After asking the shopkeeper to send out the message, he focused on preparing the food.
Whether it was out of gratitude for the rescue or because of the strength demonstrated, it warranted his diligent efforts.
However, he didn’t overly intrude; once everything was ready, he sent up the meals and all the items left behind by the fourteen Grandmasters, and then he left directly, causing no further disturbance.
Wang Sheng then told Liu Jian’an and the others to start eating.
The items left by the fourteen Grandmasters, he had already seen through Divine Thought, were some spiritual pills.
Because of Qiao Nian’s cultivation of the Reaping Technique, he naturally wouldn’t let others practice it, hence all other members of Heavenly Sect practiced Qi Blood Martial Arts, which meant the sect still had quite a few resources.
These spiritual pills, Wang Sheng estimated, were most or even all of what was left of Heavenly Sect’s stock.
As spiritual medicines, their effects were definitely not bad, and almost comparable to the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pills he was familiar with.
But by now, Wang Sheng had lost interest in them.
The Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pills he currently had were all crafted by the Medicine King, and their effects were far superior to these spiritual pills.
Nevertheless, since they were given, he wouldn’t throw them away and would see later if they had any use.
Meanwhile, the aftermath operations in Yunze City had begun.
As expected, Heavenly Sect disbanded.
Having been under mind control, most people never considered staying.
Many of them were forcibly converted by the Heavenly Sect’s cultists, and the fact that they hadn’t turned against their fellows was only due to years of spiritual control, which eliminated any conflicts they might have had.
However, the thought of staying and working together was out of the question.
After expressing their gratitude to Wang Sheng, eleven of the Grandmasters left without hesitation, with the longest having been away from home for over thirty years, but no matter what their hometowns had become, they wanted to return to see them.
As for the remaining three, they did not plan to leave but instead intended to carry on the legacy of Heavenly Sect.
“I know you all resent Heavenly Sect, and I won’t stop you from leaving,” said one, “but I joined Heavenly Sect by choice. When my hometown was afflicted by drought, had it not been for the sect’s members bringing food, I would have died.”
These were the words of the Great Protector of Heavenly Sect.
Heavenly Sect had once been a highly righteous religious faction, roving around Quanzhou, healing the sick, supporting the injured, and performing good deeds.
Even when later led astray by Qiao Nian, they never ceased their charitable acts.
The Great Protector had been saved by Heavenly Sect’s kindness in the past, enabling him to survive and even now become a powerful Grandmaster.
None of these facts could be denied.
Therefore, the Great Protector planned to stay, to continue to promote what Heavenly Sect had started, because, to many outsiders, even now, the name of Heavenly Sect was held in high regard.
He did not want the sect that had once saved him to simply vanish.
Besides him, the other two Grandmasters felt similarly. Each had joined Heavenly Sect after receiving its aid in life-saving generosity, and to let go now was somewhat difficile.
Most people paid them no heed, but the second protector, now going by his own name Li Yun, gave them a few words.
“You must realize that the use of hypnotic control by Heavenly Sect cannot be hidden. Having made many enemies due to this, if you intend to inherit the legacy of the sect, you might face more hostility than you expect, and even those civilians who once received your aid may not understand,” said Li Yun.
Mind control was indeed too taboo.
Once word spread, Heavenly Sect would definitely face severe repercussions, and even those who had left it would experience some backlash.
Those who stayed would undoubtedly bear the brunt of the reprisals.
“Do not worry, we are prepared for this,” replied the Great Protector firmly.
Li Yun, seeing the determination of the Great Protector, said no more and soon after left.
The Great Protector Qiao Fan watched the decreasing number of people in Yunze City, his expression unchanging.
Before long, the core members of Heavenly Sect had dwindled to less than a hundred.
Compared to the thousands before, this was but a fraction.
However, these hundred or so were like the Great Protector in their experiences, having been saved by Heavenly Sect in their darkest times, and thus willing to stay.
The Great Protector looked at them and sighed deeply, “We face many challenges ahead, including the risk of death. If anyone wishes to leave, I will not obstruct them. Heavenly Sect is no longer what it was, but we must strive to restore it to its origins!”
Carefully, he arranged some things without going into detail.
The others could cope, but those Grandmasters among them faced rather complex issues.
The first challenge might be with one of the strongest forces, Yuelai Inn, followed by public sentiment throughout the city.
If things went as expected, they would probably have to leave Yunze City. Fortunately, the initial headquarters of Heavenly Sect had not been destroyed, so they had a place to return to and patiently plan their next steps.
Of course, all this was predicated on surviving the initial crisis.
“Hopefully, it will go smoothly!”
After saying this, the Great Protector also went to handle affairs. There was still much to do in moving out of Yunze City.
…
Wang Sheng monitored the situation in Yunze City with his Divine Thought. Although some people were struggling to accept the changes, the majority were recovering well, and it wasn’t long before the city’s life returned to normal.
