Zhang Kegao sat on top of the head's seat and listened quietly to Xu Qingzhi's narration.
The condescending position and the killings carried out during this period made hundreds of Jindan practitioners in the hall feel a heavy sense of oppression.
Everyone straightened their backs and sat upright in front of the desk, trying to contain their breathing as much as possible.
Only Xu Qingzhi's clear voice lingered in the hall.
It is now the tenth day that the sect has been enforcing the commandments at the Tianmen Terrace.
The scene of nearly two thousand heads being chopped off one by one in full view of the public had a huge psychological impact on the disciples of the Southern Sect.
Everyone knows that this decision comes from the person above who is as towering as a mountain.
"...Disciples from two hundred and twenty-nine sects have been picked up by their respective sects.
In accordance with the instructions of the leader, the disciples also told them about the establishment of a place for public exchange of information in Xiao Penglai.
In addition, among the more than 1,800 disciples of various sects, there are still some sects that are not among the 229 sects.
And he didn't appear when the masters were fighting that day, so all the disciples of these sects were killed.
I don’t know if these sects need to communicate.
In addition, in the past thirty years, many sects and casual cultivators have also persecuted our sect.
However, when they were captured that day, these people were not within the nine counties of Penglai.
Therefore, it is up to the leader to decide whether these people should be held accountable."
Xu Qingzhi briefly recounted some recent events and then left.
'Ahem!'
Zhang Ke coughed twice, and then said casually:
"Since some sects' True Lords of Yuanshen have not appeared, let's just pretend they don't exist.
As for those practitioners who were lucky enough to escape with their lives in this incident, the sect will issue corresponding evidence and arrest warrants.
When tasks are issued within the sect, if they are not caught in one year, they will be given two years; if they are not caught in two years, they will be given ten years.
Since there were really no clues, a bounty was offered in the spiritual community to find him.
In short, no one should be spared, no matter whether they are sect disciples or casual cultivators."
Xu Qingzhi hesitated for a moment and said:
"Then what if there are disciples of high-grade sects among them?"
This is also something that many disciples in the sect are worried about.
Zhang Ke smiled deeply and said:
“The top-grade sect will not get involved in this matter.
To put it another way, even if a high-ranking sect intervenes, they will only use some people who are not on the sect's directory or casual cultivators to participate."
Before Xu Qingzhi could ask, Zhang Ke paused briefly and explained:
“During the Void War, no sect is allowed to attack or persecute other sects.
This is a decision made by sixty high-ranking sects from the five major regions of the Azure Realm.
Therefore, no matter what I did this time was a little out of line, other sects could only endure it because they were the ones who broke the rules first.
Among the practitioners who come to our sect to spy on information, there are of course those sent by top-grade sects.
But these people cannot be seen in the light, so we pretend we don’t know about these things and only target these people who have taken action.
There is no need to interrogate, and there is no need to keep alive or have any fear, just kill every one you see."
Xu Qingzhi couldn't help being speechless when he heard this.
This is a bit too rough, but it is in line with Zhang Ke's character of violence, madness and revenge.
After temporarily handling the matter, Zhang Ke then darkened his face and said in a solemn voice:
“Everyone must have witnessed the results of the seven-day punishment at ‘Tianmentai’.
I don’t want to say too many words of warning or persuasion here.
The sect's precepts are a red line and a sect's bottom line that no one is allowed to touch.
To tell you the truth, if Master Wushuang had not persuaded him many times, I would have killed more than half of the 1,700 disciples."
Shi Zhongxiu was sitting in the hall, and upon hearing this, his heart beat violently.
He never expected that Xu Qingzhi tried his best to save Shi Zhongyu's life.
My heart suddenly felt a lot more grateful to Xu Qingzhi.
He believed that at least 70% of the people in the palace were grateful to Xu Qingzhi at this moment.
At the same time, he also understood that this was Zhang Ke's attempt to eliminate the resentment in the hearts of Xu Qingzhi's disciples.
At least in the eyes of many people, when Zhang Ke was in charge of the sect, nothing like this had ever happened.
If it weren't for Xu Qingzhi's improper management, how could so many disciples of the sect have fallen into disgrace.
But they never look for reasons beyond themselves. It is human nature to shirk responsibility.
I heard Zhang Ke continue:
"It was Master Wushuang who told me that since the sect's precepts are supreme, I cannot ignore the precepts and only do things according to my own preferences.
I think what she said is right, so as long as you don't violate the sect's rules, even I can't do anything to you."
Thinking about the meaning of Zhang Ke's words, Shi Zhongxiu suddenly discovered that the sect's precepts could not only be used to punish, but also to protect oneself from harm.
He thought with some enlightenment: 'Perhaps punishment and protection are the true meanings of the commandments.'
Zhang Ke looked at the thoughtful sect disciples below and roughly guessed what they were thinking.
