Chapter 57: Reappearance of the Soul Arena
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since Huo Yuhao awakened his Second Martial Soul and successfully obtained his second spirit ring. During this time, Furina had not been idle; she often immersed herself in "communication" with the system mall, attempting to find more development possibilities for this burgeoning cult.
This morning, Furina sat alone in the side hall of the Water God Temple, sunlight casting mottled shadows on her through the stained glass. She closed her eyes to concentrate, her consciousness frequently interacting with the system mall. After several draws, she obtained several Secret Manuals for Cultivation Techniques, the most suitable for Huo Yuhao being the "Ice Spirit Art."
"The Mysterious Heavenly Skill is versatile, but its upper limit is indeed too low," Furina whispered to herself, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest of her chair. "Unless, like in Douluo Five, it inexplicably gains the ability to absorb Bloodlines—but if that were the case, how would it differ from an Evil Spirit Master? It's also lucky that the people on the Fairy Continent are so simple-minded, no different from fools; if this were a world of Fairy cultivation, Tang San would likely have been sucked into a Ten Thousand Soul Banner long ago."
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but smile. Huo Yuhao's Second Martial Soul was the overlord of the Extreme North Land, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, with the Ultimate Ice attribute. This "Ice Spirit Art" was perfectly suited for him. An ice-type Cultivation Technique would allow him to Cultivate with twice the result for half the effort, far surpassing the original Mysterious Heavenly Skill.
In addition to the "Ice Spirit Art," Furina also drew the Water Breathing and Flame Breathing techniques from "Demon Slayer." These two breathing techniques have significant effects on ordinary people; if practiced to Major Achievement, even an ordinary person holding a blade could fight a high-level Spirit Master. Unfortunately, without a "Hashira" level powerhouse to provide systematic teaching, practitioners could only grope their way forward on their own.
"With the temperament of the people on the Douluo Continent, can they actually figure anything out?" Furina frowned slightly. "Especially since people on this continent seem to suffer from a late-stage symptom of laziness..." She sighed softly, not holding much hope for this.
Another gain that made her eyes light up was Hai Bodong's Profound Rank Advanced Dou Technique from "Battle Through the Heavens"—Glacial Dragon Flight. This ice-type technique was very suitable for Huo Yuhao and other ice-attribute Spirit Masters in the cult; on the Douluo Continent, this would definitely be a top-tier self-created Soul Skill.
Besides these, the System also provided various miscellaneous items, ranging from Medicinal Pills to low-level spirit tools. Furina originally intended to distribute them directly to the followers, but on second thought, that didn't seem quite right.
"People often don't cherish things that are obtained too easily." She stood up thoughtfully and paced slowly in the hall. "It would be better to establish an exchange list, letting the followers earn points by completing tasks, and then use those points to exchange for corresponding rewards."
This idea made her eyes brighten. Whether it was Cultivation Techniques, Medicinal Pills, or Spirit Bones, all could be included in the exchange list. She could also use the System to exchange for some ten-year or hundred-year Spirit Bones as rewards. This way, she could both motivate the followers to actively contribute to the church and avoid unnecessary waste of resources.
No sooner said than done! Furina immediately set off to find Neuvillette to discuss the matter.
In the main hall of the Water God Temple, she laid out her entire series of concepts: a Research Department focused on spirit tools, Martial Spirits, artificial spirit rings, and Spirit Bones; an Intelligence Department for gathering information, controlling public opinion, and publishing newspapers; an Executive Department to recruit talent and complete various missions; an Law Enforcement Department responsible for supervision, law enforcement, and preventing corruption; the Jialan Academy, aimed at competing with Shrek Academy; and the newly conceived point exchange System.
Neuvillette listened quietly, nodding in approval from time to time. As the practical manager of the Water God Cult, he greatly appreciated Furina's creative ideas, but he also proposed his own supplementary suggestions: "I believe we also need to add two more departments: a Finance Department to manage funds, and a Logistics Department to ensure supplies and medical care."
Furina readily agreed: "We'll do as you say."
Neuvillette immediately set about formulating the relevant policies and summoned the four great protectors—the four City Lords: Lei Bao, Long Ziyun, City Lord of Ice Wolf City, Yan Luo, City Lord of Savage City, and Feng Chuixue—to jointly discuss the specific implementation details.
Once all matters were properly arranged, Furina met with Guardian Lei Bao alone. In the meeting room, she told this loyal Protector another of her bold ideas.
"Guardian Lei Bao, I have thought about it for a long time and decided to reintroduce the Soul Arena from ten thousand years ago to the continent."
Lei Bao was slightly surprised upon hearing this: "Soul Arena? This System was gradually abandoned by the major Empires after the Spirit Hall was destroyed ten thousand years ago, and history has no clear record of the reason."
Furina walked to the window, looking at the followers training hard on the distant training ground, and spoke slowly: "The Soul Arena has a necessity for its existence. For high-level Spirit Masters, its effect might be limited, but for low-level Spirit Masters, especially commoner Spirit Masters, it is a crucial platform. They can earn money through the Soul Arena, indirectly obtaining Cultivation resources while accumulating actual combat experience."
She turned around, looking at Lei Bao with a firm gaze: "Look, although the Soul Arena System was abandoned by officials, every Spirit Master academy has an arena, and every assessment involves actual combat duels, even selecting a first place. What is the fundamental difference between that and a Soul Arena? Shrek Academy's arena not only requires payment to use, but it is said their assessments even include making students fight Spirit Beasts."
The more Furina spoke, the more she felt the feasibility of this idea was high: "Reintroducing the Soul Arena has at least three benefits for our Water God Cult: first, we can acquire wealth through tickets, bets, and so on; second, we can train newcomers and improve their actual combat abilities; and third, we can win the support of low-level Spirit Masters, further expanding our influence."
After listening, Lei Bao was completely convinced: "Lord Pope is brilliant! Your subordinate indeed failed to think of this layer."
Furina smiled slightly, but she couldn't help but feel emotional inside. In this world of Douluo Continent, where even "setting fire to a granary" could be called a divine skill, many strategies that seemed commonplace to her could have unexpected effects. If it weren't for the Tang Sect, they probably wouldn't even have been able to think of basic equipment like a battering ram. If Zhuge Liang came to this world, he could probably easily lead an army to flatten the entire continent.
"In that case, I'll leave this matter entirely in your hands," Furina finally instructed. "First, establish a few pilot Soul Arenas within the Water God Cult's sphere of influence. If the results are ideal, we will gradually promote it to the entire continent."
After Lei Bao took his leave, Furina stood alone by the window, her mind already beginning to outline the future development blueprint of the Water God Cult. In the heart of this seemingly young Pope was a grand ambition to change the entire landscape of the Douluo Continent.
"The road must be taken step by step, but for now, it seems the direction is correct." She whispered to herself, a confident smile playing on her lips.
In the following days, the Water God Cult began to push forward various reforms with intense activity.
The construction of the Soul Arena was particularly rapid. In just a few short days, the first pilot Soul Arena had already been completed in the main city of the Water God Cult. On the opening day, it attracted a large number of Spirit Masters to participate, and the level of excitement exceeded everyone's expectations.
Furina stood on the observation deck at the highest point of the newly completed Soul Arena, looking down at the bustling matches below, her heart full of gratification. She knew this was only the beginning; the future of the Water God Cult and even the entire Douluo Continent would surely be brand new because of these changes.