...
"Alright, before we adjourn, here's the last and most important item on the agenda."
Xuan Hao stopped wasting words and dragged out a huge box made of ironwood from behind him, placing it on the stage with a "bang".
"Come on, everyone line up and come up one by one to pay... cough, pay your membership fee."
"This is to cover the operating costs of our Peace and Mutual Aid Association.
Once a month, fair and square.
One gold soul coin per person in the beginner level, and ten gold soul coins per person in the intermediate level."
"I, Xuanhao, am a man of principle. I will never charge an extra penny or a penny less."
Xuan Hao patted the box and looked at everyone with a smile:
"Once you've paid the money, we're friends. Friends should naturally get along well.
If you encounter any trouble at the academy in the future, just mention my name."
"But if he doesn't befriend me…" Xuan Hao said quietly, "that means he looks down on me and doesn't want to be my friend.
Since we're not friends, I can't guarantee that he won't trip on the street or choke on his food."
The entire room fell silent for two seconds.
Then, in an eerie and humiliating atmosphere, the line began to slowly incline.
Most of those who can enter the Martial Soul Academy come from wealthy families.
One gold soul coin, or even ten gold soul coins, is just the cost of a meal or a little pocket money for them; it's not that they can't afford it.
But how embarrassing!
If a six-year-old first-grade student were to collect protection money in front of the entire school, how would I ever face anyone again?
But seeing the silver-haired boy standing beside the box, toying with a gold coin in his hand, everyone silently swallowed their anger.
Money is valuable, but face is even more precious; yet, for the sake of one's life, both can be abandoned.
Behind the high platform.
Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan stood in a triangular formation, acting as the left and right protectors.
Yan stared at the long line of people waiting to pay below the stage, his lips twitching uncontrollably.
He lowered his voice and said to Xie Yue beside him, "Hey, are we just going to watch like this?
This is too... too arrogant! Won't something bad happen?"
Xie Yue crossed his arms, his face expressionless, but the twitching at the corner of his eye betrayed his inner turmoil: "Something happened?
Now, apart from the teachers, who in the entire school dares to touch him?
Even we've been dragged into this as a show of support, what else can we say?"
Hu Liena sighed, looking utterly dejected.
She had initially thought her junior brother was just a little mischievous, but it turned out he was a real troublemaker.
"Junior brother..."
Hu Liena couldn't help but step forward and whisper a reminder, "If the teacher finds out about doing this so openly..."
"Don't worry, senior sister."
Xuan Hao turned around, gave Hu Liena a bright smile, and casually stuffed a handful of gold soul coins he had just collected into the huge box, making a pleasant rustling sound.
"Look how enthusiastic everyone is! Every face is filled with longing for peace."
As he spoke, he turned to the intermediate student who had just paid his fees and looked utterly dejected, and asked with a smile:
"Young man, you did this voluntarily, right?
I didn't force you, did I?"
The student shuddered, sensing the subtle pressure emanating from Xuan Hao.
He quickly forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and nodded frantically.
"It's...voluntary! Absolutely voluntary! It's an honor to contribute to campus peace! I'm so happy!"
After saying that, he disappeared into the crowd as if fleeing for his life.
Xuan Hao shrugged, looked at Hu Liena, and said with an innocent expression:
"Look, everyone did it voluntarily."
"Right?"
Just then, a cold voice, filled with suppressed anger, suddenly came from high above, instantly freezing the lively atmosphere of the entire square.
"Yeah?"
"Since you're so happy, could I submit a copy as well, and also... report it to the authorities?"
Xuan Hao's face, which had been wearing a "kind" smile, froze completely the moment he heard that familiar voice, as if it had been frozen by liquid nitrogen.
He stiffly raised his head, meeting Bibi Dong's pale purple eyes, which seemed to be smiling but also held a hint of coldness.
The nearly one thousand students, who had been exploited and dared not speak out, now had a light in their eyes that was even more affectionate than when they saw their own parents.
It was a fervent anticipation of seeing the savior descend, of seeing the dawn break through the darkness!
Your Holiness the Pope!
She's here to punish this silver-haired demon king!
Bibi Dong floated down slowly, gracefully standing in front of the large chest filled with gold soul coins.
She looked down at Xuan Hao, who only reached her waist, and parted her red lips slightly:
"Why aren't you saying anything?
President Xuan Hao?
I also want to join your Peace and Mutual Aid Association.
I wonder how much protection fee I, a Title Douluo, would have to pay each month according to the rules?"
Xuan Hao's lips twitched violently, and cold sweat poured down his forehead in an instant.
He chuckled dryly, trying to make a last-ditch effort: "Sister... look at what you're saying. We're family, talking about money is too much of a fuss.
Forget it! I'll pay your share!"
"That won't do."
Bibi Dong said with a playful tone, "Even close brothers need to keep clear accounts.
Didn't you just say that this is the rule? Without rules, there can be no order.
How could I lead the way in breaking your rules?"
