Zhang Xuansu, upon seeing his smiling face, withdrew his hand as if he had touched electricity, and angrily said, "Do I care if he dies?"
After a pause, he whispered, "The Ming Sect hasn’t seen such an incident in two hundred years. If you interfere, your brother will never be able to become the Sect Hierarch of the Ming Sect in his lifetime."
Yang Ge thought for a moment, hesitatingly withdrew his foot... He didn’t care whether Yang Tiansheng could become the Sect Hierarch or not, but if he interfered, Yang Tiansheng’s pride would surely be shattered!
At that moment, Yang Potian, who was in mid-air, also landed back in front of the Holy Fire Hall. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Yang Tiansheng below, and slowly said with a tone typical of an elder’s earnest admonition, "Tian Sheng, my nephew, let’s stop here for today. If we continue, we might damage the affection between our two families."
"I have watched you grow up, and I am very pleased that you have the heart to do something for the holy sect. However, the matter of succeeding as Sect Hierarch is about the life and death of hundreds of thousands of disciples in our Ming Sect, and I must consider it thoroughly before acting!"
"Regarding today’s matter, seeing that you are young and unaware, I will not hold it against you. Go back and practice diligently, work hard..."
"You must believe that everything you do for the holy sect, I see with my own eyes and keep in my heart. As long as you truly have the capability to lead the holy sect, I will seriously consider appointing you as the successor to the Sect Hierarch!"
"It’s not just you, Yang Tiansheng. Any disciple of our holy sect, regardless of their background or past, the capable will rise and the mediocre will fall. Anyone can become a Hall Master, anyone can become a protector, anyone can become the Sect Hierarch!"
He gradually raised his voice, imposing without anger.
Such a benevolent elder, a predecessor with the stern demeanor of a Sect Hierarch, as if the person who had just mercilessly attacked his own kinsman was not at all like him, Yang Potian!
Yet, in the crowd, there were indeed people whose expressions were moved, and not just a few...
"Leader Yang, can we stop making empty promises?"
Just as the crowd was about to be stirred by Yang Potian’s lofty rhetoric, Yang Tiansheng, struggling to rise with a broken sword at the bottom of the steps, chuckled and said, "After all, my brothers and I just can’t respect Lu Wujie, the ’Young Sect Hierarch’ who never ventures outside, thinking he’s not qualified to hold the position of the Ming Sect’s Sect Hierarch!"
"Why don’t we just be straightforward today? In front of so many fellow disciples here, you just say one thing: ’After a hundred years, Yang Potian, the next Sect Hierarch of the holy sect, will be someone else chosen for their merits, and absolutely not by members of the Yang family or their associates.’ Just give me a definitive answer. If you agree, I, Yang Tiansheng, will turn around and leave, never setting foot on Bright Summit again in this life!"
"How about that?"
After finishing his speech, the crowd, now regaining calm, turned their gaze back to Yang Potian on the steps.
Yang Potian looked at Yang Tiansheng with a face full of surprise, and then said with deep sorrow, "Tian Sheng, my nephew, you weren’t like this before..."
Yang Tiansheng, losing patience, interrupted him with a clasped fist, looking elsewhere: "Sect Hierarch, let’s not beat around the bush. Can you give a definitive answer? The brothers are all waiting."
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Yang Potian spread his hands: "How can I give you a definitive answer? I just said, any disciple of our holy sect, regardless of their background, anyone can be the Sect Hierarch. Now you want me to exclude Wujie and others... Tell me, isn’t Wujie a disciple of our holy sect?"
"Oh, I see!"
Yang Tiansheng, as if suddenly realizing, said, "So you want to play both sides, don’t you?"
"Enough, let’s not drag in any nonsense about uncles and nephews. Third move, please enlighten me, Sect Hierarch!"
His face was torn.
Yang Potian, however, still maintained his benevolent and venerable demeanor: "Nephew, do you really insist on going your own way today? If we continue, it might damage the affection between our two families and also harm the inner harmony of the holy sect... There’s no turning back once the bow is drawn, nephew. It’s better to think thrice before acting!"
Yang Tiansheng clasped his fist around, speaking loudly, "Today’s issue wasn’t raised for selfish reasons, but rather, I want to clarify whether our hundreds of thousands of brothers in the Ming Sect have abandoned their families and risked their lives for the teachings of promoting good and punishing evil, for the transformation of the world, saving people from disaster, or as they have risked their lives for you, Yang Potian, and the Yang family. If this cannot be clarified, then remaining in the Ming Sect... might as well not!"
The resounding words had just hit the ground when among the thousands of watching Ming Sect disciples, someone shouted loudly, "Well said!"
"Chief Yang has voiced what we all feel!"
"We clearly strive to promote good and punish evil, yet the world views us as demonic cult followers. Why is this? Could it truly be just the imperial slander?"
"If this isn’t clarified, staying in the Ming Sect might as well not matter!"
In the crowd, Yang Ge, too, inexplicably patted Zhang Xuansu on the shoulder: "See that, my brother!"
Zhang Xuansu:...
"How dare you be so presumptuous in front of the Holy Fire Hall!"
With a roar like a tiger’s, drowning out the noise atop the Bright Summit, Yang Potian finally could no longer maintain his benevolent and venerable appearance, and with a feigned smile thinly veiling his anger, coldly said, "I really misjudged. Tian Sheng, my nephew, you indeed have the makings of a Sect Hierarch, with just such a mouth that spreads rumors and incites discord. If you were to become the Sect Hierarch, with the holy sect tracing back to its roots, achieving the great cause of ’a unified world under heaven,’ why worry about failure!"
Yang Tiansheng also scoffed: "Indeed, heroes think alike. I too believe if I could be the Sect Hierarch, the tens of thousands of brothers in the sect could indeed live in abundance and peace!"