Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Ten Ferocious Heavenly Horned Ant

"Why do you say that, Sect Master Ning? I clearly did nothing wrong, and... the Spirit Hall has always been a pure Spirit Master organization."

Dong Qing feigned confusion, giving him an expression as if he didn't understand what he was talking about.

“Your Highness Dongqing, I remember you grew up in the Heavenly Dou Empire, the Barak Kingdom, Notting City, Holy Soul Village. Do you consider yourself a citizen of the Empire?” Ning Fengzhi asked gently.

“Of course, I was raised by my grandfather, Village Chief Jack. He is a citizen of the Empire, so of course I am too.” Dong Qing nodded, not denying that he was a citizen of the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Chapter 228, Our Great Emperor is Growing Old.

Upon hearing Dong Qing's reply, Ning Fengzhi's expression changed slightly. He then looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation.

He then spoke in a low voice: "So... Your Highness Dongqing, who considers yourself a citizen of the Heaven Dou Empire, must have been quite shocked when you discovered that the Spirit Hall has a plan to unify the continent."

"He must have put in a lot of effort to stop this plan from being implemented. It's even possible that it was under your persuasion, Your Highness Dongqing, that the current Pope of the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong, abandoned the plan to unify the continent."

"These are all my personal guesses. I will never admit them after I leave, but in my opinion, given Prince Dongqing's character, it is very possible that he would do such a thing. I wonder if my guess is correct?"

His guess was quite logical. Dong Qing joining the Spirit Hall did not mean that he had given up his status as a citizen of the Empire. After all, the Spirit Hall was just a spirit master organization to the outside world.

There are many commoner soul masters within the Spirit Hall. They are indeed very grateful to the Spirit Hall for helping them awaken their martial souls. In order to repay the kindness, they also joined the Spirit Hall.

However, they also cherish their own country and homeland. If the Spirit Hall insists on forcibly unifying the continent, it will force them to make a very cruel choice.

Is it one's country or the Soul Master organization one serves?

Moreover, even if they outwardly pander to the Spirit Hall, will they shirk their responsibilities when it matters most? Will they secretly tattle on us behind our backs?

It should be understood that any dynasty or empire that has ruled for hundreds of years will have its people harboring a sense of national identity and patriotism, which is far beyond what a single Soul Master organization can forcibly reverse.

This isn't fiction; this is the real world. The Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire both ruled the Douluo Continent for hundreds of years, with hundreds of millions of subjects under their command.

They are not fictional characters; they are all living, breathing people with their own thoughts and souls.

The millions of ordinary people with their own souls will not abandon their sense of national identity and choose a completely new and unfamiliar Spirit Empire just because the Spirit Hall wants to unify the continent.

While the Spirit Hall has been very kind to them, it's like if one day a friendly force suddenly asks you to betray your country and join a completely new one.

Perhaps there are many who are willing, but it is certain that there are also many who are not. The three members of the teaching committee of the Heaven Dou Empire Royal Academy are such people. They will stand firmly on the opposite side of the Spirit Hall in the future.

But now, the three members of the Royal Academy of the Heaven Dou Empire don't need to worry about this problem at all, because the future has been completely changed under Dong Qing's influence, and Bibi Dong no longer has any intention of unifying the continent.

All she wanted now was her apprentice's body, but as his teacher, she couldn't bring herself to express her feelings.

Humans have six senses, which are called the seven emotions and six desires. Apart from the seven emotions, there are seven feelings that exist deep in the human heart. The six desires are also six desires that are hidden deep in the human heart.

Simply put, Bibi Dong was lusting after Dong Qing's body, but as his teacher, she couldn't force herself on him, so she suppressed the dark desires deep within her heart.

......

I did a lot of work? I persuaded Bibi Dong?

Dong Qing felt that Ning Fengzhi might be overthinking things. It wasn't because of his status as a citizen of the Heaven Dou Empire; he simply didn't want to see the Spirit Hall, such a pure spirit master organization, become a country.

The Spirit Hall never existed as a country; it was simply a pure spirit master organization, not even comparable to the Three Upper Sects.

In a sense, the Spirit Hall is a supreme organization, similar to a religious force, with its own gods.

In particular, the only deity worshipped within the Spirit Hall is the Angel God, a kind and pure god of light.

Over the years, the Spirit Hall has helped countless ordinary people awaken their spirits for free, and countless previously forgotten spirit masters have risen from the common people.

In order to prevent commoner soul masters from going astray and committing murder and arson for money, thus turning themselves into evil soul masters, the Spirit Hall even prepared a monthly subsidy of gold soul coins for commoner soul masters.

