svetikya Chapter 26 Isn't this bullying honest people?
Chapter 26 Isn't this bullying honest people?
"?" Upon hearing this, Elder Ji felt a sudden tightness in his chest, but he did not show any unusual reaction.
Jing Tianming's heart also stirred, but his expression remained unchanged. Instead, he asked, "What is it you mean, senior?"
Dugu Bo nodded slightly.
"Jing Tianming, have you heard of this name before, young friend?"
"?" Zhu Zhuqing was stunned for a moment.
Isn't that Brother Jing's real name? Could it be that Brother Jing has some unknown story behind him? Thinking of this, doubts arose in my heart.
However, due to the occasion and to avoid exposing Jing Tianming, he remained expressionless and waited for what was to come.
"I've never heard of it." Jing Tianming shook his head, somewhat bewildered.
With a puzzled look, Elder Ji followed up, "Judging from your words, senior, is there something special about this person?"
"Does the former fiancé of the current Pope Bibi Dong's personal disciple count?" Dugu Bo nodded slightly, his face full of gossip. He loved hearing gossip about the Spirit Hall, especially embarrassing things that happened there.
"Why her former fiancé?" Dugu Yan asked curiously. "Grandpa, why didn't you tell me about this before?"
Dugu Bo immediately rolled his eyes. "Why would Grandpa want to chat with you about these gossips?"
"So what's going on now?" Dugu Yan raised an eyebrow.
Dugu Bo shook his head and said helplessly, "Isn't it because classmate Jing also has the surname Jing? Grandpa just remembered that, didn't he?"
"Tell me, tell me!" Dugu Yan stopped arguing and urged her on; she loved hearing gossip!
The others around them also perked up their ears and listened intently. Gossip concerning the Pope of the Spirit Hall was quite rare.
"Actually, this is nothing new, but because of the authority of the Spirit Hall, not many people have spread it."
Dugu Bo said calmly, "About ten years ago, two Soul Master families in the Barak Kingdom were wiped out, which caused quite a stir at the time."
"And a marquis died."
"They were killed by people sent by the Spirit Hall, because this marquis was the supporter and instigator behind this massacre."
"One of the victims was a landowner and grain merchant in Venice, and the other was a major mine owner in Talda."
"It all started when the mine owner's eldest son awakened a powerful innate martial soul and wanted to host a celebration banquet for his friends. Then his enemies and competitors found out and, presumably feeling it posed a significant threat, joined forces with a marquis from the kingdom who had been eyeing both families' businesses to launch a coordinated attack. Meanwhile, the grain merchant, whose only son was betrothed to the mine owner's youngest daughter, was also invited to the banquet."
"As expected, they were all wiped out."
"The grain merchant, being related to the mine owner by marriage, was also completely wiped out to prevent future troubles, and his entire family was exterminated."
"But during this process, three children were protected and escaped into the Spirit Hall in the chaos, and were later adopted by the Spirit Hall."
"And these three children are the mine owner's eldest son and youngest daughter, and the grain merchant's only son."
"That is, Jing Tianming?" Dugu Yan asked subconsciously.
"Not bad!" Dugu Bo nodded, then shook his head, a cold smile creeping onto his face. "It's all thanks to vanity."
"If the mine owner hadn't insisted on putting on this banquet, none of these things would have happened."
"Knowing full well that their own business was a lucrative opportunity, with countless people eyeing it, they had a promising talent in the family, but instead of keeping it hidden and nurturing it secretly, they insisted on making it public knowledge. Now look what's happened—their own family has been destroyed, and their in-laws have suffered as a result."
This is indeed quite unlucky, a truly undeserved disaster… The students of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy couldn’t help but think.
Without a second thought, Dugu Yan casually replied, "Perhaps they felt that their family had the strength to protect them at the time."
"There will never be a shortage of self-righteous fools in this world," Dugu Bo said disdainfully.
