Translated by: La0o9
Edited by: Dr.Lock
Proofreader:? Arya
When the Bramble Birdâs battle had just ended.
On another side.
Somewhere in the 900 million World Layers.
A barren and desolate world.
No person or organization would ever feel interested in this world.
After countless years of confirmation, this world had been recognized as the most barren location.
ââ-because this world didnât have anything, nothing could grow here, but it was also extremely tough and hard to be destroyed.
This world was also extremely small, only enough for several hundred people to stand on at once.
And today, there were several hundred cultivators standing here.
They all came from Cultivation-type worlds, and have just returned from a war campaign.
They were gathered here in order to discuss an important matter.
âSilence! Silence!â
An old man stood in the middle of everyone and shouted.
No one reacted to him.
The shadows of war still clouded their minds.
Many cultivators were discussing things among themselves, blaming one another for this and that, a few were even ready to fight.
Completely opposite from this, there were more cultivators who were dejected and dispirited, sitting still in place without saying a word.
Their eyes were vacant, their bodies stiff and unmoving, almost as if their souls had left, leaving only an empty husk behind.
The old man glanced around with a clear look of loss in his eyes.
But soon enough, he regained his spirit.
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ââ-he canât act like them as well, otherwise the entire Cultivation Alliance will collapse.
The old man took a deep breath, circulated his spirit energy and shouted again: âAll of you, SILENCE!â
This shout shook the entire world, even forming ripples in the void of space around it.
The cultivatorsâ discussing voices slowly died down.
Taking this chance, the old man loudly declared: âI know everyone is dejected and fearful, but now isnât the time for us to be dispirited and lower our heads, there are more pressing matters for us to attend toâ
Hearing that, a few cultivators already couldnât hold themselves back, wanting to lash out.
The old man put his hand up, glanced around the entire place and spoke in a low voice: âMy wounds are also at the breaking point, donât you also think I also want to just give up, disband and leave right now as well?â
Hearing that, the cultivators didnât respond.
The planet fell silent.
The old man sighed exhaustively but felt a bit more assured in his heart.
âThe situation is as youâve heard, the Cultivation Demon Nation had sent us an ultimatum, asking for our immediate surrenderâ
âAt this point in time, with so many forces at war and being unable to care for themselves, there is no one to extend a helping hand to usâ
âBut weâre true cultivators! No matter what, do you want to surrender to the fake garbage and become slaves to [Order]?â
âWe will not!â
âDefinitely not!â
âIâd rather die than become a slave!â
âYouâre right!â
The cultivators all agreed with him.
The old man raised his voice and spoke again: âI need to make this clear to everyone, the failure of the war this time is my fault, it was my inability to take command and fight that caused our Cultivation Alliance to receive so much damageâ
Another middle-aged cultivator couldnât help but raised his voice: âDao Lord Hao Ran, itâs not your fault, we all understand this wellâ (1)
Another cultivator sighed: âIndeed, even if we were the one who formed the Cultivation Alliance, when faced against those cultivators who surrendered themselves to the [Demon King Order], all we could do is passively endure their attacksâ
âMore importantly, they had also formed a cultivation nation, and with the [Demon King Order]âs help, as fellow cultivators, our cultivation speed canât be compared to theirs at all!â someone shouted.
This was a simple undeniable truth.
The cultivators once again couldnât hold themselves back and once again loudly discussed, or rather, bicker among themselves.
Dao Lord Hao Ran waved his hand and used a silence spell to forcefully stop the sound of discussion.
He struggled to speak: âI will die soon, but our Alliance is still under the pressure of warâ
âThe Cultivation Alliance needs a new leader, someone to lead everyone in warâ
âYou must all give your suggestions as soon as possibleâ
After saying so, Dao Lord Hao Ran sighed and undid the silence spell.
He waited for the groupâs suggestion.
No one spoke.
Everyone remained silent.
Dao Lord Hao Ran sighed and angrily spoke: âItâs because you arenât willing to become slaves to the [Demon King Order] that you stand here, but why canât you do such a simple thing as selecting a leader?â
A tiny voice consoled him: âDao Lord Hao Ran, please donât be angry, we arenât willing to accept the situation, but weâve only just lost a battle, even youâŠâ
Dao Lord Hao Ran instantly replied: âThatâs right, theyâre fiercer, stronger than we are, the [Demon King Order] is always ready to support themââ but rest assured, I will do something for you all before my deathâ
Everyone looked up in wonder.
