The Jiang Family's Merits, But Not Enough to Offset Their Crimes

"So you are our ancestor Jiang Li. This unworthy descendant pays respects to the Jiang Li Old Ancestor." The Jiang Clan Leader was shocked by Jiang Li's appearance. Recalling his earlier grand discourse on "Faith Power" at Yuan Wu Xing's home, his face flushed with shame, but he quickly recovered, cast aside his embarrassment, and bowed his head in obeisance.

Jiang Li smiled without speaking.

"The Old Ancestor often reminisces about the childhood he spent with you, saying it was the happiest time of his life. He also said you were kind-hearted, and would give money to help the poor when you saw them."

"The Old Ancestor says he was young and reckless, unable to tell right from wrong, and once caused you trouble. Now, whenever he thinks back, he feels utterly ashamed. How he wishes he could say sorry to your face! But the Old Ancestor's talent is limited, and he fears he won't live long enough to see you again. And you put the world first, passing by your own home without entering—seeing you is simply too difficult, too difficult!"

"Tormented by inner demons, the Old Ancestor accidentally fell into the demonic path, using shortcuts to extend his lifespan!"

The Jiang Clan Leader wept profusely, his words sincere and heartfelt, as if he wanted to rip out his own heart and lungs to show Jiang Li. The onlookers were also moved by his tone, feeling that Jiang Yixing's cultivation of demonic arts was understandable, not beyond forgiveness. Since ancient times, public duty and private matters have been hard to balance; the Jiang Human Emperor took all living beings as his responsibility, leaving little care for his family—this was unavoidable.

It was a pity that Jiang Yixing never even had a chance to say "I'm sorry."

Yuan Wu Xing's expression turned strange, feeling this scene was all too familiar.

"We, the Jiang Family, are descendants of both the Old Ancestor Jiang Yixing and of you. With an elder as the Human Emperor, we juniors dare not disgrace your name. Aside from the Old Ancestor falling into the demonic path, we have never committed any heinous acts. The Jiang Family has worked hard to make friends far and wide, to expand our wealth, and to use connections and resources to pave the way for building cities. We turned Green City into a great city—this is something the Green City people have seen with their own eyes!"

The Green City people nodded quietly. They had heard from the older generation that Green City's large scale was inseparable from the Jiang Family's efforts.

Once upon a time, Green City was called a city only barely, and most people didn't recognize it as such—after all, what kind of city didn't even have a single Golden Core Realm cultivator?

Back then, when people from other places argued with the Green City people, they often called them country folk, lacking in refinement.

But now, Green City was one of the major cities in all of Tianqing Prefecture. The Green City people walked outside with their heads held high, and everyone who saw them would say, "Green City people—impressive."

"We consider ourselves part of the Human Emperor Palace, always holding ourselves to its standards, only hoping that the Human Emperor Palace—and you—will acknowledge that the Jiang Family has not brought shame to it!"

"Jiang Li Old Ancestor, this unworthy descendant asks on behalf of the Jiang Family: Can we join the Human Emperor Palace?"

The Jiang Clan Leader looked up at Jiang Li, his eyes full of longing. The surrounding crowd silently urged, wishing they could take Jiang Li's place and say "yes."

Jiang Li nodded lightly and said, "Nice try."

"The Human Emperor Palace enshrines the Seventy-Two Human Emperor Sages. Not one of them placed their own family power within the palace, let alone allowed an entire clan to join. What virtue or ability do I, Jiang Li, have to let the Jiang Family enter the Human Emperor Palace?"

"But you are the strongest Human Emperor! If you set a precedent, no one will object." The Jiang Clan Leader quickly said.

The people around nodded quietly. Indeed, as the strongest in the Nine Provinces, the Jiang Human Emperor had not been arrogant or reckless—if anything, he was almost too restrained. Not to mention Tribulation Stage cultivators, even Nascent Soul Realm cultivators were far more domineering than the Jiang Human Emperor, casually breaking laws and customs—like stealing brides at weddings or robbing people after auctions, claiming it was a privilege of the strong.

If the Jiang Human Emperor wanted to bring the Jiang Family into the Human Emperor Palace, people would probably just laugh it off and not oppose it.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Jiang Human Emperor, not all of the Jiang Family are bad people!"

That one shout stirred up a thousand waves. People began yelling, "Let the Jiang Family join the Human Emperor Palace!" The Green City people shouted the loudest of all.

The parents who had lost their children opposed it, but their voices were far too small in that moment.

One parent angrily demanded of those around him, "The Jiang Family devours children to cultivate demonic arts! What right does such a family have to enter the Human Emperor Palace?"

The person questioned sneered back, "Setting aside the fact that the Jiang Family's Old Ancestor Jiang Yixing was loyal and righteous, merely blinded for a time—look at the Jiang Family's deeds over the past three hundred years. Green City expanded, the people lived in peace, culture flourished, and even the spiritual energy was richer than elsewhere, benefiting countless cultivators. Isn't such merit enough to offset the crime of cultivating demonic arts? Don't you have any sense of the collective good?"

The parent was left speechless, unable to retort.

Similar conversations played out in many places, and Jiang Li heard every single one of them without exception.

Jiang Li floated ten zhang above the ground, gathered his qi, and shouted so that everyone present could hear him.

He smiled and said, "I heard everything you said. Very good, well spoken—especially that line, 'Isn't such merit enough to offset the crime of cultivating demonic arts?' Setting aside the content, it was quite reasonable."

The man who had spoken earlier curled his lips and puffed out his chest. Being praised by the Human Emperor was a lifetime's honor—he was the one who had first shouted for the Jiang Family to join the Human Emperor Palace. But Jiang Li's next words quickly wiped the smile off his face.

"I never thought I'd live to hear such talk in my lifetime. Brother Ji, I recall suggesting that Great Zhou could add an Intelligence Tax to fill the national treasury."

Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi nodded in agreement. "Brother Jiang speaks sense. This matter should be put on the agenda for the Three Dukes to discuss."

The man's face flushed red as he argued, "Rewards and punishments should be clear—merit offsets fault! What's wrong with that?"

Whether merit offsets fault or not was a highly controversial topic. The man didn't believe Jiang Li could settle it.

But while others might struggle with this question, for Jiang Li it was child's play.

A killing intent swept through the scene like a violent storm, piercing bones and chilling flesh. With a mere thought from Jiang Li, an invisible force grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him before him.

Jiang Li seized the man by the throat and sneered coldly, "I have repelled the Extraterrestrial Demon's invasion three times, saving the Nine Provinces three times. In other words, you are alive today because of me. So it's only natural for me to slaughter you! No one would dare complain!"

"Let... let me go..." The man struggled, unable to break free, thrashing wildly.

"Why? I saved you three times—why can't you let me kill you in peace? Don't you have any sense of the collective good? Killing you would make me very happy—where's your spirit of sacrifice?" Jiang Li was unmoved, his gaze devoid of any mercy, filled only with boundless arrogance and cruelty.

"Let... let me go..." The man was filled with deep regret.

He felt that the legends were true—that before ascending, the Jiang Human Emperor might really have clashed with the Extraterrestrial Demon, causing an entire city to die, leaving not even bones behind.