Chapter 1881: No Alternatives
Bang! The sandalwood table was smashed into pieces and turned to dust. Then a roar was heard, “What did he say? He wants the four northern provinces? Is he insane?”
The person speaking was Jian Wuya. Jian Wuya has long lost the bearing of a sect master. He was now like a rabid dog that had been kicked.
Alongside Jian Wuya were the sect masters of the nine super sects. Their expressions weren’t attractive either. Facing these nine sect masters was an ordinary looking cultivator. This was the Myriad Demon Sect’s information officer. He came back to report that Zhao Hai just announced the Freedom Alliance’s intention to take the four northern provinces from the nine super sects.
It was a shocking declaration. If this were any other person, Jian Wuya and the others wouldn’t have taken it seriously. However, these words came from Zhao Hai’s mouth. Zhao Hai has enough strength to threaten the nine super sects. Because these words were spoken by Zhao Hai, the nine super sects have no other choice but to take it seriously.
The information officer of the Myriad Demons Sect was terrified by Jian Wuya and the others. But he continued, “Zhao Hai spoke those words in front of the sect representatives of the army. Moreover, he said that once the four northern provinces fall into their hands, he would set up a monument for the cultivators that partic.i.p.ated in the war.”
Jian Wuya’s eyes turned blood red. A monument might be the greatest glory for the cultivators of the Freedom Alliance, but it was a slap to the face of the nine super sects. Moreover, it wasn’t just a single slap. It was a slap that would keep repeating as long as the monument exists. For the face-saving Jian Wuya, this was a great concern.
The other sect masters were also pale, especially Jiao Hualong, Gui Lingzi, Wu Youdao, and Dong Li. These were the sect masters of the super sects located in the northern provinces. If the Freedom Alliance wants to occupy the four northern provinces, then they would have to deal with these four super sects. This placed the four sects in a dangerous position.
Jiao Hualong and the other sect masters were angrily complaining inside. They knew how fierce Zhao Hai can be. If Zhao Hai really wanted the four northern provinces, then he would get the four northern provinces. And once Zhao Hai gets his hands on the north, then he would definitely expel the four super sects. This would uproot the foundation of these four super sects. In the future, they wouldn’t have any face to call themselves one of the peak sects of the Great Realm of Cultivation.
The four sect masters were pondering on how to deal with this matter. In their minds, they were faced with the worst outcome they could encounter. And even if they wanted to fight, Zhao Hai wasn’t their opponent. They could only think of other ways.
However, what methods do they have left? Bribe the sects in the Freedom Alliance to leave? That’s impossible. The Freedom Alliance was now united. There’s no amount of bribe that can cause it to shatter. Most importantly, the Freedom Alliance would share the benefits to its member sects once the northern provinces were conquered. This was a benefit that the nine super sects couldn’t provide.
And even if these smaller sects were to leave the Freedom Alliance, the main enemy of the nine super sects wasn’t the alliance itself, but one person. And that person was Zhao Hai. Even if the Freedom Alliance disbands, Zhao Hai can still destroy these smaller sects. When the time comes, only the Black Tiger Gang would remain once Zhao Hai cleans up all those who were in the way.
The sect masters of the small sects would not fail to understand this. It has already become impossible for them to leave the Freedom Alliance. If they leave, they would be marked as traitors and get eliminated. But if they stay in the alliance, they would receive a lot of benefits. Of the two choices, it was obvious which one was better. Even an idiot would choose the correct side.
Neither soft methods nor hard ones would work. The sect masters of the nine super sects suddenly found that they have no real way to deal with Zhao Hai. All of their methods were useless in the face of Zhao Hai’s formidable strength.
Jian Wuya calmed himself down. He was aware of the gravity of the situation. The nine super sects have always been guided by the Heaven Sect. They have decided to deal with Zhao Hai together in the past. And now, Zhao Hai stated that he wants to swallow the four northern provinces. If Jian Wuya cannot help the Myriad Demons Sect and the others, then how would the rest of the sects see him? How could the Heaven Sect keep its position as the leader of the Great Realm of Cultivation? Impossible, he cannot allow it to happen. Therefore, Jian Wuya intends to fight for the four northern sects. But soon he was met with the same problem as Jiao Hualong and the others.
How to deal with Zhao Hai! This tenth superpower in the Great Realm of Cultivation has become a huge problem. The entire room turned silent to the point that one could hear breathing. This caused the entire room to become suffocating. It seemed like the air had turned solid.
