Chapter 1176: Finding a Replacement
As Cold Yue remained silent, the middle-aged woman grew more and more spirited in her accusations. She wasn't alone; members of her faction also chimed in, seizing the opportunity to suppress Cold Yue, unwilling to miss such a chance.
"Hmph, abandoning comrades and fleeing the battlefield—such an act is utterly shameful! If we don't handle this with extreme severity, everyone will follow suit in the future. How then are we Spirit Masters to manage our affairs? Who would dare cooperate against enemies?"
"Liu Shenshi makes a valid point. We are all one of our own; when we go out on missions together, we should stick together through thick and thin. How could anyone abandon their teammates and flee alone, exchanging their comrades' lives for a sliver of their own survival? Such an act isn't merely shameful; it's outright murder!"
The Grand Spirit Masters not aligned with Cold Yue's faction grew increasingly direct in their words. Cold Yue, despite the raging anger and suppressed frustration in her heart, remained silent, letting them mock her as they pleased.
However, Cold Yue's faction wasn't composed solely of her. Seeing Cold Yue under verbal assault from the hostile Grand Spirit Masters, some immediately stepped forward to speak on her behalf. Even knowing Cold Yue was in the wrong, she was, after all, on their side. From their perspective, they couldn't stand by and watch Cold Yue fall into such a predicament. If they allowed the opposing faction to continue their mockery, Cold Yue would, nine times out of ten, be branded a traitor to the Spirit Masters.
Furthermore, the attack wasn't solely directed at Cold Yue; it was also an attack on their entire faction. Naturally, they had to counterattack and prevent the other side from growing too arrogant.
"In the battle of Tongyou City, the Guardian of the Jingling Continent's Ninth District of the Underworld Office personally appeared. The danger of that war can well be imagined. Don't let Yang Haoran's recent promotion to Guardian deceive you; his strength is incredibly formidable. For Cold Yue to have found a sliver of survival in such a perilous situation was truly difficult. Must she have died in Tongyou City to be absolved?"
"Exactly. Cold Yue was already gravely wounded and at death's door. If she hadn't left then, not only would she have been no help in the great battle, but she would have become a burden to others, hindering the fight. Her seizing an opportunity to withdraw from combat was an extremely sensible move. She neither pointlessly sacrificed her life nor dragged down her comrades. What's wrong with that?"
"Listening to you, it seems Cold Yue abandoning her comrades and fleeing the battlefield wasn't just blameless, but meritorious, isn't that right? Why don't Secret Master Jia just present Cold Yue with an award?"
"Right, right, right! Give her an award, and then announce her accomplishments in Tongyou City to all Spirit Masters in Jingling Continent. I'm sure she'll receive much applause and support."
The two factions began to argue fiercely in the conference room. Although they weren't yet red-faced with anger, the provocation, sarcasm, and thick scent of gunpowder in their words were palpable to every Grand Spirit Master present.
Almost every organization and force has different factions, and the Spirit Masters were no exception. When facing an external threat, it was one thing. But without external threats, different factions would inevitably quarrel due to differing philosophies, stances, or even conflicting interests, much like the current situation.
However, the Jingling Continent's Spirit Masters weren't limited to just two factions. It was simply that the defeat in Tongyou City implicated these two, causing them to argue so heatedly in such an important setting.
As for the other, uninvolved factions, none of them spoke to stop or mediate. In fact, they were quite pleased to witness this scene, so instead of intervening, they watched the argument with keen interest, like spectators enjoying a show that couldn't be too big a deal.
The two factions argued more and more fiercely, evolving from initial mockery and sarcasm into direct name-calling and curses. Initially, their voices weren't loud, and their emotions weren't agitated, but as their verbal sparring continued, relentlessly targeting each other's sore spots, their voices grew louder and their emotions more heated, each one arguing until their faces were flushed.
From the main seat, Jia Feitian watched the two sides escalate their argument, looking as if they were about to come to blows right there in the conference room. As the head of this Spirit Land, he naturally couldn't let them continue to quarrel. If they lost control of their emotions and truly started fighting in the conference room, the matter would become far more complicated.
"Enough, both of you. A quarrel solves nothing; instead, it will only harm the harmony among us Spirit Masters. What we need to do now is properly review the battle of Tongyou City, learn from our lessons, and prevent the same tragedy from happening again."
Although Jia Feitian was a Grand Spirit Master like everyone else present, he also held another identity: the head of this Spirit Land. Since he had spoken, the other Grand Spirit Masters present naturally had to give him face.
The two factions ceased their argument, though their expressions remained quite grim. If not for respecting Secret Master Jia's position, neither side would have stopped.
"The battle of Tongyou City is my—Cold Yue's—disgrace. Once my injuries have healed, I will do everything in my power to reclaim this lost face."
Cold Yue, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke after the two factions fell quiet. Her words immediately drew the gaze of the other Grand Spirit Masters present.
"Hmph, you're so severely injured now; when your wounds will fully recover is still an unknown. Furthermore, you no longer even have a Guardian Spirit. A Spirit Master who has lost their Guardian Spirit is like a Demon Hunter who has lost their Lifebound Demon Armament—no different from a useless cripple. You say you want to reclaim face? Tell me, with what will you reclaim face?"
