The wandering great emperors present were typically a solitary bunch. The only interest they had was in how to increase their own strength.
Emperor Wellspring’s perspective was one that most of them couldn’t appreciate. A few idle thoughts here and there, sure, but they never dwelt long upon them.
In their opinion, the direction of the human domain was a topic of consideration only for the leaders of large factions and sects. The tall should bear the burden when the sky falls.
Emperor Wellspring’s words shook these great emperors to the core.
“Old Brother Wellspring, is the human domain going to be in a lot of trouble?” One of the them frowned.
“You’re an honored senior, Old Brother Wellspring. We aren’t good at thinking about such difficult topics. We get headaches whenever we try. Can you tell the rest of us what to do in this situation?”
“Yes, Old Brother Wellspring. Show us the way.” The wandering great emperors respected their fellow t.i.tan’s morals and authority a great deal.
Emperor Wellspring glanced at Jiang Chen, then sighed. “I’ve been thinking about an important topic recently. Given our present circ.u.mstances, perhaps the only hope for the human domain lies with young lord Jiang Chen.”
Everyone looked at the mentioned youth.
The young man himself was pleasantly surprised. He hadn’t expected Emperor Wellspring to support him so readily.
Wellspring motioned to Jiang Chen. “Young lord Jiang Chen, don’t be too quick to rebut me either. Hear me out first.”
“Everyone, think along with me. Why not see for yourself whether I’m right or not? We wandering great emperors are the elite among our fellows. We should have our own ideas about things. I’m just presenting my own as a reference, not trying to force you into agreeing with me.
“Old Brother Wellspring, it’s our honor to hear your guidance. No one bears you any ill will for it.”
“That’s right. My brain certainly isn’t as well-developed as yours, old brother.”
Wellspring nodded at the ma.s.s antic.i.p.ation from the crowd. “From what I see of the human domain right now, I firmly believe that our only hope and only possible factor for change is young lord Jiang Chen. This isn’t an exaggeration at all.
“If the young lord and Veluriyam are suppressed by Emperor Pillzenith and his cronies, the future of the human domain will be dim indeed. Neither Pillzenith nor any other man of ambition has the ability or ethics to lead the human race out of the swamp of fate before us.
“If a demonic invasion breaks out or the boundary steles are broken, alien races will invade our lands. Emperor Pillzenith won’t be the best choice for leading humanity. In fact, his very hands will bury our race’s hopes.” Wellspring was very serious.
“I don’t mean to disparage or praise anyone by saying these things. I just don’t think highly of Emperor Pillzenith because he’s too narrow-minded and ambitious. He doesn’t have a heart that can encompa.s.s an entire world like Emperor Peafowl des. A man like that can’t possibly lead humanity. We don’t have much information remaining from the ancient war against demons, but we still know that we survived only under the leaders.h.i.+p of a group of honorable and moral men. Only with that kind of character can one transform the impossible into the possible.”
The emperor was filled with reverence as he mentioned the ancients. “In today’s age, it will be a much more painful test to suffer another demonic invasion. In ancient times, humans were a powerful race with matching heritages. But the cream of the crop has departed from the human domain, and less than a tenth of their heritages remain. In terms of strength and resourcefulness, we are less than a fraction of our ancestors.
“That’s not the most worrisome. The human race of today no longer possesses the faith of our forebears. We don’t have a leader or a common belief. Instead, there’s conspiracy and sedition. If I may ask, are you optimistic still about our chances against a foreign invasion, demonic or otherwise?” Wellspring’s hypothetical was very thought-provoking.
The current human domain was as he had said. Its various sects competed against one another with schemes and plots for the sake of insignificant profit. Ambitious men like Emperor Pillzenith lit fires of chaos everywhere in the Upper Eight Regions, desiring anarchy more than anything.
How could men like that possibly lead the human race?
That was the core reason Wellspring held the leader of Pillfire in such disdain.
A man of Pillzenith’s position and fame should have been a prime candidate for leaders.h.i.+p. He should have been a logical beacon of respect and wors.h.i.+p among his fellow cultivators.
“Old Brother Wellspring, you’re absolutely right. However, we wandering cultivators can’t dictate the way of the world.”
