Before, they had still wanted to court good repute, to put on airs as though they were presiding over the greater situation.
But the moment they saw profit laid out before them, Dan Fire City immediately reverted to its old ways, tearing off its mask of hypocrisy without a shred of restraint. They had gone straight back to the way Dan Fire City had always operated.
In short, it boiled down to eight characters: profit at any cost, by any means necessary.
On this point, the
Clearly, they were in support.
These first-tier sects had each brought along their own contingents, but they were all elite forces from their respective sects. Sending anyone to scout ahead would be a tremendous loss — none of them were going to volunteer for that in the current situation. It was no different from throwing their people to their deaths.
Great sects and great powers had always abided by the philosophy of "let others die, not me." Such suicidal tasks were, naturally, for someone else to handle.
Especially when there were so many convenient scapegoats present.
Those second-rate forces wanted to carve themselves a slice of the pie without paying any price. Since when did the world work that way?
In the end, under the pressure bearing down on them, these second- and third-rate powers were forced to start arguing among themselves about what should be done.
They knew full well that if they didn't take a stand, they would inevitably be squeezed out by the Upper Eight Domains forces. And when that happened, they would be completely shut out of this secret realm.
"Gentlemen, let's stop talking about fairness. In the world of martial cultivation, the greatest fairness is the survival of the fittest. The Heavenly Dao is fair — the strength you possess determines the rewards you enjoy. Right now, we can either send people to scout ahead, or we get thrown out of this secret realm by the Upper Eight Domains forces. So what's it going to be?"
"What's there to discuss? They're stronger no matter how you slice it. If we send people to die this time, once the path is scouted and something else goes wrong, it'll still be us second- and third-rate forces taking the hit. And by the time the real rewards actually appear, most of us will probably be dead already!"
"Exactly! If we're talking about who arrived first, we got here even earlier. So why should we be the ones to go throw our lives away?"
"Shut your mouth!"
A powerhouse from a second-tier sect barked furiously. "Spouting this nonsense right now is completely useless. If you've got the guts, go fight the Upper Eight Domains forces yourself — go carve out some fairness for everyone!"
Fight the Upper Eight Domains forces? Were they tired of living? The situation was crystal clear: Dan Fire City had already seized the initiative. And the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect seemed perfectly content to go along with Dan Fire City's proposal.
Comply and prosper; resist and perish.
It was that simple. Send people to scout ahead, or get out.
The law of the jungle applied everywhere.
The second-tier sects immediately moved to push the scouting duty onto forces even weaker than themselves.
Present at the scene, besides the great powers of the Upper Eight Domains, were not only second-tier sects — there were also third-tier sects and even fourth-tier sects.
The Purple Smoke Sect, the Spirit Crow Pavilion, and others.
But the moment those few second-tier sects made their intentions known, the remaining forces exploded.
They feared the Upper Eight Domains powers — that was true enough.
But since when did second-tier sects get to be this arrogant? They actually wanted to stick these forces with the blame?
Truth be told, the number of second-tier sects present was only a handful. The third-tier and fourth-tier sects, however, made up the vast majority.
"The Upper Eight Domains are the leaders of the human territories — if they give orders, fine. But what qualifications do you second-tier sects have to send us to our deaths?"
"Exactly! We can just as well not go in. Why should second-tier sects get to act like they're above everyone else?"
"Right, our chances of gaining anything even if we make it inside are slim to none. Why should we serve as cannon fodder for them?"
"Enough talk — let's just fight! Our forces, all combined, can't possibly lose to a few second-tier sects!"
"Yeah, let's take them down!"
The situation at the scene grew increasingly chaotic. Once word spread that those second-tier sects were trying to force the remaining forces to scout ahead while exempting themselves, the rest of the powers absolutely erupted.
The Upper Eight Domains were strong — there was nothing anyone could do about that.
But these second-tier sects? They were all second-tier sects from the surrounding domains, not forces of the Upper Eight Domains at all. What gave them the right to put themselves above everyone else?
"A lottery to pick people is fine, but second-tier sects absolutely cannot have any special privileges!"
"Well said! Second-tier sects aren't the leaders of the Upper Eight Domains — they have no right to enjoy special treatment!"
At the scene, those who truly belonged to the Upper Eight Domains and the second-tier sects accounted for perhaps twenty percent at most. The rest were predominantly forces of even lower standing.
Third-tier sects like the Purple Smoke Sect, for instance.
These forces were no pushovers. And most importantly, they held the advantage in numbers — there was no way they were going to swallow this injustice silently.
Jiang Chen, for his part, remained utterly composed, quietly watching the situation teeter on the edge of total disorder.
With so many people present, no matter how they chose, the odds of him being picked were slim. More importantly, he wasn't particularly worried about scouting ahead.