Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Saint Master, Twelve Talismans Chaotic the Continent

Chapter 32 The Foundation of the Spirit Hall

……

After leaving the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Nan Feng and Yue Guan returned to the Martial Soul Temple.

"I only made a slight move, and Xueye immediately offered five million gold soul coins..."

Nan Feng felt something was wrong the more he thought about it.

Too easy!

That's five million gold soul coins!

That's enough funds to build a small sect!

There are no more than five companies in the entire mainland that can come up with such a large sum of money at once!

However, Xueye didn't even try to bargain!

They gave it to me right away!

"Make a slight move?" Yue Guan's eyes twitched slightly.

"You consider this a slight intervention?"

They've already threatened the very survival of the Heavenly Dou royal family, and this is considered a mere show of force?

This five million is money to save my life on this snowy night!

"But he took it out so easily, I always feel like I'm missing out," Nan Feng said.

"But this is five million gold soul coins, isn't that more than enough?"

"Of course that's enough!" Yue Guan said, speechless.

"Do you know how much tax revenue the Heaven Dou Empire generates in a year?"

"How much?" Nan Feng asked, puzzled.

He hadn't really paid attention to these things.

"Less than ten million," Yue Guan said.

"Ten million?" Nan Feng frowned.

"So you're saying I only asked for about six months' worth of his income?"

"I lost out!"

Yue Guan covered his face. This kid really has no common sense at all!

"Listen carefully, ten million is the figure on paper, the total amount reported by the major kingdoms and duchies under the Heaven Dou royal family. However, more than 50% of this ten million is used to maintain the basic maintenance of the entire country, another 10% is used to subsidize low-level soul masters and is given to the Spirit Hall, which is about one million every year. The remaining three million or so is what will eventually go into the national treasury," Yue Guan explained.

"Then, these three million yuan aren't just for supporting Xue Ye, but for the entire Heaven Dou Royal Family. Do you know how many people are in the Heaven Dou Royal Family? Do you know how much it costs to run the palace normally every day?"

"You robbed him of five million in one go, that'll be painful for him for years! The Heavenly Dou Royal Family's budget will probably have to be drastically reduced from now on."

Nan Feng really has absolutely no concept of money!

He talks about millions all the time, but you should know that even a titled Douluo like him only has less than a million in assets!

Although Soul Masters have high incomes, their expenses are also high.

The only people on the entire continent who can casually mention millions are from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

As a Soul Master faction that started out in business, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has amassed nearly half of the wealth of the entire continent over the past thousand years by relying on its powerful business capabilities!

Using the phrase "wealthy enough to rival a nation" to describe the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is already a derogatory term!

All the Soul Master forces, both overt and covert, across the continent have varying degrees of vested interests with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. The fact that it ranks second among the three upper sects with a support-type Martial Soul is not only due to the two Title Douluo, Chen Xin and Gu Rong, but more so because of their terrifying network of interests!

This support-type sect never makes enemies and always stands in the middle, so no one considers them enemies. At the Elders' Meeting, regarding the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's part of the Spirit Hall's future plans, most elders were inclined to win them over, since the cost of winning them over was far greater than the cost of destroying them!

Even if they relied on the powerful Soul Masters of the Spirit Hall to directly attack the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's mountain gate, a centipede, though dead, does not fall down.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's greatest strength lies not in its direct power, but in the unseen realms.

If the Spirit Hall were to truly fight this sect to the death, the price it would have to pay would be far greater than that of the Clear Sky Sect!

"Moreover, the money spent will generate returns, while Xueye's five million today is essentially a direct loss, which is completely different," Yue Guan said.

"Just shut up and don't cause any more trouble lately. If you drive Xueye crazy, none of us will be happy."

"Oh." Nan Feng nodded, picked up the little bunny, and walked away.

Yue Guan's eye twitched.

Oh?

Whenever Nan Feng uses this interjection to answer a question, it means that the kid hasn't listened at all!

……

"You're Salas?"

"Reporting to the elder, I am Salas."

An old man with graying hair, who looked to be in his sixties or seventies, stood opposite Nan Feng.

