"I knew it! This problem wouldn't stump you. Hurry and tell me the solution!"
Hu Liena let out a soft breath, her eyes filled with hope as she gazed at Ye Tian.
To be honest...
Before Ye Tian returned, she was completely at a loss regarding the reassignment policy.
She had spent days racking her brain and had even considered giving up.
After all, before Bibi Dong left Spirit City, she had already instructed her.
With the Elder Hall interfering in the Balak Kingdom, the Pope's Hall was basically powerless to resist.
The only viable option...
Was to discreetly relocate and carefully build up their influence.
However, Hu Liena knew that if the Elder Hall could block the Pope's Hall once, they could do it again.
Constant retreat would only encourage them to push further.
At that point...
The Pope's Hall wouldn't just achieve nothing—it would also see its influence within the Spirit Hall diminish significantly, ultimately becoming a mere decoration.
That was not something Hu Liena wanted to see.
Fortunately, just when she had no way out, Ye Tian returned in time.
She firmly believed that with Ye Tian here...
A comeback for the Pope's Hall wasn't impossible.
Facing his wife's expectant gaze, Ye Tian reached out and took a document.
He opened it and carefully examined the contents.
He soon discovered that it was a report from the Soto City Branch Hall of the Balak Kingdom.
The branch hall's master was named Stut.
Ye Tian read line by line, quickly grasping the main points of the report.
Stut was the young master of the local Black Panther Spirit Master Clan.
He had just taken over as the branch master of the Soto City Spirit Hall from his father.
Seeing this, Ye Tian's expression turned serious.
It was highly likely that the Elder Hall had orchestrated this personnel change behind the scenes.
He continued reading...
Stut complained in the report that his leadership skills were not yet mature enough.
He requested that his father remain as the deputy branch master to assist and guide him.
Additionally, Stut had heard rumors that the Spirit Hall planned to establish a new supervisory body above the branch halls, requiring branch masters to oversee operations.
Using his father's advanced age as an excuse, Stut hoped to prevent him from being reassigned.
At the end of the report, Stut even flattered the Pope, wishing her eternal youth and dominion over the world.
Ye Tian slowly closed the report and sighed,
"This report is... quite reasonable."
"That's exactly why it's such a problem."
Hu Liena sighed weakly, shrugging.
"Whenever reassignment is mentioned, these Spirit Masters always seem to find perfectly reasonable excuses to avoid it."
It was like a determined warrior punching into a cotton pillow—completely ineffective.
It could be said that the Pope's Hall had utterly failed in enforcing the reassignment policy.
Ye Tian furrowed his brows in thought and muttered,
"But if it's just about setting up a supervisory agency, how did a mere branch master know about such a confidential matter?"
He distinctly remembered that the idea of a supervisory body had come from him.
At the time, he had only briefly mentioned it to Bibi Dong and a few others.
Logically speaking, such classified information should never have leaked.
Yet now, even a branch master knew about it.
Not to mention the Elder Hall, which had eyes and ears everywhere.
Seeing Ye Tian's confusion, Hu Liena smiled bitterly,
"I was just as shocked when I first found out."
"I originally thought the Pope's Hall had strong confidentiality measures."
"But now it seems that was just an illusion."
"The Pope's Hall is probably crawling with Elder Hall spies."
"Our entire organization has already been infiltrated like a sieve."
"We underestimated the power of the Elder Hall."
Before this...
Hu Liena had always taken great pride in the Pope's Hall's security measures.
Every year, countless spies from various factions tried to infiltrate, but none had ever succeeded.
However, she never expected...
That the greatest spy network within the Pope's Hall wasn't from external forces...
But from the Elder Hall itself.
Even worse, the Pope's Hall couldn't even deal with these spies privately.
After all, they all technically belonged to the same Spirit Hall.
They were all supposed to be on the same side.
Hu Liena had no choice but to admit in front of Ye Tian,
"With so many Elder Hall spies around, the Pope's Hall can barely get anything done."
