Chapter 30: The "Immeasurably Meritorious" Tang Buddha
Several days passed. The crimson storm that the evil soul master had stirred in Furina's heart had yet to fully subside, but the raging waves had gradually settled into a dark, churning undercurrent. She no longer found herself ambushed by visceral nightmares as she had in those first days. Yet the chill born of understanding had sunk deeper now—seeping into the very marrow of her bones.
The horrors of that village were not merely a slaughter. They had been a ritual—one that trampled human dignity into the mud and wrung every last drop of life's value out in the filthiest manner imaginable. She found herself thinking that even those demonic cultivators from certain cultivation tales—the ones who killed and plundered for treasure—seemed almost... pure in comparison. At the very least, those demonic cultivators mostly acted out of self-interest. The evil soul masters? What they did was a desecration of the very concept of existence itself.
A resolve unlike any she had felt before took root in her heart. She made a silent vow: when she attained the rank of Titled Douluo, she would find nine hundred-thousand-year soul rings or greater for her second martial soul, the Salon Solitaire. Absolute strength would be her foundation.
At the same time, she would ensure that the light of the Church of the Water God shone across ever broader lands, drawing together talents from every corner of the continent. And then—then she would follow the example of the Holy Spirit Cult and launch a war of her own. Only her target would be those parasitic tumors clinging to the Douluo Continent's flesh: the evil soul masters. She would tear them out at the root and purify them utterly.
Thinking of talents, an image surfaced unbidden in her mind—the image of an Angel. The natural, heaven-sent bane of evil soul masters. The blade of light that pierced the darkness. In the original story, there was Yu Mengdi of Zhengtian Academy, and Ye Guyi, who would one day shine brilliantly within the Sun Moon Empire's Commoner Alliance. One bore the Angel martial soul; the other, a Sacred Angel martial soul of even higher order. Their very existence was a form of divine punishment upon evil soul masters. What was more heartening still—slaying evil directly fueled the growth of their own soul power.
Furina couldn't help a wry smile. In the eyes of evil soul masters, those who bore such holy martial souls were probably, in their own sense, a different kind of "evil soul master" altogether.
As her thoughts traveled down this path, a fresh, nameless fire kindled within her. She, a transmigrator who knew the "script" better than anyone, understood only too well why evil soul masters had been able to proliferate and run rampant through the eras of Douluo 2 and Douluo 3. The root cause traced all the way back to that universally revered "Sea God," the founder of the Tang Sect, the original core of Shrek—Tang San. Lord Tang Buddha himself!
"Truly, an immeasurable merit..." Furina let out a low, cold laugh, her tone saturated with sarcasm.
It was precisely this "great man" who had personally destroyed the prison that had held evil soul masters and the continent's criminals in check—the Slaughter City. Under the grand pretense of eradicating a breeding ground of evil, he had, in truth, kicked open Pandora's box, allowing its most dangerous toxins to spill unchecked into the world. Immediately afterward, he and the empire had joined forces to annihilate the only organized force on the continent that systematically and relentlessly hunted and exterminated evil soul masters—the Spirit Hall. The Angel martial soul lineage, which carried a sacred mission, had been nearly wiped out as a result.
This entire sequence of "heroic deeds" had paved a smooth, unobstructed road for the rampant growth of evil soul masters. On this count, Tang San was guilty beyond measure!
Of course, the evil soul masters hadn't grown into the bloated, intractable monstrosity they now were without the "generous support" of the Sun Moon Empire as well.
That Holy Spirit Cult—its predecessor was very likely the Sun Moon Empire's indigenous evil soul master organization. Why else would its headquarters be so deeply entrenched within the empire's borders? And let's not even mention that Xu Tianran, the empire's own crown prince, was the personal disciple of that woman, Ye Xishui, the Holy Spirit Cult's leader. The imperial household and the continent's most wicked force were bound together at the deepest level—officials and criminals sharing one table. If the Holy Spirit Cult hadn't grown into a colossus under such conditions, that would have been the true miracle.
"Turmoil within, threats without. Deep-seated, chronic rot..." Furina rubbed her temples, feeling the weight on her shoulders grow heavier. Yet it was precisely through this process of peeling back the layers of the predicament that her vision for the Church of the Water God's future path grew increasingly clear.
At present, thanks to City Lord Lei Bao's total allegiance, the Church of the Water God had achieved overwhelming influence in Fontaine City (formerly Thunderclap City) and its surrounding territories. The residents here—city soul masters, merchants, and rural farming folk alike—had almost all become her devoted followers. This foundation was a precious starting point. But it was only a starting point.
A clear strategy crystallized in her mind. The next step was to selectively replicate the Fontaine City model outward. If she could persuade and absorb the rulers of neighboring cities, making them pledge allegiance as Lei Bao had done, then the Church of the Water God's teachings and organizational structure could spread unhindered across new lands. This was the most stable, and most efficient, method of expansion.
A bolder, far more seductive notion had flickered through her thoughts once—what if she directly allied with a higher power? A powerful prince with real authority, perhaps even the imperial house itself? Use "miracles" and doctrine in exchange for their support—wouldn't that bring immense resources and protection in an instant?
"No!" Furina crushed the dangerous idea almost the moment it surfaced.
The Church of the Water God was still far too weak. Their total high-end combat strength, counting generously, amounted to a single Soul Emperor—Lei Bao. Soul Kings could be counted on one hand, and most of those were Lei Bao's old personal subordinates. Below that, Soul Ancestors were still pitifully few; their mid-tier strength was critically lacking. The bulk of her followers were still millions of ordinary civilians without a trace of soul power. The faith points they provided couldn't be converted into top-tier military might in the short term.
Her hidden trump card, Huo Yuhao—this future Child of Destiny—was still far from maturity, still requiring time and resources to nurture. And one of her greatest hidden assets, her third martial soul, Neuvillette, remained in a quiescent state to this day, its power impossible to mobilize in actual combat. Unlocking it likely required completing critical missions the system had yet to issue. Until then, this mighty martial soul could only serve as a purely administrative official.
Now look at the royal houses and great noble clans entrenched at the pinnacle of power. Which of them did not have Soul Sages or above anchoring their forces? Those old monsters, more often than not, were equipped with soul bones or high-grade soul tools.
On the Douluo Continent—a world that was, in its essence, governed by the iron law of the strong devouring the weak—talking about "cooperation" with such behemoths was no different from plotting with a tiger for its skin. The moment they exposed their own true strength, the other side's first reaction would never be equitable partnership. It would be annexation. Domination. Or perhaps... turning her, this spokesperson of the "Water God," into a pawn or a sacrificial offering on their road to supremacy.
"Strength... in the final reckoning, it all comes back to absolute strength." Furina walked to the window, gazing out at the bustling, devout followers beyond the temple. Her eyes gradually hardened with resolve, growing deeper. "Expansion must proceed steadily. But raising our own power—that is the foundation. Until we possess the strength to make would-be schemers think twice, we must endure in patience. We must build, and wait."
She exhaled softly, as if expelling all the pressure and restless urgency from her body along with the breath. The road must be walked step by step. The meal must be eaten bite by bite.
First, a modest goal: while solidifying control over this territory, raise her own soul power as swiftly as possible, and find ways to accelerate the cultivation of Huo Yuhao and the church's other promising young soul masters.
"Evil soul masters... Tang San... the Holy Spirit Cult... and all the powers vying across this continent..." She murmured under her breath, a complex light gleaming in her eyes. "This game of chess has only just begun. And I—I am destined to be the one who flips the board."