In the end, Xiao Lin and the others reached a deal with Qian Renxue.
In order to win them over, aside from offering some soul bones, Qian Renxue also decided to make Xiao Lin and the others future Worship Elders of the Spirit Hall.
But Xiao Lin and his group did not really care about the so-called Worship position.
After the deal was completed, Qian Renxue finally showed a faint smile.
"Xiao Lin, don't worry. I'll give orders so that those spies won't have time to bother you anymore."
"I doubt they would dare oppose the Spirit Hall."
Qian Renxue smiled confidently, then she suddenly remembered something and continued:
"Oh, by the way, I was the one who poisoned the Snow Night Emperor. I hope you won't try to save him. And regarding Elder Dugu Bo, please speak on my behalf as well."
Qian Renxue did not want years of planning to go to waste. If everything failed now, she would regret it for life.
"Huh?"
Xiao Lin looked confused. This plan was incredibly stupid. He had already sensed that Qian Renxue wasn't very intelligent when he saw her earlier confusing decisions.
Now she even wanted to continue with such a brainless plan. Xiao Lin didn't even know what to say.
Since they were partners, should he point out the holes in her plan?
"Qian Renxue, do you people of the Spirit Hall only know how to use such low-level tactics?"
Tang San looked at her with disdain. His impression of Qian Renxue was falling rapidly.
Previously, the matter involving his mother had nothing to do with Qian Renxue, and she was even willing to apologize, so Tang San had developed a slightly better opinion of her.
But now, seeing such despicable acts, he couldn't stand it.
In his eyes, the Snow Night Emperor was a heroic and wise ruler (one willing to grant nobility and fiefdoms to commoners like them).
And he himself was from the Heaven Dou Empire. He despised the Spirit Hall's actions.
What confused him was why Brother Lin seemed so indifferent about all this.
Back when they were young, they even discussed what they would do if they were the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire…
"Uh…"
Qian Renxue didn't know how to refute Tang San. She admitted that her methods were indeed vile.
But due to various reasons, she no longer hoped to become the future Emperor of Heaven Dou.
She had already chosen her successor — Xue Ke.
"Tang San, what do you think of the current situation of the continent?"
"Don't you think it's terrible for humanity to be split into two empires—the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire—and several duchies?"
"If not for the Spirit Hall, the two empires would constantly be at war, and the ones suffering most would be the common people."
"And don't forget—the human race has extremely powerful enemies—the soul beast race."
"If humanity were united as one force, we could fully focus on resisting the beast tides launched by the soul beasts."
"That is why my goal is to unify the entire continent, under the glory of my Spirit Empire—to let all commoners live without fear of war."
"Although my methods may be somewhat despicable, I believe they are necessary."
When she spoke, her expression was righteous, as if this mission was something she must accomplish.
"Unify?"
Hearing this, Tang San subconsciously murmured.
Coming from a martial-arts world, he naturally understood the meaning of unification.
But now, he could not trust the Spirit Hall—nor its leaders, including Qian Renxue.
He didn't know what kind of person she truly was. Was she a capable ruler? Would people's lives actually improve?
And most importantly—would it hurt his own interests?
It wasn't just Tang San; Xiao Wu and Tang Ni felt uneasy.
Human unity was definitely not good for the soul beast race.
But they couldn't stop it.
Xiao Wu liked Tang San more, but that didn't mean she didn't care about the soul beasts.
Tang Ni cared even more. She could already see through the Eyes of Destiny that if humans unified, the soul beast race's fate would sharply decline.
Without internal wars, human population would explode.
Even with Xiao Lin's Self-凝Soul-Ring technique and the continent-upgrading formations, it would only be a drop in the ocean.
In the future, maybe only the strongest soul beasts like Di Tian would survive.
Tang Ni did not want to see such a future.
She even began planning to sabotage Spirit Hall's plan for continental unification.
"Tang San, I don't know what you think—but I believe what I'm doing can at least reduce war between the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire."
"That's not a bad thing, right? And I won't become the Emperor of Heaven Dou."
Qian Renxue didn't understand Tang San's mentality. She could only express her original intention.
Peaceful unification was better than violent conquest, wasn't it?
"You're going to unify the continent—of course you don't care about being Emperor of Heaven Dou."
Tang San couldn't think of how to reply. He looked toward Xiao Lin.
"Brother Lin, say something."
Tang San trusted Xiao Lin deeply. He believed Xiao Lin would have a unique viewpoint.
"Uh, well… I think unifying the continent is historically inevitable. Unifying sooner should be good."
Xiao Lin didn't know much about politics, nor how beneficial unification would be to the Douluo Continent.
He only knew that when Qin Shi Huang unified the six states—standardizing script and measurement—those were great deeds.
But now, the Douluo Continent already shared the same language, writing, and system.
In his view, the only benefit of the Spirit Hall unifying the continent would be preventing internal conflict.
But he did not trust the Spirit Hall's high-level leaders.
They wouldn't unify the continent for the people—only to become the new aristocracy over the lands of Heaven Dou and Star Luo.
And would the Spirit Hall still spend money supporting commoner soul masters? Hard to say.
After all, the funding originally came from the two empires. When they have to pay themselves—who knows if they'll still be willing?
"If the continent must be unified, then we must receive a large enough share of the cake."
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Lin could only say this.
He believed he would become a god, and he probably wouldn't have descendants on the continent.
Thus, he could personally ensure the lives of the common people under his care wouldn't worsen.
"Otherwise, you must guarantee that the people of the future will not live worse than they do now."
"This…"
Qian Renxue was stunned.
In her eyes, recruiting Tang San was easy.
But Xiao Lin's single requirement was difficult—even she felt pressure.
Expecting the Spirit Hall's high-level to give up their share to ordinary people? Impossible.
The Spirit Hall didn't have that many noble people.
"Wait a second—you're lost. What is the Spirit Hall's true reason for unifying the continent? What is its core belief? Where is its righteous cause?"
Xiao Lin suddenly realized—did Qian Renxue or the Spirit Hall even have a righteous justification?
You say you want to prevent human civil war, but there is no war now, right?
Without a compelling righteous cause, the Spirit Hall is just the evil force starting a war.
Xiao Lin didn't read many history books, but he deeply understood the importance of legitimacy.
Hearing this, Tang San suddenly felt everything made sense.
He kept feeling something was wrong—this was it.
"Right. If you can't explain your righteous cause, then isn't this a full-scale war?"
"Who besides the Spirit Hall would support you? Have you figured that out?"
"Who are your allies? Who are your enemies?"
"What exactly are you trying to achieve?"
"Those who follow the Way gain great support; those who lose it have little support. Surely you know this?"
With Xiao Lin's questions, Qian Renxue suddenly realized she wasn't prepared at all for continental unification.
"I… I don't know…"
In the end, Qian Renxue became even more lost.