As the greatest beneficiary of the vested-interest group, if I denied having anything to do with Xia Ruize, refused to appreciate his gift, and disregarded our relationship—if even Xia Ruize's years of hardship undercover failed to earn my sympathy, and I instead refuted him and refused to acknowledge it—then my reputation throughout the Nine Heavens would plummet!
Xia Ruize had calculated my thoughts, and the thoughts of every immortal citizen. This was a naked case of moral coercion!
I had to admit, this gift was enormous. What I had gained was a hollow reputation, one so great that I could never cast it away. As for Xia Ruize, he had gained a reputation truly deserving of its name. Though it was a notch below mine, it was enough for him to turn everything around and wash away his former bad name!
"Yitian, I've spent all these years scheming. How long have you been down here? You have to consider your big brother's dignity too, don't you? If decades of planning were dismantled by you in a single day, would I still be your real big brother? You wouldn't think having a foolish big brother would be any better, would you? Now that the Nine Heavens has been completely pacified, big brother has returned a clear blue sky to you. Big brother knows you're conflicted, that you're unwilling to accept this, but can these things fill your stomach? You're the ruler of the world. What am I supposed to count as? I'm nothing more than a macaque scrambling around beneath your hands." Xia Ruize let out a cackling laugh.
At this moment, apart from Lord Yun Dong on the divine throne, every immortal there had already been swept clean by Xia Ruize. Needless to say, the Dao Tribulation-Proving Immortals around the