"Crawl over here on your knees." Su Jie’s voice echoed in the great hall, his cold eyes fixed on Zhuo Zhong. The faces of the Righteous Sect Masters present changed at the humiliation of making a Taoist Platform Realm expert kneel... Before anyone could speak, almost as soon as Su Jie finished speaking, Zhuo Zhong fell to his knees with a thud and crawled to Su Jie step by step. Having just survived a brush with death at Ghost Gate, Zhuo Zhong no longer maintained his dignity. "Tsk tsk, I prefer you in your initial defiant state." Su Jie stepped on Zhuo Zhong’s face with a domineering stance that made many Righteous Sect Masters feel a shared sense of disgrace, this Demon Path is truly outrageous. But despite their anger, none dared to stand up, the fate of the earlier bird Zhuo Zhong was still fresh in their minds. Zhuo Zhong grinned and said, "Su Sect Master is right, it’s entirely my fault. You can punish me any way you want, just spare Dragon Roar Palace." Zhuo Zhong, in Su Jie’s presence, had already learned that the Jianghu is not about fighting and killing, but about human emotions and worldly affairs; survival is more important than anything else. "Dare to act and take responsibility, you are indeed a person of character. You and Feng Chenzhong, both at the Taoist Platform Realm, will serve as external protectors for Ghost Ridge Palace and serve well." Su Jie chuckled, retracting his foot. Su Jie now didn’t need to establish his power through killing; that had already been demonstrated in the battle of Guan Chao Pavilion, where the annihilation of Guan Chao Pavilion was the final proof. In contrast, keeping Zhuo Zhong alive and causing Qingzhou Righteous to split would better serve Ghost Ridge Palace. Sure enough, having survived by giving up pride, Zhuo Zhong retreated into the crowd, his eyes fixed on Feng Chenzhong, the Sect Master of Cloud Sea Cave, with undisguised murderous intent. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⁂fire.net Compared to Su Jie, Feng Chenzhong’s treacherous behavior of selling out friends and taking advantage of the situation made Zhuo Zhong want nothing more than to kill him, with hatred far surpassing towards Su Jie. Feng Chenzhong snorted coldly, feeling gloomy inside, aware that as long as Zhuo Zhong was alive, their grudge would be significant. Su Jie witnessed this scene with a smile in his eyes. By keeping Zhuo Zhong, Qingzhou Righteous would surely split into two factions as the only two Taoist Platform experts turn against each other, and thus they could no longer unite. Ghost Ridge Palace could then remain firmly seated on the fishing platform, forcing the Righteous sects to obediently follow Ghost Ridge Palace’s commands and strive for its support. With competition, Ghost Ridge Palace could act more effectively as a referee; otherwise, the united Qingzhou Righteous would make Ghost Ridge Palace’s work difficult to carry out. Exterminating Qingzhou Righteous entirely was unnecessary, though Su Jie certainly could do it. Not to mention the massive turmoil it would cause worldwide, potentially provoking a united Righteous sect crusade; destroying Guan Chao Pavilion, the leader of Qingzhou Righteous, and utterly exterminating the Qingzhou Righteous are entirely different concepts. The former could be attributed to sect conflicts, while the latter would undoubtedly provoke public outrage. Moreover, for Su Jie, terms like Righteous or Demon Path didn’t matter to him. Whether they were Ghost Ridge Palace cultivators or these Qingzhou Righteous cultivators, they all belonged to Su Jie as part of his assets. Cultivators are valuable resources, who would slaughter and discard their own cattle and sheep for nothing? "This is our Ghost Ridge Palace’s plan for the future of Qingzhou. Everyone just needs to follow the arrangements." Su Jie took out some booklets and tossed them to the Righteous Sect Masters present. Si Xinying and other Righteous Sect Masters complained inwardly; they said they would discuss together, but Ghost Ridge Palace had already planned everything without even bothering with formalities, directly laying their cards on the table. Despite complaining inwardly, Si Xinying dared not challenge Su Jie, especially knowing her direct disciple Mo Shiyao