The Divide-and-Conquer Propaganda Scheme

A single thought can determine the life or death of a member. With such leak prevention measures, unless a member of the opposing organization actively betrays them, obtaining intelligence is almost impossible. In today's arrest operation, the leader probably already had his hand on the "time bomb" switch when he heard the news. If he escapes successfully, that's fine, but if he fails and is captured, he will press the switch and silence him forever.

But waiting for members of the opposing side to defect voluntarily would probably take forever.

Si Ming suggested, "Perhaps we can change our approach. Instead of using force to arrest them, we can negotiate, meet secretly, and persuade them to surrender by appealing to their emotions and reasoning with them."

Chen Xiangduan was skeptical of this method. "It's too difficult. Words are too weak. You should know that the higher a person's martial arts cultivation, the more determined their will tends to be. For example, once Spirit Transformation Grandmaster has chosen a path, even if everyone in the world says that the path they are on is wrong, they will still walk it firmly until they hit a wall. And the important members exposed by the Remote Heaven Society so far almost all possess Spirit Transformation level strength. More importantly, we cannot determine whether the Divine Soul Tree Seed has the ability to eavesdrop. If it does, negotiation is meaningless; the other side can still kill them to silence them."

Si Ming, "If that's the case, then we only have one option left."

What method?

"Find them and kill them one by one. As long as we wipe out all the members of the Remote Heaven Society, it doesn't matter if we don't know their plans."

Chen Xiangduan didn't take it as a joke. After careful consideration, he said solemnly, "That is indeed a method, but unfortunately, it's too inefficient. It would be more efficient to find someone to act as a spy and infiltrate the Remote Heaven Society."

Si Ming initially wanted to say that he had just mentioned it casually and not to take it seriously, but a name flashed into his mind. After considering it for a moment, he asked, "May I ask, Commander Chen, is the elder of the Yuezheng Lineage twins an undercover agent sent by our side?"

"The twins of the Yuezheng Lineage? You mean Yuezheng Qiong, right? Unfortunately, no, at least not. They have nothing to do with our Heaven's Will Palace," Chen Xiangduan shook his head under Si Ming's expectant gaze. "In the end, we only started targeting the Heaven-Defying Society because of the tragedy that happened in Linked Mountains City. Before that, the Heaven-Defying Society no notorious record and hadn't come into our sights, so naturally we weren't on guard. Although I know what you're hoping for, she's very likely in the same situation as Lin Qingtong."

"... I understand," Si Ming sighed inwardly. "Then I'd like to ask, how will you deal with Lin Qingtong?"

"First, we need to verify the accuracy of the information she provided. Then, we need to observe her attitude. In short, we won't forgive her easily, but we won't deny her any chance either. Learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the disease to save the patient—this is the attitude of the Mohist School. Although she has committed evil deeds, she was mostly an accomplice, not the mastermind. Gao He, a disciple of Mozi, was once a tyrant in the countryside, despised by everyone. Later, under Mozi's guidance, he reformed and became a renowned scholar."

After a pause, Chen Xiangduan said seriously, "However, the times now are different from Mozi's time. Back then, morality collapsed, human life was cheap, and there were no laws to speak of. As long as someone was promising and had a repentant heart, Mozi would give them a chance. Even so, Mozi always kept the person by his side, strictly guarding them, practically imprisoning them, rather than letting them go with a simple forgiveness. Under the current laws, the best-case scenario for Lin Qingtong would be to sever her past identity and become a member of the Shadow Hero Guard."

Sitting to the side, seemingly lost in thought, Ji Shichen suddenly said, "There are special amnesty provisions: first, one must become Grandmaster; second, the proposal must be made at the Heaven's Will Palace meeting and approved by half of the members."

Si Ming thought for a moment and said, "Let's forget it. Let's follow the law. Whatever the law says, let it say."

