"I'll just say a few words, then. I hope you don't break down after hearing them," Feng Piaoling said with a calm expression.
"I can take it." Even as she spoke, Tang Ya's hands were clenched into tight fists.
Seeing that Tang Ya was unsettled, Bei Bei stepped forward and took her hand in a comforting gesture.
Two soul rings, one yellow and one purple, rose from beneath his feet as the second ring lit up. A brownish-yellow paper talisman appeared in Feng Piaoling's hand. "Stand close to me, everyone. Line up and hold onto each other's shoulders. I'll take you away from this chaotic zone first; we can talk as we move."
Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao followed his instructions.
Tang Ya placed her right hand on Feng Piaoling's shoulder, Bei Bei held onto Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao held onto Bei Bei.
"Whatever you do, don't let go. If you get stuck in the dirt and suffocate to death, don't blame me," Feng Piaoling warned as he activated the Earth Escape Talisman. The talisman emitted a brownish-yellow light that enveloped the four of them before diving into the ground. They sped through the earth toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, moving through the soil as unimpeded as a sailfish through the sea.
Enveloped by the protective yellow light, Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao were stunned as they watched the surroundings blur past. Was this Feng Piaoling's thousand-year second soul ring skill?
It was truly miraculous—though it lacked offensive power, it was a top-tier survival skill.
Naturally, Feng Piaoling wasn't doing this just to give them a tour; he was doing it to prevent a certain Tang God-King from spying on them.
"Time for serious business," Feng Piaoling said in a heavy voice.
Upon hearing this, Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao put aside their amazement at the soul skill and turned serious.
As he led them through the earth, Feng Piaoling began: "First of all, the Tang Sect is stuck in its ways. Every generation of Sect Master must be a Blue Silver Grass soul master. They never considered that not everyone can achieve a second awakening into the Blue Silver Emperor."
"In this world where the martial soul is supreme, lacking a powerful soul inheritance means you cannot consistently produce strong experts. Even without that war four thousand years ago, the sect's decline was only a matter of time."
"Furthermore, the Tang Sect's downfall is inseparable from its conservatism. You cling to ancient relics. Tell me, how can a sect that relies on selling weapons and profiting from war survive when the Sect Master's strength can't keep up and the weapons become obsolete? How could it not be eliminated by the times?"
By now, Tang Ya's eyes were red. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she countered with a stubborn, tearful voice:
"I admit my own strength is lacking, and Blue Silver Grass truly has no advantage compared to other martial souls."
"But the Tang Sect did not profit from war! Every generation of our Sect Master gave most of our income to help commoners, keeping only a tiny portion for ourselves. And our Tang Sect hidden weapons aren't 'ancient relics'; we have many weapons of immense power—some have even threatened Gods!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, I'm not finished," Feng Piaoling raised a hand to cut her off. "Do you know the origin of the Evil Soul Masters?"
Evil Soul Masters were a familiar concept to both Tang Ya and Bei Bei; even Huo Yuhao, the former illegitimate son of the Duke of White Tiger's manor, had heard of them.
But if asked about their true origins, none of them could give a clear answer.
Finally, Bei Bei spoke up: "Evil Soul Masters rose to prominence ten thousand years ago, but their specific origin remains unknown. The earliest record shows that our Tang Sect's founding father, the Sea God Tang San, once slew a Title Douluo level Evil Soul Master."
Feng Piaoling spoke: "That's technically true. Strictly speaking, that Evil Soul Master did die at the hands of your Tang Sect Master. But do you know where your founding father first encountered that man? The Slaughter City—a place the Spirit Hall specifically used to punish and imprison fallen soul masters. Once you entered, there was no way out. That was why there were no Evil Soul Masters roaming the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago."
"At the same time, that place was also a trial ground for a God. As long as one successfully fought their way out, they would obtain a specialized Domain and gain that God's attention."
"However, your Tang Sect Master—whether he wanted to prevent future generations from obtaining the same Domain as him, or out of some 'sense of justice' believing the place was evil and shouldn't exist—destroyed that place the moment he escaped."
"Consequently, the fallen soul masters were unleashed, forming the massive groups of Evil Soul Masters we see today."
"That would be one thing, but he then went on to destroy the Spirit Hall—the very organization that awakened martial souls for commoners, provided subsidies for low-level soul masters, and was dedicated to hunting down fallen soul masters."
"Of course, I'm not shedding tears for the Spirit Hall. The Douluo Continent is a world where the strong prey on the weak. The Spirit Hall wanted to unify the continent and lost to the alliance of Tang San and the two empires. To the victor go the spoils; there's nothing more to say about that."
"But after your Tang Sect Master toppled the Spirit Hall, he failed to assume its responsibilities. He didn't establish an organization to awaken commoners or provide soul master subsidies, nor did he deal with the Evil Soul Masters. To maintain his 'righteous' image, he simply had you—successors who aren't even his direct descendants—hand out a bit of money every year to help so-called commoners to show off his 'virtue.'"
"Because of this, the commoners of the Douluo Continent no longer had anyone to awaken their martial souls for free. To do so, they either have to pay exorbitant amounts of gold soul coins to the nobles, or go to the black market for a slightly cheaper price. For commoners, both are crushing burdens. They already live in hardship, and the chances of awakening soul power are slim to begin with. Generation after generation, the nobles stay nobles, and the commoners stay commoners."
"Occasionally, a few commoners awaken soul power, but without the subsidies once provided by the Spirit Hall, they have to sell themselves into slavery or risk their lives just to increase their strength. I once even saw a female genius with high innate soul power who had to sell her body for medicine because she had no money to treat her mother."
"With the restraint of the Spirit Hall gone, the fallen soul masters grew rapidly. As for the noble lords, unless an Evil Soul Master threatens their rule, they couldn't care less. They wouldn't spare a single glance if an entire village of commoners was wiped out."
"Have you ever seen a village slaughtered to the last person by an Evil Soul Master? I have. Because my hometown was destroyed by them. I was the only survivor."
"This is the origin of the Evil Soul Masters, and my parents died at their hands. Tang Ya, I know you are dedicated to reviving the Tang Sect, but do you really think I would join a sect founded by that hypocritical dog who turned the Douluo Continent upside down and caused the deaths of countless people?"
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