refine the body.

Tang San's advice to Ning Rongrong was: "Rongrong, you should continue to improve your mental strength and practice controlling your soul power as usual, so that your Nine Treasures Nine Apertures Nine Suns Formation can be even more perfect."

"Then, it's time to train the most basic fist and foot skills."

"This weakness is irrelevant in the mainland elite competition because you have teammates to protect you and you won't be in danger, but it's not necessarily the case outside the competition."

Ning Rongrong smiled sweetly and said, "No problem, but, will you be personally instructing me, Third Brother?"

"nature--"

Tang San noticed the gazes directed at him by Xiao Wu and Guang Ling, and immediately changed his tune, "No. Xiao Wu and Guang Ling can accompany you. They received my true teachings and can teach you the most basic fist and foot techniques, so they can definitely help."

Ning Rongrong pursed her lips and hummed in agreement, thinking to herself: It seems that to win over Third Brother, I must first deal with Xiao Wu and Guang Ling, these two "good sisters".

Then, Tang San looked at Lan Yinzi and said, "You already have your own plans, right? I won't say any more."

"I'm so sad, sob sob!" Lan Yinzi put on this face (╥╯^╰╥), her tearful appearance making her look pitiful.

However, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Guang Ling did not react at all.

Huo Wu and Ning Rongrong were somewhat surprised, wondering what was going on, but they chose to let it go, since one less competitor was a good thing.

"Damn it, a bunch of heartless bastards! I cried so hard and not a single one of them came to comfort me." Lan Yinzi wiped away her tears, staring at Tang San with a cold gaze, as if he owed her a million dollars, and said, "At least say something! If you're so biased, I'll really get jealous."

"Alright, my suggestion is to strengthen your training in the Swift Wind Grass technique, which aligns with your desire to become a Battle Soul Master," Tang San said dismissively.

Although he was a transmigrator, he still felt a strange embarrassment when facing his biological mother, even when he was only in her soul... It must be because his moral bottom line was too high. If this were an adult novel, Lan Yinzi would have been taken down long ago!

Putting aside his wild thoughts, Tang San sighed and said, "Your soul skills all have the same attributes and can complement each other, so you can fuse them together, but your body is too weak. You can practice with me later."

Tang San intends to pass on the Jade Bone Golden Skin Divine Treasure Technique to Lan Yinzi as a way of repaying her for giving birth to him. As for whether Lan Yinzi will pass it on to someone else, such as Tang Hao, that remains to be seen.

Tang San was not worried.

In reality, everyone's bones, muscles, internal organs, etc., may look similar, but subtle differences exist due to various reasons such as lifestyle, behavioral habits, martial soul influence, and soul personality. When Xiao Wu and Guang Ling first learned the Jade Bone Golden Muscle Divine Treasure, Tang San personally circulated it for them more than a hundred times before they could barely master it.

Even though Xiao Wu has now condensed her jade bones and has studied medicine and has a good understanding of the human body, she is still unable to fully pass on this method to others because her mental strength is not strong enough.

Incomplete instruction, or arbitrarily circulating qi and blood, will likely lead to problems.

Let me mention it again:

Productivity is the foundation of everything.

The Spirit Hall's productivity is almost zero—the fact that the supplements distributed to commoner spirit masters are obtained from the two great empires is the best proof of this.

Such a force suddenly establishes an independent country, but few people within it know how to manage the country's livelihood, economy, politics, and military.

This kind of force is only suitable for blitzkrieg, and after the blitzkrieg, it must rebuild the destroyed foundation in a very short time—which is highly unlikely. The hatred of national destruction and family ruin will cause those with relevant talents to give up, and the Spirit Hall's own soul masters do not understand the relevant knowledge, but they must reward merit and promote them, otherwise it will chill their hearts... This is a dead end.

In short, the productivity and economic foundation of martial spirits is extremely poor!

In addition, considering the original work's setting of gods, the Spirit Hall's establishment of a kingdom was a dead end—well, one thing is certain, at least in the original work, Bibi Dong did manage to destroy the Spirit Hall.

These chapters mainly discuss the future development trend of the Spirit Hall, but they will not be described in detail later, or only briefly summarized in a few chapters, serving as a prelude to the related background settings in later chapters.

(End of this chapter)