Qin Hongyi had no intention of repentance; he didn't believe he had done anything wrong.
His thoughts had already gone to an extre, and it was unclear whether it was due to the profound influence of the desolate beasts, or his extre disappointnt in the alliance. Qin Hongyi was beyond the point of no return.
Elder Luo did not bother to argue with him any longer. He simply waved his hand towards the Su People behind him, "Yue, keep an eye on him, and make sure he stays alive!"
"Yes."
Soon, an elder in black clothes ca over. With a wave of his hand, a strange black light fell upon Qin Hongyi, imdiately stiffening his body so much that he couldn't move at all.
Then, Elder Yue took away the other surviving Unrestrained ones. If the Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage had really spread beast eggs all over the Jiuzhou continent, they needed to extract pertinent information from these people.
"You others, search this place thoroughly, don't miss any spot! It would be best to find all the research on the beast eggs," Elder Luo instructed the remaining Su People.
"Yes."
Thousands of Su People imdiately took the command and quickly turned into streaks of light, heading towards the canyon.
Zhao Ruizhong also requested to assist in the investigation. Since most of his research had been stolen, he now wanted to do his best to make ands. This was the base of the Unrestrained, and if they were doing any research on desolate beasts, it was almost certainly built upon his research findings; he could assist with the investigation and evidence gathering.
Soon, only Xiang Beifei and Elder Luo remained.
Elder Luo flew up to the cliff of the grand canyon and sat on the edge of the precipice, looking out over this peculiar place.
Even now, he did not know where exactly this place was in the outer domains of the desolate wilderness, as they had co by projection; only Xiang Beifei knew the exact location.
But at this mont, Elder Luo had no desire to concern himself with that.
Xiang Beifei sat beside him, silent.
It was a while before Elder Luo spoke, "You haven't said a word."
During the interrogation of Qin Hongyi, Xiang Beifei hadn't interjected at all.
"I don't know what to say," Xiang Beifei said.
"How do you view his words?" Elder Luo asked.
Xiang Beifei paused for a mont before saying, "At least Qin Hongyi was a responsible and committed person before he ended up on this path."
When the beast tide broke out, Qin Hongyi could have relied on the strong city walls to hold off the desolate beasts, yet, because SSR's Liusheng Dong wanted to capture one of the beasts for a system quest, he forced Qin Hongyi to leave the walls to lure the beasts.
Xiao Sheng had ntioned that the situation was dangerous at that ti. He had planned to cover their retreat, but Qin Hongyi, wanting to protect his n, pushed Xiao Sheng away with a palm strike and chose to stay behind to hold off the beasts, only to be overwheld by them.
Qin Hongyi, like countless other pioneers, had wanted to use his power to protect the borders and those around him. He fulfilled his duties faithfully to his n, willing to sacrifice himself to save Xiao Sheng and the rest.
But perhaps it was at the mont he was engulfed by the desolate beasts—or the mont he was rescued by Ghostly Visage—that he began to doubt his responsibilities and completely lost hope in the alliance.
Now, he had beco extre and crazed, assisting Ghostly Visage in spreading desolate beast eggs across all Jiuzhou, all because of his dissatisfaction with the alliance leadership.
One could say that it was the system of the alliance that had driven Qin Hongyi to this point.
"He is right; killing a Liusheng Dong is far from enough."
Elder Luo sighed softly.
Killing SSR's Liusheng Dong would not change anything. There are far too many like him within the alliance.
After a long pause, Elder Luo, looking sowhat weary, asked, "Do you also think I have beco weak?"
Before, he acted without any regards, correcting whatever he disliked, even daring to kill SSRs in front of those high-level officials.
He had offended countless people, but was never afraid of anything.
Yet now, he did not even wish to kill soone as insignificant as Qin Hongyi.
It seed as though the years had worn down his sharpness; he had not killed He Caiwei, not Zhu Yiji, not Wu Shixuan, not Wei Tong.
Even though, to him, these people all had reasons to die.
But he tried his best to control himself.
Sothing had changed; he no longer wished to kill.
Xiang Beifei was silent.
It was just like what Ye Changfeng had ntioned to him before: Elder Luo had changed, becoming soone who didn't need Ye Changfeng to busily help clean up after him, nor to stressfully manage the sses the old man had left behind.
In Ye Changfeng's eyes, the mischievous elder seed—to have grown up, in a way.
It was a very strange process.
Clearly, they were the juniors.
"Not killing does not equate to weakness," Xiang Beifei said. "There's no necessary connection between the two; Elder Luo should not bla himself."
"Do you think so?"
"It wasn't Elder Luo who did wrong," Xiang Beifei said.
It didn't matter to Xiang Beifei whether Elder Luo killed those people or not.
Alive, they were as good as useless. They had been listed by Xiaohei for express delivery, never able to receive any system rewards for the rest of their lives, which would make their existence worse than death.
"Perhaps," Elder Luo said, looking at Xiang Beifei.
This silly disciple, every ti I see him he seems like he never grows up, acts recklessly, and could be knocked around, thrown into the river to drown, yet he would not get angry.
