Chapter 437: Reforming the Empire? Fairness!
Tang Hao raised his head, looking at Ah Yin, his face covered in tears.
"Why?"
"Are you not even willing to let me die?"
Ah Yin looked at him, her eyes devoid of the madness of extreme hatred, nor the soft-heartedness of rekindled old feelings, only a profound disappointment.
"Tang Hao, you are still the same."
"Back then, when things happened, you forced me to sacrifice myself."
"Now that the truth is revealed, you want to use death to escape again."
Tang Hao's body trembled.
Ah Yin shook her head gently.
"Your life is not something to be returned to me."
"If you die, will the pain of my years of slumber disappear?"
"If you die, can the people Tang San killed be resurrected?"
"If you die, can those from the Clear Sky Sect who were refined into undead find peace?"
"If you die, it is only so that you do not have to face all of this anymore."
Tang Hao stood there, stunned.
The hammer slipped from his hand and crashed to the ground.
Ah Yin slowly retracted her blue silver emperor vines, her voice becoming lighter and colder.
"I once thought that you were just too proud. I once thought that although you were rude and impulsive, at least you would protect me with all your heart."
"But now I know that the one you love most is not me, but yourself."
"It is the dignity of the Clear Sky Sect's Young Lord."
"It is the pride of the Clear Sky Douluo. It is your arrogance—unwilling to bow, unwilling to yield, unwilling to admit that you cannot protect anyone."
Tang Hao opened his mouth, but could not say a single word.
Ah Yin looked at him, the tears in her eyes gradually receding.
"Tang Hao."
"I am truly so disappointed."
This sentence was heavier than any angry curse.
It was as if the last ounce of strength had been drained from Tang Hao, and he slowly knelt to the ground.
"Ah Yin..."
Ah Yin took a step back.
This step left Tang Hao completely frozen.
She did not let him get close again.
Ah Yin said in a low voice: "From this day on, you and I have no further ties."
Tang Hao looked up abruptly.
"No..."
"Ah Yin, don't..."
"I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong!"
"You can scold me, hate me, hit me, or kill me."
"Just don't say there are no further ties..."
Ah Yin looked at him, her voice so calm it was heartbreaking.
"I will not kill you."
"Because killing you has no meaning."
"I will also not hate you anymore."
"Because hating you would only keep me trapped in the past."
"Tang Hao, I have already died once. This time, waking up, I do not want to live for your regrets, your pain, or your self-reproach anymore."
"I still have Chuan'er, and the Blue Silver Emperor clan."
"And there are those innocent lives harmed by Tang San that need someone to protect them."
"And you..."
She paused, looking at Tang Hao kneeling on the ground.
"You will stay here."
"Spend the rest of your life watching carefully."
"Watch the fruit that eventually grows from the seeds you planted back then."
Tang Hao knelt in the mud, his body trembling violently.
His lips moved, but he could no longer make a sound.
Ah Yin turned and walked out of the courtyard.
The morning light of Holy Soul Village had fully brightened.
Blue Silver Grass swayed gently beneath her feet, like a gentle path, sending her away from this place that bore too many mistakes and too much pain.
Tang Hao suddenly cried out hoarsely: "Ah Yin!"
Ah Yin paused for a moment but did not turn back.
Tang Hao knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
"Can I see you one more time?"
Ah Yin remained silent for a long time, and finally, she said softly: "There is no need."
Having said that, she did not linger.
A blue-gold light flashed, and Ah Yin's figure gradually disappeared into the morning mist outside Holy Soul Village.
Tang Hao knelt where he was, gazing in the direction she had left, as if all his Soul had been drained in an instant.
In the village, the laughter of children came from afar.
A villager walked by the roadside carrying a hoe, saw Tang Hao kneeling in the courtyard with his face full of tears, and couldn't help but shake his head, thinking that this sloppy blacksmith was drunk again.
