Chapter 230: Pre-Battle Declaration

Chaoyuan Sword Sect.

The Justice Alliance Army assembles.

The ten sects each form their own square formations, a dense, dark mass.

Lin Bai stands in the void, positioned at the very front of the ranks; to his left is Jiang Qingqin, to his right is the family of small white foxes, and behind him are numerous puppets.

True Person Li of the Spirit Transformation stage is closest to Lin Bai, and beside him is Pei Yanzong, whose eyes seem to wish they could bore into him.

Having been struck by the Resistance Arrow, Pei Yanzong has long since forgotten his former lover Daoxu entirely, even feeling that his past behavior of dying for him was extremely foolish; occasionally, he glances at Daoxu with undisguised disgust in his eyes—one moment joyful, the next disgusted, and whenever Lin Bai laughs, he even has to coordinate with the joke, truly a walking meme.

True Person Daoxu is expressionless; he once loved Lin Bai, then grew to hate Lin Bai, was loved by Pei Yanzong, and then was hated to death by Pei Yanzong; his own master fell in love with the lover he had abandoned, his good disciple is thick as thieves with a woman from a demonic sect, the lover of Lin Bai who controls him is his disciple, his pet is his disciple—often held in his arms and stroked—and the mother of his pet is also his disciple...

The experiences of these days are like an absurd dream, yet he cannot wake up from it.

Everything was brought about by that man.

Fortunately, all this absurdity is about to end.

No matter how powerful Lin Bai is, he cannot handle being hunted by the entire world, right?

As for the things he promised Lin Bai, he has already turned into this ghostly state, so how could he take "keeping one's word" seriously...

Fazhe Zhidao?

Heavenly Dao?

They are nothing but the methods of demons to bewitch people's hearts!

Whoever believes it is a fool.

Observe his words, watch his actions.

If the Heavenly Dao is this kind of cultivation method, then this world might as well be destroyed...

Lin Bai deceived him, he deceived Lin Bai; they are six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Jiang Qingqin and the small white foxes are full of tenderness and affection, their eyes seemingly containing only their lover.

Qingyu and Huaxi Furen are stuck together, whispering sweet nothings, as cloying as if they were one person...

A strange group of people, setting off the spirited Lin Bai—a perfectly fine young gentleman—so that no matter how one looks at it, he does not seem like a member of a righteous sect!

"... Good Dharma Treasures must undergo the tempering of fire and water; qualified pills must likewise undergo crushing and scorching before they can fuse. Recently, the Justice Alliance has suffered the most unjust treatment, like dark clouds covering the sky, but above the dark clouds, the sun will always be shining."

Lin Bai does not care about the motley crew around him; he stands in the air, bathing in the sunlight, delivering his pre-expedition war declaration. The charm and poise added by the Villain System and the Temperament added by the Emotion System are layered upon him, making every word he speaks full of bewitching power and incitement: "Currently, what we must do is break through the shroud of dark clouds, let the sunlight sprinkle over the earth once more, and drive away the darkness and injustice of this world."

"The Justice Alliance was established not long ago, and one could say you were all forced to become our members. Perhaps you think that the sect leaders enjoy all the benefits while you are the ones who sacrifice, and that you shouldn't have to bear such great risks. After all, the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects are like two great mountains that have suppressed this world for tens of thousands of years. Compared to them, the Justice Alliance is as weak as a speck of dust."

"You are panicked, afraid, and worried about your future; you fear I will treat you as cannon fodder, and you are even skeptical of the Fazhe Zhidao and the Justice Alliance. But those who know me know that in every battle, I am the one who charges at the very front. Which of the people from the Seven Righteous Sects or the Demonic Five Sects can do that?"

"The days ahead may be difficult, but I still make you a promise: in every battle, I will definitely charge at the very front. Perhaps, due to a moment of negligence, I may not be able to keep you all safe. But I can guarantee that I, Lin Bai, will never be the last one to fall."

"Of course, you might say, what does it matter if I charge at the front? Once I fall, you will be the ones who are unlucky." Lin Bai looks around at everyone, "But life is just like this. From the moment you joined the Justice Alliance, there was no turning back. The Seven Righteous Sects have divided the cultivation techniques of every sect so clearly; how could they allow righteous sects and demonic sects to mingle together? Therefore, regardless of my outcome, you are destined to be bound to me."

