Chapter 9: The Plan Falls Apart

Martial Spirit Tear?

Upon hearing the name of the spirit skill, Bibi Dong and the others were curious. As top figures on the Douluo Continent, they had never heard of a spirit skill like Martial Spirit Tear before.

The name implied that it could tear the opponent's martial spirit. If it could truly tear an opponent's martial spirit, then this spirit skill would be incredibly overpowered!

"Teacher, Elders, my skill, Martial Spirit Tear, can currently only temporarily disable an opponent's martial spirit and weaken its power. This weakening of the martial spirit is permanent and irreversible," Qin Hua explained.

Hearing Qin Hua's words, Bibi Dong and the others exchanged looks of shock.

Martial spirits were the most intrinsic part of a spirit master and the hardest to harm. Even the most powerful soul-type spirit masters found it challenging to damage an opponent's martial spirit. Yet, Qin Hua could do it.

At this moment, Qin Hua spoke again.

"As my strength increases, I might be able to directly destroy an opponent's martial spirit, refine it, and absorb it."

After hearing this, only one word remained in Bibi Dong and the others' minds: heaven-defying!

Destroying an opponent's martial spirit and refining and absorbing it to convert it into one's own martial spiritual power, this was indeed the most sinister martial spirit on the Douluo Continent. If Qin Hua were not in the Spirit Hall's camp, the Spirit Hall would never allow such a powerful spirit master to grow.

For ordinary spirit masters, destroying an opponent's martial spirit required overwhelming strength. For example, to destroy a Spirit Saint's martial spirit, at least a Titled Douluo would need to take action. But Qin Hua could do this within the same rank.

Just imagine, once Qin Hua reached the rank of Titled Douluo, who among his peers would be his match?

"This spirit skill must be kept secret. If I'm not mistaken, with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's propaganda, the continent might have already started a crusade against you. I'll handle this storm first, and you can reappear when the time is right," Bibi Dong said.

Qin Hua nodded, understanding that Bibi Dong was looking out for him.

Such an inhumane martial spirit  would certainly attract the wrath of most spirit masters. Going out now would be courting death.

...

As expected, while Bibi Dong was searching for a suitable spirit ring for Qin Hua, a massive uproar quietly spread across the Douluo Continent.

"The Soul Devourer martial spirit has reappeared on the continent. Is the Spirit Hall sheltering and protecting it for true reformation or for another agenda?"

This outcry received widespread support from most spirit masters. However, because of the reputation the Spirit Hall had built over the years, most people were only questioning rather than taking actual action.

Before Tang San rose to prominence, the Spirit Hall had always maintained order in the spirit master world across the Douluo Continent. They had also consistently distributed spirit coins to spirit masters, mostly out of their own pockets.

Moreover, the Spirit Hall had branches across the continent, even in small towns with only a few thousand people, with spirit masters responsible for awakening martial spirits. If the Spirit Hall took an interest in someone, all costs were waived, and their family would enjoy lifelong wealth and honor.

Even if a spirit master died in action for the Spirit Hall, the Spirit Hall would protect their family for three generations and offer a special invitation for their descendants to study at the Spirit Hall's Spirit Master Academy, provided their talent wasn't too poor.

The Spirit Hall also spearheaded the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, boosting the enthusiasm of all advanced spirit master academies. These actions had made the spirit master world on the Douluo Continent flourish.

These measures had garnered immense public support for the Spirit Hall. Yes, it was a means to win hearts and minds, but everyone was still grateful to the Spirit Hall. Without it, none of this would exist.

Because of this, the Spirit Hall had been able to develop to the point where it held half of the spirit masters on the Douluo Continent, with the majority of high-level spirit masters.

Facing such widespread questioning, Bibi Dong remained steadfast in her initial stance.

Additionally, she personally took Qin Hua as her disciple, showing her strong determination. Otherwise, she could have easily had an elder take Qin Hua as a disciple instead of doing it herself.

This seemingly weak defense actually convinced most people.

...

In the depths of the Heaven Dou Empire's royal palace, Ning Fengzhi and Emperor Xue Ye sat together, feeling dejected.

They hadn't anticipated that both plans they had discussed would fail completely.

"Your Majesty, we realized too late. When the Spirit Hall first tried to intervene in the spirit master world of the two empires, we should have been more vigilant!" Ning Fengzhi said slowly.

Emperor Xue Ye also felt regret. He hadn't expected that in just a few hundred years, the Spirit Hall's influence would have become so powerful.

"Your Majesty, have you considered trying to eliminate the Spirit Hall's influence in the Heaven Dou Empire, especially those branches responsible for martial spirit awakenings? They are like tumors, pulling countless talented spirit masters into the Spirit Hall," Ning Fengzhi suggested.

Hearing this, Emperor Xue Ye felt a headache coming on.

"I understand what you mean, but you must also understand that the Spirit Hall is not an empire. They can afford to provide gold spirit coins to those spirit masters with the support of surrounding kingdoms. But we, the Heaven Dou Empire, are an empire. The taxes we collect are barely enough to maintain the livelihood of millions of people in the empire...."

Hearing Emperor Xue Ye's words, Ning Fengzhi remained silent.

Despite the prevalent corruption, he had to admit that Emperor Xue Ye was a capable ruler. Half of the Heaven Dou Empire's taxes were used for infrastructure and maintenance. The other half naturally went into the pockets of the officials and the emperor himself.

Allocating the other half of the taxes to provide subsidies for spirit masters was possible, but it would mean taking from Emperor Xue Ye's own resources. He would never agree to that. Knowing this, Ning Fengzhi didn't bring up the idea again.

"We can't just sit and wait for Qin Hua to grow stronger," Ning Fengzhi insisted.

But Emperor Xue Ye seemed to have thought of something, maintaining his calm.

"I don't believe Qin Hua will never make a move. The Soul Devourer martial spirit's methods are inhumane. As soon as Qin Hua makes a move, I will have ample material to work with. When the undeniable truth is revealed, not even Bibi Dong will be able to defend him!"