Chapter 262: Hastening Events
The world of Douluo is a curious one a peculiar patchwork where Eastern, Western, and even mythological influences coexist. Ye Wen had long known that this world, despite its familiarity, held elements foreign to each of its parts. Yet in all his years on the continent, he had never encountered a being as purely elemental as the Blood Red Nine Headed Bat King.
Plant based soul beasts didn't count, not even the extreme Wood type energy of the Ten Thousand Demon King. Unlike those creatures, this Bat King was almost entirely composed of blood, making it perfectly adapted to the blood soaked environment of the Slaughter City.
Thinking on it, Ye Wen couldn't help but find the creature oddly similar to the mythical Blood River Ancestor of the old legends a being rumored to be bound to a river of blood, alive as long as that river existed. But comparisons aside, he knew the Bat King was a mere shadow of such power. With this rare specimen now fully studied and dissected, Ye Wen knew precisely how it functioned.
After his ascension to godhood, his own physical form had transformed, refined by divine power into a godly body no longer purely flesh and blood, but something akin to a half elemental being. Unless his godhead were destroyed, Ye Wen was effectively unkillable. The Bat King's unique composition had provided crucial insights into his own future training, especially in understanding the interplay of elements in his divine evolution.
Stretching, Ye Wen put the now useless Bat King into stasis, preserving it as a specimen for potential future research. Satisfied, he left Tianxing Academy to check on developments within the Saint Soul Empire. In the palace, Bibi Dong had managed to set everything in order, overseeing an empire at the height of its power and influence across Douluo Continent's newly unified territories.
As for the Soul Temple outpost in the Star Luo Empire, it had been destroyed by the White Tiger Emperor. But honestly, neither Ye Wen nor Bibi Dong had wasted any thought on it, given it had been infiltrated by opportunists and leeches. If anything, the White Tiger Emperor's actions saved them from having to clean it up themselves, sparing them any blame.
The White Tiger Emperor was growing desperate from the empire's silence. Massive conscriptions had plunged his lands into poverty, and withholding rations and wages had left his people in despair. But to the arrogant emperor, these complaints were trivial; he held no concern for what he saw as the whining of commoners.
Watching from afar, Ye Wen smirked in contempt.
"The common people suffer, but at least they still live. White Tiger Emperor, are you trying to be this world's Emperor Chongzhen? Withholding wages, too no one's worse than you. You'll only have yourself to blame when your kingdom collapses."
Ye Wen's thoughts shifted to the main cast, including Dai Mubai. With little entertainment in this era, he was curious to see how his meddling might have altered their paths. Skimming through the reports, he snorted.
"Trash is trash. Without his family's support, he's just floundering."
The growing rift between the two empires had severed Dai Mubai's financial lifeline. Meanwhile, Soul Master stipends in the Saint Soul Empire had been halved, though receiving half of something was better than nothing at all. The Saint Soul Empire's lax military policies and consistent stipends also began to attract the lower class Soul Masters.
According to reports, Soul Masters from Star Luo were quietly crossing borders to the Saint Soul Empire in secret to escape the White Tiger Empire's oppressive conscription. Dai Mubai, already a Soul Elder, was no longer eligible for stipends and had no way to sustain himself without his family's backing.
For now, he survived by leading an adventure team a path suggested by Flender. But Ye Wen couldn't help scoffing at the suggestion.
"Flender, of all people, encouraging students to enter soul beast forests. What do you think soul beasts are, docile pets?"
Despite Dai Mubai's supposedly powerful martial spirit, his actual abilities had always been mediocre. Even in the spirit arenas, he had struggled to achieve Silver rank among commoner Soul Masters. Ye Wen privately mocked Flender for his lack of guidance, and he wasn't wrong; Flender's own best student, Qin Ming, had mediocre spirit rings a far cry from the best configurations.
Flender, dubbed a "Master of Failing Students," had produced only a handful of graduates out of dozens, all thanks to misguided teachings. Still, Ye Wen noted with satisfaction that his interference had put Qin Ming on a different path; he had reached Soul Douluo status with a proper configuration.
In Ye Wen's mind, Dai Mubai's fate was already sealed. A Strength type Soul Master who struggled to escape would be easy prey. Ye Wen lost interest in him and focused on his real goal: advancing this world's development.
Though not interested in personal power, he gladly served as a guiding figure, leaving Bibi Dong to bask in the admiration of Douluo Continent's masses.
Not out of laziness, of course. Not at all.
With the Saint Soul Empire established, Ye Wen abolished the nobility. But as any experienced ruler knew, swift changes could spell disaster, so he was careful not to push society's development too far. The slave trade and human trafficking, however, were ruthlessly purged from the empire.
The dissolution of the nobility freed up significant land, much of which would now be redistributed to the people. Ye Wen granted founding ministers and heroes permanent estates as a mark of their contributions, but he kept stringent laws in place to prevent the emergence of an autonomous state within a state.
Next on his agenda was the next generation. Wealth and weapons meant little without future leaders. If the youth of a nation thrived, the nation would grow strong.
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