The greater the power one possesses, the more one must restrain oneself. Si Ming had always deeply resented those privileged classes who abused their power and escaped justice, and naturally, he did not want to become the very kind of person he had hated in his youth.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Chen Xiangduan's eyes, and his tone softened. "There's no need to worry about Lin Qingtong's personal safety for now. The Mohist Academy of Science is very interested in the Metal Cells in her body, and they will do everything they can to protect her for her scientific research value. The more contributions she makes, the more likely she is to receive a lenient sentence."

Si Ming nodded, not continuing the topic, but instead suggested, "Perhaps we could release the news about the Divine Soul Tree Seed, letting the whole world know that the leader of the Heaven-Defying Society uses such despicable means to control the lives and deaths of its members. We could also use some rhetorical devices to describe how painful and miserable those members were before their deaths, preferably with tears streaming down their faces and excrement flowing freely."

Chapter 755 Sowing Discord and Propaganda

"I think the general public can accept the premise that the leader of the Heaven-Defying Society is a ruthless, insidious, and unscrupulous Great Devil King. After all, they are capable of colluding with the Demon Race, so it's reasonable for them to use cruel methods to control their subordinates and force them to obey their orders. It's just like a car mechanic carrying a wrench; it's perfectly logical."

Si Ming spoke eloquently, with the air of an imperial court handling cases, assuming you were guilty if they said so, almost as if he were shouting, "Want an imperial edict? Someone, come here, we'll write one for him."

Chen Xiangduan did not object to Si Ming's actions. The Mohist School code of honor was for the common people, but they never showed mercy to their enemies. He also saw another layer of intention behind Si Ming's actions—since the members of the Heaven-Defying Society were all forced by their leader, they should be treated leniently.

But these were all minor matters. As long as the Heaven-Defying Society could be eradicated, everything else could be dealt with expediently. He had other concerns. "Publicizing this matter might cause panic among the people, and some lawless individuals might use it to spread rumors."

When officials investigate a case, they will never reveal a single word to the public unless they have thoroughly investigated the case, in order to avoid leaking intelligence. Even if they catch the criminal, many secrets must be covered up, and the whole truth will not be made public.

"Those outlaws Heaven-Defying Society," Si Ming said, glossing over the flaws. "In Commander Chen's opinion, do the members of the Heaven-Defying Society know that their leader can decide their life or death through the Divine Soul Tree Seed?"

Chen Xiangduan paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "I see. The members of the Heaven-Defying Society are mostly unruly individuals. How could they possibly want someone to put a noose around their necks? And since the leaders of the Heaven-Defying Society want to prevent leaks, they certainly won't explain this matter. Once we make this public, the members of the Heaven-Defying Society will definitely be dissatisfied and want to remove the noose, but their leaders will not agree. They might even suspect that the person who made the suggestion wants to betray the organization. The conflict between the two is irreconcilable. Whichever side compromises, it will be in our favor."

Sowing discord is the best way to deal with a leader of the mysterious faction. If a leader always acts mysteriously, such as wearing a mask and a black cloak and daring not to show his Zhenmian, then he will never gain the trust of his subordinates. No matter how strong he is or how many great things he has accomplished, his subordinates will always have a seed of doubt in their hearts. As long as they water and fertilize it, it will grow strong and be able to be broken from within.

Trust is mutual, which is why there's the saying "to be completely honest with each other." If you strip naked and I strip naked, we can naturally become closer. If one person strips naked while the other is wearing thick clothes, the former will inevitably harbor resentment towards the latter.

Unless hypnosis or brainwashing is used, a clothed person can never gain the unconditional trust of a naked person.

Si Ming added, "There's another advantage: if everyone knows that the Heaven-Defying Society uses such despicable methods to control its members, they will inevitably hesitate when faced with the Heaven-Defying Society's persuasion. Even if it's for the sake of power, no one is willing to put their life in someone else's hands. In this situation, even if the leader of the Heaven-Defying Society compromises, no one will believe him, and they might even suspect that he has changed his method of control."