Therefore, Dongqing naturally did not want such a good Soul Master organization to become a country that needed to consider the gains and losses of all parties.

Ruling a vast country and managing a Soul Master organization are two different things.

The former requires not only military force but also extremely high political wisdom, while the latter only needs strong military force to manage the organization's internal affairs.

Under the nation, hundreds of millions of ordinary people are at stake. One wrong move and the ruler becomes a tyrant, a fool, or an incompetent ruler, followed by a deluge of condemnation.

The organization has at most a million people. Even if you don't do well, as long as you are ruthless and strong enough, you are a god in this organization.

Honestly, even Dong Qing herself doesn't know. With Bi Bi Dong's love-obsessed mind, what courage does she have to manage a country? Does she even know how to handle people's livelihood issues?

In fact, all these random thoughts just flashed through Dong Qing's mind.

He laughed loudly, "Hahaha, Sect Leader Ning is joking. The Spirit Hall has never had any plans to unify the continent, so why would I need to persuade my own teacher?"

Regardless of whether the Spirit Hall has this plan or not, Dong Qing would never admit it to outsiders; this is a matter of the most basic principles of conduct.

"Really? Then I must be overthinking it, Your Highness. Just take it as me talking nonsense. People tend to overthink as they get older. It seems that even I can't escape the reality of getting older. Please don't take offense, Your Highness."

Ning Fengzhi immediately understood Dong Qing's meaning and did not continue to discuss this sensitive topic.

A wise person always knows when to stop.

The two then chatted happily, and seemed to have become close friends.

"Your Highness Dongqing, what is your opinion of the Emperor Xueye of the Empire? He has been on the throne for over seventy years, and the people of the Tiandou Empire seem to love this very old emperor."

Ning Fengzhi was getting impatient. Of course, he wasn't impatient with Dong Qing; he was simply annoyed with Emperor Xue Ye, that old codger who was still clinging to the throne.

More than a decade has passed since he became Xue Qinghe's teacher. He had thought that in a few years, he could help the crown prince of the empire ascend to the throne.

However, the matter of succession was repeatedly delayed.

Emperor Xueye refused to abdicate. You should know that in the history of the Star Luo Empire, there has never been an emperor who was so old and still insisted on staying on the throne.

At the same time, each emperor of the Star Luo Empire was chosen from among many princes through a fierce struggle, ensuring that the princes who succeeded to the throne possessed extremely strong ruthless methods and formidable strength.

When each Star Luo Emperor grows old, he will abdicate and hand over the throne to the person most suitable for him. This is why the Star Luo Empire is so prosperous.

The opposing emperor is in his prime, while our emperor is old and frail.

There were already some within the Heaven Dou Empire who wanted Emperor Xue Ye to abdicate and let the young Xue Qinghe [Qian Renxue], the future Emperor Qinghe, take the reins of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Chapter 229, hoping she will find a good home in the future.

You could even say that.

If it weren't for the Spirit Hall, the number one power on the continent, directly standing between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, preventing the two empires from truly fighting, the Heaven Dou Empire would probably have been swallowed up by the Star Luo Empire long ago.

Moreover, Ning Fengzhi prefers the current triangular balance, where the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire are wary of each other, yet remain highly vigilant about the existence of the Spirit Hall.

Only in this way can the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School be able to navigate between various forces. If there is only one empire, it is questionable whether the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School can even exist.

If there were a unified empire on the Douluo Continent, it would be impossible for forces like the Three Upper Sects to exist.

This is similar to how Bibi Dong launched the Soul Hunting Plan to destroy the three upper sects of the now-defunct Martial Soul Empire, not because she was simply doing something to kill.

Because any unified empire would not allow such transcendent forces as the Three Upper Sects to exist within its territory. No matter what world it is, a unified emperor would make the exact same decision.

And one more thing.

The three upper sects are not allied forces, nor do they particularly dislike the Spirit Hall.

The Clear Sky Sect, which once had Tang Chen, a peerless Douluo at the peak of level 99, was not a good thing. It also tried to annex the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.

It was at this time that Sword Douluo Chen Xin, who became an honorary elder of the Spirit Hall, was able to dispel the Clear Sky Sect's intention to devour the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School with the help of the Spirit Hall behind him.

Joining the Spirit Hall as an honorary elder does not affect Sword Douluo Chen Xin's status in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, because in the eyes of the world, the Spirit Hall is simply a spirit master organization.

...

"Seventy years is not a long time for a Title Douluo-level Soul Master with a long lifespan, but for an emperor, this reign is indeed a bit too long," Dong Qing said with a slight nod.

He knew the main course was coming. The things Ning Fengzhi had discussed with him before were just appetizers. What they were really going to discuss today was probably the next emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.

