The ceremony soon reached its final step: receiving the mayor's seal.
The seal was presented and placed before Shi Tiexin, but he did not take it.
He looked at the seal and said to himself, "From the moment you take up this seal, you will no longer be an ordinary person. You cannot, and must not, think or live by the patterns of ordinary people anymore."
"The way ordinary people live will bid you farewell forever."
"You cannot even return to being the Demonic Monk, because the Demonic Monk is merely the leader of a cult, while you must become a leader of the people."
"In this world, whether high in the halls of power or far out in the wilds, foul evil runs rampant everywhere. What you must do is oppose Evil Qi with your banner flying clear, and purge foul evil with an unshakable stance. The hardship and pressure within are beyond the imagination of those who follow behind or hide behind others."
"What you will bear is not merely the safety of the residents, but the safety and stability of the entire city, the allegiance of an entire nation's hearts, the lives and livelihoods of family, comrades, and the people—and most crucially, the establishment and preservation of a system of fairness."
"With One's Own Strength, to shoulder the tide of the world—this is a struggle with no end in sight."
"It could be said that in this chaotic world, where the Heavenly Dao has strayed and Evil Qi fills the air, what you must do is as sacred as Nuwa mending the heavens, as arduous as Yu the Great taming the floods, and as resolute as Hou Yi shooting down the suns."
"Are you ready?"
Within the Martial Heart Zen Lotus, Tiexin Shi sat cross-legged in silence,