However, often tis, this child seems to see through everything clearer than anyone else.
Elder Luo seed to want to say sothing, but he hesitated.
After a long while, he sighed lightly, "I'll go have a look around nearby to determine where we are."
Elder Luo stood up and left, his figure disappearing into the canyon.
Xiang Beifei stood on the cliff, facing the piercing wind, lost in his thoughts.
"He is not weak."
A vigorous voice ca from behind him.
Xiang Beifei turned his head, looking at the person.
It was the Yue whom Elder Luo had earlier tasked Qin Hongyi with.
[Host: Yue Xingdao]
[SR level, Autonomous System]
[Realm: Orifice Transforming - Initial Phase]
This was a system that enabled one to grow stronger through self-discipline; Yue always regulated his deeds with a set of principles, and acted in accordance with the rules he had set for himself.
Gaining strength through self-discipline ant that he had a routine for everything he did daily, how he did it, and the ti he slept and woke up.
"Greetings, Senior," Xiang Beifei said.
"My na is Yue Xingdao, you can just call Yue."
Yue was quite old, appearing to be around sixty or seventy but still energetic.
Xiang Beifei had heard about this man from Elder Luo, a few years ago, Yue had been a subordinate of Elder Luo, always following him. When Elder Luo retired from the alliance, he too did not want to continue with the alliance and retired from the Beast Tide Defense Departnt, opening a bookstore and becoming a small bookstore owner.
But when Elder Luo returned to the scene, needing to reorganize the Su Alliance, he conducted a major purge, firing many of the incompetent SRs and SSRs from Zhu Yiji's tenure, keeping only the real elites while also inviting Yue to help.
Yue had always been a loyal follower of Elder Luo, so he happily accepted the invitation and helped Elder Luo manage the Su People of the Su Alliance, now he was the second in command of the Su Alliance.
"Minister Luo has never been a weak person, it's just that he has changed a lot, and I think it's mostly because of you," Yue said.
"?"
"Didn't you see that even when Professor Guo was slandered, Minister Luo held back from killing anyone? If it was five years ago, Zhu Yiji, He Caiwei, Wu Shixuan, and Wei Tong would have definitely been long dead." Yue continued.
Xiang Beifei nodded slightly.
He didn't doubt this in the least.
"He chose to hold back."
Yue continued, "If he had killed those people, to him it wouldn't have mattered much, as there are not many who could trouble him, but countless high-ranking mbers of the alliance would have targeted you, both openly and covertly."
Xiang Beifei's gaze flickered slightly.
"Minister Luo once told that he saw the hope for changing the alliance in you; you have various rare abilities and a talent unlike others. Both your temperant and disposition match well with his. In his eyes, you are the future of the alliance. That's why he curbed his temperant, refrained from killing people, because he doesn't want you to beco a target for too many people before you grow up, and he doesn't want to jeopardize your future because of any repercussions from his actions."
Yue spoke slowly.
"So that's the case."
Xiang Beifei pursed his lips.
Elder Luo couldn't possibly protect Xiang Beifei all the ti. If he had killed those people, many in the alliance would have beco vigilant, and to prevent themselves from being the next victims, they would surely band together to resist Elder Luo.
Given Xiang Beifei's outstanding status as Elder Luo's disciple, how could those traditionalists in the alliance allow another Luo Yunxian to erge? Various assassinations would target Xiang Beifei.
Therefore, Elder Luo chose to hold back his sharp edge.
For the sake of Xiang Beifei, he refrained from killing on a whim.
"I've been following him in the battles against the beast tides for half a lifeti, I understand what kind of person he used to be. He is soone who dares to act and stand up for his actions, straightforward in nature. As long as it's right, he would do it and never worry about the consequences. But your ergence has changed him a lot."
Yue chuckled, yet couldn't resist taking another look at Xiang Beifei. Although he was well aware of the young man's various qualities, this was the first ti he t Xiang Beifei face-to-face. He was curious about the kind of youth that could make an old stubborn person temper his edge.
"He doesn't need to do this for ," Xiang Beifei said.
As an Awakener of the system, even UR-level figures like Zhu Yiji and He Caiwei had been miserably dealt with by him, and he was rciless when performing tasks for others.
But Elder Luo was unaware of this, he always worried about Xiang Beifei getting into trouble, and upon learning that Xiang Beifei had ventured alone into Unrestrained's lair, he had rushed over with his forces, almost mobilizing everyone.
"He is willing to place his hope in you," Yue said with a smile, "Jiuzhou has always been his hope."
Xiang Beifei recalled the conversation he had with Elder Luo on the roadside after leaving the Archives Building. Elder Luo had always been searching for a way to change things, but he just hadn't found it yet.
But he hoped Xiang Beifei could find it.
"I know what I must do, thank you, Elder Yue," Xiang Beifei said politely.
He didn't judge the rights and wrongs of Qin Hongyi's actions, but he had to protect Jiuzhou, as that was where his friends and family were, and he couldn't allow the desolate beasts to destroy that place.
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