Chapter 60: Inviting Ye Guyi (Part 1)
After two hours of hard riding, Shi Meng finally brought Ye Guyi to the outskirts of Fontaine City.
It was nearing dusk, and the afterglow of the setting sun gilded the entire city in a layer of warm gold. Seen from a distance, the towering city walls stood solemn and unyielding, water-blue banners emblazoned with an intricately embroidered flowing-water emblem fluttering above the gatehouse.
"This place was originally called Thunderclap City," Shi Meng reined in his horse and gestured toward the city ahead, his voice carrying a measure of pride. "Later, the city lord, Lord Lei Bao, voluntarily joined our Church of the Water God. As a gesture of sincerity, he renamed the city Fontaine. Now, Lord Lei Bao is one of the church's Four Protectors."
Ye Guyi raised an eyebrow slightly. A trace of surprise flickered through her cool, clear eyes. "To make a city lord willingly come over to your side—your Church of the Water God must be quite formidable."
Contrary to her expectations, Shi Meng shook his head, his expression earnest to the point of artlessness. "No, if we're talking purely about strength, we're actually not that powerful. Aside from the Four Protectors, the strongest is the Water God's Envoy, Lord Neuvillette. Though I can't say exactly how strong he is—I can feel that he's far more powerful than all four city lords combined."
He paused, unconsciously lowering his voice a notch. "As for Her Holiness... at the moment, she's only a Soul Ancestor in her forties, rank-wise."
"What?!" Ye Guyi nearly started out of her saddle. Her beautiful eyes flew wide. In her mind, anyone worthy of the title "Pope" ought to be at least a rank-90 Titled Douluo.
Shi Meng was entirely unsurprised by her reaction, responding with a simple, good-natured grin. "Everyone who first hears this reacts the same way. But while Her Holiness is only around rank forty—she's also very young. I'd guess she's only a year or two older than you, Miss Ye."
These words left Ye Guyi even more shocked. She had been hailed as a prodigy since childhood and knew full well how arduous a soul master's path of cultivation was. "This young and already at rank forty? Could she be a scion of some great clan, raised with elixirs? Or... did she have innate full soul power?"
"She doesn't seem like a noble," Shi Meng scratched his head, as if carefully choosing his words. "Her Holiness is usually... well, a bit whimsical, but she always comes up with ideas that make you want to smack the table and cheer. As for innate full soul power—that I'm not sure about. But I do know she has twin martial souls, and her soul ring configuration is two purple, two black."
"Pfft—" Ye Guyi had just taken a sip of water and now sprayed it out, coughing violently.
Shi Meng asked with concern, "Miss Ye, are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine..." Ye Guyi barely steadied her breathing, though her voice still trembled. "What did you just say her soul ring configuration was?"
"Two purple, two black," Shi Meng repeated as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Isn't that normal? Her Holiness claims to be the Water God, and since she's a god, it's only natural for her soul ring configuration to be a bit stronger than ordinary people's, right?"
He said it with such unforced ease, as if stating a simple, obvious fact. He, too, had been shocked by this once, but on second thought—since she was a deity, was it not only natural for her to possess abilities far beyond the ordinary?
"Twin martial souls... two purple, two black..." Ye Guyi murmured under her breath, her face a canvas of disbelief. "This isn't humanly possible."
Shi Meng corrected her with absolute seriousness. "She's a god."
Ye Guyi: "..."
This exchange ignited a fierce curiosity toward that Pope she had yet to meet. What kind of person could inspire such unwavering, unquestioning faith in her followers?
"We're here." Shi Meng's voice pulled her thoughts back to the present.
At the city gates, two guards in water-blue uniforms spotted Shi Meng and immediately broke into warm, familiar greetings.
"Shi Meng! You're back early today!" A tall, lean guard grinned, his gaze landing on the horse behind Shi Meng. "Look at your poor horse—it's practically foaming at the mouth."
Shi Meng smiled sheepishly. "I was in a hurry to get back and report. I found two more children with soul power this time."
The other guard, slightly rounder, noticed Ye Guyi and his eyes lit up. Teasingly, he quipped, "Don't tell me this is the wife you've found yourself? Such a delicate beauty—standing next to a rough fellow like you, it's like a fresh flower stuck in a pile of cow dung."
Shi Meng's expression instantly turned stern. "Don't talk nonsense! This is my savior, Miss Ye Guyi. If not for her intervention on the road, I wouldn't have made it back alive." He turned to Ye Guyi and said apologetically, "Miss Ye, they're just fond of joking around—please don't take it to heart."
Ye Guyi shook her head lightly, signaling that she didn't mind.
"Alright, alright, we won't keep you," the tall guard quickly stepped aside to clear the way. "Hurry on in—there's a merchant caravan waiting behind you."
Shi Meng nodded. "I'll treat you two to drinks another day!"