After some time, Jiao Hualong opened his mouth and said, “I reckon Zhao Hai will make his move soon. With his strength, it would be easy for him to swallow the northern provinces. I’m afraid that we are no longer Zhao Hai’s opponents.”
Jian Wuya turned his head to Jiao Hualong. He discovered that Jiao Hualong’s expression was calm. This was in face of the Myriad Demons Sect’s thousand-year foundation being uprooted. To be able to maintain his calm, it was truly unexpected.
Jian Wuya was somewhat confused by Jiao Hualong’s words. He looked at Jiao Hualong and said, “Old Jiao. Do you have a plan?”
Jiao Hualong looked at Jian Wuya, and replied with a cold voice, “What plan? The Myriad Demons Sect’s long legacy cannot end by my hands. But my Myriad Demons Sect isn’t made up of cowards. At the worst, we will die together with Zhao Hai.”
Jian Wuya looked at Jiao Hualong and sighed. He knew that Jiao Hualong had prepared himself to die. He replied, “Old Jiao, it’s too early to say this. Yes, Zhao Hai is stronger than us right now. But you also need to pay attention to one thing. Zhao Hai deliberately spread the news. I’m certain that he did this to inform us. He wants us to know his bottom line and his demands. He will wait to see what we’ll do next. If we continue to defend the north, then he would definitely come and deal with us. But if we don’t, Zhao Hai will leave us alone.”
Jiao Hualong and the others looked at Jian Wuya in confusion. Jian Wuya looked back at them and smiled bitterly as he said, “I recalled Zhao Hai’s every move and found one thing. He wants the Freedom Alliance, or the Black Tiger Gang specifically, to become stronger. He doesn’t intend for the nine super sects to perish. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have released this news ahead of time. He announced his plan because he wants to see our reaction. If we decide to fight him, we would go together and he would wipe us out at once. But now, we’re given enough time to move all four sects. This would save us from fighting him to the end. I think this is Zhao Hai’s goal.”
Speaking of here, Jian Wuya sighed and said, “Zhao Hai doesn’t want the nine super sects to lose a lot. This is probably related to the Soaring Dragon Realm. He doesn’t want the Great Realm of Cultivation to lose its place in the Soaring Dragon Realm. Therefore, he wants the nine super sects to continue existing. Otherwise, with his strength, how could he let us off? Why would he only want the four northern provinces?”
Jian Wuya thought about it and found that Zhao Hai didn’t say this just to increase the morale of his men. He did it purposefully for the nine super sects to react to. After figuring this out, everything else made sense. And this explains Zhao Hai’s actions.
All was for the Soaring Dragon Realm. The nine super sects want to deal with the Freedom Alliance because they don’t want someone that would compete with them. In that case, there would be another hand that would reach into the benefits of the Soaring Dragon Realm. At the root of everything, the Soaring Dragon Realm was the cause.
Jiao Hualong and the others thought about what Jian Wuya said. To be honest, they haven’t thought about that direction. But after thinking about it, it made a lot of sense.
Jiao Hualong said that he would take the Myriad Demons Sect to die together with Zhao Hai. But deep inside he knew that this was impossible. Before the battle, he would select core disciples of the sect and pa.s.s to them the legacy of the sect so that they could pa.s.s it on to the future generations.
Legacies were important to any sect. Therefore, even if Jiao Hualong goes all out against Zhao Hai, he still needs to pa.s.s the Myriad Demon Sect’s legacy to the future generations.
But upon hearing that Zhao Hai only wants his territory, not the elimination of the Myriad Demons Sect, Jiao Hualong thought that it would be better for the Myriad Demons Sect to move out of the Northern Divergent Province.
After some time, Jiao Hualong looked at Jian Wuya and said, “Old Jian, what do you want to say? Do you want our four sects to move out of the four northern provinces and hand the lands over to Zhao Hai?”
The others looked at Jian Wuya as well. Seeing everyone looking at him, Jian Wuya nodded and said, “Correct. That is what I meant.”
Upon hearing this, Dong Li stood up. He looked at Jian Wuya with a cold gaze as he said, “Jian Wuya, you want us to abandon our lands that easily? For a small Black Tiger Gang? Zhao Hai doesn’t want your territory, naturally you don’t feel any heartache. Let me tell you, our Eastern Saint Academy will never leave our lands. We will fight!”
Jian Wuya looked at Dong Li and said, “Fight? Fight with what? Old Dong, calm down. We have to admit that we couldn’t defeat Zhao Hai. Although it might be uncomfortable to leave your territory, you would still be one of the top sects in the Great Realm of Cultivation. You would still be able to pa.s.s down the teachings of your sect.”