"Then, Teacher Qin, why not come to our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? After Hongjun graduates, he'll come to the sect to cultivate. By then, you can train him however you want—even train him to death if you like," Tianlin said, selling out Ma Hongjun without hesitation to recruit Qin Ming.
After all, what Ma Hongjun lacks most is the determination to risk everything to become stronger. Having a strict teacher to push him would be good.
Qin Ming smiled and said, "I'll consider it!"
At Blazing Fire Academy, Huo Wu looked at her brother Huo Wushuang and said, "Brother, Ma Hongjun's explosive power seems even greater than your Uni-horned Fire Tyrant Dragon. If only he were in our academy… With both the dragon and phoenix, we'd be invincible."
Huo Wushuang didn't deny it. He knew his own Uni-horned Fire Tyrant Dragon was nowhere near as strong as the other's Fire Phoenix.
At Skywater Academy, Captain Shui Bing'er also looked toward the Shrek team and muttered, "Fire Phoenix… How can he use it so perfectly?"
Shui Bing'er possessed an Ice Phoenix martial soul just as strong as Ma Hongjun's Fire Phoenix, but like Ma Hongjun in the past, her martial soul had flaws.
The difference was that her flaw didn't affect her. Instead, because her martial soul was too strong, once she unleashed its full power, she couldn't control it and could easily cause irreparable harm to others. She was a kind girl, so she always suppressed her strength below seventy percent in battles. Her greatest wish was to find a way to perfectly control her Phoenix martial soul.
In the audience stands, Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly. Today's two matches between Emperor Battle Team and Shrek undoubtedly showcased the future of their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Whether it was Tianlin who had already reached the Soul King level, the explosively powerful Phoenix Soul Master Ma Hongjun, or Oscar, the food-type genius rarely seen in a hundred years, all proved the sect's profound foundation.
He knew that his own daughter Ning Rongrong and Bone Douluo's disciple Gu Ran hadn't even appeared yet.
"Spirit Hall, your strength is indeed greater than my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but your so-called Golden Generation may not necessarily dominate the younger generation. Not to mention Xiao Tian, the others will catch up soon enough," Ning Fengzhi thought confidently.
With that, the day's matches were over, and everyone returned to their quarters. Tianlin didn't go to find Rongrong and the others, as they were technically opponents now and should avoid suspicion. He even hoped that when Rongrong faced him, she would go all out.
Back at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Tianlin opened his door to find Xue Qinghe calmly sitting at his desk, drinking tea.
This woman was getting more and more at home, treating his place as her own.
"Xiao Tian, you're back. Congratulations on your victory," Xue Qinghe greeted.
"Big Brother Xue, you didn't even come to watch my match. How did you know I won?" Tianlin smiled.
"I wanted to come cheer for you, but since Father Emperor went to watch the matches, someone had to handle state affairs. Only I, the crown prince, could do it," Xue Qinghe said helplessly. "Still, even though I didn't go, I don't think anyone can stop you before you meet Spirit Hall's Golden Generation. I heard your opponent today was Elephant Armor Academy—they were clearly targeting you, and Huyan Li was just sent out to gather information."
"That's right. It was Spirit Hall. It seems they see me as a threat. Should I feel honored?" Tianlin dragged a chair over to sit next to Xue Qinghe, crossing his legs and resting his arm on the table while smiling at her.
Ever since absorbing the million-year soul bone, what used to require him to activate his external soul bone to see through disguises could now be done at a glance. In front of Tianlin, Qian Renxue's disguise as Xue Qinghe was completely ineffective—others saw Xue Qinghe, but he saw Qian Renxue.
"You're getting more and more unruly. Sit properly! If Sword Douluo sees you like this, he'll think I taught you badly and come after me," Qian Renxue, like an older sister, straightened Tianlin.
"What's the big deal? It's just us here. Master won't know. Besides, in front of my best big brother Xue, if I still have to act like usual, that'd be too tiring," Tianlin said, stretching lazily.
Chen Xin, Ning Fengzhi, and the others were all rather serious people, so Tianlin always behaved steadily in front of them. Toward outsiders, he would never reveal his true self. In this world, besides his parents, only Ning Rongrong and Qian Renxue saw this side of him.
"Sigh, fine, do as you like. I can't do anything about you," Qian Renxue sighed, then continued, "Xiao Tian, in the coming days you'll probably encounter more strong opponents, and each match will force you to show more of your strength. You must be careful."