And this is what he really wants to instill in his disciples.
When everyone gradually recovered from their thoughts, Zhang Kecai said again:
“Let’s not talk about the sect’s discipline for now.
I summoned everyone here today for the sake of the sect’s future development.”
Seeing that the disciples were more energetic, he continued:
"Due to our laws to encourage childbirth, the nine counties of Penglai are now overcrowded.
I heard that many people were forced to leave Jiujun and develop outside because they could not survive in Jiujun. This was a mistake I made myself.
Wushuang, I will publicly apologize to all the people in the nine counties of Penglai in the next issue of various newspapers."
Xu Qingzhi was shocked and said hurriedly:
"Master, this is unacceptable. How can practitioners like us apologize to ordinary people easily? Doing so may affect the reputation of the master."
Others in the hall also agreed, thinking that Zhang Ke's move was inappropriate.
Zhang Ke waved his hand and said:
"A mistake is a mistake, it's no big deal. Reputation in the world has nothing to do with me. Besides, I don't have a good reputation."
As soon as these words came out, Shi Zhongxiu almost laughed out loud.
'It seems that the leader also knows that his reputation outside is not very good.'
Zhang Ke continued seriously:
"It's true that we are practitioners, but first of all we are human beings, ordinary people.
Just like a profession, others become farmers, craftsmen, and soldiers, while we become practitioners.
Never think that just because you are a practitioner, you are superior and look down on ordinary people.
As far as I know, 70% of the patents and technologies in the sect were developed by ordinary people."
Speaking of this, Zhang Ke changed the topic and said:
"That's a bit far, so I'll continue.
In my original plan, the people of the nine counties of Penglai should have been relocated twenty years ago.
It's just that I was posted on duty outside the boundary, and happened to encounter the Zerg invasion, which caused the matter to be delayed.
Therefore, the next step for our development is migration.
The target is ‘Crescent Bay’.”
Xu Qingzhi looked at the crowd in the hall who started talking in low voices, and spoke first:
"There are two huge sea eyes outside the Crescent Bay. Is it possible that the leader already has a way to solve these two sea eyes?"
Zhang Ke smiled and said:
"'Crescent Bay' is hundreds of times larger than the size of Penglai Island, and that's where I first ideally established my sect.
It’s just that all the conditions didn’t allow it at the beginning. Even if the problem of Haiyan was solved, it would still be a wedding dress for others.
It was only in this sea area that the reefs were combined and islands were built to establish Penglai.
Now that the time has matured, it is natural to move our headquarters to the Crescent Bay."
As soon as Zhang Ke finished speaking, there was already a lot of discussion in the hall below.
"It turns out that the foundation of our sect is in the Crescent Bay. I thought these nine counties of Penglai are too small."
"No wonder the sect has not repealed the law on 'encouraging childbearing' even though the population is overproducing. This is the emotional reason."
"That's good now. I once went to carry bird fertilizer to Crescent Bay. It's at least as big as hundreds of Penglai Nine Counties, and it can accommodate even a large number of people."
"Haha, I have already seen the opportunity for our sect to rise."
"..."
After the countless disturbing conversations gradually dispersed, Zhang Kecai said again:
"It will take about three years to prepare to solve the problem of the sea eye, and only I can do this.
Therefore, all matters in the sect are still managed by Wushuang.
In addition, I will probably be at the gate for a long time from now on, so I have a few requests."
Xu Qingzhi and everyone in the hall stood up and said respectfully:
"Please tell me, Master."
Zhang Ke looked at the disciples in the hall and slowly said:
"First, research a magical weapon that can communicate with each other."
As he spoke, he took out the last pair of 'nut snails' and placed them on the table in front of him.
"This is a magic weapon I obtained in the Central Realm a long time ago. As long as it is within a thousand miles, the mother and daughter snails can communicate with each other.
My request is not for you to imitate it, but to make a universal magic weapon that is simpler and has a longer communication range.
Not only the disciples of the sect can participate, but also the people of the nine counties of Penglai can be called on to participate in the research."
Immediately afterwards, he took out a ninth-grade innate spiritual treasure [Sound Transmission Bell].
“This spiritual treasure may give you some inspiration.
Wushuang, I will leave this treasure to you for temporary control."
Xu Qingzhi reached out and took the [Sound Transmitting Bell] and stepped back.
Then Zhang Ke said:
"The second point, and the most important point, is that I will issue a long-term mission in the name of the sect.
The sect and the nine counties of Penglai studied how to make objects float.
Regardless of whether it is a floating magic circle or a floating magic weapon, the minimum requirement is to be able to make a small boat fly.
For the time being, I will make these two requests first.
The sect will release these two things in the form of tasks, targeting not only the sect but also the nine counties of Penglai.
The sect will set up various incentive mechanisms for this purpose, and I will also provide additional personal rewards.
We hope everyone will participate enthusiastically.”