70

275 Resolving the Troubles in Notting City

Notting City is a small border town of the Tiandou Empire, directly bordering the Xingluo Empire.

In peacetime, this was a trading city between the two countries. But now, the style of the new master of the Notting City Spirit Hall has made the people in the city miserable. Especially the civilians who do business, almost everyone has been exploited by them.

In the past, the three major forces in Notting City were Notting College, Spirit Hall, and City Lord's Mansion.

The Spirit Hall is now the only dominant force, and the pattern in the city has long been broken.

"Hmph, Old Xiao, if you and I join forces, I don't believe we can't kill that arrogant palace master." Su Changqing shouted, his face looking extremely ugly.

Xiao Zhan's remarks were too one-sided. Given the style of the Spirit Hall, it would not only affect the people doing business, but would also affect almost every aspect of the city.

Following suit, the deacons of the Spirit Hall repeatedly beat up students from Notting College on the street, which not only affected the public security in the city, but also greatly affected the teaching work of Notting College.

Qi Tian didn't say anything. He sat aside and listened to Xiao Zhan and Su Changqing express their dissatisfaction.

The Spirit Hall's move undoubtedly exposed their ambitions. Through his understanding of the original work, Qi Tian certainly knew that after Bibi Dong provoked the war on the continent, all the kingdoms and principalities bordering the two empires and the Spirit Hall were incorporated into the territory of the Spirit Empire.

It is impossible for the Spirit Hall to make these kings change their minds with just one word. They will definitely take more measures to force them to rely on the Spirit Hall.

Just like in Notting City, Xiao Zhan, the city lord, has actually been sidelined. It is true that the Spirit Hall is doing a lot of evil in the city, but the Spirit Hall is still helping children of appropriate age to awaken their spirits for free.

The country folks who were doing business had no idea whether the people who attacked them were the deacons of the Spirit Hall. They only knew that it was the inaction of the city lord Xiao Zhan that allowed these people to do whatever they wanted in the city.

Once the time is right, the Spirit Hall will publicly announce that they will take over the city's security. The public's dissatisfaction with Xiao Zhan will explode instantly, and by then, Notting City will inevitably be incorporated into the Spirit Hall's territory.

Qi Tian had thought about following Tang San's example and killing the Master of the Spirit Hall of Notting City.

But there is no point in killing the other party. The strength of the Soul King is not impressive in the Spirit Hall. They can completely appoint another Soul King, or even a Soul Emperor, to continue to work in Notting City.

Moreover, they can use this handle to attack Xiao Zhan endlessly, and the final result will not change much, and Xiao Zhan may even be implicated.

Although Tang San's actions in Gengxin City were satisfying, when the Spirit Hall sent out a new hall master, innocent people would still be implicated.

Qi Tian was silent for a long time before he spoke: "Dean, Uncle Xiao, I think the most urgent thing is not to think about how to fight the Spirit Hall Master to the death, but to find a way to minimize the influence of the Spirit Hall in the city."

Xiao Zhan and Su Changqing looked at each other with a hint of surprise on their faces.

Their previous idea was to use force to force the Spirit Hall to make concessions. However, in terms of strength, they were far behind the Spirit Hall, so this approach was ultimately just empty talk and could not be realized.

"Xiaotian, do you have a solution?" Xiao Zhan couldn't help but ask.

Qi Tian nodded. It couldn't really be considered a countermeasure. The most he could do was to counter the opponent's moves.

"The Spirit Hall's actions are nothing more than trying to make the City Lord's Mansion lose its credibility. They know that the City Lord's Mansion dare not go to the Spirit Hall to arrest people, so they are so unscrupulous."

"But, we haven't torn our relationship apart yet. The actual control of Notting City is still in the hands of Uncle Xiao. I think we don't need to care about what the Spirit Hall does, and we shouldn't care about it."

Before Qi Tian could finish, Xiao Zhan objected, "Absolutely not. If this continues, the whole Notting City will be in chaos. When the Governor and His Majesty come to hold me accountable, my position as the City Lord will be over."

Su Changqing patted his shoulder and smiled bitterly, "Old Xiao, don't be so hasty to express your opinion. We are in a state of confusion right now. As a bystander, Xiaotian should be able to give a lot of suggestions. Let's just listen to what he has to say."

"The one who knows me best is the dean." After making a joke, Qi Tian continued, "Uncle Xiao, you can definitely send someone to quietly follow the deacon of the Spirit Hall."

"These deacons are all soul masters, and they won't care about the city guards you arranged. When they start beating people, your people don't need to intervene, just stand aside and record what happened."

"Wait until the next day, and then make public all the actions of these deacons, and include their portraits. After that, you will announce that there are too few soul masters in the city guards to effectively control the behavior of these deacons. As for the losses of the people, your City Lord's Mansion will bear all the consequences."

Xiao Zhan shook his head again, "I'm afraid that's not possible. Where would the City Lord's Mansion get so much money? Those guys were so ruthless. I'm afraid that even if I lose all my wealth, it won't be enough."

Su Changqing was not in a hurry to express his opinion. He knew that Qi Tian would not speak without a purpose. He must have thought of a countermeasure when he said that. In fact, in the end, Xiao Zhan would not have to spend a penny.

Qi Tian smiled faintly, "If I remember correctly, the soul master subsidies issued by the Notting City Spirit Hall are all provided by the Empire. Uncle Xiao, I remember you told me that the Empire will first give this money to the City Lord's Mansion, and then the City Lord's Mansion will hand it over to the Spirit Hall."

"There are very few soul masters in Notting City, and most of them are concentrated in the Spirit Hall. Moreover, the ones who receive the most soul master subsidies are the deacons of the Spirit Hall. You should keep the money and only give it to the soul masters of Notting College and the City Lord's Mansion."

"In this case, the Spirit Hall deacon will not get the money and will definitely put pressure on the Spirit Hall Master. At that time, he will have no choice but to compromise."

The money originally belonged to the Heaven Dou Empire, and without a quarrel, Xiao Zhan was not worried that the Spirit Hall would send someone to rob it. If they really dared to do so, as the highest executive officer of Notting City, he could openly challenge the Spirit Hall.

After hearing this, Su Changqing greatly appreciated it. "It's a good strategy. Let them fight each other, and the pressure will be transferred back to the Spirit Hall. Moreover, by publishing the portraits and deeds of these deacons, the people will soon know that the one who attacked them was the Spirit Hall."

Xiao Zhan smiled dumbly, "We are both old now, and we still have to rely on Xiaotian to come up with such a perfect plan."

Qi Tian shook his head and smiled, "It's nothing, it's just that your focus has always been on the Spirit Hall Master, and you haven't considered the problem from the perspective of the overall situation."

"But there is another important issue. Your strength is not enough to compete with the Spirit Hall Master. If the Spirit Hall sends another Soul King, these measures will be meaningless."

This is indeed a problem, but Xiao Zhan and the other two are already over fifty years old. How easy is it to make another breakthrough?