The Holy Maiden's Legacy

Tu Wangyue said, "After going mad, I lost the will to save all living beings, and thus I can no longer activate the Six Heavens Forbidden Sword. Besides, I left a backup plan on the Sacred Sword, so naturally I have a way to subdue you."

Si Ming pressed further. "What if we couldn't subdue them? Have you considered that? You yourself said you wouldn't even dare to gamble on a one percent chance of failure, so why are you willing to gamble now?"

Tu Wangyue stated frankly, "It's simply because the consequences of their failures differ in degree."

"Yes, the Sacred Sword breaking its seal could very well destroy the world, while if I or Martial Uncle Xiao were to fall into demonic possession, we might only kill a few million people at most. The two are indeed incomparable," Si Ming said with extreme sarcasm, his tone growing increasingly cold. "The question remains: if I kill many people, whose head should bear the blame? Will Her Highness the Holy Maiden step forward and admit her fault? Or will you continue to remain hidden behind the scenes, or even raise the banner of righteousness to slay Outer Dao like me who have gone astray, thus deceiving the unsuspecting people?"

"..."

"No answer means consent! What a charlatan! What a hypocritical and despicable scoundrel!"

Si Ming dared not imagine what the consequences would be if he were to go mad and become possessed by a demon, such as killing the women he had intimate relationships with with his own hands, or dying at their hands... Just thinking about such a possibility sent chills down his spine.

He has indeed not fallen into demonic possession and has successfully survived the ordeal, but this is a stroke of luck due to a combination of factors. If we choose to forgive him because of this, wouldn't that be the same logic as "the enemy didn't kill you, so you should let the enemy go"?

Si Ming was indeed a magnanimous person, but he reserved not a single ounce of his magnanimity for his enemies.

"You have your stance, and I have my mission. I admit that my actions were unfair to you, and I apologize to you here. I am also willing to accept any punishment you may impose on me." Tu Wangyue bowed her head in apology, her attitude appearing very sincere.

Si Ming shook his head and said, "Any punishment you receive now will only enhance your reputation. I won't fall for it. As the saying goes, 'to kill someone is to destroy their spirit.' I won't subject you to any private punishment. On the contrary, I will hold a fair and just public trial and bring this matter up at the next Heaven's Will Palace meeting, so that everyone will know your Zhenmian. In addition, I will publish this matter in the newspapers, so that the whole world will know what you have done."

"Your actions are detrimental to the reputation of the Mohist School."

For the first time since the start of the conversation, Tu Wangyue showed a hint of wavering, though it was fleeting, it was caught by Si Ming, who had been observing her closely.

"Why should you be afraid of others knowing what you've done? If you've made a mistake, you have to admit it. A Mohist School knows how to examine and reflect on himself is far more likely to gain the people's approval than one who only knows how to cover Mohist School up. Even if there are negative consequences, the responsibility lies with you, not me. Don't try to shift the blame."

Some things can only be said, not done; some things can only be done, not said.

"These are the words of a schemer. The actions of the Mohist School should be made public and we are not afraid to let people know. You just said that I have my stance and you have your mission. This statement contradicts the Mohist School concept of 'promoting unity.' When Mozi proposed 'promoting unity,' he did so to unify thought and avoid a situation where a hundred people have a hundred different opinions, thus avoiding the same mistake as the Confucian School."

After Kongzi died, Confucian School split into eight schools, including those led by Zisi, Yan Hui, Meng Zi, Qi Diao, and others. This was because Confucian School disciples had different understandings of Kongzi's words and thoughts, which inevitably led to disagreements. However, each of them believed that they were the orthodox school, which caused Confucian School to decline until it was revived when Confucianism was exclusively promoted in the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, Confucian School produced Xunzi, who synthesized the ideas of all schools of thought. He proposed that "the course of Heaven is constant, it does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie," "control the mandate of Heaven and use it," and "think about Heaven from a great perspective, what is better than controlling things and nurturing them?" These ideas were considered extremely treasonous and contradicted the theory of "interaction between Celestial Person." Therefore, after the Han Dynasty, there was no more master of the Xun School. Confucian School disciples kept Xun School's teachings a secret, treated them as forbidden books, and regarded Xun School's disciples as heretics.

Sea Continent also had the Xun School Confucian School of Confucianism, and thanks to the existence of extraordinary martial arts, they were able to survive and not disappear into the long river of history. However, their relationship with other Confucian School schools was extremely bad, and they wished they could beat each other to a pulp.

