Chapter 25: Inner Conflict

Xu Ziyan knew the importance of these four in the Outer Hall. She did not know why they came together, and she felt a bit nervous inside. But she had to face what was coming. The worst-case scenario was that they wanted all thirty-plus of them to join the war against the Monster Beasts. She was going anyway, so she felt no fear. She cupped her hands towards the four who were slowly approaching and said,

“Little Sister greets the four Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters.”

By then, Xu Gan and the others had come close. The New Disciples gathered outside Xu Ziyan’s door moved aside, clearing a path in the middle. Xu Gan and the other three walked straight up to Xu Ziyan. They gave a slight cupping of their hands and said,

“Little Sister Ziyan, we came this time on the Clan’s orders.”

“So it’s really about this, they came for this matter,” Xu Ziyan thought calmly inside. She looked at the four opposite her with a slight smile.

Because she had already made her decision, Xu Ziyan’s expression showed no change at all. There was only calm, calm, extreme calm. But the New Disciples’ faces changed greatly. One by one, they looked at Xu Gan and the other three with fearful and hateful gazes. Xu Gan and the others also saw the expressions of the New Disciples. They curled their lips slightly, and a trace of disdain flashed in their eyes. But seeing Xu Ziyan’s calm, they couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration inside. They thought to themselves,

“Before, when we heard our subordinates talk about her, we were a bit skeptical. But now, seeing her in person, she indeed has some heroic spirit.”

So, the expressions and tones of the four became much more respectful. Xu Dongxue gave a light laugh, stepped forward gracefully, and said with a bright smile,

“Little Sister Ziyan, the Clan sent an order. They want our Outer Hall to provide five hundred disciples to go with the Clan to Tongyou Valley outside the city tomorrow to block the Monster Beasts. The four of us discussed it. Each of our gangs will provide one hundred twenty people, making four hundred eighty disciples. The remaining twenty disciples will come from your New Disciples. What do you think?”

As soon as Xu Dongxue finished speaking, the New Disciples’ faces changed dramatically. They only had just over thirty people in total. Now, twenty had to go at once, more than half. Moreover, these New Disciples all had low Cultivation Levels, only at the Postnatal Fifth Layer or Postnatal Sixth Layer Realm. The highest Cultivation Level was only Xu Ziyan’s, which appeared to everyone as the Seventh Layer of Houtian.

More importantly, they had already fallen out with these Senior Disciples as soon as they entered the Outer Hall. Under these circumstances, if they went with the army, those Senior Disciples certainly wouldn’t look after them. On a battlefield filled with Monster Beasts, wouldn’t that mean certain death for them? So, they all looked at Xu Ziyan with fearful and pitiful eyes, hoping she could stand up for them.

Xu Ziyan also saw their expressions. She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. So greedy for life and afraid of death, even if they lived to a hundred, what progress would they make? They’d just be clothes racks, machines for making waste!

Suddenly, Xu Ziyan’s eyes lit up. She saw Xu Qingxue. Amidst the panicked expressions, Xu Qingxue’s calm was particularly striking. She wasn’t just calm; she was simply composed! Very cool! Very still!

Xu Ziyan knew in her heart that she couldn’t refuse Xu Dongxue’s request. Doing so would mean losing righteousness, and without righteousness, she would be abandoned by the Clan. Xu Ziyan was no longer the newcomer she was when she first arrived. She had learned much about this world. She knew how important it was for a Cultivation person to have a Clan behind them. Without the support of a Clan, wanting to stand out would be very hard, extremely difficult!

However, Xu Ziyan also couldn’t make decisions for those New Disciples. She hadn’t formed a gang. Those New Disciples weren’t her subordinates. She had no right to decide for them. In other words, she also had no such obligation. So, Xu Ziyan cupped her hands slightly towards Xu Dongxue and said,

“Senior Sister Dongxue, I am different from you. I haven’t formed a gang. They are not my subordinates. I have no authority to decide for them. I can only guarantee that I myself will go with the Clan.”

“Oh?”

Xu Dongxue looked at Xu Ziyan in surprise, then immediately laughed lightly again. Then her expression changed. She turned to the New Disciples and said with a stern face,

“Did you all hear clearly what Little Sister Ziyan said?”

After speaking, Xu Dongxue’s gaze swept authoritatively over the crowd. The New Disciples felt a wave of despair. While feeling afraid, they actually started to feel a bit of resentment towards Xu Ziyan in their hearts.

Xu Ziyan saw their expressions and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. She knew that from now on, these New Disciples would harbor seeds of resentment towards her in their hearts. They would never be as close to her as they were initially. Xu Ziyan wasn’t afraid of this. The people before her were destined to be fleeting presences in her life. She believed that soon, these people before her would have no further connection with her. But, after all, they had been close to her once. In her heart, Xu Ziyan still thought, if she could help them a little, she would.

What Xu Ziyan thought of, of course, wasn’t pleading for them. She wanted to encourage them, hoping they could overcome the fear in their hearts and go to the Monster Beast battlefield. To temper themselves in battle and seek breakthroughs. If these New Disciples before her backed down now out of fear, then their hearts were no longer suited for Cultivation. What was Cultivating Immortality? It was contending with the heavens! Without great courage and great Qi Soul, how could one achieve anything in Cultivation?

Moreover, she saw that Xu Dongxue’s words clearly had a provocative intent. If these people were provoked by Xu Dongxue into resenting her and then joined their forces, they would definitely be used as Cannon Fodder. This originally had nothing to do with Xu Ziyan, and she didn’t care. But Xu Ziyan didn’t want to be used as a tool, manipulated by others.

So, Xu Ziyan stepped forward, drawing the attention of all the New Disciples, and said calmly,

“Fellow brothers and sisters of our Clan, our strength is weak. We are at the bottom in the Outer Hall. We are far inferior to Senior Sister Dongxue and the other three Gang Leaders. But I want to say, if the gap between us and Senior Sister Dongxue is like heaven and earth, then I want to ask, how do Senior Sister Dongxue and the others compare to the Inner Hall Disciples?”

The New Disciples let out a soft “Ah” and thought, “Yes, compared to the four Gang Leaders, we are nothing. But compared to the Inner Hall Disciples, they probably aren’t much either!”

Xu Dongxue was displeased that Xu Ziyan interrupted her, but she didn’t show it on her face. She thought to herself,

“No matter what you say, you still have to make up the number of twenty people by finding nineteen others to go out of the city. You received the Clan’s key training in the Outer Hall, but when we get to Tongyou Valley and the big battle starts, everything will be chaotic. When we assign you to the most dangerous place, let’s see if you can make it back alive!”