Official propaganda channels are our advantage, so of course we should maximize their effectiveness. So what if they smear you? They're just taking advantage of your inability to stand up and explain, especially since this time the evidence is solid.

First, stop the Heaven-Defying Society recruiting new members, then surround and kill them. In this way, we can eliminate one by one, and there is no need to worry about the enemy springing up again.

Chen Xiangduan was somewhat tempted, but still hesitated. "But there's no precedent for this approach..."

Ji Shichen said, "If there's no precedent, we'll set one. Our Mohist School believes in making the best use of people's talents. Let them do what they're good at. Si Ming is good at propaganda and public opinion, and that's already been proven. We should trust him and let him do it."

Chen Xiangduan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I agree."

Ling Huanxi, who had been silent until now, simply said, "I second that."

The matter of the Heaven-Defying Society has come to an end. Although Si Ming wanted to continue the investigation, there were no more clues. Now, all he could do was wait for public opinion to ferment and for the Heaven-Defying Society members to either surrender voluntarily or expose their true colors by taking action again.

Mystical organizations have their disadvantages and advantages, and judging from their past deeds, the Heaven-Defying Society's operational efficiency is not high.

Most importantly, the new semester has started, and Si Ming has to go to school.

"Although I've complained about it countless times, I still have to say it: the dignified representative of the Heaven's Will Palace is discussing national affairs one moment and going to school the next. There's definitely something wrong with that!"

Murong Qing calmly said, "Anyway, you've been refused entry to Germany, and you have nothing else to do. Cultivating at home is no different from cultivating at school."

"That's what they say... By the way, how's the Second Martial Arts Club doing these days?"

"What else could we do? Last semester was the state/district competition. With Senior Sister Ke, Brother Hu Si, Nie Wanzhi, and Chen Shimi leading the Second Martial Arts Club, winning the district championship was a piece of cake."

The four of them had traveled to the Barbarian Continent, and their strength underwent a complete transformation. Their strength was now among the top tier of their peers. In particular, Chen Shimi learned how to control his bloodline power from the Evil-Slaying Sword School, he could unleash a portion of the Dragon Devil's power, so that he no longer had to fight to the death as before. As a result, he became a truly powerful martial artist who no longer needed to rely on luck to deceive others. No team facing the Second Martial Arts Club dared to ignore his presence.

In the martial arts world, strength always reigns supreme. Even the farts of the strong smell sweet, while the pronouncements of the weak that one plus one equals two are considered absurd. With sufficient strength as a backing, Chen Shimi's chuunibyou-esque verbal tic became popular. Many teenage boys and girls idolized him and imitated him, sparking a chuunibyou craze, much like the once-popular "Shamate" non-mainstream trend in China. Outsiders found it incomprehensible, but teenage boys and girls thought it was cool, handsome, and charming.

All of the above information was obtained by Si Ming from others after the last class reunion. After all, Chen Shimi stole the show at that reunion, making it difficult for him to go unnoticed.

"Of course I wasn't asking about the results, but something else. Didn't someone say they were jealous and wanted to steal the credit?" Si Ming even suggested that the other party create a third Martial Arts Club to slap them in the face again.

"These short-sighted people have already been dealt with by the school," Murong Qing replied. "The school leaders aren't all blind. Although Senior Ke and her group were quite strong, they weren't strong enough to create an absolute gap with others. Even if the First Martial Arts Club had participated in the competition, the results wouldn't have been much worse. Under such circumstances, the school leaders might have considered personal relationships and acted out of favoritism."

But now the Second Martial Arts Club is showing signs of winning the championship. For the school leaders, a national league championship trophy is more important than anything else, far surpassing any personal connections or monetary bribes. This is an honor that Linked Mountains University has never received before, incomparable to mountains of gold and silver. Currently, the Second Martial Arts Club is entirely under the control of Senior Sister Ke; she can kick out whoever she wants, and the school leaders fully support her. They even made an example of the director who had previously considered kicking her out.