Out of deference to Secret Master Jia's position, the middle-aged woman had initially fallen silent, but upon hearing Cold Yue's words, she couldn't help but mock her again.
Cold Yue, whose face was already grim, grew even more unsightly upon hearing the middle-aged woman's words, her pale face so sullen it seemed on the verge of dripping water.
Faced with the middle-aged woman's taunts and sneers, Cold Yue did not remain silent this time, but responded with a cold voice.
"How long my injuries take to recover is none of your concern. My Guardian Spirit is gone, and that too is none of your concern. I will find another suitable Guardian Spirit for myself. You only need to remember: I said I would reclaim the face lost in the battle of Tongyou City, and I will certainly do it!"
A disdainful smile appeared on the middle-aged woman's face. She looked at Cold Yue coldly, her eyes full of contempt.
"Oh? And how do you plan to reclaim your lost face? By reassembling forces to wipe out the Tongyou City Underworld Office again? Or by directly slaying Yang Haoran, this newly appointed Guardian? Setting aside whether you can even achieve these two things, even if you could, what then? Can the Spirit Masters who tragically died in Tongyou City because of you be resurrected?"
The middle-aged woman's words left Cold Yue speechless. However, from Cold Yue's tightly clenched fists, it was clear that she was deeply unwilling. As for whether this unwillingness stemmed from the battle of Tongyou City or from the middle-aged woman's verbal jabs, that remained unknown.
"Enough, both of you. If I let you continue arguing like this, we won't need to hold a meeting today."
It was Jia Feitian who spoke again. In this situation, only his words as Secret Master were effective. Cold Yue remained silent, and although the middle-aged woman wanted to continue verbally attacking Cold Yue, she ultimately chose to shut up.
"In this battle of Tongyou City, while our Spirit Masters suffered heavy losses, the Tongyou City Underworld Office's losses were also significant. If we had to compare, our Spirit Masters indeed lost far more than the Tongyou City Underworld Office. However, it doesn't matter. It won't be long before we make them pay the price—not just Tongyou City, but the entire Jingling Continent Underworld Office. Because soon, we will be making a big move. Before that, I hope you all will not act rashly. No matter how great your personal grievances, do not act without authorization, lest you ruin the plan."
Jia Feitian's words caused many Grand Spirit Masters present to change their expressions; only a very few remained unmoved.
After saying this, Jia Feitian's expression became solemn, and he continued to speak.
"The Spiritualist God Realm has issued an order: if anyone disobeys commands during this period and acts on their own, ruining the grand plan, they shall be killed without mercy!"
As he spoke the last three words, Jia Feitian enunciated each one, his expression not only solemn but his tone also becoming chillingly cold.
Under normal circumstances, Jia Feitian rarely spoke to the Grand Spirit Masters present with such a tone and expression, as he was seen as a good-natured person by outsiders, unwilling to easily offend anyone. Thus, he had always been very careful with his words and demeanor.
The Grand Spirit Masters present had not just met Jia Feitian yesterday. They knew that once Jia Feitian adopted such an expression and tone, it meant the matter was no small feat. Nine times out of ten, it was indeed as Jia Feitian said: the higher-ups were likely to make a big move soon.
The very few Grand Spirit Masters who had remained unmoved finally showed some change in their expressions upon hearing Jia Feitian's words.
...
At this moment, Yang Haoran had a headache. He leaned back in his chair, a cigarette clamped between two fingers, deep in thought.
Although Ding Tianhua was dead, this had not affected the normal operation of the Tongyou City Underworld Office. The Death God Temple's reconstruction continued, and other departments were busy with their respective duties. None of them knew Ding Tianhua was dead, and even if they did, it wouldn't significantly impact the Tongyou City Underworld Office, as Yang Haoran, the Guardian, was still holding down the fort.
Ding Tianhua's death had not affected the operation of the Tongyou City Underworld Office, but it had certainly affected Yang Haoran, the Guardian. Because with the death of Soul-Sower Ding Tianhua, deciding who should fill his position and become the new Soul-Sower of the Tongyou City Underworld Office was a troublesome matter.
Yang Haoran would not remain in Tongyou City indefinitely, so there absolutely had to be a Soul-Sower in charge here. As a Guardian, dispatching a Soul-Sower to the Tongyou City Underworld Office was merely a matter of a single word. However, Tongyou City was, after all, one of the few major cities in his Ninth District, not a place that an ordinary Soul-Sower could manage. The situation here was complex, and the Tongyou City Underworld Office had suffered heavy losses, so casually sending any Soul-Sower would make it difficult to shoulder such a significant responsibility.
If he chose the wrong person, it would not only prevent the Tongyou City Underworld Office from growing stronger, but might even lead to its demise. Therefore, finding the right person to serve as the Soul-Sower of Tongyou City was crucial, as it concerned whether the Tongyou City Underworld Office could rise again in the future.
It was precisely because Yang Haoran considered this point that he was now deep in thought, constantly reviewing suitable candidates in his mind. Yet, so far, he had not thought of any of his current Soul-Sowers who could handle this heavy responsibility, which was giving him a headache.
