At the thought that she might soon completely destroy the Spirit Hall, obliterate the continent, and ultimately ruin herself, a morbid flush of excitement spread across Bibi Dong's beautiful cheeks.
Her gaze grew distant…
But almost instantly, she forcefully suppressed the uncontrollable surge of morbid excitement in her heart, striving to make her expression appear calm and composed.
She gave a slight nod and looked at Dai Chengfeng, speaking slowly: "People always think peace is a gift, an order, or an unchanging law. But your words today…"
"The current peace is like someone seeing the surface of a lake as smooth as a mirror and assuming there are no undercurrents beneath."
As she spoke, her intense gaze locked onto Dai Chengfeng. "Chengfeng, you understand better than anyone that true peace has never been maintained by false balances—it is—"
"Rebirth after destruction!"
"Your perspective transcends the shortsightedness of ordinary people, allowing you to look down upon this world from a higher dimension."
"But what you're thinking goes beyond war and conquest—it touches on… transformation at the very essence of the world!"
"Teacher admires you deeply and has learned much from you!"
Hearing Bibi Dong speak like this, Dai Chengfeng 'exhaled deeply.' "Teacher, I'm so glad you understand me!"
"This truly is a blessing for all living beings, a blessing for the common people!"
"The Douluo Continent has endured countless years of warfare, and the people have suffered greatly. If your change of heart can bring about peace, it will be a great fortune for countless lives!"
Bibi Dong looked at Dai Chengfeng's earnest demeanor and gently shook her head. "I'm not as good as you say I am."
"It's just that today, thanks to your insight, I've gained a new perspective on the grand trends of this world."
Dai Chengfeng immediately straightened his posture, his face serious as he said: "Teacher, please don't blame me. Your disciple was born this straightforward—I simply cannot lie!"
"It was precisely because of this that I offended my father, leading to my journey to the Tian Dou Empire."
"So in my heart, Teacher, you are truly great, considering the welfare of the world. This is something I've seen with my own eyes and felt personally!"
"I swear, not a single word of mine is false!"
Upon hearing this, memories of Dai Chengfeng's past actions surfaced in Bibi Dong's mind.
When facing many situations, he did indeed seem unbending and utterly unlike someone who would lie…
Could it be that in his eyes, I am truly so perfect?
For so many years, this was the first time someone had called her… perfect?
Bibi Dong's lips curved faintly into a self-deprecating smile.
Though she didn't speak further, the slight upward curve of her crimson lips revealed her current good mood.
"Chengfeng, honesty is certainly a virtue, but in this complex world, you must learn to adapt."
"Sometimes, being too rigid can easily lead to disadvantages."
Bibi Dong gazed at Dai Chengfeng, seeing a shadow of her younger, more naive self reflected in him. She sighed softly, giving him affectionate advice.
Dai Chengfeng nodded solemnly and responded: "Teacher, you are absolutely right."
"However, your disciple simply doesn't bother adapting to those worldly people—they don't deserve my thoughts."
"In my eyes, only someone like Teacher deserves my full attention."
Unbeknownst to Bibi Dong, what Dai Chengfeng referred to as "full attention" was actually a mix of flattery and manipulation…
Instead, she nodded approvingly. "Respecting one's teacher and upholding the way is excellent."
"I never expected Chengfeng to be such a pure-hearted and good child."
"Before, I only heard rumors about you and even held some misunderstandings. Now I realize, indeed, rumors should not be trusted lightly!"
"Teacher!" Dai Chengfeng's eyes welled up with apparent gratitude. "To gain your understanding makes me so happy!"
For a moment…
The Pope's Palace was filled with heartfelt warmth between teacher and disciple.
Time quietly passed, and the sun gradually set in the west. The crimson sunset outside poured soft yet dazzling light through the large windows into the hall.
Bibi Dong glanced absentmindedly at the sky outside. "Chengfeng, it's getting late. I'll have Na Na show you to your residence first."
"Tomorrow morning, come back to the Pope's Palace. I'll personally take you to Death Canyon."
"Death Canyon?"
Having read the original work, Dai Chengfeng already knew about Death Canyon and its general situation. However, he still feigned immense curiosity and asked Bibi Dong: "Teacher, what place is this?"
Bibi Dong's expression instantly turned serious. "Death Canyon is a special training ground for our Spirit Hall's soul masters."
"There are numerous malevolent or bloodthirsty spirit beasts there. Additionally, some soul masters who have committed errors—if their strength isn't too high or their crimes aren't too extreme—are exiled to Death Canyon."
A prison, huh…
Dai Chengfeng inwardly mused, while those with excessive strength or extremely egregious crimes were likely imprisoned in the Slaughter City?
This was precisely why the Douluo Continent wasn't overrun by evil soul masters.
The Spirit Hall!
Though Bibi Dong had her own selfish motives, one couldn't deny that she fulfilled certain responsibilities in maintaining the continent's order.
For example, suppressing evil soul masters, providing free spirit awakening for commoners, and offering subsidies to soul masters—even though the money came from the two empires.
But Dai Chengfeng understood clearly…
Given the temperaments of some high-ranking officials in the Star Luo Empire, without the Spirit Hall's mediation, how could civilian soul masters receive subsidies if they didn't pledge allegiance to the empire?
After all, not everyone possessed his forward-thinking vision that surpassed this era.
Even his father, Emperor Dai An, was deeply influenced by the entrenched beliefs of this world and failed to recognize the importance of civilian soul masters to the continent's development.
It wasn't that Dai An lacked intelligence; rather, the education he received since childhood ingrained in him the idea of classifying people into hierarchies.
In the eyes of the nobility, civilian soul masters without sufficient strength weren't worthy of standing on equal footing with them.
People are often constrained by their own limited perspectives.
By comparison, even the Star Luo Empire, where the aristocratic contempt wasn't as strong and commoners could advance through military service, was still like this.
Dai Chengfeng believed that the disdain chain in the Tian Dou Empire would likely be even worse.
The Spirit Hall "disrupting" court politics and ruining the carefree lives of nobles who indulged in luxury and oppressed commoners was truly considered "heinous"!
Dai Chengfeng couldn't help but laugh bitterly at himself, given that he himself was a member of the royal family.
Lost in thought, he subconsciously began thinking about Tang San, that bastard.
He sure had it easy, destroying the Slaughter City in one fell swoop and then obliterating the Spirit Hall. But afterward…
You damn bastard, you didn't bother doing anything else?!
You destroyed the Slaughter City but didn't find a new place to imprison evil soul masters?
And you annihilated the Spirit Hall but didn't support a new force to help commoners awaken their spirits or suppress evil soul masters?
The result? In the second half of the story, some civilian soul masters, unable to survive, resorted to selling themselves—like Jiang Nannan—and evil soul masters ran rampant.
This, hard to judge!
But soon, Dai Chengfeng stopped dwelling on it, and an involuntary flicker of excitement flashed in his eyes.
'Death Canyon, huh…'
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