I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 303 - 177: Why Does This Sect Leader’s Enthusiasm Give Off the Illusion of a Prosperous and Wealthy Family_2

Chapter 303: Chapter 177: Why Does This Sect Leader’s Enthusiasm Give Off the Illusion of a Prosperous and Wealthy Family_2

He was cautious by nature, and although the intelligence he had gathered indicated that the Xuanwei Sect was on its last legs, who really knew the actual situation? It wasn’t impossible that it was a ruse designed to deceive the imperial court.

The saying "a lean camel is bigger than a horse" wasn’t without merit.

Therefore, Gu Shanhai’s plan was simple: to infiltrate and scout out the situation first. If the Sect was really about to fall, he’d help them on their way; but if it was a sham, he’d take his time to devise a plan.

Little White quickly descended; the area was riddled with radiation, making it clear that the Xuanwei Sect had also been affected by the nuclear bomb during the great war.

However, the Xuanwei Sect’s gates were still standing tall, indicating that they must have had some interception and defensive measures in place, which allowed them to survive. Cleaning up the pollution on the outskirts, though, would be no easy task.

"I should thank the imperial court for drawing away quite a few people. Otherwise, I’d really have to hack my way from the foot of the mountain up to the top," Gu Shanhai muttered sarcastically. His obligation was to annihilate the entire Xuanwei Sect, so the disciples and Elders who had left were naturally not included. They had already dissociated themselves; it was not as if he should go after them to kill as well.

The essence of this obligation was the Mountain Ghosts’ Grudge. All the members of the Xuanwei Sect who had wronged the mountain ghost were long dead, and the personal obligation had been settled. Therefore, he only needed to take revenge on the Xuanwei Sect itself.

The premise for "affecting descendants" is that the descendants have been blessed. Since the personal grudges of the past had dissipated, and if the new generation of disciples had left, they naturally wouldn’t be targets for revenge because they had not benefited from the mountain ghost’s misfortune years ago.

Gu Shanhai soon arrived at the foot of the Xuanwei Sect’s mountain. There should have been disciples guarding it, but now, in their absence, intelligent robotic artifact spirits had taken on the task.

"Sooner or later, this will turn into an artificial intelligence artifact spirit," Gu Shanhai thought to himself as he eyed the robotic guardian.

In a different place, such an absurd artifact spirit wouldn’t have been possible, but in this world, it actually could be.

"But something seems a bit off," Gu Shanhai thought as he looked at the robotic guardian. It seemed as though the robot had run out of power.

He tossed a stone at it to test it, but the intelligent robot didn’t stir.

After a few more tests, he confirmed that it was indeed out of power.

"Are they so poor they can’t even afford to charge the guard?" Gu Shanhai fiddled with the robot for a bit. The thing was supposed to be solar-powered, but since the great world war, the sky was filled with dust, greatly weakening the sunlight.

This dust caused the robotic guardian’s solar power device to sometimes charge, sometimes not, and sometimes run out of power entirely.

Given the precision and the power consumption required, it was unlikely that a day’s worth of sunlight could sustain it for a year. Besides, solar power was more of an auxiliary source of energy, not the primary one.

"I understand being poor, but if you’re that broke, don’t use such high-end stuff. Keeping a couple of dogs would be cheaper," Gu Shanhai said, slowly making his way through the mountain gate.

He was pondering one thing: whether or not he could blow up the entire mountain.

After careful thought and calculation, he concluded that it wasn’t possible. At most, he could employ a blanket bombing tactic to scourge the land, but blowing up the entire mountain was out of the question without using his previous life’s powers, awakened by Previous Life Biluo.

At present, he was capable of destroying a city at most. Levelling an entire mountain? That wasn’t so easy.

Even in his most extreme state, the destruction he managed in Qingxian Town was essentially aimed at wiping out the townspeople who were manifestations of the Mountain Ghosts’ Grudge, relying on the massive area-of-effect of his Mana aura.

Mana aura was highly damaging to living beings, but using it against a mountain was somewhat inadequate. Despite the flames and frost, the mountain would remain a mountain—a lifeless object.

Killing the Sect’s disciples because of this, well, that was doable, but it felt like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

"Are you here to seek discipleship?" a voice came from a monitoring device nearby.

