Jiang Chen was not so easily fooled. Saying the word "submission" was easy enough, but winning their hearts — that was another matter entirely.
"Gentlemen, I don't know how sincere any of you really are. But let me just ask one thing — would you prefer that I continue suppressing you with spiritual sense restrictions, or would you take the initiative and swear a Heaven and Earth Oath of loyalty to me? I'm not greedy. Twenty years will do."
Hearing Jiang Chen's words, everyone was overjoyed.
Meng Hongfa hurriedly asked, "Young Master, if we swear the Heaven and Earth Oath, will you remove the restrictions from our spiritual senses?"
The others stared at Jiang Chen in shock as well, clearly not expecting such a good deal.
Though both were forms of restraint, the Heaven and Earth Oath was no less binding than the spiritual sense restrictions. But the difference between the two was still obvious.
The Heaven and Earth Oath's binding force was strong, but as long as they didn't actively violate the oath, they had nothing to worry about.
The spiritual sense restrictions were different, though. With those, their very lives hung by a thread of the other party's whim. Even if they made no mistakes, the slightest displeasure on the other side could snuff them out in an instant.
It was like a candle left out in the open — the slightest gust of wind could blow it out.
But indoors, unless someone deliberately tried to blow it out, it would stay lit.
"That depends on how you perform." Jiang Chen smiled faintly. He wasn't about to give in so easily — a little sweetener first, to give them a taste of hope.
This way, it would be hard for them not to give their best.
"Different people, different performances — the time to lift the restrictions will vary. But before any restrictions are lifted, the Heaven and Earth Oath must still be sworn. This world is full of ungrateful people, and I can't be certain there aren't any among you. Though I've saved your lives, some of you might conveniently choose to forget that fact and instead fixate on the fact that I'll be commanding you for twenty years."
"That's not the case, absolutely not!" Meng Hongfa shook his head vigorously. "Being grateful for kindness received is basic human decency. Otherwise, you're nothing but an ingrate."
"Yes, yes, we're all perfectly willing! Being the Young Master's subordinate for twenty years is a hundred times better than being someone's slave for life — we all understand that perfectly well."
They spoke beautifully, but it couldn't shake Jiang Chen's resolve.
He smiled and waved his hand. "I only care about actual results. By the way, why don't each of you tell me your backgrounds? As I said before — I value honesty and dislike half-hearted answers."
Everyone began introducing themselves one by one.
Sure enough, most of them were rogue cultivators by origin. Out of ten, seven were thoroughbred independent cultivators from various territories, though all hailed from the Middle and Lower Regions.
The other three weren't strictly rogue cultivators — they all came from sects. One of them, much like the Danqian Palace, had their sect destroyed, after which they were captured and sold.
The other two — one was ambushed and betrayed while out gaining experience, and the other was even unluckier: their sect had lost a bet against another sect, and he was handed over as a bargaining chip.
Hearing their bizarre stories one after another, Jiang Chen couldn't help but marvel — truly, this world was vast enough to contain all manner of strange things.
However, the backgrounds and experiences of these ten people did put his mind somewhat at ease. At least none of them came from particularly powerful backgrounds.
With smaller backgrounds came smaller egos. They would be much easier to command, and he wouldn't have to worry too much about psychological resistance.
Of course, pressure was only one side of the equation. Jiang Chen knew that to truly command these people, force alone wasn't enough. He also had to give them something sweet — let them find a sense of belonging here, and come to identify with this place on a psychological level.
If it came to that, he suspected that when the time came to actually drive them away, they wouldn't even want to leave.
……
The Wang Ting Great Clan — one of the Twenty-Eight Great Clans of Liuli Royal City. Within the city, apart from the Seven Great Emperors, they were considered the very highest tier of existence.
Because the Seven Great Emperors were mostly reclusive and didn't personally involve themselves in the mundane governance of Liuli Royal City, the Twenty-Eight Great Clans were essentially the actual rulers.
Any single one of these clans was a force that could command the winds and rain of Liuli Royal City.
At this moment, in the manor of the Wang Ting Great Clan's Clan Master, the Wang Ting Clan Master was secretly receiving a mysterious visitor.
In the secret chamber, there were only four people.
The Wang Ting Clan Master sat in the seat of honor, with an alchemist dressed in informal attire standing beside him.
Seated in the guest's position was a powerhouse at the eighth level of the Emperor Realm, wearing a water-white robe. Before the Wang Ting Clan Master, his expression was extremely deferential.
And beside this man, too, stood an alchemist.
"Clan Master, this pill is indeed of excellent quality — it should be the Ten Thousand Year Pill, without a doubt." The alchemist beside the Wang Ting Clan Master examined it carefully, placed a pill back on the table, and said to the Clan Master respectfully.
The Wang Ting Clan Master's expression didn't change. He nodded slightly and shifted his gaze to the guest across from him.
"Brother Ke, this pill is indeed excellent. Your Bumie Tiandu certainly reaped quite a harvest from this attack on the Myriad Aspects Territory." The Wang Ting Clan Master smiled faintly.