Chapter 1189: Believer Uprising
Yang Haoran first released the necessary information within the Underworld Iron Tome, then issued orders to his subordinate Emissaries of Death, and finally gathered all important figures from Lecheng and the Guardian District for a meeting.
During the grand meeting, Zhu Rong performed a self-criticism in front of everyone. Although Yang Haoran hadn't requested it, he did not stop her when she did so.
According to Zhu Rong, as Lecheng's Administrative Chief, all ordinary people in Lecheng fell under her jurisdiction. Now that such an incident had occurred without her timely detection, she, as the Administrative Chief, was undeniably responsible. Thus, she proactively chose to make a profound self-criticism in public.
In truth, Lecheng had developed quite splendidly under Zhu Rong's governance. Whether it was the city's all-around development, the living standards of its ordinary citizens, or the security they enjoyed—while not the absolute best in the entire New Beginning Realm, very few places could genuinely surpass Lecheng.
For all of this, Zhu Rong, as the Administrative Chief, deserved immense credit.
Given Lecheng's excellence, why then were there still individuals infiltrated by Spirit Masters, becoming followers of the Spirit Master False God, or even becoming Spirit Masters themselves? This question touched upon human nature itself.
However, such individuals in Lecheng were but a minority. The vast majority of Lecheng's ordinary citizens felt an extremely strong sense of identity and belonging to the current Lecheng, for it was only after experiencing profound despair that they had rediscovered hope and attained their present lives—all of which had been bestowed by the Administrative Courtyard and the Lecheng Underworld Division.
Furthermore, the Lecheng Administrative Courtyard and the Lecheng Underworld Division not only provided ample protection but also never arbitrarily punished them. These, coupled with many other positive factors, contributed to their strong sense of belonging and identity towards Lecheng.
Some individuals would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, completely disregarding the kindness and opinions of others. But such people were, after all, a minority. The vast majority understood gratitude, at least in Lecheng.
Nevertheless, for Zhu Rong, even though few individuals were successfully infiltrated by Spirit Masters this time, she still found it unacceptable. In her view, all of this was due to her own negligence; had she not been careless and inattentive, such an incident absolutely would not have occurred in Lecheng.
Therefore, after the incident, she did not shirk responsibility but chose to bear it all alone, proactively making a profound self-criticism at the meeting.
After Zhu Rong concluded her self-criticism, Yang Haoran offered no further rebuke. Instead, he spoke words of encouragement. After all, Zhu Rong's accomplishments had already left him quite satisfied, so he wouldn't fault her over minor issues, much less in front of everyone.
He not only refrained from blaming Zhu Rong but also everyone else present at the meeting. His main objective for this meeting was not to scold, but to arrange and deploy strategies, preventing the impact from spreading and the losses from escalating.
The entire Jingling Continent Underworld Office Ninth District was now bustling, for the information Yang Haoran released and the orders he issued made it difficult for them *not* to be busy.
As Yang Haoran took action, the entire Underworld Office, save for the Underworld itself, became busy. It wasn't that a single order from Yang Haoran could influence the entire Underworld Office; he didn't possess such immense power. Not only was he incapable, but even a Great Emperor like Luo Yao couldn't achieve that.
The reason the entire Underworld Office became busy was that the four Great Emperors from the four continents had separately announced the truth behind the Spirit Masters' so-called "grand movement" and had each made different arrangements and deployments. This was why, apart from the Underworld, the entire Underworld Office was shaken and bustling with activity.
Although the arrangements and deployments made by the four Great Emperors differed slightly, one point remained exactly the same: they all wished to minimize losses within their respective jurisdictions through a series of timely remedial measures.
While the idea was noble, reality was quite harsh. Though there were many targeted remedial measures, for the vast majority of cities, it was already too late. Apart from those well-managed regions where believers held absolutely devout faith in the Underworld Office Death God, the number of infiltrated believers in other areas was simply too great, with some regions even seeing half their followers defect.
For the Underworld Office, this was indeed a colossal loss. If one only considered the loss of Death God followers in a single city, it might not seem significant. But when viewed across the entire New Beginning Realm, the impact was immense; the number of lost believers in just three months was countless.
Of course, it couldn't be said that the Underworld Office's remedial measures were entirely ineffective. For some regions, the remedies were quite timely. For example, in cities like Lecheng, where the believers were extremely devout, Spirit Masters found infiltration exceedingly difficult. Three months was simply not enough time for them to successfully infiltrate a large number of followers, so the remedial measures proved useful in such areas, and the problem was quickly resolved.
However, cities like Lecheng were ultimately too few, merely a drop in the ocean compared to all the cities in the New Beginning Realm, hardly worth mentioning. In most other cities, the followers were not as devout in their faith as they appeared on the surface. Many were actually forced by circumstances to choose to believe in the Underworld Office Death God, and these regions were severely infiltrated by Spirit Masters.
Not all of the Underworld Office's remedial measures involved directly slaughtering all traitors with violent means. Some Emissaries of Death believed such methods only treated the symptoms, not the root cause, and feared that violent purges might incite riots, causing more Death God followers to abandon their faith and embrace the Spirit Masters. Thus, they sought to use various methods to persuade these defected believers to return and influence those around them.
However, even more Emissaries of Death opted for direct, violent eradication. In their view, this approach was not only fast-acting but also highly deterrent. To try and make these believers change their minds through other means, they thought, was simply ridiculous. Since these believers had already decided to abandon their former faith and embrace the Spirit Masters, with some even becoming Spirit Masters themselves, how could such followers possibly turn back? It was better to just kill them all to eliminate future troubles!
