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*****
Unifying the continent--this concept felt incredibly distant to Ning Fengzhi and the others.
Su Wen, however, took it for granted.
Of course, part of this stemmed from having read the original work in his past life, knowing that under normal progression, the Douluo Star would inevitably unify into a federal nation twenty thousand years later.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be complete unification; establishing a single, large unified organization, or even an alliance, would also be good."
Even without external threats, it did not mean the Spirit Master world should engage in internal strife rather than strive for progress. They needed to resolve internal conflicts and expand outward.
The larger the Spirit Master world grew, the more immense Su Wen's faith would become. This would provide greater assistance when condenses his godhood, increasing his chances of achieving godhood and ensuring that the godhood he attained would be far more powerful.
"The consequences of war are catastrophic. The Spirit Hall clearly will not back down, and the Academy's attitude cannot remain ambivalent." Su Wen looked at Ning Fengzhi with a very serious expression and said, "Uncle Ning, I know Spirit Masters naturally belong to the noble class. For sect forces, the interests of the nobility are prioritized above all else. That is why you take it for granted to support the two great empires and resist the Spirit Empire's unification of the continent."
Ning Fengzhi fell silent.
He knew Su Wen was right.
His bias toward the two great empires wasn't born out of an abundance of sympathy or compassion for the weak, nor was it because the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was an ally of the Heaven Dou Empire.
When stripped down to its core, it was all about interest--all to maintain their own status and power.
"Uncle Ning, true equality has never existed. Even the Academy only does its best to provide a fair environment, offering every Spirit Master the opportunity and hope to advance."
"This world ultimately respects the strong. As long as one's strength is immense, they are a noble by birth."
Without an imperial title, a Title Douluo would still be revered by everyone, even addressed with the honorific "Your Holiness."
This was the reality.
"As long as Spirit Masters exist, there will be nobles in this world. As long as there are differences in strength, social classes will persist. This has no direct relation to whether the two great empires exist, nor does it matter if the continent is unified by the Spirit Hall."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect enjoyed an exalted status because of its immense power, so it did not need to stop this war just to secure its so-called position.
Therefore, if they wanted to stop it all, the only remaining motivation for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would be sentimentality.
Yet, was the bond between the two sides truly that profound?
At the very least, having escaped the Spirit Hall's Soul Extermination Operation, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect seemed to have no reason to support the Heaven Dou Empire with all its might.
"The Academy will not interfere in wars between Spirit Masters, but the wars of Spirit Masters must absolutely never involve civilians." Su Wen established the Academy's stance.
Whether this war ultimately broke out or not, the Academy would only stand on the side of the civilians.
Whichever side acted in a way that dragged civilians into the conflict would be considered an enemy of the Academy.
With a helpless heart, Ning Fengzhi let out a deep sigh.
He knew that by saying this, Su Wen was clearly abandoning the two great empires.
"Not involving civilians"--this scope was too broad. Did ordinary armies count as involving civilians?
Su Wen did not offer any additional explanation on this.
In the original work, to resist the Spirit Hall's war, the Heaven Dou Empire had mobilized an army of a million.
An army comprised of civilians.
And the purpose of the war?
To preserve the survival of the Heaven Dou Empire.
What did that have to do with the civilians?
On this continent, weren't the imperial nobles the ones who exploited the civilians the most? It wasn't even the Spirit Master class, but the imperial nobility--the powerholders with official status!
At this juncture, gathering an army of a million to resist the Spirit Hall clearly violated the Academy's philosophy as Su Wen put it. As for whether the participation of civilians already in the military counted as a violation, Su Wen did not clarify.
Su Wen possessed a bit of a savior complex, wishing to secure a better environment for civilians, yet at the same time, he understood the truth of this world--the law of the jungle. Thus, this war was also a warning to everyone.
Strength was the fundamental root of everything.
Feudal empires like the Heaven Dou Empire were no longer adaptable.
Only by returning to the essence of the law of the jungle could the development of the Spirit Master world be better promoted.
Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath, looking at Su Wen before him, feeling an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity.
"The dissemination of the formation system relies on you all."
Su Wen made a final request of everyone, then contacted the high-level officials of the two major factions on the Sun Moon Continent.
"This is the latest direction in soul tool technology that I have perfected." Su Wen handed over the soul tool technology he had initially converted from the skills of a Form-Condensing Master to the leaders of the two major factions.
As for what new variations they could develop in soul tools, that would depend on the efforts of the soul engineers within those two major factions.
With this task accomplished, Su Wen's body of faith sealed itself once again.
The Boundless Continent.
This journey took another year.
Setting off from the Snow God Mountain, Su Wen connected the four major sacred grounds, passing through numerous empires along the way to witness the customs of the continent.
Of course, his primary focus remained his old trade: recording the topography and mountains of the entire continent, studying the movement patterns of the world's primordial energy, and thereby researching the operational rules of an entire world.
What surprised Su Wen was his visit to the Blood Red Hell.
The Blood Red Hell had not been bewitched by the Lord of the Netherworld.
After a moment's reflection, Su Wen understood the root of the matter.
The Lord of the Netherworld truly had not contacted the outside world.
"Which means, everything I said before was actually a lie..."
It was at that moment Su Wen realized he had truly been talking utter nonsense back on the Snow God Mountain.
As for why the Lord of the Netherworld failed to contact the outside world, Su Wen had two explanations. One was that the time simply hadn't come; he had been on the verge of succeeding, but Su Wen's appearance caused the seal to be reinforced, completely stripping away his chance to contact the outside world.
The other explanation leaned toward a conspiracy theory, naturally suggesting that the Lord of the Netherworld's connection to the outside world involved a certain individual.
After all, judging by the timeline, the moment the Lord of the Netherworld contacted the outside world should have some connection to Tang San. Otherwise, how could Tang San happen to run into the decisive battle between Zhou Weiqing and the Lord of the Netherworld from the original work?
Of course, what the specific truth was, Su Wen had no way of knowing.
Since Tang San was already dead and the Lord of the Netherworld indeed hadn't established contact with the outside world, the facts were set in stone, leaving no way to uncover the so-called truth.
Having not aligned with the Lord of the Netherworld, the Blood Red Hell was now an ally of the Boundless Palace, maintaining a close relationship. When Su Wen arrived at the Blood Red Hell, although its people were rather arrogant, they were still considered friendly.
Furthermore, Su Wen's cultivation of the light and fire attributes became even more profound during his time at the Blood Red Hell.
The Blood Red Hell was a great sacred ground, yet it specialized only in light and fire--two seemingly ordinary attributes.