But even though he relinquished his power, his position as the Alliance Hierarch remained solid and impermeable, unaffected by any external influence. For original chapters go to NoveI(F)ire.net
All members of the Evergreen Alliance appeared unwaveringly loyal to him.
"Therefore, many times, it’s not that those top cultivators want to become the leader of a certain faction, but once their strength reaches a certain level, countless people naturally flock around them, forming a vast power."
Gu Jinlai thought to himself.
In this world where immense power gathers in one body, one’s own strength is the foundation.
"I’ll leave the development of the Evergreen Alliance to Qing Ye and Dao Yuan, and I’ll handle the occasional strategic cleansing. Additionally, I can make judgments about the Alliance’s progress through changes in Karma."
Gu Jinlai perceived the vast Qingguang in his spiritual world that had surged to twenty thousand in just five short years.
Although twenty thousand Qingguang couldn’t compare to the gains from battling Divine Spirits and Demigods like Nie Yu in the Red Moon Realm, such scenarios of mutual destruction between Divine Calamity and Divine Spirit are incredibly rare and cannot be recreated.
The current strategic cleansing of the surrounding realms, however, is a long-term plan.
"It’s almost sufficient. These twenty thousand Qingguang, half are from the cleansing of the All World Alliance, and the remaining half stem from the strategic cleansing of realms under the guise of forming the Evergreen Alliance. Now most realms have surrendered to the Evergreen Alliance, so using the Eye of Destruction indiscriminately for cleansing and deterrence is inappropriate."
Gu Jinlai considered.
In the battle between two realms, his use of the Eye of Destruction to sweep across One Realm was justifiable.
But if the opponent has already surrendered, and he still "indiscriminately kills" the innocent...
He would soon be labeled as part of the Demon Path.
Yes, indiscriminate killing.
Even though Gu Jinlai knew his Eye of Destruction only killed those who deserved to die, and he had ordered the promotion of his actions, in the eyes of others, releasing such indiscriminate immortal techniques was seen as a demonic act, an indiscriminate slaughter of innocents.
As for the collateral damage caused by an ordinary Golden Immortal’s battle, potentially resulting in the deaths of millions...
This involves the nature of those Gu Jinlai exterminated.
In Golden Immortal battles, the majority of casualties affected were common folk, while Gu Jinlai’s targets with the Eye of Destruction often belonged to the ruling class of a realm.
Like in ancient mortal kingdoms where two warlords battle, if one side massacres civilians, no matter how numerous, it hardly causes a ripple.
But if he murders noble families and stands against such clans...
It would lead to universal opposition, surrounded on all sides.
"If I indiscriminately kill without regard, I might indeed accumulate a large amount of Qingguang in a very short time, but... like the Demon Path, although it can bring rapid strength increase, once the Devil’s reputation spreads, righteous people will soon come forth to enact justice."
Gu Jinlai contemplated.
Unless he became so powerful he could not fear the world’s hostility, otherwise...
He’d better act within the rules.
Even if he needed to obtain Qingguang through killing, it had to be "with justification."
"The development of the Evergreen Alliance is already on track. Out of the three hundred sixty-two realms, sixty-eight have been directly brought under the Evergreen Alliance’s rule. I cannot directly interfere with the rest, but I have retained supervisory authority and the right to bypass the Dominator Sect to judge those with clear evidence of heinous crimes."
Gu Jinlai calculated slightly: "I set these judgments to occur every hundred years; in other words, every century, I can justly perform a round of strategic cleansing in these realms."
Though he lacked trusted personnel and had limited execution capability, which might not enable him to grasp the precise evidence of many, in the first century, reaping tens of thousands of Qingguang from these realms was still no difficult task.
This is the foundation of his rise.