Tu Wangyue warned, "What you're doing will only cause internal strife. The members of the Heaven's Will Palace all take it upon themselves to protect all living beings, but they each have their own methods and have disagreements. Forcing a unity will only lead to division."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Si Ming has made up his mind: if he can't persuade the others in the Heaven's Will Palace, he'll persuade them with his fists; whoever has the strongest fighting ability will be obeyed.

This method would be ridiculed on Earth; how can you let muscles dictate your thinking?

However, this is a rule that many people in the Sea Continent agree on. After all, for any school of thought to develop and be passed down, it must be protected by powerful forces. In fact, every founder of the Hundred Schools of Thought was a martial arts master—if you don't have enough martial power, you don't even have the right to make a sound.

Tu Wangyue seemed to sense Si Ming's thoughts and looked at Yan Jinghong, saying, "Are you going to let your disciple run wild?"

"As far as Heaven's Will Palace is concerned, he is on equal footing with us, one of the eleven members. There is no distinction of seniority or master-disciple relationship between us. I have no right to restrict him in this regard," Yan Jinghong said.

"... You will definitely regret this in the future."

Si Ming suddenly said, "I can choose not to bring this up at the Heaven's Will Palace meeting, but you must answer one question for me."

What's the problem?

Why did you break the barrier sealing the Demon Race?

Tu Wangyue's expression wavered again, even more so than before, as if she hadn't expected Si Ming to know about this. In fact, Yan Jinghong was also surprised, because Si Ming hadn't mentioned this to him before.

After a moment, Tu Wangyue shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, I can't say."

Si Ming clenched his fist and threatened, "Although I've always adhered to the principle of winning people over with virtue, there are always some people who refuse to reason with me. With your attitude, I'll have no choice but to subdue you with force."

Tu Wangyue turned her questioning gaze to Yan Jinghong, Yan Jinghong replied, "I'm sorry, I'd also like to know the answer. I hope the Holy Maiden will be so kind as to reveal the truth."

Chapter 866 The Saintess's Legacy

In other matters, Yan Jinghong might stop Si Ming from acting recklessly, but when it comes to the demon tide, he is willing to go to any lengths to find out the truth.

Back then, in order to protect hundreds of thousands of people in the city, he had to guide the demon tide to invade the wealthy area, resulting in the deaths of many innocent people, including Xia Guanxue's family. This matter has been stuck in his heart like a thorn, and he has never forgotten it. However, he has not been able to find out the truth. He has suspected many targets, such as the evil scapegoat Heaven-Defying Society, but he has never suspected the Holy Maiden.

Si Ming was itching for a fight, while Yan Jinghong stood by and watched. Tu Wangyue, seeing the master and disciple assuming a "I'm about to act like a Laozi" attitude, hesitated, unsure whether to resist or surrender. If he resisted, how much strength would he have to show...?

Just as the atmosphere was about to explode, a voice suddenly rang out:

"Wait a minute, I also have a question for the Holy Maiden." A petite figure flew into the palace; it was Wu Xiu.

Si Ming lowered his hands, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Senior, you've finally arrived. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have known what excuse I could have used to stall for time."

Wu Xiu rolled her eyes and said, "You brat, I just returned from the Barbarian Continent and haven't even had a chance to rest before you dragged me here as a witness. If it weren't for my two disciples begging me for help, I really wouldn't want to go out and do something so offensive."

Then he turned to Yan Jinghong and said, "Your disciple is excellent in every other way, but he lacks a bit in respecting the elderly and caring for the young. Anyway, I can't do anything about him."

The other person was older, after all a senior, so Yan Jinghong quickly nodded and said, "I will definitely give him detailed instructions and guidance when I get back."

Si Ming thought to himself, "Damn it! This old woman is of such high seniority, how dare she snitch on me? Has she no shame?"

Tu Wangyue said, "Senior claims to be here as a witness, are you here to testify against me? I wonder what crime I have committed?"

Wu Xiu said, "It's not really an accusation. I've come here simply to ask you one question—who exactly are you?"

"I don't understand what you mean, senior."

"Then let me be more direct: are you Dong Chengling, Xi Yesi, or Tu Wangyue?"

Dong Chengling and Xi Yesi are the names of the previous two Holy Maidens.