After making arrangements for Yuan Keshan, Duan Yong, and the others, Li Chen asked about the other veterans of the Heavenly Dragon Gate.
"Besides the Centipede Daoist, does your Heavenly Dragon Gate have no other Master Artisan-level experts?"
"There is something you may not know, Peak Master Li," a disciple who had surrendered said. "The Heavenly Dragon Gate has only existed for a few decades and trained two generations of disciples."
"Much of the research within the sect involved the Merchants' Association, and some of it was even directed by the Everflow Merchants' Association. We did produce two or three astonishingly gifted disciples in the past, but they were soon poached and changed allegiances. Wu Ling could do nothing about it."
"I see..." Li Chen smiled and said nothing more.
Someone else asked a question that concerned them all. "Peak Master Li, what arrangements do you intend to make for us?"
"What arrangements?" Li Chen pondered.
He would no longer let these people take charge, giving them the chance to form self-serving cliques and regroup into factions, but he did not intend to kill them all either.
After all, given his position, he needed to present himself as magnanimous and accommodating to dispel the disciples' misgivings.
Thus, he said, "Quite a few disciples of the Heavenly Dragon Gate committed the sin of using humans as materials to refine human puppets, but many were also killed or wounded during the fighting. I intend to investigate these matters individually and deal with each person differently according to their beliefs and actions."
"Just wait until your disposition is decided."
This was not the answer everyone wanted, but circumstances gave him the upper hand. Despite their unease, they could only accept it helplessly.
Afterward, Li Chen found a quiet place within the sect grounds