Chapter Ninety-One: Our Great Pure Yang Temple Shall Surely Be Unrivaled Under Heaven!

The reason sects came into being traces back to primitive society before cultivators ever appeared. In the end, they are violent mutual-aid alliances formed by individuals seeking survival through banding together for warmth.

That was Elder Sheng's understanding of the essence of cultivation sects.

Wang Li understood this time, but only partly.

What he did not understand was why Elder Sheng would say such a thing.

Elder Sheng said, “What I mean is that people are creatures of interest. Human nature is selfish; people simply prefer to present a selflessness they do not actually possess.”

Wang Li looked like a fool who had just been smashed by a fruit from the tree of confusion.

The great figures within the Pure Yang Temple were no less bewildered.

The difference was that the one who stunned Wang Li was Elder Sheng, while the one who stunned the entire Pure Yang Temple was True Person Glimmer.

Since the ruins battlefield opened and six or seven thousand disciples returned, Pure Yang Temple finally had some liveliness again. And what those thousands of Foundation Establishment disciples brought back was not merely bustle, but also the temple's habitual, forceful arrogance.

Thousands at Foundation Establishment, hundreds at Golden Core—what formidable potential that was!

Given proper cultivation, for the next several thousand years, perhaps even ten thousand, Pure Yang Temple would be the leader of righteous cultivators.

All the disciples of Pure Yang Temple believed this judgment as well. Yet before they had time to rejoice for long, once the returning disciples brought back word of the second stage of Heaven's Choice from the ruins battlefield, the temple's previously soaring mood was as if doused with a basin of cold water, replaced instead by worry—worry that the final sacred relic might be taken by some other sect.

Cloud Mirror was strong, but the other disciples were not up to the task.

However, True Person Glimmer did not place any importance on the so-called sacred relic at all.

He had come into contact with too many of the secrets of the Heaven Mystery World and understood that, at most, the sacred relic was on the same level as the Pure Yang Bell and the Free Heaven Scripture. Magical treasures were important in the cultivation world, yes, but they were only external aids. They might serve as a hidden trump card, but they did not have the power to shape the overall situation of cultivation. This was also why the great figures did not interfere with those in the cultivation world who sought to stir up trouble by exploiting the sacred relic's emergence.

The great figures simply disdained such things.

No matter how fine or powerful the sacred relic, it still required a person to wield it. As long as no one among the top great figures coveted it, the structure of the cultivation world would not change. And even if some great figure obtained the sacred relic, so what?

At most it would only grant one more person a degree of influence, with limited effect.

As the saying goes, there is always a higher mountain beyond the next. No matter how strong a great figure may be, there is still an even greater figure above him. What was there to fear?

The Dao has no end.

True Person Glimmer valued far more the disciples tempered by Heaven's Choice. Talent meant future.

Still, the low spirits spreading through the Pure Yang Temple could not be ignored.

True Person Glimmer steadied several of the great figures who remained permanently in the Hall of the Temple Master and convened a brief meeting with the administrators to calm the people's hearts.

At the meeting, he said this:

“I do not, in truth, hope that the sacred relic falls into our hands, for three reasons.”

“First, one sacred relic is enough. The Pure Yang Bell is not weak and is sufficient to protect the Pure Yang Temple in peace.”

“Second, maintaining one sacred relic is already difficult. Since I took over the Pure Yang Bell, half my time and energy has gone into nourishing it; otherwise I would already have reached the True Immortal realm. That is the price of possessing a sacred relic. As for who wants the new one, let them want it. If it is gained, it is my good fortune; if it is lost, it is my destiny. Should any disciple bring back the new sacred relic... I will not push it away, but all of you must be prepared to bleed heavily.”

“Third, the Pure Yang Temple is already strong enough. Another sacred relic would only add to the vigilance and hostility of other cultivators toward us. We are not afraid of trouble, nor do we fear causing it, but a new sacred relic is more like an awkward liability to the Pure Yang Temple. Without it, we will still drink wine and eat meat just the same.”

“After you return, spread my words to the disciples. I do not wish to hear anyone indulging in sorrow over Heaven's Choice ever again. We are cultivators of the Pure Yang lineage, not timid old nags!”

At the end of the meeting, True Person Glimmer swept a hand toward the hundred-odd administrators and said, “My Pure Yang Temple will surely be invincible beneath the heavens!”

The crowd was left thoroughly baffled by this short meeting, unable to make sense of what the temple master truly meant by such contradictory remarks. But the confidence radiating from him was no lie. Since they did not understand, it did not matter; they only needed to relay the temple master's exact words to the disciples.

Could he be allowed to be the only one with a headache?

True Person Glimmer's words soon spread among the disciples of Pure Yang Temple, and thus... nearly ten thousand people, from top to bottom, were all bewildered.

It was only after Heaven's Choice concluded and all the disciples returned that True Person Glimmer's words were gradually understood.

Within the ruins battlefield, the individual arena matches were still raging on.

Compared with the hidden dangers lurking everywhere in the trials of the small city, open and aboveboard arena combat made it easier for both sides to bring out their full strength, which in turn made the matches highly enjoyable to watch.

Of course, for a fight to be entertaining, the two sides needed to be evenly matched. Battles decided with a single move often disappointed spectators. In addition, the combat style had to be flashy enough. If your opponent dropped without you even raising a hand, what was there to watch? Yes, I mean you, Zhou Qian!

“Senior Sister Cloud Mirror, fellow senior brothers, this junior brother's technique is just like this. I really can't help it!”

Zhou Qian lowered his head and looked plaintively at the same sect members who glared at him with fierce intent, like a wronged little wife.

The duels within the ruins battlefield were far less brutal than outsiders imagined. Aside from quickly digesting the rewards in the midst of tedious arena bouts, the thing participants cared about most in their remaining time was watching other people's matches.

Spectating not only allowed one to learn the trump cards and methods of potential opponents, it was also the best way to pass the time. Some even opened betting pools for entertainment... and yes, the largest one was run by Cloud Mirror.

For entertainment, naturally there must be amusement, and a splendid fight is precisely such amusement.

Almost every time the odds were opened, Cloud Mirror and a group of participants could earn a little on the side.

Almost. And that was literal, because not every betting pool could bring in a small profit. Take those matches with no real spectacle, for instance—no one would even place bets on them.

Because Zhou Qian's attack methods were so unusual, he became the only event in Cloud Mirror's betting pool that generated no profit.

Cloud Mirror waved her hand, and the others dispersed.

No one could see the expression hidden beneath her veil, but anyone could tell her mood was poor.

“Zhou Qian, if you do this again in your next match, I'll revoke your quota!”

Cloud Mirror said, “Even if you took your big door slab and slapped it around a couple of times, I could still claim to the outside world that it was your trump card and use it to draw spectators into betting. But when you go on stage and don't even carry the door slab, how am I supposed to fool anyone else? The profits from the betting pool may not mean much to you, but they matter to the rest of the sect. Quite a few people are about to have their points reduced to zero. You don't want them going home empty-handed, do you?”

Zhou Qian kept his head down and muttered, “That's my flying boat, not a door slab...”