Chapter 482 Meng Chao's solemn advice
The trio had complicated emotions running through them as they imagined how harrowing and difficult it was back then. They felt that they took the current state of the Order for granted.
They would have a difficult case here and there that would show that things from back then were still prevalent even in their era, but those cases were not that many.
The easy cases they had, the ease with which they conducted, the infrastructures in place, and even the stable working environment, had all been purchased and paid for in the blood and suffering of the seniors before them, seniors like Meng Chao.
"You shouldn't feel guilty about it. We all knew what we were getting into back then, and had an idea of what it would cost, though the price far exceeded what some of us expected, despite being in it, we still decided to persevere and continue through it all, and I'm glad we did, and I'm sure those we lost would be glad too.
Their sacrifices were not in vain. You are the proof of it.." Meng Chao said as he eyed the three.
The trio didn't know what to say and did what they felt like doing, which was bow and offer their thanks for what they had.
Meng Chao accepted their thanks and went on with the story.
"Now that I think about it, it's a bit ironic. If it wasn't for the never-ending battles back then, we would not have grown as strong as we are now, or amassed that many resources in such a short amount of time.
Most people keep wondering and guessing the reasons behind our rapid growth when in essence it was because of them. If they didn't come at us as relentlessly as they did, creating a boiling pot that never stopped boiling, keeping us on edge, fighting for our lives every day, we wouldn't have burst through as fast as we did.
They were the catalyst for it all. I bet they would roll in their graves and vomit blood several times over if they knew it.." Meng Chao said with an amused smile.
Even though he seemed casual, Yang Qing, Dai Chen, and Zhang Qinggee could detect a chilliness in that smile, that sent shivers down their souls. Luckily, Meng Chao immediately reigned it in and that chilly stifling sensation radiating from him vanished in an instant.
"So per history, the Order started 1,000 years ago, so 100 years in, after its formation, things were just as bad and hard for us as it was when we began.
It was even more so because we had created tonnes of blood feuds in that 100 years inciting hatred and fear all around, so even fence-sitters back then rose up against us.
Cases never stopped, especially against those who showed a modicum of friendliness or cooperation towards us. It was during one of my rounds back then that I ended up stumbling across the Crystal Palm Jade Sect.
It had been a few hours before the three-day war kicked off. They had been blockaded at the time, and their territory, prosperous as it seemed, had been abandoned, not a soul in sight.
I don't know why even stopped that time. I knew how things were going to play out and I had seen it happen countless times before, and after a hundred years, I didn't think I had the stomach to bear witness to it.
An organization being surrounded by others and eradicated because of what it has, then those organizations soon turn on each other, resulting in more casualty and chaos, then one of them becomes the victor and ends with the spoil, or some shady third party who had orchestrated the whole thing, ends up with it, easily in the end..."
Meng Chao's gaze turned solemn as he eyed the three.
"I'd like to advise you three to be very careful with cultivators, especially those who have survived a couple of thousand years.
Those who managed to survive that long do so in part due to strength but another factor to consider is their mind.
Those who survive that long are by no means simple characters, whether they are in the core formation realm, palace realm, the domain realm, a king, a rogue cultivator, a sect disciple, an alchemist, or an assassin, none of them reached and lived that long by being simple-minded characters who have nothing but cultivation in their mind.
They are sharp, astute, and adaptable. Able to weave the world around them to ensure their survival.
There was once a core formation expert, who brewed an elaborate plan involving some rock he found from an excavated ruin. He was a former prince, and his kingdom got destroyed root and stem, down to its citizens, leaving him as the sole survivor in an entire kingdom, and the culprit behind it was a clan that ended up having a feud with the kingdom over some trivial thing.
That clan had five palace realm experts at its helm, and that prince of the fallen kingdom had just been at the middle stages of the core formation realm.
However, that prince, who basically had nothing, was able to bring calamity to that clan through trickery that was so elaborate and well-made, that those palace realm cultivators died at the end along with their clan.
It's unknown how, but he triggered a beast tied that targeted that clan's grounds, which invited other powers in the area because within that beast tide, was a rare spirit beast, that could help peak palace realm experts reach the domain realm.
A blood bath consumed that area, that clan got buried, other powers got buried too in the chaos, and blood feuds were created that ended up spanning centuries after the fact. That prince died in that chaos too, but not before he made a declaration of what he did and why he did it.
Never belittle, never assume, always be alert and wary. A domain expert, even a soul formation expert may easily employ the same means as that prince against a weaker opponent despite having the ability to end it with their own hands.
Never assume just because they are powerful that they're beneath using subterfuge and other devious means to achieve their goals just because they're powerful.
The Crystal Jade Palm Sect was a victim of such a ploy. A sect with seven domain experts that had stood the test of time was upended in just three days through well-placed trickery.
The same could happen to us too, if we are not careful."
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