Chapter 633: Chapter 311: Farewell, Close Friends (Part 2)
"Kill!"
With his words, Dao Hidden City instantly activated the Array, and the Dao Sect’s Immortal Level grand formation flashed like a blade.
The insurgents were all shocked. They had all stepped forward, thinking that there was safety in numbers and that they could pressure the Dao Sect. But now, Li An dared to slaughter so many people?
"No..."
"Spare me!"
"Is your Dao Sect trying to be butchers... Don’t kill me!"
The crowd wailed in despair, but there was no suspense; all the insurgents were annihilated, and for a moment, corpses were strewn all around!
Complete annihilation!
The first batch of thirty thousand candidates was now entirely dead.
The remaining candidates were equally shocked at the sight, but they just looked at each other without saying anything—silence engulfed the city.
After all, the others had not yet been screened, and still had a chance; standing out would only get them killed.
This was Li An’s plan—he had anticipated from the start that those not selected would cause trouble and that the situation would be difficult to control. Therefore, he had the Dao Hidden City divide the screening process into batches.
By ensuring that each group’s overall strength wasn’t too high, if they collectively caused trouble, they could be collectively slaughtered. Meanwhile, the other batches, because they still had hope and opportunity, would remain as bystanders and watch the troublemakers be slaughtered.
In this way, the Dao Sect could control the situation.
Otherwise, if everyone across the land rose up against the Dao Sect, even the sect itself would be hard-pressed to survive!
When facing the masses, if you wish to rule, you must divide them, reduce them to a loose collection rather than a unified organization or group, or else you invite disaster upon yourself.
"There are too many troublemakers, from now on each batch will only select ten thousand people. If there are more troublemakers, the number will again be halved!"
Li An publicly announced his will, and under his guidance, the waiting candidates began to fiercely criticize the troublemakers.
"Damn, these people are too selfish, causing us all to suffer!"
"What the hell, damn bastards!"
"Accept your fate if you’re not selected! Why must it come to this..."
Mutual attacks, curses.
This situation pleased Li An greatly, because with the grassroots fighting amongst themselves, their pressure was much reduced.
Li An’s series of tactics quickly took effect, maintaining order in Dao Hidden City. However, in some other areas of the Dao Sect, things weren’t so fortunate, as those in charge were either too kind-hearted or not capable enough, leading to the situation spiraling out of control, forcing the Supreme Immortals of the Dao Sect to intervene personally to stabilize it.
Later, Withered Fate and others, while helpless, uniformly adopted Li An’s approach in Dao Hidden City.
"Li An’s skills are indeed astounding..."
"I wonder where he learned these methods of controlling people... We struggle with our cultivation, and in this area, we indeed do not handle matters as smoothly as he does."
"Even though it’s effective, this method is too cruel and can only be used in emergencies. If used in peaceful times to manage the world, it would make the populace weak, ignorant, and traditional; ultimately, it is improper."
Many high-level Supremes of the Dao Sect had their perceptions of Li An refreshed again.
"Master, didn’t he accept?"
Taiqingzi asked with a sigh, "When you previously said you wanted to entrust the future of the Dao Sect to him, I was hesitant. Now, however, I think Li An may be the one truly suited for this era..."
He became more and more impressed with Withered Fate. Withered Fate was indeed mature and prudent, his vision and decisiveness sometimes surpassed his own.
Although initially, Withered Fate had blocked his plans in many ways, once he was sure, Withered Fate proceeded without hesitation, even more resolute than he was!
Withered Fate said, "He is capable, but regrettably, too selfish..."
Taiqingzi smiled, "Precisely because of his selfishness, he’s able to do so well... A person who is both selfish and not selfish may be exactly what we need."
"Will Li An one day become less selfish? Betting on human nature?"
...
Li An had Li Qingran lead the selection process, while he took the opportunity to collect the many corpses of the slaughtered, secretly using Exotic Realm methods to refine them.
Since they were dead, they might as well make one last contribution.
At the same time, he actively searched for people of the Exotic Realm!
In his view, a gap had already appeared in the world, and the Exotic Realm would surely send spies.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before they detected several Mysterious Creatures hidden outside Dao Hidden City. Li An personally acted, destroying them and refining one of the Mysterious Creatures.
"Gong Clan’s exotic slave!"
Li An’s heart was stirred.
He entrusted the matters of Dao Hidden City to Li Qingran, then quietly left.
Soon, he arrived at the edge of Daozhou, in a secluded mountain forest shrouded in mist, where he took out a Jade Talisman.
It was given to him by a descendant of the Gong Clan, Gong Shanqing.
At this moment, Li An activated it directly.
Then, he hid in another part of the forest, ensuring that the person coming was Gong Shanqing himself, before revealing himself, otherwise it could mean danger.
Soon after, a figure emerged from the void, none other than Gong Shanqing, who entered the forest Li An had been, searching and waiting for a long time. Gradually, impatience showed on his face, and muttering curses, he prepared to leave.
At this moment, Li An finally appeared to meet him.
"Made me wait so long, where were you!"
Gong Shanqing spoke impatiently.
Li An said, "My lord, I report that in the territory of Daozhou, the Dao Sect’s control is too strict, so I must act cautiously. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting... By the way, my lord, I found information on Giant Tomb Island!"
