Chapter 9: It’s Evil Shiyuan’s Turn (4)
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“Which young lady is making such loud and outrageous claims?”
“Haha, just a helper called by the Moon-Burning Sword Manor dares to show off in front of so many esteemed martial artists?”
“You think you can voice your thoughts without everyone’s approval? Pfft, you’re too young for this, girl.”
“This lady seems to be a rising star in the martial world, known as ‘Woman in Red.’ I originally thought she was a fairy untouched by the mundane world, but now it seems she is nothing but a show-off.”
“Everyone, everyone!” Mu Zhi stood up and said, “Since Miss Red has a suitable candidate in mind, why don’t we hear her out?”
Although Mu Zhi was young, he represented the Qingcheng Sect and his words held some weight.
Everyone was indifferent, exchanging smirks and eagerly awaiting what ridiculous candidate that red-clad woman would propose.
After all, they had been arguing for quite some time, and even the Kongtong Sect, who were organizing the meeting, were at their wit’s end. Up to now, they still hadn’t found a suitable proposal that everyone would be satisfied with.
Lin Nan smirked slightly, “Let’s be honest, aren’t you all just worried that the new Alliance Leader will play favorites? They’ll give the dirty work to others while keeping the good stuff for themselves.
Everyone has their own selfish motives, but only those who have retreated into the monastic life have given up greed, hatred, and delusion to the Buddha.
Master Liao Chen from the Shaolin Sect, compared to all of you, is the least selfish, isn’t he?
Moreover, the Shaolin Sect came here out of a sense of justice to exorcise demons, treating wealth like dirt, and they wouldn’t dream of sharing any spoils afterwards.
Thus, it’s clear that there’s hardly anyone more suitable to be the Alliance Leader than Master Liao Chen.”
As soon as Lin Nan finished speaking, the assembly hall fell silent.
True, she had a point.
In a situation where various sects held onto their own opinions and endlessly debated without coming to a conclusion, having the monk from Shaolin serve as the Alliance Leader seemed to be the most fitting compromise at the moment.
The method proposed by “Woman in Red” was indeed well thought out.
Pei Penghai approached the monk who had been sitting cross-legged and meditative, unaffected by any of the arguing parties, “Master Liao Chen, what say you?”
Liao Chen slowly opened his eyes, “When the mind arises, all laws arise; when the mind perishes, all laws perish. This humble monk is unworthy but willing to take on this heavy responsibility, only wishing for everyone to refocus on our original intention to establish this alliance.”
Pei Penghai was promptly overjoyed, “Thank you, Master.”
He was thoroughly tired of the incessant bickering and now that the Alliance Leader position was set, he couldn’t be happier.
“Does anyone have any objections?”
Everyone exchanged glances and found the current result acceptable.
They hadn’t let their most dreaded opponent take the lead, which counted as a win.
Since the Shaolin monk had agreed to be the Alliance Leader, with the Buddha watching from the western paradise, even that bald man wouldn’t dare show bias, making it the best decision possible.
“Miss Red, you truly are a heroine among women! After everyone squabbled for so long, you spoke one line and resolved it all.”
Ao Hongtu smiled at Lin Nan.
But unexpectedly, her face froze as if she had witnessed something unbelievable.
“Heroine?”
Lin Nan finally snapped back to reality and replied, “I’m fine, just feeling a bit suffocated in here.”
“Too many voices, I can’t blame you. I’m finding it hard to breathe myself.”
Lin Nan smiled faintly, not continuing the conversation.
However, when her gaze fell back on Master Liao Chen, her heart raced just as it had the first time she saw his face.
This monk from Shaolin was absurdly young.
Though he had a bald head, it only accentuated his handsome, fair face.
She was sure of it; this monk bore the visage of Shiyuan.
Could he be Evil Shiyuan?
But how could a monk so renowned in the martial world harbor any evil thoughts? That didn’t seem right…
“System, what’s going on??”
【He is Diamond Shiyuan.】
“But you previously said… Evil Shiyuan’s personality occupied the body. How come now we have Diamond Shiyuan suddenly appearing?”
【Little Shiyuan’s personality is temporarily dormant, and Evil Shiyuan and Diamond Shiyuan will appear as separate entities.】
This is the power of the demonic seed?
The terrifying ability to split personalities into separate entities.
And, d*mn it, Diamond Shiyuan is actually a revered monk; she never saw that coming.
Asking her to tempt a monk…
That’s tougher than climbing to the heavens!
She recalled how even the alluring and charming little Qing from “Green Snake” didn’t easily achieve her goals. It made her worry that Master Liao Chen might pull a “Demon, I can see you’re not human, Great Might Heavenly Dragon!” on her.
This was a challenge with a terrifying difficulty level of SSS!
But she couldn’t scare herself out of this; every mission had the potential to succeed, just varying in probabilities.
So before making any conclusions, she needed to find a way to meet the monk ASAP, to gauge the possibility of enticing him into the mortal world.
As the rest debated how to attack the mountain stronghold, thankfully, Lin Nan discovered a means of entertaining herself during this dull time—staring at Liao Chen’s bald head, seeing if the reflection on it truly resembled a question mark like Xiao Lin’s.
Finally, the various sects agreed to launch an attack on the mountain stronghold the next morning with their unique challenge mode.
After all, they were martial artists, not a professional army, and using martial arts was the best strategy. A collective attack was their last resort.
Moreover, the stronghold had the advantage of terrain; it was easy to defend and hard to attack. Nobody wanted to take the lead, so sparring turned out to be their best choice.
Lin Nan couldn’t help but smile coldly.
These folks mostly thought highly of themselves, believing that by ganging up on the mountain stronghold, it would simply roll over and accept their terms?
How naive!
If she were inside the stronghold, she would command all the soldiers to stand ready and fortify the defenses, but absolutely not engage, making sure those arrogant martial artists wore themselves out at the gates.
Wait, her current identity was “Woman in Red,” and she also had a side quest to “conquer the mountain stronghold.”
Using sparring to determine the outcome wouldn’t only minimize casualties, preserving the main strength of the stronghold, but it would also solidify her task of conquering the stronghold. What a two-birds-one-stone tactic!
The genius who had proposed this should seriously get a medal.
On her way back to the inn after leaving the meeting hall, Ao Hongtu looked worried.
“Why the worry, Manor Lord?” Lin Nan asked.
“I’m concerned that if the mountain stronghold agrees to the challenge format, there are a good dozen experts ahead of us from the Sword Manor.”
“Manor Lord is worried that by the time it’s our turn, the stronghold might give up?”
“Precisely.”
Lin Nan shook her head, “They’re surely underestimating the stronghold’s strength.”
