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After settling the group of women, Tang San followed Hu Liena towards the Pope's Hall. Gu Yuena wanted to tag along, but Xiao Wu grabbed her, speaking in a matronly tone, "Don't cause trouble for Brother San, you little rascal."
"What do you mean by trouble? I just want to see what the Pope looks like!" Gu Yuena snorted, secretly cursing this Soft Boned Rabbit for being clueless and daring to lecture the master of soul beasts.
She vowed that once she grew stronger, she would show her the power of the Silver Dragon King!
Upon arriving at the Pope's Hall, the area known as "Douluo Continent" had been repaired and even expanded.
"Last time, you fought the teacher here. The aftermath of your clash nearly destroyed this place. It took a lot of effort to repair it," Hu Liena remarked with a hint of admiration. "A Soul King fighting a Titled Douluo, one of the strongest on the continent, is truly unprecedented."
"That's not necessarily true. Someone might just be named Titled Douluo," Tang San joked.
"That humor is a bit cold."
Hu Liena led Tang San to the entrance of the Pope's Hall, with Xie Yue and Yan close behind.
Upon entering, Tang San noticed the spacious and bright interior, flanked by pillars supporting the vaulted ceiling, carved with various powerful soul beasts and even soul masters.
Additionally, four Titled Douluos stood around the hall: Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, Devil Bear Douluo, and Ghost Leopard Douluo.
There was also a woman, Ling Yuan. Although only at the Soul Douluo level, her exceptional talent or Bibi Dong's favoritism towards women granted her the privilege to stand among the Titled Douluos.
Ling Yuan's eyes lit up upon seeing Tang San, a faint smile on her lips as she nodded slightly in greeting, since Bibi Dong, seated high in the hall, had yet to speak.
"Your Holiness, Tang San has been brought," Hu Liena announced formally, even as Bibi Dong's disciple.
"Greetings, Your Holiness." Tang San bowed respectfully.
Ordinary people meeting the Pope would kneel and kowtow to show utmost respect. Only Titled Douluos were exempt from kneeling, performing a bow instead.
Yet, the four Titled Douluos and one Soul Douluo present did not reprimand him; they even felt it was appropriate.
His strength warranted it, capable of contending with the Pope herself!
Even without using his improved fusion ring skill, he could rival these Titled Douluos and Soul Douluos, earning their respect.
In the soul master world, strength commands respect.
If you are strong enough, you can transcend and even redefine the rules.
"Na'er, you all may leave," the Pope nodded slightly, dismissing Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan. She then turned to Tang San, saying, "I won't waste time on pleasantries. Do you have any idea of the Spirit Hall's future plans?"
Immediately, the five others' gazes sharpened, including Ling Yuan's.
"I have a rough idea," Tang San admitted.
"Oh? Then tell me, what do you think the Spirit Hall's future plans are?" Bibi Dong asked calmly.
"To launch an offensive against the two great empires and unify them."
Bibi Dong couldn't discern whether Tang San's calmness indicated approval or opposition, frowning slightly. "Three hundred years ago, the two great empires constantly waged wars, burdening the people. It was only with the intervention of the Spirit Hall that peace gradually returned. Yet, minor conflicts persist, and they still eye the Spirit Hall with hostility."
"Therefore, our Spirit Hall aims to unify the continent and provide the people with a stable environment, allowing everyone to live peacefully."
Tang San nodded repeatedly. "The Pope's ideals are truly grand!"
However, Bibi Dong's frown deepened, detecting a hint of disbelief and sarcasm in Tang San's tone.
It wasn't surprising for Tang San to feel this way. After all, even Earth in his previous life never achieved absolute stability, let alone the Douluo Continent, a world with extraordinary powers. More importantly, the Spirit Hall lacked effective management talent. Although it was called a church, it essentially operated like a faction. The reason it could have branches all over the continent without chaos was that each branch managed itself autonomously, and the Spirit Hall's fundamental principle of "the strong rule" aligned with the prevailing beliefs on the Douluo Continent. Otherwise, Spirit City and the Pope's Hall wouldn't be able to manage so many branches.
If the Douluo Continent were in a state of chaos, the Spirit Hall would be like the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the start of the Three Kingdoms period—dreaming big but only achieving so much.
At least Zhang Jiao's dream was relatively pure, aiming to create a peaceful era. Even though he ultimately failed, he was still admired. In contrast, Bibi Dong's "dream" was more complicated.
Without the extraordinary powers in this world, and without the Titled Douluos whose immense personal strength could significantly influence the outcome of a war, the Spirit Hall would have collapsed immediately after its founding. The Tian Dou and Star Luo Empires, with their well-managed armies, public support, and highly centralized imperial power, had their strengths.
And the Spirit Hall?
Besides having a large number of soul masters, it had no significant advantages. Furthermore, internal conflicts within the Spirit Hall remained unresolved, yet it dared to establish a nation—this indeed felt like a peasant uprising. Major goals were not achieved, and internal divisions occurred, even from the outset.
This was why no "peasant uprising" in history had truly succeeded, except for Zhu Yuanzhang, who was not purely a peasant leader.