If I am glorious, you follow in glory; if I fail, you will have no place to be buried. Since that is the case, why not seek life through death!

What if we succeed?

You have already enjoyed the pills from Medicine King Valley, and the weapon refiners from the Spirit Tool Pavilion have personally modified your weapons; have you ever encountered such opportunities before?

But as long as we keep fighting, we will gain more and drag more people onto our warship, until one day, we no longer have to worry about our future or our lives.

Cultivation is inherently an act against the heavens, fighting for one's life against the sky.

My Fazhe Zhidao is, in its own way, seizing the authority of heaven and earth for myself. A single spark can start a prairie fire. A dam may be sturdy and able to hold back a flood, but a tiny ant hole can still cause it to burst, eventually becoming uncontrollable."

The emotions of the crowd are gradually stirred up, passing through despair and frustration to eventually become filled with fighting spirit; everyone straightens their backs without realizing it.

Lin Bai senses the emotions of the crowd behind him, raises his hand forcefully, and slightly increases his volume: "Shall we fight?"

Everyone raises their hands in unison: "Fight."

Xin Shang and the others watch as their own disciples are incited by Lin Bai's words, looking at each other in dismay, their hearts filled with mixed feelings; they have managed their sects for hundreds of years and have never had such influence over their disciples!

But thinking about it, aren't they the same? A few days ago, they were still fighting Lin Bai to the death, and now they are already serving the Justice Alliance wholeheartedly.

Whether it started when they were threatened by Lin Bai or when they ate the Concentration Fruit, no one can say for sure, but regardless, no one thinks of themselves as people of the Blood Shadow Sect or the Demon Spirit Sect anymore; they only think about how to solve the difficulties the Justice Alliance is currently facing!

Lin Bai is too terrifying!

However.

On second thought, this is also a good thing; if Lin Bai didn't have this kind of ability, they would be the ones who should worry about their own situation...

"Yes, fight. But we are not fighting for ourselves; we are fighting for justice, and we are fighting to promote the Fazhe Zhidao." Lin Bai presses his hand downward, and the surroundings instantly fall silent. "We are not bandits, we are not demons; we are a group of people with faith and ideals. We are fighting to break this decaying world, and we are fighting for the peace of the world. No matter what, the purpose of the Justice Alliance cannot be abandoned or trampled upon; only in this way can no one crush us."

"..." True Person Daoxu is speechless.

"Some are worried that if we set out, our homes will be raided by the other side; after all, our manpower is limited." Lin Bai smiles and waves his hand. "But do we care about such things? I tell you, we do not care. As long as we set out on an expedition, then their homes are our homes, and their resources are our resources. The Fazhe Zhidao is our foundation."

"You want to cultivate the Love Dao but lack a lover? What to do? The challenge sent by Illusion Valley—a heaven-gifted talent named Luo Xue is waiting for me there. We will go to Illusion Valley; there are female cultivators as beautiful as flowers, and there will always be one you can cultivate the Love Dao with."

"You want to cultivate the Defect Dao but suffer from having no path? Those sects that stand in our way can be 'defected' to your heart's content; break their mountain gates, smash their main halls, let them appreciate the beauty of flaws, and let them know what it means to 'break before you can build'..."

"You want to cultivate the Way of Cooking? We will conquer the Beast Taming Pavilion; there are endless ingredients there..."

"You want to cultivate 'words follow the law'? I have summarized various beautiful phrases for you and compiled them into booklets to distribute to you. Cultivating on the battlefield can both temper your heart and confuse the opponent's mind. As long as we are of one heart and one mind, any enemy we encounter will tremble, and our Justice Alliance will surely become more and more prosperous..."

"Holy crap, my blood is boiling, what do I do?"

"How could it not boil? Robbing money, robbing resources, robbing women, expanding territory... Isn't that the core message behind what Shopkeeper Lin said so nicely?"

"Talking about the Justice Alliance, yet every word reveals an evil aura; I can no longer tell who is righteous and who is a villain!"

"There are no righteous people and no villains, or rather, except for Shopkeeper Lin, everyone in the world is righteous, including us players."

"Forget about who's a villain or who's righteous; just follow along and have a blast. If the world isn't in chaos, what will we rely on to make money?"

Harmed by rumors, I went out to grab a bunch of vegetables, but ended up coming back from the supermarket too late. I'll make up for it tomorrow.

(End of chapter)