No one knew that, on this very morning, a Clear Sky Douluo who had once shaken the continent had completely lost the last thing he wanted to hold onto.
Tang Hao looked down at the hammer on the ground.
That hammer was very ordinary, so ordinary that it had nothing to do with the Clear Sky Hammer.
But at this moment, it seemed to be silently mocking him.
Tang Hao suddenly laughed, and as he laughed, he cried again.
Then he reached out and grabbed the hammer, stumbling back to the furnace fire.
The fire was almost out.
Tang Hao added charcoal and pulled the bellows again.
The flames rose little by little.
The hammer fell again.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The sound was dull, hollow, and numb.
It was like beating iron.
And it was also like beating out the sins of his life that could never be repaid.
After Tang San disappeared, the Douluo Continent actually ushered in a rare period of peace.
This peace was not because the war had ended, but because everyone knew that the true disaster had not yet passed.
Tang San was not dead.
The Rakshasa God had personally taken action, rescuing him from the siege of Tang Chuan, Qian Renxue, and Di Tian.
Although Tang Chuan sensed through the Blue Silver Emperor's life network that Tang San's aura had disappeared from the Douluo Continent, no one would naively believe that he had truly fallen.
Such a person, as long as he had a single breath left, would definitely crawl back.
Therefore, the Spirit Empire temporarily halted its offensive against Heaven Dou and Star Luo.
The Star Dou Great Forest also withdrew its outer Soul Beasts, no longer having large-scale conflicts with human cities.
The Spirit Empire's army outside Heaven Dou City retreated thirty miles, maintaining only a defensive line and no longer attacking the city.
Meanwhile, within the Heaven Dou Empire, true change had finally arrived.
This change was not pushed by Xue Beng, but was personally driven by Tang Chuan.
After Tang Chuan returned to the Heaven Dou Empire, the support for him from the citizens of Heaven Dou City had reached an unprecedented level.
Tang San had slaughtered the city and devoured Souls, and Qian Renxue had brought troops to the city walls; the Heaven Dou Royal Family had been almost powerless to resist.
In the end, the one who truly gave the people hope was Tang Chuan.
Therefore, when Tang Chuan proposed reforming the Heaven Dou Empire, even though countless nobles were dissatisfied, no one dared to openly oppose him.
Because they all knew that in the current Heaven Dou Empire, the person who could truly protect their lives was not the emperor, Xue Beng, but Tang Chuan.
In the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, inside the great hall, the atmosphere was oppressive.
Xue Beng sat on the throne, his expression complex.
Ning Fengzhi stood to the side, his expression calm.
Dugu Bo crossed his arms, coldly scanning the noble ministers below who had ugly expressions.
Although Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo did not speak, they stood outside the hall, demonstrating the attitude of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect through their actions.
Tang Chuan stood in the center of the hall, holding neither the Sea God Trident nor releasing his Martial Soul.
Yet, standing there, he was more impossible to ignore than any emperor.
"From this day on, the Heaven Dou Empire abolishes the noble right to private lynching."
Tang Chuan's voice was calm, yet it reached every corner of the hall.
"No noble may henceforth dispose of the lives of commoners in the name of their fief, title, or Family. If commoners have grievances, they may file appeals in the city courts."
"If a noble breaks the law, it is the same crime as a commoner."
As soon as these words were spoken, an uproar immediately broke out in the hall.
An old noble couldn't help but stand up, speaking urgently: "Lord Tang Chuan, this move is absolutely impossible!"
"Noble fiefs have always been governed by the nobles themselves. If the right to private lynching is abolished, where will the dignity of the fief be? Where will the order of the Family be?"
Tang Chuan glanced at him.
"Is your dignity built upon killing commoners?"
The old noble's face turned pale.
Tang Chuan continued: "If your Family can only maintain order by disposing of commoners at will, then such order is not worth having."
The old noble's lips trembled, but he dared not say anything more.
Tang Chuan ignored him and continued: "Second, re-examine the Empire's land registers."
