NOVEL WEB Chapter 797: Journey
The Martial Soul Hall members in Gengxin City were mostly controlled by Sun Ming, their soul power sealed, awaiting replacement by the main hall.
As for why not kill these scoundrels preying on the common folk.
Even though Bibi Dong once said that Sun Ming was an honorary elder of the Martial Soul Hall, equivalent in status to the Pope, he was ultimately not one of them. How to punish them was for the main hall to decide; he could not exceed his authority.
If the Martial Soul Hall doesn't plan to kill them, it's not an issue.
The method Sun Ming used to seal soul power is likely unbreakable; using soul power to violently break the seal would cause meridians to shatter, leaving them crippled, even less than ordinary people.
On his journey, whenever encountering bandits, Sun Ming would seal their soul power and hand them over to the local authorities for judgment.
Those whose soul power he sealed were considered deserved to die in his mind. If the local authorities didn't sentence them to death, they would live as useless beings unable to cultivate soul power.
Turning from a Soul Master to an ordinary person torments them mentally.
Not exceeding authority and directly stripping them of life is Sun Ming's greatest respect for the two empires and Martial Soul Hall.
Regardless of any flaws within these three entities, they undeniably guarantee the livelihood of the people to a certain extent, so Sun Ming is willing to show respect.
However, he is less courteous to those who don't see themselves as citizens of the two empires or the Martial Soul Hall, whose actions are solely based on preference and moral flexibility.
If their actions are heinous and infuriate him, he'll handle it decisively.
After all, most of these people don't consider themselves part of Tiandou, Xingluo, or Martial Soul Hall, so no law can truly judge them.
Hence, Sun Ming becomes the judge for them.
The two empires and Martial Soul Hall might be mindful of their sects or family powers behind them, but Sun Ming won't. If reason is on his side and the opponent is unreasonable, even if elders come to bully him, he wouldn't care.
He doesn't need to be reasonable towards the unreasonable, but won't blame the innocent.
If their friends, brothers, or children want revenge, they are welcome to come argue with him.
With reason on his side, he has no guilt.
The ordinary people do not have this ability—
But he does.
Upon receiving Sun Ming's letter, the Pope of Martial Soul Hall set aside his affairs, immediately investigated, and learned of the actions of leaders in various sub-halls of Martial Soul Hall, gritting his teeth in anger.
"Indeed, Sun Ming is right. Sitting on the Pope's throne, what I see and hear are not as vivid as personally going down to see and check."
Bibi Dong thought to herself: "How can one talk of building an empire without understanding the populace?"
With her mind gradually recovering, Bibi Dong's thoughts changed, and while reading Sun Ming's travel chronicles in the letters, she was immensely moved: "With Sun Ming's assistance, how could Martial Soul Hall not prosper?"
Bibi Dong then called Chrysanthemum Douluo and instructs him to lead a group to the Xingluo Empire's Gengxin City to replace the local Martial Soul Hall leader and staff.
"How should the original leader and staff of Gengxin City be handled?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked.
"If the evidence Sun Ming sent me is legit, then throw them into the City of Slaughter. Those among the staff who are innocent shall be reinstated." After giving instructions, Bibi Dong called Ghost Douluo, "Besides Gengxin City, Sun Ming described other cities where Martial Soul Hall leaders were inactive; you go investigate and see any changes in places Sun Ming has passed."
"Yes, ma'am!" X2
Chrysanthemum Douluo led a large group of soul masters to Gengxin City, while Ghost Douluo, following the Pope's instructions, investigated Martial Soul Hall leaders in various regions, passed through where Sun Ming had traveled, observed changes, and made notes.
When Chrysanthemum Douluo arrived at Gengxin City, Sun Ming and Dugu Yan had already left, taking along refugees who couldn't grasp blacksmith skills.
The closer they got to Xingluo Empire's capital, the fewer refugees there were; the ones following them were resettled in villages and towns.
"I didn't expect so many refugees within Xingluo Empire, yet not many in Tiandou Empire." Dugu Yan sighed.
"Tiandou Empire actually has its share, but since we went directly from Tiandou City to Xingluo Empire, we didn't see much. There might be large numbers of refugees and hungry folks in another direction of Tiandou Empire too."
Sun Ming sighed, "Though Tiandou Empire has fewer, because map shows, within Tiandou, despite many mountains, has considerably more plains and basins, ample for cultivating crops."
"Whereas in Xingluo Empire, mountains and mineral veins are prevalent; while plains exist, near the Tiandou border, they are scarce."
After explaining the differences in terrain between the two countries, Dugu Yan understood: "Environmental reasons, indeed."
The two entered Xingluo Empire's capital, where architectural style contrasted with Tiandou City, displaying a darker tone, yet remaining luxurious, largely due to extensive metal materials.
Clearly, it's because of Xingluo Empire's abundant metal deposits.
