Dismissal of Qiangu Dongfeng as Tower Master
Qiangu Dieting walked to the sofa and sat down. He leaned back and looked calmly at his son standing in front of him, remaining silent for a long time.
Although Qiangu Dongfeng is now the Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda, he naturally doesn't dare to be presumptuous in front of his father.
He stood there with his hands at his sides, his back straight, his posture as proper as when he listened to his father's admonitions many years ago.
But being watched so calmly by his father made him feel a little uneasy.
After a moment, it was Qiangu Dongfeng Feng who broke the silence in the room.
"Father, I'm sorry."
Qiangu Dieting looked at him, without responding to the apology, and said, "Do you think I'm unaware of your dealings with the Holy Spirit Cult?"
Upon hearing this, Qiangu Dongfeng abruptly raised his head, his eyes filled with undisguised shock.
He kept his collusion with the Holy Spirit Cult extremely secret. Only three people in the entire Spirit Pagoda knew about it, and the other two were his trusted confidants, so there was absolutely no way they could have leaked the secret.
But judging from his father's tone, it was clear that he had known all along.
He opened his mouth, his voice hesitant. "Since you know, Father, then why...?"
He didn't ask the second half of his question, but the meaning was clearly written on his face.
Since you already knew, why didn't you stop me?
Qiangu Dieting remained silent for a moment, then spoke, "Throughout history, the victor is king and the loser is villain; sometimes, to achieve one's goal, one must resort to any means necessary."
Hearing that his father did not reprimand him for colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult, Qiangu Dongfeng was slightly surprised.
Qiangu Dieting continued, "So I didn't stop you from contacting the Holy Spirit Cult."
"Shrek Academy was destroyed, Spirit Pagoda's influence grew even stronger. This is the result you wanted, and you actually achieved it."
"However, it seems that you acted carelessly and have been found to have colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult. You should be prepared to bear the consequences."
At this point, he snorted coldly, his tone finally revealing anger. "What kind of behavior was that, all that panic? Failure is failure; it's just death."
Qiangu Dongfeng stood there silently, his fingers hanging at his sides twitching slightly, as if weighing the weight of his words.
Death is the most difficult thing in the world, and those who can face it with equanimity are few and far between.
A powerful and ruthless figure like Qiangu Dongfeng would find it even more unacceptable to end his life in this way.
He looked at his father, remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, his voice filled with resentment and struggle. "Isn't there any other way?"
Qiangu Dieting didn't answer him directly. He sat on the sofa, remained silent for a moment, and then said something seemingly unrelated, "Your brother is back."
Qiangu Dongfeng was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then realized that he was referring to Qiangu Qingfeng, his elder brother who had long since left the Spirit Pagoda and had not shown his face for many years.
He didn't reply, but quietly waited for his father to continue.
Qiangu Dieting continued, "You should know about the divine artifact passed down in your family; it's your only fate now."
Qiangu Dongfeng knew, of course, that his father was referring to that divine artifact, a treasure passed down through generations of the Qiangu Family, which possessed the power to predict the future.
Since his father had said such a thing, it meant that the artifact had already foreshadowed his fate.
He took a deep breath, as if suppressing the surging resentment in his chest, and when he spoke again, his voice was much calmer. "Father, rest assured, colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult was my doing alone, and has nothing to do with the family."
Upon hearing these words, Qiangu Dieting's previously calm expression finally showed a slight change.
A faint trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes; after all, it was his son who was going to die.
But in the end, he only sighed softly, his voice lowering slightly. "After Qingfeng returns, he will consolidate his power, and the Qiangu Clan may well have another chance to rise to the top in the future."
It took another ten days to return from the Douling Continent to the Douluo Continent.
During these ten days, Leng Yaozhu and the other two barely stopped, rushing back to the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters at top speed.
The moment they stepped through the gates of the Spirit Pagoda, the message spread throughout the entire pagoda as if it had grown wings.
Upon her return, Leng Yaozhu immediately announced the convening of Spirit Pagoda High-Level Meeting.
All the high-ranking members of the Spirit Pagoda attended this meeting, and even several Councilor who were stationed at the Branch Tower year-round and rarely appeared in public rushed back.
Because they all knew in their hearts that this time they might be witnessing history.
The first Tower Master to be impeached and removed from office since the establishment of the Spirit Pagoda will likely be born today.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was more somber than ever before, with people seated around the round table.
Although Qiangu Dongfeng was seated in the main seat, he remained silent, his face somber and his eyes lowered, as if he had already withdrawn from the meeting.
The others exchanged glances, and finally, without prior arrangement, all turned their gaze to Leng Yaozhu.
They all knew that she was the absolute star of the day.
Leng Yaozhu didn't waste any words. She glanced at Qiangu Dongfeng, then swept her gaze across everyone present, and said calmly, "Qiangu Dongfeng's collusion with the Holy Spirit Cult is irrefutable. I now propose that he be removed from his position as Tower Master."
The moment she finished speaking, someone immediately raised their hand and shouted, "Agreed!"
Then, more and more people joined in, and the voices rose and fell like a tide, quickly merging into an irreversible wave of sound.
This matter is so egregious, and the evidence is irrefutable, that even the Qiangu Faction faction, which has always supported Qiangu Dongfeng, cannot utter a single word in defense of Qiangu Dongfeng at this moment.
Many people are secretly cursing Qiangu Dongfeng in their hearts; with his downfall, even if they are not purged, they are destined to lose power.
The edifice of power that once belonged to the Qiangu Dongfeng is now crumbling inch by inch.
Leng Yaozhu's gaze slowly swept over everyone. Apart from Qiangu Dongfeng, who had already been impeached as a "sinner," everyone else unanimously voted to dismiss the megaphone announcement.
She then added, "Qiangu Dongfeng's collusion with the Holy Spirit Cult is intolerable to the mainland. I will contact the Federation to bring them to justice."
Upon hearing this, Qiangu Dongfeng, the person involved, remained calm and didn't even look up at anyone.
However, some people's expressions changed. One Councilor frowned and said, "This matter can be handled internally by the Spirit Pagoda. If we hand it over to the Federation, our Spirit Pagoda will lose face!"
Leng Yaozhu glanced at the man, her tone not harsh, but carrying an undeniable weight. "This matter cannot be covered up. Even if the Spirit Pagoda doesn't leak the information, the Federation will eventually expose this matter once it catches a high-ranking member of the Holy Spirit Cult."
She said only this much and then stopped, because her meaning was clear enough.
The Councilor opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more, and simply sat back down in silence.
The others looked at Qiangu Dongfeng with a mixture of anger and resentment, because his downfall had also tarnished the reputation of the Spirit Pagoda.
In the midst of this somber atmosphere, Qiangu Dongfeng suddenly spoke.
"I admit to the sin of colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult. I am indeed not a good person, but I have done right by the Spirit Pagoda Spirit Pagoda and have never harmed its interests."
He paused here, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "I'm not saying this to make excuses; my final outcome is simply death."
"What I want to say is that colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult was my doing alone, and I hope that it will not implicate others or be used as a pretext to attack those who disagree with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze turned to Leng Yaozhu, his eyes as calm as a still pond, waiting for an answer.