"???" Gu Shanhai turned to find a miniature camera on a streetlight watching him. It seemed that someone had just arrived; he didn’t feel observed before.

He was about to make his way up the mountain when this happened.

"I heard your numbers are low and there’s an opportunity for a meal. Is that true?" Gu Shanhai asked.

Clearly, the person on the other end had been quite struck by Gu Shanhai’s words, falling silent for a good five seconds before finally speaking, "Let’s get one thing straight, you can only eat meat once a month."

This essentially meant taking on a disciple, but don’t expect any lavish meals—they were poor, too.

Gu Shanhai was speechless upon hearing this. Had they fallen on hard times so rapidly? The once most prominent sect in the world wasn’t choosy about the potential of their disciples; all they required was a small appetite.

"Is there job security? I’ve also heard that after studying with you, one can secure a permanent position with the government," Gu Shanhai continued to ask.

"That’s true, provided that you show some achievement," the voice inside now carried a hint of having given up on life.

"Alright, then I’ll come and pay homage as a disciple," Gu Shanhai nodded, indicating no problem.

"Just come directly to the main hall at the top of the mountain." After finishing their statement, the person hung up, presumably to make preparations.

Gu Shanhai wasn’t really worried they would recognize him as the person who blew up their server years ago; he had altered his appearance before coming, changing his face through his life-force. Besides, with the years that passed, both his build and aura were completely different from those days.

Since he had come, he might as well see if he could get his hands on all of Xuanwei Sect’s inheritances.

Gu Shanhai was somewhat greedy, after all, the inheritance was more than just the Cultivation Technique; there was also a vast amount of modern technology.

Even if he couldn’t use it himself, he could leverage it to achieve understanding in other fields.

Knowledge is never enough. Once learned, it is yours to keep and certainly never a loss.

Oh, but some knowledge that is tainted or problematic, maybe you shouldn’t learn that. You might not lose out, but the person who spreads it definitely makes a killing.

Soon, Gu Shanhai had arrived at the main hall, greeted by an Elder with an aura of immortality about him. It would have been better if he hadn’t been wearing an exoskeleton armor, carrying a chainsaw at his waist, and toting a gun as big as a cannon on his back.

This appearance made it obvious that he was relying on the exoskeleton armor to compensate for the deficiencies of old age.

"Cough, we’ve had people who’ve come robbery under the pretense of becoming disciples in the past, so I’m just being cautious," he explained.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Sect Leader of Xuanwei Sect. Names don’t really matter. Are you sure you’re here to become a disciple?"

The way the Xuanwei Sect Leader spoke left Gu Shanhai a bit uneasy, as if he had stumbled into the illusion of a grand, opulent family.

"I... may need to think this over a bit more," Gu Shanhai hesitated.

He had noticed a very serious issue: it seemed that the Xuanwei Sect had dwindled down to just this one individual, as he couldn’t detect any other signs of life throughout the premises apart from that of the elder.

"What’s there to consider? From today on, you’re the Sect Leader Reserve of Xuanwei Sect. As soon as I’m gone, you’ll be the new Sect Leader. Think about it, inheriting such a great benefit, what’s not to like?" The other’s tone was becoming increasingly dubious.

Gu Shanhai was somewhat shocked; was this old man planning to skip town? What did he mean by the phrase ’as soon as he’s gone, Gu Shanhai would become Sect Leader’? With his vigorous demeanor, Gu Shanhai could conceive of no other reason why he would hand over the position of Sect Leader, aside from fleeing.

"I think..."

"Don’t think, that settles it. We’ll skip the formal ceremony, consider yourself accepted," the Elder interrupted Gu Shanhai, implying he had struck gold.

Yet despite Gu Shanhai’s intuition not raising any alarms, and though he had his own ulterior motives, he still feigned a struggle while accompazing the other towards the main hall.

Gu Shanhai couldn’t quite grasp the other’s motives; it seemed the exoskeleton armor had the ability to block a certain degree of thought intrusion. He could have attempted to break through forcefully, of course, but that likely would have alerted the other party, so he put that idea to rest.

As they moved forward, Gu Shanhai realized that Xuanwei Sect was nothing more than an empty shell by now. No wonder there was no one else around; the rumors that the sect was nearing its end were indeed true.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have lost so much; many of the facilities required for daily cultivation and growth had been dismantled, most likely sold off.