Published at 5th of December 2024 10:02 am

Chapter 451: The Investor Comes

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The crowd was terrified, prostrating themselves on the battlefield, crying and begging earnestly.

Among them, there were false emotions, deceitful intentions, but also true sincerity and heartfelt expressions.

Xu Yang sat upon the clouds, indifferent to all of this.

Over the years, he had pillaged far and wide, striking against various major powers, and had also kidnapped a large number of people.

The composition of these people was very complex.

There were those like Chu Lingfeng and Zhang Shaobai, scions of Divine Martial families, ranked on the Earth and Heaven Lists.

There were also those like Li Hongjun, who, although not listed on the Heaven or Earth Lists, belonged to branches of the Divine Martial Heritage.

There was also a portion from small family clans, minor forces, Martial Artists, and solitary individuals, Loose Cultivation Rangers.

Among the three groups, the first two were in the majority.

After all, Xu Yang’s method of kidnapping was to attack the branch strongholds of various Divine Martial powers; naturally, the majority were people from large Divine Martial forces, while the number of Loose Cultivators caught in the vortex was minor.

But regardless of the category or number, he treated them all equally.

Those who had killed mercilessly, committed heinous crimes, or were stubbornly ignorant and unwilling to accept his moral guidance for redemption through labor—such figures had already been brutally dealt with by him. They had been thrown into occupations with a promising future like Underworld Soldier Corpse Refining. Now, they were either lying dormant in Corpse Raising Lands or indulging within the Yin Altar.

The rest were prisoners whose crimes did not merit death, and who were willing to accept his teaching, reformed through labor, and realized the errors of their ways—good prisoners, indeed.

Among these people, those from the smaller forces and solitary Martial Artists were the most enthusiastic.

Given their backgrounds, they had almost no chance of encountering Divine Martial Heritage, and although Xu Yang had restricted their personal freedoms, he had also imparted teachings and methods, giving them hope of progressing to the Divine Bridge, and showed them a world unlike any they had seen before.

With the grace of his teaching and impartation of methods, combined with expounding on the Taoist Scriptures and the special effects of skills training, these most enthusiastic people directly became Xu Yang’s supporters, even his die-hard followers; Mo Bufan, the Nascent Soul Cultivator who had spoken out first earlier, was a representative of this group.

He was originally a Loose Cultivator, with not bad innate talent, but due to his ordinary background, he had no access to Divine Martial Heritage. Unwilling to toil like an ox or horse for the major powers, he had been trapped at the Yuan Core Realm, with little hope of reaching the Divine Bridge as his life neared its end.

It was at an auction that he encountered Xu Yang and became his hostage. Soon after, he received the Taoist Scriptures, switching from Martial Path Yuan Core to cultivating the Immortal Path Yuan Spirit Skill. He not only managed to change his cultivation path before the end of his lifespan but had also stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm in one fell swoop, prolonging his life and escaping death.

With the impartation of methods and teachings, a kindness as profound as rebirth, and hopes of further advancement, it goes without saying where people’s hearts lay.

Before long, he became the representative of the prisoners, charged by Xu Yang with an important task—to oversee the production line of a Magic Artifact workshop.

Thus, his words at this moment were truly heartfelt and sincere, not the coerced support arranged secretly by Xu Yang.

Not just him, other Loose Cultivators and those from medium and small forces, and even some from Divine Martial branches, all felt the same way.

After struggling for half a life with fruitless cultivation, they finally saw hope. But now, the teacher who bestowed teachings might leave them, inciting their panic and despair—how could they not be terrified and cry out?

This was the sentiment of people like Mo Bufan, driven by self-interest, yet also with genuine sincerity.

Then there was another type, whose intentions were entirely falsified.

Take Zhang Shaobai, for instance, hailing from the Divine Martial Heritage and the Sea Reading Pavilion, and ranking as a hero on the Earth List. Despite being forced to follow Xu Yang for many years and influenced by the teachings of Taoism and skills, these factors ultimately cannot control one’s heart.

Such scions of the Divine Martial main lineage naturally did not wish to switch allegiances.

Not just him, but also the few Divine Intent Venerables recently taken captive; although they appeared respectful and dare not disobey, hoping for their loyalty at this stage was still impossible.

After all, they harbored another hope that two hundred years hence, the Temple of War God would open, and a host of Divine Intention Ultimate Peak and even Tribulation Realm Experts would return to the world.

By then, one can only imagine Xu Yang’s predicament.

Unless he can defeat these returning powerhouses from the Temple of War God, just as he had crushed Li Hengjiang, there was no chance that these Divine Intent Venerables and scions of major powers would ever willingly follow him.

But it didn’t matter; if they didn’t want to follow, then so be it. Xu Yang had never intended to win their hearts.

His actions today were not about winning over people, let alone the hearts of these particular individuals.

He was simply establishing a legal system and at the same time, raising the morale of these prisoners, nothing more.

People must have hope; without it, they are but walking corpses.

Can you expect a group of walking corpses to be proactive, creative, and work wholeheartedly and diligently for you, creating value?

Obviously, that’s unrealistic!

Even now, although these people were controlled by him and had no choice but to work, the absence of enthusiasm would significantly reduce their work efficiency.

Moreover, Xu Yang could not always rely on “prisoners” to work for him forever. Eventually, as the Wandao School developed, newly inducted disciples and students would have to replace these labor-reformed prisoners.

Hence, establishing a clear legal system for reward and punishment was necessary.

Only then could the group’s work efficiency be improved.

Just like in the World of Dao and Law, why did Xu Yang do so much—evaluating titles, setting assessments, and organizing various competitions, even creating the illusion of the “Heaven Injury Demon Scar” when the two realms intersected?

It was to enhance motivation, heighten a sense of urgency, and stimulate internal and external demands, avoiding the formation of a complacent and stagnant situation.

The same principle applies now; if he doesn’t give these prisoners a glimmer of hope, allowing them to labor ceaselessly like beasts of burden, they will one day be consumed by despair, preferring death over such an existence.

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