CHAPTER 97: The Cost of Awakening

Chapter 97: The Cost of Awakening

"You, a Titled Douluo, threatened a five-ringed Spirit King who could only fuse a thousand-year spirit ring when he reached his sixth ring. And now you claim the only way to stop threatening him was by slapping him when you felt something was off?"

Jing Hongchen sneered as he spoke, clearly beginning to question the intelligence of Old Xuan.

"Old Xuan's action wasn't a threat. It was a helpless decision—to prevent the resurgence of the Angel Spirit. You're not from Douluo Continent, so you don't understand the state of things ten thousand years ago. Back then, nearly every spirit master across the continent lived as slaves under the Spirit Hall. Old Xuan simply didn't want such an evil force to rise again."

Yan Shaozhe quickly stepped in to defend Old Xuan, aware of how intelligent and cautious the man was. He feared that if Old Xuan misspoke, it could bring grave consequences for Shrek Academy.

But Xiao Qiang merely sneered at Shaozhe's words.

"All spirit masters were slaves to Spirit Hall? That's the first time I've heard such nonsense—aside from when Tang Wulin said something similar in Douluo Dalu III. And from the looks of it, you've all been brainwashed over the past ten thousand years by those in power."

"You mean to say the spirit masters ten thousand years ago were all slaves of the Spirit Hall?" Xiao Qiang looked directly at Yan Shaozhe, his tone calm but piercing.

Shaozhe glared, itching to slap Xiao Qiang then and there. But the pressure from the Unbreakable Douluo standing beside him, from Jing Hongchen in the distance, and from two faint but powerful auras watching nearby, made him realize he didn't stand a chance. Begrudgingly, he forced himself to speak as if addressing a peer.

"That's correct. Back then, the Spirit Hall even forced children who hadn't awakened yet to swear loyalty. Without allegiance, they weren't allowed to awaken their spirits."

"I won't argue whether the ones in power then—those bearing angel spirits—were right or wrong. I just have one question." Xiao Qiang's gaze was steady. "Did Spirit Hall charge people to awaken spirits back then?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course not! Awakening spirits doesn't cost money!" Yan Shaozhe answered without thinking.

He spoke from personal experience. His father had been a spirit master, and when it came time to awaken his spirit, his father did it for him—free of charge. He had never needed to pay, so the concept was absurd to him.

But as soon as those words left his mouth, the entire venue fell silent.

Shaozhe frowned, confused by the sudden, suffocating silence.

In his view, spirit awakening had always been free. But this eerie silence told a different story. It was as if he had said something blasphemous.

Born with a top-tier spirit, and raised in a noble environment, Yan Shaozhe had never stepped into the grassroots level of society. He simply didn't understand the hardships that the common people had endured.

In theory, yes—spirit awakening should be free. It's a noble endeavor that helps the country by enhancing its military strength. But theories are only ideals. In reality, they break down under layers of bureaucracy and greed.

Ten thousand years ago, Spirit Hall could indeed send spirit masters to every remote village to perform free awakenings. They did this not out of charity, but out of necessity. As Angel Spirit wielders, they needed to monitor spirit master potential across the continent—to guide those with power onto the righteous path, or to eliminate those who leaned toward evil, absorbing their power.

For that reason, free spirit awakening was a logical, even strategic move for Spirit Hall. Most of the spirit masters they sent—like Su Yuntao, the well-known 'two-level wolf'—were from humble origins. Civilians themselves, they could empathize with struggling families, and with Spirit Hall's reward system in place, they were incentivized to seek out and recommend promising children to their academies.

Both the upper echelon and the grassroots spirit masters had their interests aligned. As a result, Spirit Hall could accomplish what no one else could: ensure every child had a chance to awaken their spirit, free of charge.

But after Spirit Hall was destroyed, the responsibility of spirit awakening shifted to the royal families—and things changed.

On paper, awakenings were still free. But the royal family couldn't manage the entire continent, so they delegated the responsibility to high-ranking nobles, who passed it down to mid-tier and eventually to low-tier nobles. In the end, it was the servants and retainers of petty lords who were tasked with carrying out spirit awakenings.

Their mission wasn't public service. It was to please their masters.

How do you please your master? Strength and wealth.

And strength requires money.

So these retainers began charging for spirit awakenings. After all, the official compensation was laughably small, and they needed funds for cultivation, survival, and status. If someone wanted their child's spirit awakened, they had to pay. If they didn't, well—no spirit awakening.

It became an unspoken norm. In poor villages, it wasn't rare for an entire round of spirit awakening visits to yield no awakened spirits—because none could afford it.

From there, the chain continued upward. The retainers paid the housekeepers. The housekeepers appeased the lords. The lords used the money for training or passed it to the royal family. Everyone earned something—except for the common folk at the bottom, who bore all the cost and received none of the benefit.

Naturally, Yan Shaozhe—born with privilege and power—had never seen this side of the world. So when he declared that spirit awakening was free, he thought he was stating a fact. Instead, he accidentally insulted an entire room of people.

After his words, the crowd erupted in angry disbelief.

"What?! Awakening doesn't cost money?!"

"You serious?! I paid ten gold soul coins!"

"I only paid eight… but now that sounds expensive!"

"Hell, I paid twenty!"

"Shut it! I spent thirty!"

"I only spent five—but that money came from my sister marrying an old man! And now you're telling me it should've been free? If I were born in that era, maybe she wouldn't have had to go through that!"

One spirit master, teary-eyed, shouted emotionally, his voice trembling with bitterness. Shaozhe's words had shattered his illusions about Shrek Academy.

Some families had grit their teeth and paid the price. Others, barely surviving, had to sell everything they had—sometimes even their own kin—just for a chance to awaken their children's spirits.

Yan Shaozhe stood frozen, at a complete loss for words.

Why are you all crying over ten or twenty gold soul coins? he thought. Even the food in the Shrek cafeteria costs more than that if you want something good…

But he said nothing. He couldn't. Because for once, even the high and mighty representative of Shrek Academy had no words to defend himself.