Xuan Hao was in despair.
He instinctively turned his pleading gaze toward Hu Liena, who was standing behind him.
However, his usually protective senior sister was looking up at the clouds in the sky, as if there was some breathtaking scenery there, and she didn't even dare to glance in his direction.
Are you kidding me!
The teacher's already giving me that cold shoulder, who would dare go up and provoke me?
That's asking for trouble!
"Since we can't figure it out, let's go back and calculate it slowly."
Before Xuan Hao could come up with any more excuses, Bibi Dong reached out and, like picking up a guilty kitten, grabbed the scruff of Xuan Hao's neck and lifted him up.
"They're gone."
Before she finished speaking, Bibi Dong's figure flashed, transforming into a streak of light that shot into the sky and disappeared above the Martial Soul Academy in the blink of an eye.
"oh--!!!"
"Long live the Pope!!"
"Heaven has eyes! The Great Demon King has finally been captured!"
"Waaaaah... My gold soul coins... Even though I didn't get the money back, as long as he's gone, there's still hope for the future!"
A deafening roar of cheers erupted from the small square behind them, making the scene even more lively than during the Chinese New Year.
...
The Papal Palace, the sleeping quarters.
The luxurious room was carpeted with thick carpets and filled with a faint fragrance.
But the atmosphere at that moment was so oppressive it was suffocating.
Bibi Dong sat on the soft couch, her long legs crossed, holding a cup of tea that had long since gone cold, her gaze fixed on the distance ahead.
Two meters in front of her.
Xuan Hao obediently knelt on the carpet, his hands on his knees, his head bowed, looking like he was saying, "I was wrong, but I'll do it again next time."
Bibi Dong remained silent.
It wasn't that she was putting on airs, but rather that she was genuinely...in a difficult position.
As the supreme ruler of the Spirit Hall, what storms hasn't she weathered?
What conspiracies hasn't she dealt with?
But faced with the mess Xuan Hao had made, she was momentarily unsure of what to do.
What should be the punishment?
Should we fine him by making him collect protection money?
This sounds awful, like something a petty bandit would do.
But frankly, it's just kids fighting and plundering resources.
If it were any other student causing this commotion, the faculty would have already intervened to suppress it.
The problem is that this kid is too smart and knows how to leverage opportunities.
He actually knew how to use the banner of "personal disciple of the Pope" to shut up those teachers, and even used her words as a weapon, making the whole college angry but dare not speak out.
Moreover, what troubled Bibi Dong the most was that Xuan Hao did not abuse his power to bully others.
He didn't order the Temple Knights to fight, nor did he ask the Title Douluo to back him up.
He defeated the entire school purely through his own fists, one punch and one kick at a time!
This is actually tacitly accepted within the unspoken rules of the Martial Soul Academy.
The world of Soul Masters is a dog-eat-dog world where the strong possess everything and dominate the weak—this is an ironclad rule.
The academy does not prohibit private fights precisely to allow them to adapt to this kind of cruelty in advance.
Every year, countless Soul Masters die in private battles in the wild.
If they can't even withstand the storms within the academy, they'll only be sending themselves to their deaths when they go out into the world.
But the problem is...
Someone like Xuan Hao, who single-handedly took on the entire school, defeating nearly a thousand students, then recruited his own team, established rules, and even started collecting taxes from upperclassmen…
This is the first time we've encountered such an oddity in all the years the Spirit Hall has been established!
This is no longer simple bullying; it is an extremely domineering form of "rule."
This matter can be big or small.
On a grander scale, this is a challenge to the authority of the academy, or even the creation of an "independent kingdom" within the Spirit Hall.
At such a young age, he has already shown the demeanor of a tyrant, and even the signs of treacherous schemes.
To put it simply, this is just kids playing house, only a bit too much.
Bibi Dong rubbed her temples, her feelings quite complicated.
Deep down, she was actually... happy.
This proves she wasn't wrong. Xuan Hao is not only exceptionally talented, but he's also not the kind of blockhead who only knows how to cultivate, nor is he a reckless brute who only knows how to act bravely.
He knows how to utilize rules, how to leverage power, and even more importantly, how to manage and establish order.
But the problem is...
That kid is too arrogant!
He shouldn't have used her name to shut up the college teachers, and even fooled those several high-ranking education committee members.
This constitutes "falsely conveying imperial edicts" and is an overreach of authority!
At Wuhun Academy, the power to make the rules lies with the teachers, the education committee, and ultimately with her, the pope.
Xuan Hao, a mere brat, dares to establish the "Xuan Hao Law" on his own, turning the academy into his private territory.
If we don't discipline him now, what will happen when he becomes powerful?
Will he even try to change the rules of the Papal Palace?
Will he even ignore what she, his teacher, says?
We need to work on his temper.
But if the scolding is too harsh, won't it damage the child's self-confidence and enthusiasm?
After all, he didn't really do anything wrong, he just did "too well".
To manage or not to manage?
How should it be managed?
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