Human Nature, People's Hearts

Ever since coming to this world, to this Lineage, Ren Jie had been extremely unhappy. On top of that, everyone he had encountered had been a bunch of infuriating people. But at this moment, looking at Tong Qiang and the others, then at the Family Head Ring on his hand, and thinking of the Jade Emperor Art, the spirit jade, and the Amnesty Jade Token, Ren Jie could not help but feel a faint warmth in his heart. Though he had yet to meet Ren Tianxing, he already felt a trace of warmth from him.

Clearly, though there were not many members of the Guard Squad standing here, they had absolutely been chosen by Ren Tianxing from thousands upon thousands. Their loyalty and devotion were beyond question. That alone was enough.

As Ren Jie looked at them, his heart stirred with excitement. Tong Qiang should have been at the Divine Power Realm, though Ren Jie still could not see through him completely. Aside from Tong Qiang, three were at the True Qi Realm Ninth Layer, fifteen had reached the True Qi Realm, and the remaining hundred-plus were all at the Body Refining Realm Ninth Layer. With Ren Jie's current realm, looking at them was like looking at treasures that had been hoarded for ages, waiting to be excavated.

Ren Jie suddenly remembered that these people had not fought for nearly six or seven years, right? Ah—he instantly understood what was going on.

"If you regret this now, there's still time." Ren Jie looked at them and said without the slightest courtesy, "Because next, this Family Head is going to start cursing. You're even more good-for-nothing than I am. You deserve a scolding more than I do. You've disgraced my father, Ren Tianxing."

The others did not care when Ren Jie said other things, or even when he began directly cursing them. After removing their armor, each of them had been extremely relaxed, joking with one another. But the moment they heard Ren Jie's final sentence, every face changed instantly.

Boom! Every one of their auras surged to its peak. Especially Tong Qiang at the front—his Divine Power Realm Third Layer strength poured forth violently. Had he not forcibly restrained it, it would have nearly crushed down upon Ren Jie.

They could tolerate being called anything, but hearing Ren Jie say that truly enraged them.

Ren Tianxing was a godlike existence in their hearts. Ren Jie's words had directly crossed their bottom line.

"What, you think I'm wrong? Look at your current cultivation. Since my father disappeared, how much have you improved? Your comfortable lives have already made you lose your drive. Among so many of you, how many have crossed a major realm over these years? Think about these past few years compared with before. You ate better, lived better, enjoyed better lives. You had more resources and medicinal materials as well. But what did that bring? Every one of you has been raised fat and sleek, but how much of your strength remains?"

"With the lot of you, how are you supposed to protect me? No wonder outsiders and people within the Lineage alike don't take you seriously. They know you've been raised from starving wolves into fat pigs, ready to be slaughtered at any moment. Tell me yourselves—was I wrong to say you disgraced my father, Ren Tianxing?"

"Anyone who thinks I'm wrong can step forward now. As long as you can give a reason that even convinces yourselves, this Family Head will immediately perform a great bow and apologize to you." After speaking, Ren Jie swept his cold gaze over them. Yet inwardly, he was thrilled. These people had once fought through life-and-death battles, desperately raising their strength. While their power had risen rapidly, it had also drained what little potential they possessed. But these past years of recuperation had nourished their bodies and increased their potential.

These people had survived countless battles and had been selected by Ren Tianxing, so they certainly had exceptional qualities. Though they were not peerless geniuses, none of them were ordinary. As Ren Jie looked at them now, it was as though he were looking at treasures manufactured one by one, waiting to be unearthed. Ren Jie was certain this had been intentional on Ren Tianxing's part. First, he had driven them through frenzied slaughter and battle, forcing their potential out amid life and death. Then he had slowly nursed and nourished them. When they erupted next time, they would be terrifying. Only then could a truly fearsome Guard Squad be forged.

This was no longer a Guard Squad in the ordinary sense. No wonder only a hundred-plus had been retained. If this force were forged once more, its purpose would no longer be as simple as that of an ordinary battlefield killing unit. Every single one of them would reach a terrifying height.

But such a thing had to begin at least fifteen or sixteen years ago. These people had followed Ren Tianxing into battle for nearly a decade from their teens, then had been supported by the Lineage for another six or seven years. Only upon seeing them did Ren Jie understand why even Ren Qiancheng had been so angry and displeased upon seeing Tong Qiang and the others. The cost of raising them to this state had definitely not been small.

No wonder the Second Elder and the others had acted as if they were throwing off a huge burden. Even for a great Lineage like the Ren Family, spending resources on a Guard Squad for six or seven years as though each of them were a direct descendant was no small matter. That they had endured until now was already quite impressive.

At this moment, Tong Qiang and the others were all frozen in place. Looking back on the past six years, their lives had indeed seemed far too comfortable. Their faces were ruddy and glowing; though they occasionally complained of boredom, they had also grown accustomed to that sort of life. Looking at their strength in turn, however, they had made almost no progress. The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it felt...

At first, Ren Jie's words had made them furious—utterly furious. Which one among them had not survived dozens or even hundreds of bloody battles on the battlefield?

Which of them had not killed dozens of people? Becoming Ren Tianxing's Guard Squad had been the greatest pride of their lives, yet Ren Jie had now spoken of them in such a manner.