Dugu Yan didn't care about that and quickly continued to ask, "Grandpa, what happened next?"
"After that..." Dugu Bo paused, as if recalling, "After that, the mine owner's eldest son was given special training by the Spirit Hall, and then his youngest daughter also awakened her spirit and was taken in as a personal disciple by Pope Bibi Dong. Afterwards, Bibi Dong even sent people to help avenge her family."
"Otherwise, do you really think the Spirit Hall would be so kind?"
"I remember, Bibi Dong had only been Pope for a short time back then..." He stroked his beard, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Just as Grandpa predicted, Bibi Dong chose to take this girl as her disciple not only because she valued her talent, but also because of the family feud she carried. Crucially, she was in the right too. Wasn't this a golden opportunity to establish her authority?"
"He is, after all, a marquis."
"In terms of quantity, it is indeed sufficient."
Dugu Yan opened her mouth, but finally complained, "None of these people in power are kind-hearted."
"That's just how the world is; it's always been about self-interest," Dugu Bo sighed. "And how could someone who becomes Pope be an easy person to deal with?"
Dugu Yan didn't dwell on it and quickly pressed for details, "And then? What happened to the last one named Jing Tianming?"
"Him?" Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow.
"This is the main event."
"This child named Jing Tianming also awakened a martial soul later on. It's unclear what kind of martial soul he awakened, but he had innate soul power."
"It's rumored that he's only at the half-level."
"Half a level?" Yu Tianheng finally couldn't help but speak, muttering, "This talent is indeed quite different from the previous two."
Dugu Yan, thinking further ahead, quickly followed up, "So, Bibi Dong forced him to break off his engagement with his disciple?"
"Anyway, what the people from the Spirit Hall said was voluntary." Dugu Bo curled his lips. "But to say that there wasn't some pressure put on him, I don't believe it. Because Grandpa also heard that this kid later chose to leave the Spirit Hall and go back to his hometown to live the life of a wealthy old man."
"Take the initiative?" Jing Tianming raised an eyebrow, suddenly wanting to laugh.
"Young friend, you also feel something's not quite right, don't you?" Dugu Bo smiled, seemingly mocking him.
"I think so too!"
"In my opinion, it's obvious that Bibi Dong thought the other person's martial soul aptitude was poor and looked down on him, so she just made up an excuse to expel him from the Spirit Hall. However, she was worried that if word got out, it would affect her and her disciples' reputation, so she pulled this stunt. Putting aside outsiders, that child had been in the Spirit Hall for several years, so there must be quite a few people inside who knew about the engagement between the two."
"Doing these things is also for the sake of showing to those below."
"Otherwise, how would Grandpa know these things? It's all just hearsay from within the Spirit Hall."
"Furthermore, there's something else you might not know," Dugu Bo sneered. "After Bibi Dong sent people to kill that marquis, she transferred all the two properties she had seized to her own disciples. Of course, in reality, the Spirit Hall has been managing them on her behalf."
"I learned this from Prince Xuexing."
"After the child left Wuhun City and returned to his hometown, the Wuhun Hall did not return the property that originally belonged to the Jing family."
Dugu Yan's beautiful eyes widened instantly, and she blurted out, indignantly, "Isn't this bullying an honest person?"
Dugu Bo glanced at her and said calmly, "Otherwise, why do you think Grandpa thinks the Spirit Hall is putting on an act?"
"You can see the big picture from small details, Yanzi. There are many things in this world that are not as simple as you imagine."
Upon hearing this, Dugu Yan frowned, suddenly realizing how complicated the world truly was. The mighty Spirit Hall, with its Pope Bibi Dong, actually bullied a mere child, driving him away only to then exploit his family's resources. Had they no shame at all?
"Didn't the brother and sister say anything?"
She couldn't help but ask again, "After all, wasn't all of this caused by their family? This Jing Tianming family is just unlucky to have gotten involved!"