"More than ten years have passed since I became the teacher of Xue Qinghe, the current crown prince of the Tiandou Empire. He is very opinionated, has an excellent character, and is a very suitable successor, but unfortunately..."

Ning Fengzhi shook his head helplessly. To the uninitiated, he would have looked like he was having a headache. In reality, he was waiting for Dong Qing to speak.

His meaning was already quite clear; if Dong Qing couldn't understand it, there was no need to continue.

Dong Qing narrowed his eyes, pondered for a few minutes, and then said, "I think I understand what Sect Leader Ning means. You want to push the current Crown Prince Xue Qinghe to the throne?"

Fate once again changed its course. Because of Dongqing's existence, Bibi Dong gave up on unifying the continent and established the Martial Soul Empire, thus avoiding putting enormous psychological pressure on the three upper sects and the two great empires.

Therefore, Ning Fengzhi doesn't need to worry about so much now. Even if there are some ripples within the Heaven Dou Empire, he believes that this is something that can be accepted.

In this world, there is no absolutely complete and meticulous plan, unless only the plan is known to oneself.

If Bibi Dong is truly preparing to implement the Soul Hunting Plan, launching a surprise attack on the three upper sects and important cities of the two great empires, then there must be a Holy Mother or an internal traitor who betrayed the Soul Hunting Plan.

.....

Upon hearing Dong Qing's words, Ning Fengzhi quickly shook his head and said, "Your Highness Dong Qing, you are mistaken. What do you mean by 'pushing him to the throne'? As Qinghe's teacher, I simply want to see him fulfill his long-cherished wish and contribute to the people of the Heavenly Dou Empire as soon as possible. After all, Emperor Xue Ye is getting old..."

When Ning Fengzhi spoke, he had a compassionate and sympathetic look on his face, as if he were truly devoting himself to the Heavenly Dou Empire.

However, in reality, he only wanted to take advantage of Xue Qinghe's ascension to the throne and use the identity of the teacher of Emperor Qinghe to make some benefits for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

Talking to these people is exhausting. Dong Qing looked at Ning Fengzhi and said, "Sect Leader Ning, let's stop beating around the bush and just tell me! How can I help you?"

"This isn't about helping, Your Highness Dongqing. I hope we can cooperate to make the Heavenly Dou Empire a better place," Ning Fengzhi said with a smile.

While he was speaking, Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong were hiding to the side. They were not monitoring Dong Qing, but mainly preventing spies from the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family.

Ever since Xue Qinghe [Qian Renxue] had Ning Fengzhi as his teacher, Emperor Xueye has been very wary of this son, and there are countless spies around Xue Qinghe [Qian Renxue].

Xue Qinghe [Qian Renxue] knew about the existence of the spies, Ning Fengzhi also knew about the existence of these spies, and Emperor Xueye also knew that they knew about the existence of these spies.

They had an unspoken understanding: they both knew, but neither of them said it aloud.

Of course, if Qian Renxue wanted to shake off the spies around her, she could easily deceive these Soul Masters who were no more than level 70 by relying on her Angel Soul Bone skill's disguise ability.

The operation is very simple. For example, Qian Renxue can use Xue Qinghe's appearance to enter a secret room for seclusion, then send someone in to deliver tea, and then use the Angel Soul Bone skill to disguise herself as this person to complete the operation of stealing the sky and changing the sun.

However, generally speaking, Qian Renxue would not do that.

It was only after Dong Qing arrived in Tian Dou City that she went to such lengths to disguise herself and then come out to tell him about the trivial things that had happened to her these past few days, while also relieving her physical and mental hunger.

As for how to relieve physical and mental thirst, that might have to be asked of the person involved... You know, young people are hot-tempered, and this doesn't discriminate between men and women, and Qian Renxue is also a young person.

.....

“Alright, let’s cooperate then. Sect Leader Ning, how do you want to cooperate?” Dong Qing shrugged. He was very curious about what kind of cooperation Ning Fengzhi was talking about, and whether it could pique his interest even a little.

“Your Highness Dongqing, I’ve been studying your newspaper since it came out. I think it has a strong ability to guide thought. If we can keep publicizing Prince Qinghe’s affairs in the newspaper, it will be of great benefit to his early ascension to the throne,” Ning Fengzhi explained.

"What can I get in return?" Dong Qing continued. He would never do something without benefit, and this wasn't something that could be settled simply by having more gold soul coins.

"I can find a way to bring Rongrong and Prince Dongqing together. She is an extremely talented support-type Soul Master. With your monstrous talent, Your Highness, plus the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul, you will surely be able to dominate the entire continent in the future."