The differing approaches of the Emissaries of Death resulted in vastly different outcomes. In regions where they tried to win back believers, while their success varied, the overall situation remained relatively stable, with only a very small number of areas experiencing riots.
As for the regions that chose to violently eliminate traitors, their widespread slaughter of the defectors aroused deep dissatisfaction among many followers. Indeed, scenes of ordinary Death God believers resisting the Underworld Office actually occurred—something historically unprecedented between the Underworld Office and its followers.
Naturally, the incitement and support of the Spirit Masters were indispensable in this. Without their involvement, even if ordinary believers' faith wavered and they witnessed the Underworld Office eliminating traitors, they would not dare to rise in rebellion. After all, such an act would be no different from seeking death. But with the backing of the Spirit Masters, everything changed.
Within just a few days, a massive number of believers met tragic ends. These believers had once been followers of the Underworld Office Death God, but under the incitement of the Spirit Masters, they had become adherents of the Spirit Master False God, leading many of them to die at the hands of the Underworld Office.
The reason a portion survived was due to the protection they received from the Spirit Masters. It was precisely because the Spirit Masters intervened to shield them that these renegade believers became even more convinced their choice was correct: the Spirit God would not abandon them, but would instead lead them toward light.
The Underworld Office's series of remedial measures caused a large number of Spirit Masters, who had largely kept a low profile for three months, to emerge in droves. The Underworld Office's extensive slaughter of rebellious believers was precisely the scene they wished to witness, as it allowed them to win over more hearts, prompting more former followers of the Underworld Office Death God to switch their allegiance, become members of the Spirit Master faction, and henceforth worship the Spirit God.
To better achieve their objectives, they stood forth, unafraid of death, employing various methods to resist the Underworld Office. Repeatedly, they rescued the defected believers. This approach not only earned them a better reputation but also allowed the Spirit God to gain more followers.
Overall, the Underworld Office suffered considerable losses this time. Not only did they lose a large number of followers, but many Underworld Officials also perished during the implementation of the remedial measures. Beyond the significant losses, they also lost considerable face, making them a colossal laughingstock to other forces and causing increasingly severe doubts about the Underworld Office's future.
The Underworld Office, for its part, was not idle. Many meetings, big and small, were held among the high-ranking officials. Just within the Jingling Continent Underworld Office, where Yang Haoran was stationed, two major meetings were convened in a matter of days. This highlighted the urgency of the situation and the gravity with which the Underworld Office viewed the Spirit Masters' recent covert machinations.
After these two meetings, Luo Yao would secretly signal Yang Haoran to stay behind, then discuss strategies with him alone. He did this, of course, because he increasingly valued Yang Haoran, knowing that Yang Haoran had a sharp mind and thus wishing to obtain more useful suggestions from him.
Luo Yao would ask, and Yang Haoran would answer. Furthermore, Yang Haoran would offer pertinent advice to Luo Yao regarding certain phenomena. As for whether it would be effective, that depended on how the implementers operated.
Luo Yao was quite satisfied with the vast majority of Yang Haoran's suggestions. Consequently, he valued Yang Haoran even more. It was precisely for this reason that he revealed much information to Yang Haoran that other Guardians were unaware of, including the matter of the five Underworld Office Great Emperors joining forces.
That day, after Luo Yao accepted Yang Haoran's suggestion, he first saw off Huo Laoban, who had arrived shortly after to deliver materials. Without wasting a single moment, he immediately sought to contact the other four Great Emperors. His goal was singular: as Yang Haoran had advised, he hoped the other four Great Emperors could temporarily set aside their personal grievances and focus all their strength on resisting the external enemy.
To ensure the other four Great Emperors would calmly sit down and discuss, Luo Yao proactively set aside the grudges inherited from the previous Jingling Great Emperor. He first pulled out all the stops to arrange a meeting with the other four Great Emperors. Then, throughout the negotiations, he employed every possible means to act as a mediator, striving to prevent the discussions from collapsing due to past enmities among the Great Emperors.
Through his unremitting efforts, the five-way discussion ultimately did not collapse. Instead, they reached an agreement to temporarily set aside their grievances and unite to resist the external enemy. Although it was merely a verbal agreement, for him, it was already a very good outcome.
For the willingness of the other four Great Emperors to temporarily set aside their grievances and unite against the enemy, Luo Yao was, of course, indispensable. Without him, it would have been exceedingly difficult for the five Great Emperors of the Underworld Office to calmly sit together, let alone discuss matters of such grave importance.
Naturally, besides this reason, there was another crucial factor.
The fact that the other four Great Emperors could ascend to the position of Great Emperor was sufficient proof that none of them were fools. They were all keenly aware of the severity of the Underworld Office's current predicament and the consequences of failing to address it promptly.
To escape the current predicament, it would certainly require the combined efforts of the five Great Emperors of the Underworld Office. However, due to past grudges, they couldn't bring themselves to act. None of the other four Great Emperors wanted to speak first, as doing so would imply surrender. Since Luo Yao had proactively brought up the matter and mediated, they all had a graceful way to temporarily set aside their grievances, which was equally a significant reason.
Nevertheless, even if Luo Yao hadn't proactively served as the mediator this time, if the situation had continued to deteriorate, the other four Great Emperors would undoubtedly have put aside their past grievances and united against the enemy. For they, too, did not wish to see the Underworld Office destroyed at the hands of the Spirit Masters. It was just that if it truly came to that point, it would be hard to say whether it would still be in time.
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