"Relax, I anticipated this. Besides, my friends and I joined this tournament to fight all kinds of strong opponents. This is just what I wanted," Tianlin replied, full of confidence.
Seeing him like this, Qian Renxue finally relaxed, but then she remembered something. "Xiao Tian, Spirit Hall keeps targeting you. Do you hate them? Many people outside also resent Spirit Hall's tyranny."
She couldn't help asking—she was afraid that, if her true identity was ever exposed, Tianlin would hate her too.
Seeing the worry in Qian Renxue's eyes, Tianlin honestly shook his head. "I don't hate Spirit Hall at all. I've never even seen them as an evil force."
"Spirit Hall provides free martial soul awakening for commoners. Just for that, they've done great kindness for the people of the continent. As for their worsening reputation, there are two main reasons: first, the two great empires have intervened. Spirit Hall's Soul Masters are strong, but they can't compare to the population base of the two empires. In terms of public opinion, they can't compete."
"Second, the current Pope. She's claimed to be the greatest Pope in history, but only in terms of strength, not leadership. That's why so many branch and main hall masters are heartless villains—like Salas, the main hall master of Gengxin City, and others."
"Of course, where there is light, there is darkness—especially with an organization as huge as Spirit Hall. The bigger it is, the bigger its shadow. But the areas illuminated by light must always be greater than those covered by the shadow. Big Brother Xue, I think what Spirit Hall needs now is a truly broad-minded and wise Pope who can lead the continent to greater development."
Tianlin deliberately said these words for Qian Renxue to hear. Some things had to be taken back—someone like Bibi Dong, that madwoman, was unfit to be Pope.
Qian Xunji had wronged her, but for the sake of Yu Xiaogang, she disregarded Spirit Hall's years of nurturing. She was also unworthy of Qian Renxue and Spirit Hall.
Besides, she had already killed Qian Xunji with her own hands. Whatever hatred she had should be settled. In the original story, she said she wanted to destroy Spirit Hall, Douluo Continent, and herself.
But she was only hurt by Qian Xunji, not by everyone on the continent. With Qian Xunji dead, why take it out on others?
Tianlin didn't know if her words about destroying the continent before her death were sincere or just in the heat of the moment, but he didn't dare to gamble. If he lost, it'd be a disaster for the continent.
Even if Bibi Dong didn't originally have that idea, after being influenced by the Rakshasa God, who could say? Instead of gambling on whether Bibi Dong was mad, it was safer to choose Qian Renxue, who had a kinder heart.
If one day, Qian Renxue unified the continent, treated the people kindly, and promised not to harm a single brick of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Tianlin would certainly help her as he promised before.
Of course, that's not realistic. To the commoners, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is practically nobility. If Spirit Hall unifies the continent, it can't leave such an exception. This is Tianlin's unavoidable selfishness—the happiness of the continent comes after his own family's happiness. The most he can do is make sure his sect's disciples don't abuse their power or bully the people. But he can't sacrifice for them.
So, as Skydream Ice Silkworm once said, the only way for them to coexist is for Tianlin to become a check and balance for both Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
But before that, Qian Renxue must take back the Pope's throne. Even then, there must be a period of opposition, because even with cooperation, Tianlin must be the one in control. So, he would have to defeat Spirit Hall again and again, weakening but not destroying it, until one day Qian Renxue realized that as long as she opposed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she could never unify the continent, and then she would ask for cooperation herself.
If Qian Renxue never realized that, there would be nothing Tianlin could do. It would just mean the time for unification hadn't come yet. He would do everything he could to eliminate Spirit Hall.
Tianlin's words made Qian Renxue fall into deep thought. At this moment, Tianlin suddenly lay down and said, "Forget it, this has nothing to do with us. I'm from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and you're the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. Why should we care about Spirit Hall?"
Then he sat on the edge of the bed. "Big Brother Xue, let's cultivate the Heavenly Snow Power. Before the finals, every bit of strength counts."
"Alright, you're right. This has nothing to do with us. The important thing now is to cultivate," Qian Renxue agreed on the surface, but thought to herself, "Xiao Tian is right. At this rate, Spirit Hall will be ruined by that woman. The Pope's throne belongs to my Angel Clan and the Qian Family. One day, I will take it back!"