"Any noble, Sect, or merchant guild that has encroached upon commoner land through high-interest loans, forced occupation, or forged contracts must report and return it within three months."
"Those who report voluntarily will be dealt with leniently."
"Those who conceal it, once verified, will have their titles downgraded and their fiefs confiscated by the Empire."
This time, the ministers' expressions became even uglier.
Land was the true lifeblood of the nobility.
Over these years, the Heaven Dou Empire's nobility had become corrupt; many commoners within the fiefs had been forced to sell their land and themselves, eventually becoming tenant farmers or servants in noble manors.
If the land registers were re-examined, it would be almost equivalent to tearing away the fig leaf of the entire noble class.
But Tang Chuan did not stop.
"Third, establish the Imperial Soul Master Public School."
"From now on, all six-year-old children within Heaven Dou, regardless of whether they are noble or commoner, may participate for free in the Martial Soul Awakening held by the Empire's Soul Master Academies."
"Those who have Soul Power after Awakening may enter local Soul Master Public Schools to Cultivate."
"Tuition will be covered by the Empire."
"There shall no longer be situations where noble children monopolize Soul Master education and commoner geniuses are buried."
When these words were spoken, Ning Fengzhi's eyes brightened slightly.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had always valued talent.
This point by Tang Chuan was almost breaking the nobility's monopoly on Soul Master resources at the root.
If the Heaven Dou Empire could truly establish a system for cultivating commoner Soul Masters in the future, the number of Soul Masters in the Empire would inevitably increase significantly, and the commoners' identification with the Empire would also greatly improve.
Tang Chuan continued: "Fourth, establish the Supervisory Court."
"Sect Master Ning and Senior Dugu will temporarily hold the power of supervision."
"They will supervise imperial officials, nobles, local city lords, and Soul Master Public Schools. Anyone who embezzles disaster relief funds, withholds military pay, oppresses commoners, or colludes with Tang San and the Rakshasa Divine Court shall be killed."
As the last word fell, the great hall became instantly quiet.
Those noble ministers only felt a chill down their spines.
They finally understood that Tang Chuan was not consulting with them.
This was an order.
Xue Beng sat on the throne, his expression uncertain.
These powers should have been controlled by the emperor.
But now, Tang Chuan, in front of all the ministers, had handed the power of supervision to Ning Fengzhi and Dugu Bo, which was almost equivalent to hanging a sword over the head of the entire Heaven Dou noble system.
But Xue Beng dared not oppose it.
Because he knew better than anyone that without Tang Chuan, Heaven Dou City would have fallen long ago.
Moreover, the commoners now supported Tang Chuan, the military feared Tang Chuan, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect supported Tang Chuan, and Dugu Bo also stood by Tang Chuan's side.
Opposing Tang Chuan at this time was just courting death.
Tang Chuan looked at Xue Beng.
"Does Your Majesty have any objections?"
Xue Beng's heart trembled, and he forced a smile.
"Everything Your Excellency Tang Chuan has said is for the sake of the people of Heaven Dou."
"I naturally support it."
Tang Chuan nodded.
"Then issue the decree."
Xue Beng's fingers tightened slightly.
"Very well."
On this day, the Heaven Dou Empire successively promulgated eight new policies.
Abolishing noble private lynching.
Re-examining land registers.
Reducing taxes on commoners.
Abolishing some unreasonable corvée labor.
Establishing Soul Master Public Schools.
Establishing the Supervisory Court.
Rectifying local military armaments.
Opening channels for commoners to enter officialdom.
After the news spread, the entire Heaven Dou Empire was shaken.
The nobles wailed.
But the commoners felt as if they had suddenly seen a beam of light in the darkness.
Many commoners who had been oppressed by nobles for years knew for the first time that nobles could also be judged.
They realized that commoners' children could also have their Martial Souls awakened for free, and that those high-and-mighty city lords, tax officials, and noble masters were not forever untouchable.
