The setting sun dyed the gravel road outside Tian Dou City a deep crimson. Tang San followed three steps behind Gu La, his peripheral vision catching the ink stains on the other's shoulder.
"Big Brother, I'll remember what you said."
Tang San made a solemn promise, his Adam's apple bobbing awkwardly.
Gu La nodded. "I hope you can keep your word. Our starting point was Holy Spirit Village, rising from the bottom. Empathizing with those in power is a very foolish thing to do."
"If you can't figure it out, go take a look at the auction houses. Their extravagance is enough to shock anyone. They don't see commoners as human beings."
"Sometimes I wonder—does a country really need an emperor? Can't a group of ministers govern through checks and balances?"
Gu La wanted to plant a seed.
"But… imperial authority is divinely bestowed…" Tang San instinctively tightened his grip on the hidden sleeve-arrow mechanism in his sleeve. The cold metal engravings reminded him of the "loyalty and patriotism" precepts in the *Xuantian Treasure Record* of the Tang Sect. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the back of his head—Gu La had struck him with a condensed burst of soul power.
Gu La chuckled. "I didn't expect you to be such a loyal subject. But have you ever thought about why the Spirit Hall dares to monopolize martial soul awakenings and demand payment from the two great empires to win over the people?"
"Are the two empires just stupid?"
Tang San shook his head. He wasn't foolish enough to think the two empires were that benevolent. "No."
"Right, no. The real reason is that the Spirit Hall is strong. A single Title Douluo can destroy a city, unmatched by ten thousand soldiers. And the Spirit Hall has at least ten such powerhouses."
"One day, the Spirit Hall might fall, but you and I will always remember that our martial souls were awakened by a Spirit Hall official. Others may forget, but we must remember—they were here."
In the distance, the neighing of horses echoed as the gilded carriages of the Tian Dou Auction House, transporting auction items, passed along the main road.
Gu La gazed at the crystal decorations embedded in the carriage roofs and pointed at the glittering gemstones. "Do you see those crystals? Dozens are embedded in a single carriage—enough to buy half of the slums in Nuoding City. And all for their vanity and sense of superiority."
Tang San suddenly recalled the proud expression on Su Yuntao's face when he introduced the Spirit Hall during his own martial soul awakening. Now, reflecting on it, perhaps he took pride in his meticulous work.
Tang San fell silent, then suddenly realized. "So that's why Emperor Xue Ye is holding a grand title-bestowing ceremony after his breakthrough—to showcase the empire's influence, right?"
"Mm, it's bound to be quite lively."
Gu La hoped the Spirit Hall would send more powerful figures. If Tang Hao returned to join the festivities, they could conveniently report him.
As the two conversed casually, Flender reached an agreement with Xue Beng, who finalized the terms: Flender had one month to gather the compensation funds to cover the damages caused by Ma Hongjun.
Gu La controlled the three individuals to disperse the nosy onlookers and returned to the academy with the others.
On the way, once the crowd thinned, Flender grabbed Ma Hongjun by the collar and slapped him a few times. "How dare you lose control and set fires in the city! Next time, will you kill someone on the streets?"
"Agh, speak up! Don't play dead."
Ma Hongjun lowered his head in grievance, refraining from complaining. "You guys wouldn't let me visit brothels, so my evil fire couldn't be released. I've been miserable every day. Then those people dared sell me fake medicine, and I lost control in a fit of anger."
Gu La was speechless. "So you're saying this is somehow my fault?"
Ma Hongjun remained silent, but his silence implied he thought so.
Flender paused, sensing that Gu La bore some responsibility and should share the burden of compensation. However, he remembered that it was he who had asked Gu La to train Ma Hongjun. As a teacher, he felt awkward asking his student for money. Back when Dai Mubai funded the academy, it was all handled by his family.
Gu La noticed Flender's hesitation and, despite knowing how stingy Flender was, burst out laughing in frustration. "Damn it, being a good person is hard."
"I told you, making money isn't the goal—the goal is to hone your willpower through the process. Didn't you endure months of training in the soul arena without complaint?"
"Who told you to cut corners and try to exploit loopholes by reselling herbs? Merchants are cunning, and the extravagant scenes they encounter only weaken their resolve. Why not just become a pimp if you're going to scheme like that?"
"Worthless fool!"
Gu La was truly angry. He had little patience to begin with, especially with Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing serving as examples of diligent training. He had little regard for Ma Hongjun's lack of insight.
Even Dai Mubai, indulging in pleasures, never neglected his soul power cultivation.
Gu La knew how painful the burning of evil fire could be, but he had already provided a solution—exhausting the body to its limits would suppress the evil fire due to fatigue.
But what had Ma Hongjun done? Cutting corners and scheming—it was truly disappointing.
"You have no idea what it feels like to be burned alive by evil fire!"
Ma Hongjun's tear-filled eyes blazed red as he shouted.
"Pain?"
Gu La suddenly chuckled, a wisp of condensed blood essence appearing on his fingertip. The terrifying aura resembled that of an ancient ferocious beast.
"When I was mastering blood essence, I trained under fifty times gravity every day until I collapsed. Every bone in my body was tempered by soul power, feeling as though it were being gnawed by venomous ants. You think I don't know pain?"
Gu La pressed his fingertip to Ma Hongjun's forehead, causing him to scream in agony. "If you want, you can try half of my training regimen and see which is worse—my training or the burning of evil fire!"
Ma Hongjun had nothing to say. He had seen Gu La's madness during training. Without advanced healing methods, any ordinary person subjected to such brutal training would be left with crippling injuries.
"…I was wrong." Ma Hongjun lowered his head and admitted his mistake. "I despised how slow it was to earn money in the soul arena and thought taking shortcuts would help. I've caused trouble for everyone."
Seeing his willingness to admit fault, Gu La's expression softened slightly. There was still hope for him. If not for the fact that Ma Hongjun could resist even the divine powers of the Realm of Lust in the god realm, Gu La wouldn't have bothered correcting him so much.
Flender's pained expression eased somewhat as he placed a hand on Ma Hongjun's shoulder. "If you can recognize your mistakes and correct them in the future, then the lesson you've learned today won't be in vain."
"I still have some savings. I'll sell off my collection and borrow some from my younger sister. I'm sure I can help fill the gap."
Ma Hongjun's lips twitched. He desperately wanted to pretend he didn't understand Flender's implication, but the increasing pressure on his shoulder forced him to speak.
"Teacher, I'm your beloved student. How can I let you spend money on me? Consider this a loan—I'll definitely repay you slowly after I graduate."
Ma Hongjun knew just how stingy his teacher was. Even between master and disciple, accounts were settled clearly—he had to pay tuition at Shrek Academy too!
"Don't worry about it."
Flender put on a show of refusing, but even Xiao Wu could see through his insincerity, rolling her eyes in disdain.
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