“Isn’t that right? Emperor Pillzenith has too much authority, and he’s overbearing to boot. Are we supposed to change him as wandering cultivator experts?”
“Ah, if the world ends up in trouble, the important guys should take responsibility. We wandering cultivators should spend our days however we’d like. We won’t get any more, after all.”
Wellspring snickered. “Is that what you think? You bunch of hard-earned great emperor realm cultivators are actually huge pessimists?”
“We’re not pessimists, Old Brother Wellspring. There’s just nothing we wandering cultivators can possibly do.”
“Exactly. Like you said, old brother, someone like young lord Jiang Chen should be the protagonist.”
Wellspring sighed softly. “It seems that my words are wasted on you. We wandering cultivators cannot effect change ourselves, but we are more than able to a.s.sist those who can.”
Jiang Chen’s heart quavered when he heard Emperor Wellspring utter those words. Was Wellspring expressing implicit support? Was the great emperor standing on his side – on Veluriyam’s side?
Serendipity itself, indeed. A most grateful surprise. If he could receive the support of these wandering great emperors, he could control the perception of the entire wandering cultivator world.
His Dragon and Tiger Meet prior had been inst.i.tuted for that exact purpose. He’d wanted to craft a good reputation for himself with the wandering cultivators, winning their hearts in the process. His investment was reaping returns after all.
“Why not speak more plainly, Old Brother Wellspring?” One of the wandering experts laughed. “You want us to support young lord Jiang Chen, right?”
“We’ve all gotten Pinecrane Pills from young lord Jiang Chen. Of course we’re going to support him. You don’t need to tell us twice!”
“That’s right. We didn’t do much to get those pills in the first place. If the young lord has a use for us, why would we refuse his request? Isn’t that right, everyone?”
“Right, right, right. We wandering cultivators always pay our debts. Young lord Jiang Chen has been perfectly forthright with us. We aren’t going to be heartless wolves to him.” The wandering great emperors piped up amongst themselves.
Emperor Wellspring pushed downward with both hands, smiling. “My meaning may not be transparent enough yet. I don’t mean helping the young lord on any specific matter. I mean that we should help him in all the sweeping changes that follow to the world. We must stand firmly behind him to support him. Sometimes, it may even be necessary to lead the wandering cultivator world to do so.”
Jiang Chen felt rather embarra.s.sed. He hadn’t expected such stalwart support from Emperor Wellspring.
It looked like his friendly gestures towards the wandering great emperor t.i.tan had been wise choices.
“We will listen to you without question, Old Brother Wellspring. Why would we possibly support Pillfire over Veluriyam? Emperor Pillzenith is a tyrant and few in our community like him. Young lord Jiang Chen is young, capable, and friendly. There’s no reason for us to look anywhere else!”
“That’s right. Absolutely none.”
Emperor Wellspring sighed. “Young lord Jiang Chen, I can’t influence the decisions of others, but I will stand by your side firmly from now on. I will support your fight against Emperor Pillzenith and your gathering together of the entire domain. I support your claim to rule over the entire realm!”
The emperor’s eyes radiated sincerity. “I don’t particularly enjoy flattery, young lord, but I do think that you are best suited for the role. You have both the compa.s.sion of Emperor Peafowl and charisma and ability surpa.s.sing Emperor Pillzenith. Given these two facts, the human domain’s future will be yours alone.”
The evaluation wouldn’t have been worth very much from an ordinary cultivator, but Emperor Wellspring’s status as one of the wandering cultivator world’s six t.i.tans gave it significantly more weight.
Jiang Chen felt obliged to speak up at this juncture.
“I’m undeserving of such commendation, Emperor Wellspring, or being held in such high regard. As you said, the human domain is in great danger. I can clearly tell everyone that the demonic invasion isn’t just an idea lingering in the back of people’s minds, but a threat that can occur any time. The strength of ancient demons and their various branches will be more tenfold terrifying than anything you can imagine right now.
“If the human domain is left defenseless, humanity will suffer potentially terminal losses in the demonic invasion. Over ninety percent will die in the calamity to come!” His words had basis in fact.