Hearing this, Ye Tian simply smiled and patted Hu Liena's shoulder.
"It's fine. This time, we're using an open scheme."
"Before, we failed to pressure the Spirit Master clans by targeting their talented younger generation, which made our policy ineffective."
"But this time, we'll change our approach—we'll directly control the branch masters!"
"Ah!" Hu Liena's eyes widened, her smile turning wry.
"We couldn't even control the younger generation. How do we control their fathers? They're all wily old foxes!"
Faced with Ye Tian's confident words, Hu Liena could only feel disbelief and shock.
She had to admit... This idea was too bold, too risky, and too aggressive.
Branch masters were the backbone of the Spirit Hall.
Even Bibi Dong, as the Pope, wouldn't dare to move them recklessly.
The original intent of the reassignment policy was merely to relocate them, preventing them from staying in comfortable environments.
But if the branch masters were removed altogether...
The entire Spirit Hall would be on the verge of collapse.
Hu Liena parted her dry lips, hesitantly saying,
"Shouldn't we discuss such a major decision with the teacher first?"
However...
Ye Tian shook his head. If they waited for Bibi Dong to return...
It would be too late.
He took Hu Liena's soft hand and reassured her,
"Trust me. Everything is under control."
"Besides, my plan isn't some murderous scheme. No Spirit Masters will die."
"What's the plan?"
Hu Liena eagerly looked up at him.
Ye Tian simply replied with two words:
"Selective Promotion."
Then he explained,
"If a mere rank promotion isn't enough to satisfy the Spirit Master clans... Then we'll make the offer even bigger."
Hearing this...
Hu Liena was momentarily stunned before covering her mouth with a chuckle.
"I think if you became a businessman, you'd be a tycoon!"
"Aren't I already?" Ye Tian spread his hands sincerely.
"Now that you mention it..."
Hu Liena finally realized that Ye Tian was practically as wealthy as a nation.
Lowering her gaze in contemplation, she muttered,
"But how exactly do we 'make the offer bigger'?"
Ye Tian chuckled and raised a finger.
"The method is simple. We'll announce in the name of the Spirit Hall that a select group of outstanding branch masters will be promoted directly to the Pope's Hall as high-ranking officials!"
This was practically an instant leap from regional authority to the central leadership—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Normally, it would take a branch master at least thirty years to reach this level.
With such an irresistible offer, there was no doubt that many would take the bait.
Hearing this, Hu Liena suddenly raised her gaze in surprise.
"What you're proposing is essentially the 'Two Halls Grand Tournament,' isn't it?"
"The Spirit Hall has always had this tradition."
"Every ten years, a competition is held between the main halls, but only main hall masters can participate."
Her expression grew worried.
"But the next competition is two years away..."
"And only main hall masters are eligible to join."
Hu Liena was conflicted.
Holding the competition early wasn't a problem.
But if the promoted candidates didn't get the promised positions, it would create a huge issue.
Noticing her concerns, Ye Tian smiled.
"Don't worry about the positions."
"If anything, I'm worried we won't have enough participants!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Hu Liena was taken aback.
She asked in confusion, "The vacancies in the Pope's Hall and the Elder's Hall every ten years only amount to thirty or forty at most."
"But across the entire continent, there are over a thousand branch hall masters combined."
"No matter how you calculate it, there aren't enough positions."
"Could it be… you plan to create positions out of thin air?"
As soon as she said this, Hu Liena shook her head, dismissing the thought.
"The positions in the two halls are fixed. Leaving aside whether fabricating positions would cause a power imbalance, just the Pope and the Grand Worship wouldn't allow it."
To be honest, she felt that Ye Tian was taking too big of a step.
It was way too easy to stumble and fall.
Ye Tian picked up a new document beside him and looked at Hu Liena.
"I naturally understand that having more people doesn't mean higher administrative efficiency."
"I also know that Spirit City's 'cake' shouldn't be touched unless it's the critical moment."
"But establishing new administrative institutions to gradually replace the old ones is the only way for the Spirit Hall to strengthen itself right now."