had previously offended Su Jie, making her even more cautious in Su Jie’s presence. With this in mind, Si Xinying lowered her head, flipping through the booklet to see Su Jie’s stated plans for the future of Qingzhou and allocations for their Righteous sects. Just with one look, Si Xinying’s blood pressure surged, and she clenched the booklet tightly. "Let our Miao Yin Temple female disciples descend the mountain and form dance troupes, theaters, and pleasure boats..." Si Xinying originally tried to restrain herself from speaking, but she couldn’t help herself as the booklet’s plans were excessively outrageous. Just this one provision angered her. All disciples of Miao Yin Temple are female cultivators and never accept male disciples. They carefully select talented female cultivators from a young age, excelling in music, chess, calligraphy, painting with refined qualities, especially renowned for their musical prowess, combining the melodious music and magic, hailed as the best in the Da Li Dynasty. This is evident from the name Miao Yin Temple. Their unique female sect characteristics grant Miao Yin Temple a distinguished reputation in Qingzhou and across the Da Li Dynasty. After all, which young Righteous sect cultivator wouldn’t wish for a graceful, elegant female cultivator as their Taoist couple? In Qingzhou, Miao Yin Temple female cultivators symbolize elegance, beauty, and charm, frequently engaging with major Righteous sects, discussing Taoism and playing instruments at high-end venues. Yet now, Su Jie demands them to form dance troupes, essentially forcing celestial beings to descend to mortals, which is simply outrageous. Even worse, there are plans for movie filming, tourism industries, things Si Xinying couldn’t understand, but she interpreted from the booklet only the word "exploitation." "Does Sect Leader Si have any objections?" Su Jie smiled at Si Xinying. Si Xinying’s lips trembled; initially wanting to argue, her Miao Yin Temple would not please commoners, but looking at Su Jie’s expression, the words couldn’t leave her mouth. She feared Su Jie would kill her with a single slap. Si Xinying chuckled awkwardly, ultimately not daring to contradict Su Jie, only managing a bitter smile and withdrawing. Other Righteous Sect Masters, like Si Xinying, upon seeing the booklet, their faces were quite unpleasant. The booklet demanded far too much from their Righteous sects, requiring immense contributions for architectural wonders alone. Besides this, they were expected to annually send outstanding disciples to Ghost Ridge Palace to exchange and learn the advanced culture and system, fearing these disciples might return indoctrinated with Demon Path habits. Ghost Ridge Palace also demanded stationing troops near various sects throughout Qingzhou, recruiting major sect cultivators to form the Qingzhou Army, serving Ghost Ridge Palace. Furthermore, there was a portfolio of agreements regarding economic alliances, currency reform, spirit vein sharing, an assortment of confusing components, which individually understood yet collectively baffled many as to Su Jie’s strategies. The discernible parts clearly revealed Su Jie’s greedy ambition, aiming for nothing but exploiting them ruthlessly! Momentarily, all the present Righteous sects longed for Guan Chao Pavilion. When Guan Chao Pavilion was present, there weren’t so many distressing incidents. "No one is speaking; it appears there are no objections. Then please sign and press your handprints." Su Jie disregarded the Righteous Sect Masters’ dismal expressions, now was the time for them to experience a taste of capitalism’s shock. Nothing better suits this environment than capitalism, characterized by the private property of means of production, essentially resulting in the private ownership of resources and wealth, leading to a few people holding most of the wealth, ultimately forming wealth barriers and resource monopolies. Such characteristics are what Su Jie prefers, for the maximal exploitation and monopoly to provide Su Jie with the greatest resources, facilitating his ascension in power. Hearing Su Jie’s words, Zhuo Zhong decisively signed his name. The others, seeing this, were also helpless, capitulating under Su Jie’s tyranny and signing their names.