At least on the surface, this was the case. After all, the truth about Heavenly Sect had yet to be exposed.
However, Wang Sheng was surprised to learn that some still wanted to stay with the sect.
“`
Three Grandmaster Level Martial Artists, along with dozens of fairly strong Martial Artists, although they could not restore the former prestige of the Heavenly Sect, it was not difficult for them to support a small sect.
These matters continued until daybreak.
The next day, Wang Sheng planned to leave, to continue his journey towards the Imperial City, and he intended to look for suitable secret manuals and miscellaneous writings along the way.
However, when he was about to depart, he witnessed an “interesting” scene.
The people of Yunze City were expelling the remaining followers of the Heavenly Sect.
And it seemed that the backing of their effort was an unfamiliar Grandmaster who had not been in Yunze City for long.
This Grandmaster was actually not a match for the Heavenly Sect’s Great Protector, let alone the other two unseen Grandmasters of the sect.
However, the Great Protector did not dispute, only saying that they would soon leave.
Clearly, the Grandmaster did not understand the depth of Heavenly Sect’s resources. Seeing the Great Protector give way, he thought he was afraid and then said, “Leave now, and don’t take anything with you. Also, hand over all the Spiritual Medicine, spiritual pills, and such.”
That was his condition for coming here; nobody objected, and some even supported him.
“Right, leave everything behind; those were plundered from the citizens of Yunze City.”
The Great Protector glanced at the person.
Indeed, some of the Heavenly Sect’s resources in Yunze City were from there, but most of it had been transported from various places in Quanzhou, some of which the Heavenly Sect had accumulated over a long time.
And the Heavenly Sect had not monopolized these resources—at times, they even collected less than the official levies.
After all, doing good deeds also requires resources and food.
But considering the incident of the city being controlled, the Great Protector relented, saying, “Fine, but the resources for cultivation all go to the person who saved us; there’s not much left!”
All the resources of the Heavenly Sect were sent out.
The Grandmaster was stunned and said nothing.
He knew it was a powerful person. He felt a bit regretful, but thinking about the profits he would gain from Yunze City, he felt much better knowing more would come eventually.
In the end, the Great Protector left with fewer than a hundred core members.
Yunze City seemed to revert to its original state.
Wang Sheng witnessed this scene, but he certainly did not think it was necessarily so.
But these matters were no longer connected to him; they were the choices of most people, and whatever the consequences, they had to bear them themselves.
Expelling the Heavenly Sect might be like escaping the tiger’s den only to enter the wolf’s lair.
“Let’s go!”
Under the Shopkeeper’s gaze, Wang Sheng left Yunze City.
And a half day after he left, as the Shopkeeper was intending to resume normal business operations, someone walked into the inn.
The Shopkeeper sensed the person but didn’t look up, saying, “Please wait a moment, customer; we will resume business shortly!”
“Lin Tong, Store Manager arrives!”
Lin Tong was the name of Yunze City’s Shopkeeper. Hearing this, he abruptly looked up and then saw a person he would only see during the annual meetings.
He immediately came out from behind the counter and bowed respectfully, “Greetings to the Store Manager; I was unaware of your visit. My apologies for any disrespect!”
Zhu Xiao nodded her head. She was a decisive person and said, “Don’t worry about it. Now, tell me the full story of what happened.”
Lin Tong would have never expected that the matter would draw the Store Manager herself. As a Shopkeeper, his ability to organize his thoughts was good. After a brief organization, he explained everything that happened, no detail too small.
“Hypnotic control?”
Zhu Xiao nodded. The main reason she came here was precisely because of this so-called hypnotic control.
As her path was not purely Qi Blood Martial Arts, she was extremely sensitive to other paths.
Upon learning about this, she realized that the Heavenly Sect might be led by someone like her.
They followed a path completely different from Qi Blood Martial Arts and may even have abandoned the Qi Blood Martial Arts entirely.
Although it was just a speculation, even the possibility warranted her visit.
She would not miss any chance that might lead her a step further on the path of uncertainty.
“The Heavenly Sect Leader was killed by a mysterious strong person?”
“Yes, that person stayed at our inn for a few days but has already left,” Lin Tong did not dare to hide anything.
Zhu Xiao then said, “I order you, if that person comes to Chi State, do your best to keep him here, but do not force him to stay.”
The Maid behind Zhu Xiao said, “I will send the order immediately, miss!”
After the Maid departed, Zhu Xiao continued to ask, “Are the people of Heavenly Sect still in the city?”
Lin Tong shook his head and said, “It seems they have been driven out. They left not long ago, likely returning to their original headquarters. Some do not wish to give up Heavenly Sect.”
“Gone?”
“Yes, they left two or three hours ago.”
Zhu Xiao did not say anything more and directly left the inn, disappearing into the streets.
Her goal was to follow the possibility offered by the Heavenly Sect; how could she possibly let it pass and not look for the remaining members…
“`