In truth, making such a decision was not difficult.
The sect had issued its orders, and the Golden Turtle Island disciples below understood as well.
Compared to the previous batch, those descending the mountain this time were the true elites of the sect.
The previous group had merely been sent to probe just how deep the waters of this Great Era ran.
And now, they had seen it.
When contending against those monstrous freaks of the present age, they would always be invisibly suppressed in terms of providence.
They all said heaven and earth were merciless, and Heaven's Way impartial. Yet in their view, that supreme fairness and clarity of heaven and earth was also a sliver of unseen favor and preference for the present age.
Heaven and earth moved like the sun and moon in their regular course, yet there was also Heavenly Retribution, aimed precisely at cultivators who sought to exploit loopholes.
Those who harmed the interests of heaven and earth would face Heavenly Retribution.
Yet many cultivators were not foolish enough to go that far. Most of what they did lay in the gray space between black and white.
Heaven's Way was formless and emotionless, operating according to its normal course, but Heaven's Will and providence did show favor. When providence descended, it meant Heaven's Will had bestowed a trace of its favor.
Those Heavenly Prodigies across from them who could make the rankings all possessed the favor of Heaven's Will and providence. Invisibly, it was as though Heaven's Will itself stood on their side.
Trying to contend under such suppression made things very difficult.
They had heard this reasoning from the Elders as well.
The Elders feared they might rush headlong into the centers of those Great Tribulations—such as the Eight Wastelands, or the present Northern