Dao Lord Hao Ran laughed deprecatingly before speaking: âThis old man only knows so many spells and techniques, so I wonât be able to go against the [Demon King Order], but if this old man risks his own life, I can easily destroy half of their army!â
âThat way, within the next short time period, the Demon Nation wonât be able to start another warâ
âWhat is why! You all! Right now! Have to take the time to elect a new leader!!!â
âOtherwise my sacrifice will be in vain!!!â
At this point, the Dao Lordâs voice was already hoarse.
The cultivator groupâs expressions all changed
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To fight against the [Demon King Order], the Dao Lord had decided to give his all, only stopping after death.
His sacrifice would ensure the survival of everyone here, so what do they have to be dejected about?
Having escaped the heavy shadow of losing the war and regained their spirits for now, the cultivators began to seriously think about this issue.
A few sect leaders discussed among themselves before standing up and declared: âWe nominate the Great Ling Ming worldâs ruler, Venerable Qing Yunâ
A part of the cultivators quickly agreed to their nomination.
âVenerable Qing Yun is one of the strongest among us, heâs also a man of character, swearing to stand against the Demon Nation from the start, we can all be assured with him as the leader of the Allianceâ
âIndeed, Venerable Qing Yun is very reliableâ
âI feel like thatâs a good ideaâ
People discussed among themselves.
But the majority of the people here said nothing.
Dao Lord Hao Ran looked towards a middle-aged cultivator and asked: âVenerable Qing Yun, what about your personal opinion?â
That middle-aged cultivator stood out and sighed.
He showed a bitter smile and spoke: âIâm grateful for your thoughts, but I know my place wellâ
âWithin these moments of hardship where the [Order] approaches, I have no confidence to be able to lead the Alliance forwardâ
âIn fact, even now I still donât know how to win against the cultivators who carry [Order]â
His words hit the bullseye.
Indeed.
Assuming the same realm and level, how would they fight and win against cultivators who have the help of [Order]?
This was the biggest obstacle.
If no one could move or get rid of the obstacle, the Cultivation Alliance would only keep losing until it was thoroughly destroyed.
This was already a predictable outcome.
This was the reason why everyone felt dejected.
A few moments later.
Another Venerable was nominated by a few other cultivation sects.
But this Venerable also gave up.
He stood up and told everyone on the spot: âI trust that many people the same realm as I am would have the same thoughtâ
âEven Dao Lord Hao Ran had failedââ I donât believe that I can compare to the Dao Lord or have the confidence to lead the Alliance to win against the Demon Nationâ
âPlease donât waste any more time nominating people like me, we all have to elect someone who can truly go against [Order] as our leaderâ
The people all agreed.
In the past, perhaps many wouldâve been willing to take control of the Alliance, perhaps even fighting among themselves for that authority.
But they were currently in the time of war, a period when the Alliance could be destroyed at any time, and anyone could die on the battlefield.
Who would dare to take control of the Alliance in its darkest moments?
Who would dare to stand out and declare that they will save the entire Cultivation Alliance?
All cultivators on this little planet fell into long silence.
After a while, another voice came out.
âPerhaps, we can change the thought process and elect someone who performed excellently in the war?â
Everyone looked back to see the one who suggested that was an old man wearing a bloody Daoist coat.
He was the leader of a certain cultivation world, a fearless man who refused to back down in the war and almost gave up his life several times for it.
He was a respectable cultivator.
Someone agreed: âThis is a good ideaâ
Venerable Qing Yun sighed bitterly: âThe entire frontline of our Alliance lost horribly during this campaign, where are we going to find someone who performed excellently?â
Everyone went silent at those words.
The cultivators couldnât help but think back to the war.
âThatâs⊠not trueâ someone hesitantly spoke.
âRight, it wasnât a total lossâ
âI remember one successful battleâ
âI also rememberâ
âIt was the only counter-attack we could manageâ
âAnd it was a successful one as wellâ
âThere were few casualtiesâ
âThe demonized cultivators were all killed by a single personâ
âYes, I read the battle report, they really were killed by a single personâ
âDoes such a person really exist?â
âThey do, have you forgotten a certain world that recently joined our Alliance?â
âWhat? Who was it?â
âAh, it was that personâ
The cultivators all discussed this loudly.
Dao Lord Hao Ran thought for a bit, then looked back at the crowd and nodded very slightly that no one could tell.
The Dao Lord spoke up: âNow, please discuss this among yourselves, can this fellow daoist be nominated to become the new leader of our Alliance?â
âThe one in question is the one who contributed the most in the campaign, Venerable Bai Hua â Xie Dao Lingâ
âPlease feel free to express your opinionsâ
Note:
(1) Dao Lord Hao Ran: in case you havenât noticed âDao Lordâ is a title, Hao Ran is the name. Please read âCultivation Chat Groupâ to get a more detailed explanation of cultivation titles and Dao names.