Choices Between Ideals and Reality

"There were a few too many sect strongholds in this world."

Chen Hui still wore that placid expression, yet his words made Ye Xiu unable to hold back a laugh.

Yes, this was exactly what he wanted.

"Tell me in detail."

Ye Xiu reached out and lit a pot of clear tea. He first poured Chen Hui a cup, then filled one for himself as well.

"These local tyrants occupying the railway stations could have made a fortune simply by honestly following the rules the Alliance had laid down. Yet they insisted on squeezing every last drop from others."

There was a trace of killing intent in Chen Hui's eyes.

Two months had been enough for him to see many things. He had come into considerable contact with both those at the very bottom and those at the very top.

"Cultivation itself is for the sake of longevity. For that goal, somewhat ruthless methods are not beyond understanding. But this disciple discovered that what these people ultimately did had nothing whatsoever to do with cultivation."

Chen Hui closed his eyes. Even now, he remembered the scene from when a new train had entered the station. Although exorbitant taxes had already been properly collected, the scum in that station still tricked everyone aboard into disembarking, then slaughtered them all.

It had been a completely meaningless act.

The people who had chartered that train were villagers from a nearby small village. Taking advantage of the changes brought by the tides of spiritual energy between heaven and earth, they had successfully developed a field of spirit herbs. Because their harvest was too abundant and they lacked any means of storage, they had wanted to exchange it for supplies to repair their village.

Chartering the train had already left them deeply in debt. Other