"Please sit down." Nan Feng was always very kind to his colleagues.

"Thank you, Elder." Salas breathed a sigh of relief.

This favorite of the Papacy is really a coward!

"What's your opinion on the situation in Tiandou City?" Nan Feng asked.

Salas was taken aback. "Which aspect are you referring to, Elder?"

"Of course it's those good-for-nothings from the Heavenly Dou royal family," Nan Feng said.

"I went to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace today and discovered that the corruption in the Spirit Hall is nothing compared to the corruption within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family!"

I'm currently reading the error-free version! This is the first time I've published this novel.

Salas felt a chill run down his spine.

A small fry compared to a big fish?

What does this mean? Does the new pope want to reform the Spirit Hall?

Surely not? Isn't this precisely what allowed the Spirit Hall to grow so powerful?

Otherwise, why would those Soul Masters have nothing better to do than go to the Spirit Hall, a place where merit is not necessarily rewarded and mistakes are always punished?

Isn't it because the Spirit Hall receives preferential treatment due to its invisibility?

Not to mention the two great empires, even the seven major sects and eight great families dare not easily engage in a direct conflict with the Spirit Hall. Therefore, the Spirit Hall in the region can basically be called the local emperor.

They don't even need to be greedy; people will just deliver it to them willingly.

Take him for example. In addition to his regular salary from the Spirit Hall, the tributes he receives each year, both big and small, add up to nearly 200,000 gold soul coins, which is several times his salary!

If he were an elder in another sect, he would only have some status in his own territory. But if he worked in the Spirit Hall and reached such a high position, apart from Spirit City and the sect headquarters of those major sects, he would be the center of attention wherever he went across the entire continent.

He gained both fame and fortune!

With that, why shouldn't you join the Spirit Hall?

But if the Spirit Hall were to engage in any anti-corruption efforts, it would be shooting itself in the foot!

"Don't worry, I understand some things," Nan Feng said.

"I'm not the kind of idiot who wants a horse to run but doesn't feed it."

Salas chuckled twice. "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Elder."

Why do most commoner Soul Masters want to join the Spirit Hall? Isn't it to escape their original status and become superior?

Being successful depends not only on ability, but also on status.

A leisurely Soul King versus a Soul King from the Spirit Hall—the former wouldn't dare utter a single word in front of the latter!

Having a status requires a certain level of respectability, and respectability needs to be maintained through wealth. What respectability can you get by relying solely on a normal salary?

If the Spirit Hall were to cut off these hidden sources of income and force everyone to be penniless, wouldn't the lower and middle levels of the Spirit Hall be full of complaints?

Especially those grassroots spirit halls, they have no money, no benefits, nothing. They've gone crazy and are sending people all over the mountains and fields to awaken spirits in those small villages.

It is no exaggeration to say that the awakening of a martial soul is the foundation of the Spirit Hall!

The Spirit Hall's current power stems from its monopolization of the high-return, low-investment business of awakening spirits.

Even if only one out of a hundred people has soul power and can become a soul master, it's still a political achievement! A huge win!

Soul Masters are human too; only a fool would do something that doesn't bring them any benefit. These people with soul power found all over the mountains and fields are the achievements of the Spirit Hall's grassroots Soul Masters and the foundation of the Spirit Hall.

The Spirit Hall has the largest number of Spirit Masters on the entire continent because they can recruit these people as soon as they awaken their Spirits.

If the Spirit Hall makes a mistake in this matter, it will be a big problem.

(Note: In Douluo Continent I, Soul Masters are the elite. The total population of the continent is at least hundreds of millions, but the Spirit Hall statistics show that there are less than 100,000 Soul Masters. Even if a Soul Master is only a dozen or so levels, they are still elites. Commoners and commoner Soul Masters are two different concepts. Soul Masters are all nobles.)

Soul Masters in Dou Er are practically everywhere; the most obvious change is:

Douluo Continent I: The Legendary Title Douluo!

Dou Er: Oh, it's a Title Douluo.

Douluo Continent III: You're also a Title Douluo?

Douluo Dalu IV: Tsk, a mere Title Douluo.

(End of this chapter)