As they passed through the gate, Ye Guyi noticed a detail—not only were she and Shi Meng exempt from the entry toll, but the merchant caravan behind them, and even the ordinary citizens, all passed freely, without any stop for payment whatsoever.
"There's no entry fee?" she asked curiously.
Shi Meng explained, "We in the Church of the Water God don't care for such paltry profit. If we claim to work for the people's welfare, yet charge them just to enter the city, wouldn't that go against our very principles?"
This answer added yet another layer of favorable impression to Ye Guyi's view of the church.
The moment she entered Fontaine City, Ye Guyi was captivated by the scene before her. The streets were spacious and impeccably clean, lined on both sides with a forest of shops. The cries of vendors rose and fell in a lively chorus, yet somehow, it never felt chaotic or grating. Most of the pedestrians wore relaxed, easy smiles. Children chased and played at the edges of the streets. The entire city brimmed with a kind of vitality and harmony she had never witnessed anywhere else.
What astounded her most was this: she saw several luxuriously dressed nobles waiting in the same shop line as ordinary commoners, and they were all perfectly at ease with one another. In the rigidly stratified Douluo Continent, this was an almost unimaginable sight.
After walking a stretch further, an imposing structure caught her eye. The building was circular, its design reminiscent of an ancient gladiatorial arena. A constant stream of soul masters flowed in and out, and a plaque hung above its entrance reading, "Fontaine Grand Spirit Arena."
"What is that building?" she asked, pointing in its direction.
Shi Meng's eyes brightened, and his voice took on a note of pride. "That's the Spirit Arena that Her Holiness personally championed. It's a wonderful place for soul masters to conduct practical training and earn compensation. I've heard that Spirit Arenas flourished ten thousand years ago, but gradually fell into decline. Her Holiness believed they would be very helpful for the growth of commoner soul masters, so she gave the order to build one."
He continued to elaborate in detail. "Its current scale isn't that large yet. Her Holiness says she intends to build an even bigger one in the future. But just as it stands now, it's already been a remarkable success. Many soul masters are willing to come and sign up for matches. Win or lose, they receive compensation—so long as they don't deliberately throw the match."
"The rules are simple too. Weapons and soul tools outside of one's martial soul are permitted. The only real restriction is that you can't take someone's life. And there's absolutely no need to worry about injuries—the Spirit Arena is staffed with healing-type soul masters, plus medicines supplied by our Church of the Water God. Most importantly, Her Holiness herself uses the healing soul skill of her first martial soul, 'Cake,' to treat the injured, and her fees are exceedingly low. For most soul masters, it's practically free."
At this, a sly grin crept onto Shi Meng's face. "Now, for those nobles who put great stock in pomp and ceremony, the fees are somewhat higher. After all, they always make such particular demands."
Ye Guyi couldn't help a sigh of admiration. "You really are quite... generously funded."
"If Miss Ye is interested, you could register as a Spirit Arena combatant yourself," Shi Meng introduced enthusiastically. "Basic registration is only fifty copper soul coins. If you want higher-tier services, the fees go up—the nobles and wealthy merchants are rather fond of those."
"I'll consider it," Ye Guyi nodded gently, though her gaze was already sweeping across the streets once more, as if drawn by an invisible pull.
Every detail of this city was battering against the walls of her long-held perceptions. Free entry into the city. Commoners and nobles treated as equals. Almost entirely free training facilities provided for soul masters... All of it seemed utterly alien to the world she had known.
Shi Meng seemed to see straight through her thoughts. Smiling, he said, "Incredible, isn't it? That's exactly how I felt when I first came here. But stay long enough, and you'll find—this is simply everyday life in Fontaine City. Her Holiness often says: if we can't even manage the most fundamental fairness, what right do we have to speak of bringing blessings to all living beings?"
The last rays of the setting sun spilled across the street, stretching their shadows long and lean. Ye Guyi gazed upon this city bathed in golden light, and somewhere deep within her—somewhere soft and long untouched—something quietly stirred.
Perhaps... this seemingly impossible Church of the Water God really could bring about some kind of change.
"Where do we go next?" She turned her head to ask Shi Meng, and in her voice, unconsciously, a note of anticipation had crept in.
"I'll first take you to the church's reception hall and get you settled in," Shi Meng answered respectfully. "Then, after I've reported everything to Her Holiness, I'll bring her to see you. I'm willing to bet—Her Holiness will be very interested in you."
This proposition made Ye Guyi's heart beat just slightly faster. Her curiosity toward that "Pope"—the one with twin martial souls and the two-purple-two-black soul ring configuration—burned ever brighter.
"Alright," she responded concisely, but her gaze was already fixed upon the city's heart. There, a magnificent water-blue building stood in the distance, glittering and gleaming in the rays of the dying sun.