Feng Feixuan's body stiffened hearing the First Grand Elder point out her specifically. Even though she agreed to do the job, she never expected the First Grand Elder to expose her status this publicly.
'Ruthless old coot, who knows how many of these elders are truly loyal? Now that you have exposed me, wouldn't Liang Tianye guard against me from now on? Are you forcing me to choose a side in this way?' Feng Feixuan grit her teeth and snarled mentally.
"From what I know First Grand Elder, the Sect Master had ordered Liang Tianye to be mobilized as well. If they have any ulterior motives, they are keeping it to themselves and Liang Tianye isn't willing to share with me yet," Feng Feixuan stressed the last word to let him know that the possibility became even slimmer after her public exposure.
And what she shared was indeed true. Liang Tianye had told her that he would be participating in the upcoming massacre as well. As for anything else, he had never shared the plans with her. He had only asked her to do certain things in the upcoming months.
How her actions would play into their plans was still a mystery to her. She was merely an errand runner to Liang Tianye at the moment. The way both Liang Tianye and the Sect Master treated the opposition of the elders made her realize one thing. They both never truly cared about the opposition.
This also caused her to be cautious. If she completely betrayed them, who knows what fate awaited her in the end? Since they were turning a blind eye to this much opposition in their inner circle, they must have some means to guard against the opposition. Until she figured it out, she wouldn't side with the First Grand Elder's faction completely.
"I see," the First Grand Elder nodded. "You don't need to worry about any of these people exposing you. They are all loyal to the sect."
'To the sect,' Feng Feixuan sneered.
She noticed how the First Grand Elder stressed those last words. And it made it clear to her that if she betrayed him, her actions would also be unraveled. She felt a little stifled realizing that she was currently caught between two tigers.
But, compared to the First Grand Elder, she was cautious of offending Liang Tianye the most. His careless words about the Heavenly Demon Sect having no more reason to exist made her realize that there was something big at play here.
"Elder Feng," the First Grand Elder smiled serenely. "Continue monitoring Liang Tianye. He is still young and vibrant. And young people are arrogant. Someone as talented as Liang Tianye would have more arrogance. And arrogant people slip up. Compared to Sect Master, I think it is highly likely that Liang Tianye would slip up the most."
"As you order, First Grand Elder," Feng Feixuan smiled and nodded while wondering if the old coot was really senile.
No matter how she looked, neither Liang Tianye nor the Sect Master was easy to deal with. And the First Grand Elder's opinion of Liang Tianye being young made her want to scoff.
Sure, Liang Tianye was considerably younger than both the Sect Master and the First Grand Elder. But, he was also a recognized genius. You can't expect geniuses to make mistakes that normal people make.
Furthermore, Liang Tianye was hundreds of years old now. Any kind of immaturity would have been ground out due to cultivation and time by now. If not, he could have never become the Vice-Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Thinking he would slip up was like groping blindly with all your senses cut off. She didn't think it would happen anytime soon.
"First Grand Elder, may we know why you think the Sect Master's order is harmful to the sect?" one of the elders asked cautiously.
"On the surface, the Sect Master's order seemed very suitable for our current predicament," the First Grand Elder said serenely. "But, is it really?"
"First Grand Elder, why do you think it is not? We all know that the allocation of the opportunities that would be coming soon will determine the fates of a lot of people, including you. Since that is the case, shouldn't we show our strength now and assert our claim?" the elder asked in confusion.
"He he he… how can those opportunities be easy to earn. Sure, the allocation is based on strength. But, it is based on personal strength. In front of such a huge opportunity, factions have no meaning. It will all depend on the individual's strength," the First Grand Elder said coldly.
"This is the world where might speaks higher than right. The allocation is both fair and unfair. If you don't have enough personal strength, even if you get the opportunity it would be useless. So, don't be misled by such words."
