Cowardice
Listening all of the cultivators speak of fear, hopelessness and bailing on the city prompted him to query, “Has the thought of fighting them never crossed your mind?”
“With what? We can’t do squat against their five elements power!” fumed a Body Severing Realm man.
“This is clearly premeditated, while we had no time to prepare. If the barrier breaks, we have to find an escape route!” added a Primordial Infant Realm maiden.
Though there were plenty of elemental demons, the cultivators outnumbered them considerably. Plus, the cultivators ignored the fact that even elemental demons were ranked in terms of formidableness; they had a chance of winning.
“Abandoning the city is what cowards do. Since when did humans become such cowards? We’re supposed to fight back!” erupted Xuan Sitong.
“How are you going to fight them, Lass? You’re going to solo them as a Body Severing Realm cultivator? One of them is enough to melt you,” scoffed a Spirit Severing Realm man.
“Aren’t you from Mystic Beast Store? I remember the owner’s wife was burnt. You want to join her?” jibed a young scholar.
Zheng Xuantang, who squeezed through the crowd, retorted, “We hate them precisely because they attacked us. Moreover, our race has confined them for centuries. What, are you saying we can’t all of a sudden?”
“Who said we’re afraid? We just don’t want to fight a battle we’re unprepared for. If you want to die so badly, help yourself. I’m not dying for nothing,” pontificated the young scholar.
“You’re already backing down before the fight even starts? How are you going to magically win in the future?”
Shifu confined them all this time just to create cowards, Mu Yu inwardly moped.
“Sitong, Chishan, you two all right?” asked Xuan Zhengtang, giving up on trying to convince the others.
“We’re all right. We’ll take them down no matter what!” answered Xuan Sitong.
“What significance do elemental demons hold to you?” Mu Yu asked the Xuans.
“Enemies. I’ll kill them. We can’t back down against them,” vengefully declared Xuan Sitong.
“She’s right. It’s our duty to defeat them as cultivators. I can’t let them create more victims after seeing my wife suffer,” added Xuan Zhengtang.
“How about you, Chisan?”
Chisan’s gaze quickly went over to Xuan Sitong and back. “Whichever battlefield Shifu and Senior Sister are on will be the one I fight on.”
Is this Third Heaven Palace’s desired outcome? Are they trying to create cowardly humans with no will to fight? Are the cowards they created worth saving? Mu Yu mused.
Seeing the spiritual energy of the city’s barrier wearing down fast, Elder He Jinglong, Body Synthesis Realm Ninth Layer lord of Eastern Desert City, belted, “Primordial Infant Realm and above cultivators, listen in!”
City lords were compulsory if a city was a vital stronghold. The patriarch of the strongest clan in each city was appointed its lord. In some cases, the city lord took orders from the eight great sects. If the city lord was their own leader, then it was a testament to their competence. Where cities did not have lords, which was more common for cities in remote areas, several clans would band together to act as an administrating body.
With one layer of the barrier already down, even the Body Synthesis Realm cultivators started quaking in their boots.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Eastern Desert City’s lord, He Jinglong. Regardless of who you are, if your cultivation surpasses mine, I invite you to assist me as a leader. If your cultivation is behind me, please follow my commands. We must hold down the fort!”
He Jinglong’s instructions were intended to tell the members of the eight great sects that every cultivator present was an ally, and nobody or any sect was superior to another. The reason he stressed it was because some members of the eight great sects refused to take orders from others, including a city lord.
“Lord He, I am Tian Ziming, a disciple of Celestial Star Sect. I was merely passing by your city and have no desire to be caught up in this fight. Should we not seek an escape route?”
“I am Zhuang Hong, a disciple of Mystic Spirit Sect. I concur with Elder Tian’s suggestion. Is there no emergency escape route?”
“I am Leng Rufeng, a disciple of Solitary Sect. In my opinion, before you command us, you are obligated to tell us about the city. Where is the emergency exit? We do not want to perish for no reason here.”
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