As he spoke, Ye Tian skimmed through the new document in his hand and then handed it to Hu Liena.
"Do you want to take a look at its contents?"
Hu Liena shook her head helplessly. "I've already read it."
"I know you're trying to say something, so just say it outright."
Seeing that Hu Liena was perceptive, Ye Tian put down the document and chuckled.
"My real purpose in doing this is to drive these soul master families to work for the Spirit Hall."
"Hm? Why did you use the word 'drive'?"
Hu Liena frowned in confusion.
"Aren't the interests of the Spirit Hall and these families aligned?"
"Of course not!" Ye Tian replied decisively.
"You've read the document, so you must know that these soul master families seek a life of comfort."
"They don't want war and death."
"They are gradually becoming the aristocracy of their regions."
"Their wealth is increasing, and if they continue at this pace, their lives will become even more comfortable."
"Unifying the continent would indeed bring benefits to soul masters. But what if the price is losing more than half of their family members?"
Hearing this, Hu Liena fell into rare silence.
During her studies at the Spirit Hall Academy, she had also learned about the history of Douluo Continent.
Historically, every great war was nothing short of a massive meat grinder.
The saying "ten households, nine empty" was not an exaggeration.
No family leader would willingly sacrifice half their family for uncertain glory and power.
Yet, Ye Tian continued.
"But what about the Spirit Hall's goals? …No, I should say, what about the Pope Bibi Dong's goals?"
Without waiting for Hu Liena's response, Ye Tian spoke directly:
"Without a doubt, it is to sweep across the eight directions and unify the four seas."
"This path is destined to be drenched in blood and bones."
"The Elder Hall, led by Qian Daoliu, and the soul master families may not see the necessity of this bloody path."
"But the world is just like this."
"If the Spirit Hall does not walk this path first, then it will be the one that gets swept away."
"I will say it again—war is not far from us."
"If the current situation remains unchanged, a continental war will inevitably break out within three years!"
By the time he finished, Ye Tian's expression was extremely firm, as if he had personally experienced this future.
Hearing his words, Hu Liena opened her mouth but was speechless.
In truth, this was not the first time she had heard Ye Tian say this.
And her teacher, Bibi Dong, firmly believed in his words.
However, Hu Liena couldn't quite understand.
Had the continent's situation really deteriorated to such an extent?
After all, both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire were still paying tribute to the Spirit Hall annually.
The major sects in the soul master world still cowered before the Spirit Hall.
Trade between various factions remained frequent.
While local conflicts existed, overall, the continent was still thriving and prosperous.
There were no visible signs of an impending war.
Hu Liena knew that most people in the Elder Hall, including Qian Daoliu, likely shared her view.
But why would someone as intelligent as Ye Tian come to the opposite conclusion?
For a moment, Hu Liena fell into deep thought.
She pondered and pondered but found no answer.
In the end, it was Gu Yuena's childish voice that pulled her from her thoughts.
"Eat… hungry."
Gu Yuena, who had been held in Sea Witch's arms, was growing restless.
Her little hands struggled, and her big eyes eagerly looked at 'Daddy' Ye Tian.
Seeing this, Ye Tian spread his arms, walked over, and scooped her into his embrace.
"My little Nana, let's go have a big feast of meat!"
After saying this, Ye Tian turned his head to look at Hu Liena, who had just snapped out of her thoughts, and chuckled.
"If you can't figure something out, don't dwell on it too much."
"You just need to remember—your husband is never wrong."
Hearing this, Hu Liena nodded firmly.
Her trust in Ye Tian was absolute.
Then, as if jealous, she threw herself at Ye Tian, looking at him with a pouty and resentful expression.
"You've never even carried me!"
"I want a hug too!"
"Can I carry you on my back? My arms are already full."
"That's fine!"
"Yes! Carrying both Nanas, let's go eat!"
Watching this scene, the three women of the Sea Witch group exchanged glances.
"Uh… it feels like we're just extras here…"
(End of Chapter)