The First Grand Elder's eyes bored into every one of them with unstoppable sharpness. The elders shifted uneasily hearing that statement. Deep down they knew what the First Grand Elder said was indeed true. But, they all still hoped to rely on some luck.
"First Grand Elder, according to old rules, every top faction should be allocated some quota, right? That means, asserting our dominance would still result in a good outcome, right?" one of the elders asked.
"It is indeed true. But, for that to happen, your faction must remain at the top. As of now, we are indeed at the top. But, if we act as per the Sect Master's wishes, and start a massacre, who can guarantee that we wouldn't be wiped out in a year?" the First Grand Elder sneered.
"Making enemies out of so many factions is not a small thing. Even with our strength and heritage, we would be hard-pressed to fight the entire world by ourselves," the First Grand Elder warned.
"But…"
"But, if we do nothing, wouldn't we be considered weak?" Feng Feixuan asked what others didn't dare to voice out.
"Indeed, we can't continue like this. But, making enemies out of everyone is really not the right move. Numerous factions are currently coveting our title as the hegemon. Do you think if the Sect Master remained strong that no one would covet our position? Naïve!" the First Grand Elder looked at everyone mockingly.
"This opportunity will cause blood to flow like a river in the next few years. Everyone will be trying to rearrange the pecking order. Some hegemons will decline and new hegemons will appear. The arrival of this opportunity has always brought turmoil to the land. And it is that turmoil we must grasp," the First Grand Elder said looking at everyone.
"What do you mean?"
"Foolish children, the Grotto Heaven is just the start. There will be other wonders that will soon open in all the lands. This is the way of the world to weed out the weaklings and create powerhouses. Most factions would not send out their geniuses easily. They will only send them out when something irresistible appears."
"You mean…"
"Like I said, a chaotic time always precedes the arrival of the opportunity. During ordinary times, it would take hundreds of years for geniuses to grow and become powerful. But, in these chaotic times, their growth will be monstrous. Those who survive and thrive in these times will catch up to that opportunity and benefit from it."
"The world will establish a new order. Don't remain complacent because of your high cultivation realms. Those juniors whom you look down on now will grow very fast in the next few years. Numerous heroes and demons will rise all over the land. If you are not careful, you might even die before that opportunity arrives."
The First Grand Elder's words were like thunder in the ears of the assembled elders. They never even thought of such a possibility to exist. They had been confident that they would be the ones to get such an opportunity. But, if new geniuses would be born and they would grow to their level, then things would become very tricky.
Whether it was in the past or in the future, opportunities were always reserved for the talented. Compared to old people like them who have been cultivating for hundreds of years, those kinds of opportunities will always fall to talented geniuses that emerge.
It is widely known in the cultivation world that the older you are the lesser your chance to gain a breakthrough. Cultivators like them have exhausted their potential and hit the bottleneck. But, the geniuses who would emerge are different.
They are young, vibrant, and brimming with potential. It was only natural that opportunities would fall to them. This shook the assembled elders to the core. They have been waiting for such an opportunity for hundreds of years. Now, the situation didn't look good.
"First Grand Elder,"
"I know what you all are thinking. But, the situation is not that hopeless. How can heroes and demons emerge easily? They need to walk out of a sea of corpses and a river of blood. They need whetstones to sharpen them. They need enemies to motivate them to work hard and obtain breakthrough after breakthrough. That is why I am telling that Sect Master's move is harmful," the First Grand Elder said solemnly.
"If we start a massacre now, then it would be akin to acting as whetstones for those geniuses who would emerge. Revenge is a powerful emotion. It would motivate those geniuses to work hard. I simply do not want to give our heads on a platter to those heroes and demons."
"But, if we remain silent, others would target us…"
"Good, now you all are thinking. This is indeed a tricky situation. Our position is not stable. Both our allies and enemies want to topple us. If we do nothing, we will embolden them. But, if we massacre them, we will create a reason for them to unite against us. And the other hegemonic sects will join them. Now, you understand our position."
"This…"