This is also evident in Gengxin City, where Sun Ming collected many rare metals; though Dugu Yan felt Sun Ming was sincere.
When gathering metals, unless during auctions or gambling stones, he'd inform sellers of the metal types and their application values, then purchase them at fair prices.
He once said: profiting too much would lead to endless pursuit of profit.
After half a month in Tiandou City, Sun Ming prepared to depart again, since besides architectural differences, the city resembled Tiandou City, even amidst power struggles between royal families, making residents apprehensive of speaking wrongly.
Leaving Xingluo City, we continued southwards, passing through various cities and villages, staying for some time in each. When we finally reached the southernmost part of Xingluo Empire, we saw the vast blue sea.
"Is this the sea?"
Dugu Yan was barefoot, standing on the gray-yellow sand, feeling a bit uncomfortable as the sand was not as pleasant as she had imagined.
On the beach, many people were collecting seafood, digging for shells, catching sea fish, carrying wooden buckets and fishing baskets, clearly aiming to enrich their dinner.
Thus, the two also joined them.
Purple-yellow starfish, large-headed octopuses, spiral-shaped conches—they excited Dugu Yan with every find.
Soon, night fell.
The seafood collectors left, and when Sun Ming and the others sought accommodation, they found that most homes by the sea had no vacant rooms.
So, the two returned to the seaside, where Sun Ming summoned the Wooden Ape and Fire Monkey. The Wooden Ape hastened the growth of a wooden house, while the Fire Monkey used flames to melt rocks, making suitable stone slabs to seal the gaps around the wooden house.
This was their solution every time they couldn't find a place to stay during their journey.
Both entered the wooden house, with Dugu Yan taking out various living supplies, while Sun Ming started cooking, processing the seafood. He took out seasonings, boiling a pot of seafood soup, and prepared some staple food like flatbreads and steamed buns, placing them on the heated stone slabs, using his soul power to ensure even temperature.
Soon, a hint of rice and wheat fragrance wafted out.
Next, Sun Ming took out the cooked seafood, chopped it into small pieces, sprinkled it with salt, chili powder, and other seasonings, mixed it well, and placed it into the flatbread's layers, handing it to Dugu Yan.
"Mmm~ Sun Ming's cooking is still so good." Dugu Yan's cheeks were puffed, feeling even the taste of the sea.
"Do you really need to make such an exaggerated expression?" Sun Ming picked up a flatbread, took a bite, chewed thoroughly before swallowing, "It's just a bit better than the cafeteria at Tiandou Royal Academy."
"This is already great. The chefs at Tiandou Royal Academy are comparable to royal chefs."
Dugu Yan praised, "The more impressive part is that you made this delicious meal with ordinary ingredients, while those royal chefs need the finest ingredients. They can't compare to you."
Sun Ming smiled silently.
Receiving praise inevitably brings joy to the heart. The authentic version is on M|V|LEMPY_R.
After dinner, the two began to rest. However, for them, cultivating soul power was the best form of rejuvenation…
···
The next day.
As the sun rose, Sun Ming stepped out of the wooden house, clearing away the leftovers from the previous night, destroying them with flames. After staying by the seaside for half a month and interacting with nearby villages, recording their living and martial soul conditions, they continued their journey.
This time, it wasn't out to sea but back the way they came.
However, this time they didn't take the same path. Instead, the journey was filled with rugged mountain paths, terrifying gorges, and primal jungles.
But for Sun Ming, who had written the "Soul Beast Forest Survival Guide," these environments were a piece of cake, and the two could traverse them with relative ease.
Moreover, in a gorge called the Mysterious Gorge, Sun Ming obtained his eighth soul ring, from a hundred-thousand-year Wind Roar Ape. Coupled with his diligent cultivation during this time, his soul power reached level eighty-seven upon acquiring this ring.
Just three levels short of level ninety.
And now, Sun Ming was only eleven years old.
It's foreseeable that before turning twelve, Sun Ming would surely reach the level of Title Douluo.
Because they traveled mostly through sparsely populated areas, their traveling speed increased significantly. However, on the road, they encountered a group of wolf bandits, a species that is half human and half soul beast, with intelligence but not high, driven by life instincts.
They set their sights on Dugu Yan, launching an attack, then—
There was no then.
The group was annihilated.
Furthermore, the wolf bandit leader dropped a ten-thousand-year right leg bone, which Sun Ming stored in a storage bag for future research.
The bodies of the wolf bandits were cremated and buried by Sun Ming to prevent decomposition and disease outbreak…
···
"Finally, we're at the border of the Tiandou Empire and Xingluo Empire."
Dugu Yan looked at the vast green crops not far away, smiling, "As expected, the Tiandou Empire is more stable, without so many treacherous environments and harsh climates."
The crops swayed in the wind, layer upon layer, resembling a green ocean, making one feel at ease.
Sun Ming took a deep breath, glanced at the tilted red sun in the west, and said with a smile, "Let's go to that village over there to find some lodgings."