God Wang Tower. Third-floor assembly hall!
History was written in crimson words on the huge, white-colored board. The sight of it made the hearts of many noisy cultivators sink as they entered the assembly hall.
The heaviness of heart and a depressive atmosphere quickly silenced the place.
Many were amazed by the inner decoration, but most were lost in their memories, recalling those tragic incidents in which their friends and families died battling the demonic faction. Those events were unforgettable. And now, they were all written in the most conspicuous way. What was the purpose for that?
âSect Lord, what is Wang Ke going to do?â Mo Sanshan asked his Sect Lord, who was sitting right beside him.
Chen Tianyuan was just as clueless. He thought Wang Ke was only going to open an ordinary merchant store; he didnât expect that horrible disciple of his to hide that much up his sleeves.
âLetâs wait and see first!â Chen Tianyuan shook his head.
Zhang Liâerâwho sat near themâwas also amazed by what she saw. That bloodied history⌠Why did Wang Ke bring it out? Shouldnât we let bygones be bygones?
A bald man asked the pink lady next to him, âChapter Lord, somethingâs not right. Do you think the opening ceremony is just a cover-up? Could the real purpose be a general meeting held by the righteous alliance to discuss how to deal with the demonic sect?â
âShut up,â Tong Anâan, the pink lady, scolded him softly, âDonât call me Chapter Lord. Whatever you have in mind, tell me after we get out. Do you want to expose us here?â
At first he didnât want to enter the assembly hall. Still, everyone was squeezing to enter, and he was somehow pushed into the hall. Damn it. I just wanted to find an opportunity to assassinate Wang Ke; I donât want to be in any meeting.
Just when the assembly hall quietened downâ
Wang Ke walked up to that massive board of history.
âEveryone! Iâm sure youâve read about the historical events written on this board! Iâve only recorded the major battles between the righteous and the demonic. Many smaller conflicts also ended with many people dying, but we donât have enough space to include them. I think all of you should know which Iâm referring to!â Wang Ke said solemnly.
All the people in the assembly hall sat straight in anticipation. Is he going to speak about the important stuff now?
âEveryone must be wondering why I am listing this bloody, tragic history!â Wang Ke cried out emotionally, â Each and every one of you is a pillar of the righteous faction! You are the foundation of the righteous faction! After looking at these incidents, I think you will feel empathetic and sad for those seniors and apprentice-brothers that youâve lost! Please donât say you donât care about it, because youâll grieve as long as thereâs humanity inside you. Those who died were our family members and friends. They are martyrs of the righteous faction; they died for our ideology, protecting our sects so we could survive; for all of this, they sacrificed their lives! They were the greatest cultivators but also the most worthy of pity!â
Given that such a major moral issue was being addressed, no one dared to accuse Wang Ke of bullsh*tting, as it would be disrespectful to those who had sacrificed themselves. Any accuser would be criticized by everyone in the hall!
âThey gave their lives away to save the righteous faction! They used their lives to protect us! Their lives deflected every danger coming at us! But what about them? What did they get in return? They got nothing! Worse! Their names are being gradually forgotten! Which of you remembers the names of all those who died in battle? Anyone? Anyone? You!â Wang Ke randomly pointed at a random practitioner and asked, âDo you remember all their names?â
That disciple looked down in shame.
âAnd you!â Wang Ke pointed at another person, âCan you tell us the names of those who became martyrs for the sake of the righteous faction?â
That disciple looked down and replied, â Iâm⌠Iâm sorry!â
âWho remembers? The lady in pink! Say! How many names do you remember?â Wang Ke pointed at the pink lady, who was especially eye-catching amidst the crowd.
All eyes were instantly focused on the pink lady.
Tong Anâan was dumbfounded. Is my pink robe that eye-catching? Of all the people in this huge crowd, I had to be your third pick?
Now everyone is looking at me! What should I do? Iâm a demon! What do you expect me to do when countless righteous cultivators have their eyes on me!
âLady, no need to feel anxious. I only chose you because youâre wearing pink and stand out while next to a group of male cultivators. Come, tell me, do you know their names?â Wang Ke asked again.
âNo, I donât remember!â Tong Anâan said, squeezing his throat.
Sweat covered his forehead. He was stock still, not daring to move, neither he dared to flee because Chen Tianyuan and Mo Sanshan were sitting on the upper deck.
âYou donât remember? Donât feel embarrassed. Youâre not the only one; many here donât remember, either. Who will remember those who have died?â Wang Ke shouted.
Everyoneâs attention was shifted back to Wang Ke, and the pink lady heaved a sigh of relief before sitting down. The bald guy next to him was so frightened that he shuddered in fear, not daring to make a single move.
Wang Ke continued to cry out, âBut, is this fair? Is this fair? All those brave men who sacrificed themselves for the righteous faction! No one even remembers their names! Is that fair?â
All the righteous cultivators frowned.
âItâs not fair!â Wang Ke said as he looked at the crowd, âBut thereâs an even more unfair matter! Those brave men sacrificed themselves for the righteous faction and were forgotten! But does anyone remember their families?â
âFamilies?â Many were confused.
âThatâs right. Families! Who knows about them? When those martyrs were alive, they were respected by many. They protected their own families and ensured they were well taken care of. But what happened after they became martyrs? Who knows how their families are doing? Do they still have the quality of life they used to have? This fellow cultivator wearing pink, do you know?â Wang Ke asked Tong Anâan once more.
Tong Anâan shivered instinctively. Why the hell are you asking me again?
âI⌠I donât know!â Tong Anâan squeezed his voice once again.
âRight, you donât know! Many others donât know either! But I know!â Wang Ke said.
âHmm?â Everyone looked at Wang Ke.
âThere are too many of them. Let me give an example without saying names. I will only say that there was a genius cultivator who had been the pride of a certain sect. All of his apprentice-brothers looked up to him, and he had a happy family. His parents, unable to cultivate, were able to enjoy their late years; he had a loving wife, and they were nursing a baby. This genius senior apprentice-brother loved his juniors and slew countless demons for his sect. His family was happy and satisfied, but he sacrificed himself to rescue a junior apprentice-brother during one of the battles! He died!â Wang Ke said as he stared at the crowd, âRight after he died, some people from his sect visited his family to offer their condolences. But after only one year passed, do you know what happened to his family?
âMy fellow cultivator in pink, do you know?â Wang Ke asked.
Wang Ke realized that the pink lady merely answered his questions without saying nor questioning further; such a good target had to be cherished. Most importantly, the pink lady wasnât part of his team, which made his case even more convincing; that was why he kept going back to âherâ.
But the pink lady shivered in fear, âI⌠I donât know!â
âThen, let me tell all of you! One year after the genius senior apprentice-brother died, his parents were driven out of the sectâs territory! The demonic disciples sought revenge and consumed his parents! Since his wife was beautiful, she was taken forcefully by a junior apprentice-brother, who sold his child to a sweatshop. The child grew eating pig food and ended up as child labor with an unbearable fate,â Wang Ke said, tears welling up in his eyes.
âWho did that? Which sect?â
âHow could they do that!â
âBast*rd! Which sect did such an inhumane thing?â
Instantly, the assembly hall was filled with grunts of indignation.
âThatâs enough, everyone. Iâve made arrangements to take care of them. Letâs not mention their families anymore because I donât want them to be disturbed any further. But I do want to emphasize that this example is just the tip of a glacier! The families of some martyrs went through even worse!â Wang Ke continued saying loudly.
His words led many high-ranking cultivators into reflection.
âSect Lord? Is Wang Ke trying to voice out the unjust treatment of all the martyrsâ families?â Mo Sanshan asked curiously.