"Do you think the Spirit Hall will fail?" Bibi Dong's tone grew heavier.
"If the Pope becomes a god and rules by sheer power, the two empires would naturally submit," Tang San stated a fact. After all, divine power was unmatched by mortals.
"Does that mean the Spirit Hall isn't favored by the people?" Although Tang San spoke the truth, Bibi Dong was displeased, sensing that Tang San believed the Spirit Hall could only rule through violence.
Currently, as the soul Devouring Spider Emperor within her was gradually refined, her mental strength increased, and the madness in her heart dissipated, giving rise to different thoughts. She was now earnest about unifying the continent.
"Actually, most people on the continent don't care who rules them," Tang San revealed a truth Bibi Dong found hard to accept. "They just want to live good lives, that's all. Moreover, there's a fact that the Spirit Hall must face—over ninety percent of the population on the continent are ordinary people."
"And the Spirit Hall only recruits soul masters."
"This means that even if the Spirit Hall conquers the two empires, it wouldn't know how to manage the conquered lands and population."
"The members of the Spirit Hall respect strength. The lower-level members, in their respective cities, can perform law enforcement tasks such as capturing criminals and assisting local lords in maintaining order. This doesn't require much thought—just strength to deal with offenders. But managing a country is entirely different."
"In foundational aspects, the Spirit Hall is severely lacking."
To be honest, Tang San viewed the Spirit Hall more as an institution combining the roles of police, security guards, and city administrators, best suited for such tasks.
Bibi Dong remained silent for a while, unsure if Tang San's words were correct. After all, as a soul master, she had been influenced by the Spirit Hall's education from a young age, believing that strong enough power could solve all problems.
"Ordinary people greatly respect soul masters. Wouldn't they appreciate a stable life under the Spirit Hall's rule? Would they have the ability to resist?" Bibi Dong asked, her confusion evident.
"Respect?"
Tang San sighed. "Perhaps there is some respect, but Your Holiness rarely ventures outside the hall to observe firsthand, right? I believe there's a more fitting word than respect—"
"Awe."
"It's a mix of respect and fear, with fear being predominant."
"Furthermore, if the Spirit Hall unifies the continent, it indeed provides a stable environment, but how long can it last? Ordinary people currently lack the ability to resist soul masters, but once the Spirit Hall conquers the two empires, it can't just distribute money to everyone, can it?"
"At the very least, it must manage their food, clothing, shelter, and transportation."
Bibi Dong, puzzled, asked wisely, "An empire needs to manage ordinary people's daily lives? They can farm and earn money themselves..."
"It needs management," Tang San asserted firmly. "There are many who work diligently their entire lives yet still struggle to secure even one meal a day."
"Then what should be done?" Bibi Dong acknowledged these issues, knowing that every year, natural disasters and calamities created countless refugees and deaths.
"Learn from the management systems of the two great empires," Tang San understood that directly jumping to a modernized system was impractical in this era—it would be even more absurd than the Daoyan Doctrine.
"Doesn't that make the Spirit Hall just like the two great empires?" Bibi Dong frowned.
"Therefore, we must take the essence and discard the dross," Tang San said calmly. "This is: appropriating and adapting. It's not about outright taking good things from others but observing what works for them, learning and imitating, and then making suitable changes based on our own situation. These changes can't be one-time; they must evolve over time. If something becomes unsuitable, it can be discarded and new rules created."
Everyone was stunned, feeling that these words were almost heretical.
Yet, they also made sense.
"If Your Holiness aims to create an empire that lasts for a thousand years, it's enough to conquer the two great empires and train some peerless Douluos before ascending."
Tang San's expression grew serious as he continued, "But if you want to establish an eternal nation, relying solely on strength isn't enough. People will always harbor ambitions. Unless you remain on the continent after becoming a god—but this would require power rivaling the entire divine realm. Unfortunately, even if you achieve godhood, you'd only be a first-level deity. The five great divine kings wouldn't allow a newly ascended deity to remain on the mortal plane for too long. The God of Shura, the enforcer of slaughter, could easily make a move to eliminate a god like Rakshasa."
During the final battle, when Bibi Dong was not yet a god and was defeated and severely injured, the elders of the Hall of Worship seized command from her and even issued orders against her. Even without considering the two "factions" within the Spirit Hall, there were numerous issues at the lower levels. Most civilian soul masters recruited by the Spirit Hall might be decent fighters but lacked military training and administrative skills.
Without the support of two gods, the Spirit Hall's army would likely fall into disarray even without intervention from the protagonist group of the original story. The two great empires only needed to stall for time, and the Spirit Hall's forces would collapse on their own.
The Spirit Hall's current mode was only suitable for blitzkrieg tactics, but once the initial lightning war was over, many issues would arise. Without solving the fundamental problem of their own productive base, there's no point in talking about governance.
As for the small nations that submitted to the Spirit Hall in the original story, they were essentially fair-weather allies. They'd switch allegiance to whoever seemed victorious. They couldn't truly dedicate themselves to the Spirit Hall because they understood their small states needed their own kings to lead them. At most, they'd step down and let their sons take over, offering a token gesture.