At this moment, An Jing's gaze swept over every face turned toward him.
Under his calm scrutiny, nearly everyone lowered their heads instinctively, not daring to meet his eyes. Only a scant few persisted in keeping their heads raised.
An Jing nodded slightly, withdrew his gaze, and said evenly, "Every one of you was sent here to die."
The crowd stirred at An Jing's words, yet no one made a sound. Most of those present were geniuses; they were not fools. Even if they had not understood before, a few exchanges with the others had made the truth clear in their hearts.
An Jing had merely torn away the fig leaf, forcing them to confront it.
"Within a Grotto-Heaven, there is a system of soul circulation to assist reincarnation. In a greater world, it is known as the Underworld. Your deaths would allow souls bearing the imprint of the Tianyuan Realm to remain within the Grotto-Heaven, giving the Tianyuan Realm's power a firmer hold to lock the Grotto-Heaven around the Tianyuan Realm, preventing it from easily breaking away."
An Jing spoke slowly. "Of course, if you can become True Persons, then through the imprint of souls entrusted to the Taixu, you can achieve the same result. This was also the only chance of survival in the original plan for most of you."
"At present, because of me, Tianyuan Group's original plan has been entirely scrapped. You no longer need to die, but by the same token, you have also lost the opportunity to become Purple Mansions."
At this point, An Jing paused. He looked at their expressions, then smiled. "But do not worry. You are not my enemies. You have not yet had the chance to make a mistake—at least, not one so grave that it cannot be undone."
"So,