A cigarette burned down to its end, and Yang Haoran still hadn't found a suitable candidate. However, he didn't give up. He continued to filter through options in his mind. He extinguished the cigarette butt, stood up, and paced back and forth in the room.
For a major city like Tongyou City, if the Soul-Sower had not even opened their Earth Soul, it would be difficult to lead the Tongyou City Underworld Office effectively. Even with an exceptionally sharp mind, a certain level of strength was required as a foundation. Without even basic strength, every step would be difficult, and let alone bringing the Tongyou City Underworld Office back to prominence, merely surviving in Tongyou City would be considered a blessing from the heavens.
Yang Haoran had only been a Guardian for a short time, and among his trusted subordinates, there were no Soul-Sowers who had successfully opened both their Heaven and Earth Souls. Therefore, trying to pick someone from his close confidantes to serve as the Soul-Sower of the Tongyou City Underworld Office was clearly unfeasible.
Since there were no suitable candidates among his trusted aides, he could only select from those who weren't his direct confidantes. After careful consideration, Yang Haoran felt he had no other option but to do so.
With a decision made, Yang Haoran paused his pacing, then retrieved his Underworld Iron Tome from his independent space and pulled up the complete profiles of all his Soul-Sowers.
He immediately filtered out all Soul-Sowers below the Earth Soul realm, as they were not within his consideration. As the Soul-Sowers below the Earth Soul realm were removed, the dense list immediately shrunk by more than half, leaving only a very small portion.
There were still some Soul-Sowers in the Ninth District who had opened their Earth Soul, but most of them were in the early Earth Soul stage. Those who had reached the mid-Earth Soul stage were exceedingly few. As for whether any of these Soul-Sowers intentionally hid or falsely reported their true strength, Yang Haoran couldn't be certain, but this wouldn't affect his selection. Both early and mid-Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers were within his selection criteria.
Some people might choose a master at the mid-Earth Soul stage, because such experts possessed formidable strength. Having such an expert serve as the Soul-Sower of Tongyou City would not only act as a deterrent to enemies but also serve as an inspiration internally, truly killing two birds with one stone.
However, Yang Haoran's approach was different. His first choice was not the few mid-Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers, but rather those in the early Earth Soul stage.
Of course, Yang Haoran had his reasons for this choice. In terms of the strength of their Spirit Power, mid-Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers were undoubtedly stronger than early Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers. There was no question about this. From this perspective alone, choosing a mid-Earth Soul stage Soul-Sower seemed better.
However, the number of mid-Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers under Yang Haoran's command was simply too small, which limited his options. Furthermore, compared to early Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers, those in the mid-Earth Soul stage would be more difficult to control.
To Yang Haoran, no matter how powerful or formidable a subordinate was, if they were beyond his control, he would absolutely not employ them unless it was an unavoidable situation. He would rather choose a subordinate with slightly less strength but who was very obedient and loyal, than the former.
It was precisely due to these two considerations that Yang Haoran prioritized selecting from the early Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers.
Of course, if no suitable candidate was found within the early Earth Soul stage group, he would still turn his attention to the few mid-Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers. He wasn't necessarily fixed on selecting someone from the early Earth Soul stage group to serve as the Soul-Sower of the Tongyou City Underworld Office.
In summary, no matter what, he had to select a Soul-Sower to temporarily fill Ding Tianhua's position. Even if he couldn't find an absolutely suitable candidate, he had to find a relatively suitable one in the shortest possible time.
The number of Soul-Sowers under his command who had opened their Heaven and Earth Souls was not large. While there were more in the early Earth Soul stage than the mid-Earth Soul stage, "more" was relative; in truth, the numbers for both were small. To successfully select his ideal candidate, he decided to thoroughly review the information of all early Earth Soul stage Soul-Sowers.
The Underworld Iron Tome could access the information of every Underworld Official, but the completeness of these profiles varied from person to person. Some Underworld Officials were renowned in the Underworld, with various legendary deeds widely circulated. Their profiles in the Underworld Iron Tome would be much more detailed, often spanning several pages or even a frightening dozen-plus pages, meticulously recording everything from height and appearance to specialties and hobbies, power realm, number of enemies slain, and so on.
Conversely, if it was an unknown Underworld Official with no legendary deeds or significant contributions to the Underworld, their information in the Underworld Iron Tome was usually sparse, sometimes only containing the most basic details, with much more information completely untraceable.
This information was, of course, not uploaded by the Underworld Officials themselves into the Underworld Iron Tome, but processed by a special department of the Underworld Office responsible for such matters. For those powerful Underworld Officials who had achieved great military feats for the Underworld, they naturally became key targets for this department, hence their records in the Underworld Iron Tome were extensive and detailed.
As for those unknown Underworld Officials, this department naturally would not actively pay attention to them, regardless of whether these officials possessed abilities or not. They had no interest in focusing on these obscure officials, and furthermore, the sheer number of Underworld Officials in the entire Underworld was daunting; even if they wanted to pay attention, they simply couldn't keep track of them all.
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