Virtually every major faction in the Human Territory had gathered in My Radiant Celestial City.
Jiang Chen swept his gaze across the assembly and spoke with a solemn expression. "Everyone, the situation in My Radiant Celestial City is as you see it. What are your plans?"
Although they had formed an alliance before, since parting ways with the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect, the situation had shifted numerous times and they had not gathered together. Jiang Chen had no idea what these people were truly thinking now.
But as far as Jiang Chen was concerned, he absolutely would not welcome anyone whose loyalties wavered to remain in My Radiant Celestial City.
My Radiant Celestial City did crave talent, but it would rather go short than settle for less. If these people only saw My Radiant Celestial City as a refuge, they might defect at a moment's notice the instant things changed. Such factions were better off not being taken in.
So Jiang Chen needed to find out what these people truly thought.
Emperor Haotian of the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect was the first to speak. "Young Master Jiang Chen, although our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect did not face any direct battle this time, we have all felt Young Master Jiang Chen's magnanimity. The Human Territory is in a time of great turmoil. No single sect can remain untouched. In the current Human Territory, apart from Young Master Jiang Chen, who else is qualified to lead the Human Race?"
At this, Emperor Haotian slapped his chest. "From this day forward, our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect will follow Young Master Jiang Chen's command. We will never pay lip service while defying you in secret. Should we betray this oath, may heaven and earth destroy us."
Emperor Haotian was a man who knew which way the wind blew. From the big picture, he understood that in the current Human Territory, apart from My Radiant Celestial City, no other sect had any hope of standing on its own.
My Radiant Celestial City would be the last hope of the Human Race.
The Nine Yang Heavenly Sect had originally been hostile toward Jiang Chen, so having them declare their loyalty first carried considerable weight.
Han Qianzhan of the Heavenly Sword Sect also laughed heartily. "Our Heavenly Sword Sect has always had a deep friendship with Young Master Jiang Chen. In times like these, I, old Han, will speak plainly—without My Radiant Celestial City's protection, our Heavenly Sword Sect has no confidence in surviving this chaos. Unless, of course, we're willing to become slaves to the alien races."
Su Huanzhen sighed softly. "With a young leader such as Young Master Jiang Chen, our Heavenly Cicada Ancient Academy will naturally do everything in its power to assist. We have no objections."
Of the eight first-rate sects, the Indestructible Heavenly Capital had already been destroyed, and the Heavenly Dragon Faction had been defeated by the Wind and Cloud Sect, having already submitted to them.
Only six sects remained.
Among these six, three immediately declared their positions. Their stances were unambiguous.
The Master of the Heavenly River Palace sighed gently. "Young Master Jiang Chen, our Heavenly River Palace once had close ties with Pill Fire City. Now that we have allied with My Radiant Celestial City, we will naturally follow Young Master Jiang Chen's command and resist the foreign races together. We harbor absolutely no second thoughts!"
The only ones left were the Heavenly Sound Temple and the Lunar Temple.
The Lunar Temple's main force had not yet arrived, and all eyes turned toward the Heavenly Sound Temple's delegation.
"Our Heavenly Sound Temple is willing to follow Young Master Jiang Chen's command." The Heavenly Sound Temple also declared its stance.
With all the first-rate sects voicing their positions, those second-rate and third-rate sects naturally had even less reason to stand on ceremony, and they all spoke up in turn to pledge their allegiance.
Jiang Chen smiled throughout, neither endorsing nor dismissing any of it.
Once everyone had finished declaring their positions, Jiang Chen nodded slightly and spoke. "Everyone, given the gravity of the situation, I am truly grateful that you think so highly of me, Jiang Chen. However, there is one matter you have all gotten wrong."
"From what I'm hearing, you all wish to pledge loyalty to My Radiant Celestial City and follow our commands. In truth, My Radiant Celestial City has abundant military strength. No matter how chaotic the times become, we are in no want of soldiers ready for battle. Do not misunderstand—what you must be loyal to first and foremost is your own conscience. You should not be driven by circumstance into making these declarations. If it is the situation pushing you, then today you can make this decision, and tomorrow you can make a different one. My Radiant Celestial City has no use for fair-weather followers."
"I prefer to get the unpleasant truth out of the way first." Jiang Chen's gaze was calm, yet it carried a natural authority. "The reason all of you can still stand here and speak your minds is because we share a common identity. We are all of the Human Race. We share common ancestors, a common homeland, and bear a common mission. If any among you has forgotten his identity as a member of the Human Race, forgotten what your heart truly tells you—then I hope you will leave My Radiant Celestial City right now. After that, you may do whatever you wish. I, Jiang Chen, will not stop you."
Everyone's expressions turned grave. They all knew that this time, Jiang Chen meant every word.
"As you all know, over these years, the Human Territory has been nothing more than a pile of loose sand—either wracked by constant internal strife or consumed by mutual scheming."
"If the Human Territory continues down this path, I fear we won't even need to wait for the Demon Race to emerge or other alien races to invade. Our own divisions will be enough to tear the Human Race apart and plunge it into the abyss of annihilation."
Jiang Chen's words settled like a crushing weight upon everyone's hearts.
Indeed, just as he had described, the Human Territory had fallen into precisely this vicious cycle over the years. The major sects had schemed against one another, undermined each other at every turn.
Now the fragile peace of the Human Territory had been shattered beyond repair. The sinister claws of the alien races were already stirring, constantly reaching into the lands of the Human Race.
If the various factions of the Human Territory continued like this, they would easily be divided and destroyed piecemeal.
This was no idle alarm.
One need only look at the Wind and Cloud Sect—within just a few short years of appearing on the scene, it had nearly plunged the Human Territory into an irreversible catastrophe.