Of course, reform could not be smooth sailing.
Soon, resistance appeared in various localities.
Some nobles secretly destroyed land registers, some city lords refused to implement the new policies, some fief private armies expelled Supervisory Court officials, and some even wanted to assassinate teachers of the Soul Master Public Schools under the cover of night.
Tang Chuan did not go soft.
He did not go to every place personally, but his Blue Silver Clone went.
Second Soul skills, Blue Silver Clone, combined with the First Soul Skill, Mimicry.
For a time, "Tang Chuan" appeared all over Heaven Dou.
Sometimes, he appeared as Tang Chuan himself, holding the trident.
Sometimes, he disguised himself as an ordinary supervisor, mixing into local cities to secretly investigate nobles.
Sometimes, he even mimicked a noble's servant, personally hearing those nobles discussing how to resist the orders in secret rooms.
The first to run into the blade was a hereditary marquis in the North.
This person had forcibly occupied tens of thousands of acres of commoner farmland, set up private dungeons within his fief, and harmed over a hundred commoners.
After the new policy was issued, he not only refused to hand over the land registers but also sent private troops to kill three Supervisory Court officials.
That night, Tang Chuan's Blue Silver Clone appeared at the marquis's mansion.
There was no fanfare.
No army surrounded the city.
Only countless Blue Silver Grass grew from beneath the marquis's mansion, sealing off the entire estate.
That marquis still wanted to quibble, but Tang Chuan's Clone produced on the spot the account books from his secret room, the bones in the dungeons, and the commoners who had been forced to sign indentures.
The next morning, the marquis was taken to the city center.
His title was abolished.
His fief was confiscated.
The principal offender was beheaded.
The accomplices were exiled.
The encroached land was redistributed back to the commoners.
After this blow fell, the entire Heaven Dou noble class became much quieter.
They finally understood that Tang Chuan was not bluffing.
They also finally understood that the so-called Sea God's successor, wielder of the Blue Silver Emperor, and the nemesis of Rakshasa, could not only kill enemies on the battlefield.
When such a person wanted to settle accounts with internal corruption, he was equally terrifying.
In just three short months, the Heaven Dou Empire underwent earth-shaking changes.
Nobles everywhere dared no longer brazenly oppress commoners.
Much of the forcibly occupied farmland was redistributed.
Soul Master Public Schools began to be established in major cities.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect invested a large amount of funds, providing textbooks, medicinal materials, and basic Soul Master teachers.
Dugu Bo presided over the Supervisory Court, suppressing all dissent in the name of Poison Douluo.
Some people privately cursed him as a poisonous knife in Tang Chuan's hand.
After Dugu Bo found out, he just sneered.
"I was never a good person back then."
"Now, being able to act as a knife to chop down a few damned nobles can be considered accumulating virtue."
Ning Fengzhi was even clearer that Tang Chuan was doing something unprecedented.
He was not simply preserving Heaven Dou.
He was reshaping Heaven Dou.
A new Heaven Dou where there was no arbitrary oppression by nobles, where commoners could also receive Soul Master education, where imperial officials were supervised, and where the military and tax systems were gradually standardized.
If this succeeded, the Heaven Dou Empire might not necessarily surpass the Spirit Empire in a short time.
But at least, it was no longer just an Empire of the old nobility.
It had begun to have a Foundation that truly belonged to the common people.
Of course, this also made Xue Beng feel increasingly uneasy.
Because when the people of Heaven Dou mentioned Tang Chuan, their eyes held not just awe, but faith.
But Tang Chuan did not care about this.
He did not want to be the emperor.
He had no interest in sitting on that throne.
He only knew that if he did not change something during the time Tang San was gone, when Tang San returned, the corrupt Empire would only become a breeding ground for Tang San to slaughter cities and devour Souls again.
A country numbed by the oppression of nobles had no resistance.
Only by making the common people truly feel that they were worth protecting would they be willing to stand up and protect their own homes when disaster struck.