But after their anger faded and they listened to Ren Jie's words, every one of them felt a chill crawl down his back, cold sweat pouring out.

"Nothing to say now, right? Since you have nothing to say, starting now, raise your training standards from your time in the army threefold. Keep it that way until this Family Head devises a new training plan tailored for each of you. If threefold isn't enough, make it fivefold. If fivefold isn't enough, make it tenfold. Start immediately." Aside from Tong Qiang, whom Ren Jie could not see through, Ren Jie could see the physical condition of everyone else at a glance with his current realm. Once he understood their cultivation and observed them a little longer, Ren Jie was confident he could devise targeted training plans.

Moreover, having seen the enormous potential accumulated within them, and with the nourishment of the past six or seven years, Ren Jie could train them without restraint—boldly, even madly squeezing them dry.

"I'll say it once more: anyone who leaves this Family Head before tonight can still do so. But if you don't leave, then move. Do you know why my father raised you all? Because you were too weak. How could you protect him? You say now that you'll protect this Family Head, but if in a few days you're weaker than this Hedonistic Young Master of a Family Head, whom everyone looks down on, then what meaning is there in your lives? Improve yourselves! Cultivate! Cultivate like mad for me! Let me see that you still have value in living! Let me see that you haven't disgraced Ren Tianxing!"

"Yes!" Tong Qiang's veins bulged across his shaved head, his face flushed crimson from Ren Jie's scolding. After Ren Jie finished speaking, he let out a furious roar, and everyone immediately began training madly. After six or seven years, they had once more begun the training they had undergone while campaigning alongside Ren Tianxing. Not only them—even Tie Ta, who had been standing at the side, had his blood set ablaze by Ren Jie's words and actually joined them in training.

"This is my token from the Ren Family. Take it to the Ren Family's Alchemy Room in the name of studying alchemy. Don't be polite with them. Find a way to get more medicines, especially medicines for healing external injuries and nourishing the body. If anyone dares stop you, that'll be perfect—they can have a little practice." After speaking, Ren Jie turned around, took out the Family Head Token, and tossed it to Gao Ren. Finally, he smiled and winked at Gao Ren.

"The task is arduous, but don't worry, Meal Ticket Boss. This is what I'm best at." Gao Ren immediately understood.

Smack! In that peculiar and eerie Primeval Forest within the Ren Family grounds, Ren Tianzong watched Ren Jie in a water mirror, along with the Guard Squad driven into frenzied training by Ren Jie's provocation. He could not help letting out a long breath. With a light tap, the water mirror immediately turned into vapor and scattered between heaven and earth.

The reason Ren Jie had dared relax somewhat in his residence was because he knew that the formations and restrictions there had been personally arranged by Ren Tianxing. He had never expected Ren Tianzong to be able to manipulate those formations and restrictions and see everything within his residence.

"Using the Old Family Head to provoke them is fine, but he actually wants to train the Guard Squad himself and personally formulate plans for them? Isn't that a little too fanciful?" Wan Hong stood beside Sixth Master as well, having witnessed everything. He felt that some of Ren Jie's words had been far too unreliable. After all, Ren Jie was only at the Body Refining Realm, while even the weakest members of the Guard Squad were at the Body Refining Realm Ninth Layer. There were more than a dozen at the True Qi Realm, three at the True Qi Realm Eighth Layer, and Tong Qiang was an expert who had entered the Divine Power Realm. Yet Ren Jie claimed he would devise cultivation plans for them—was that not simply making a laughingstock of himself?

"You only saw that?" Sixth Master suddenly turned to look at him. The astonishment and delight on his face had not yet faded; clearly, the scene just now had greatly shaken him.

Uh! Wan Hong froze at once. Since Sixth Master had asked that, it certainly meant there was something wrong with what he had seen. But he truly felt Ren Jie's words had been like donkey lips pressed against a horse's mouth. At most, they had only encouraged and provoked those people. As for what came afterward, about personally devising plans, Wan Hong felt that was no more than idle talk.

It was complete nonsense, a joke.

"Yes." Seeing Sixth Master looking at him, Wan Hong did not dare conceal anything and nodded.

"People are easily led by first impressions, and that can readily affect your judgment. Think again about that scene just now. Every word that boy spoke was exceedingly targeted. He had almost seen through human nature and people's hearts, and he had specifically targeted Tong Qiang and the others. With just a few sentences, he reignited the fires of war that had been extinguished within them for years and made them abandon their comfortable lives. Even if a country were invaded and war had erupted, during a pre-battle mobilization, who do you think could accomplish that with just a few words?"

"If what he had said were a complete, orderly, impassioned speech, then perhaps someone could have helped him. But amid those changing circumstances, with scattered bits and pieces of words, he achieved this. That clearly means his grasp of human nature has already reached a certain level. Even if I went personally, I absolutely could not achieve this degree."

What? Wan Hong could hardly believe his ears. Sixth Master had actually said that even he could not accomplish such a thing. How could that be possible?

That was absolutely impossible. What sort of figure was Sixth Master? If not for...

"Think carefully about every detail just now. Human nature and people's hearts are the hardest things to control and grasp. They appear simple, but are in truth the most difficult..." At this point, Sixth Master Ren Tianzong sighed. "I never expected that boy to possess such a skill. He truly is worthy of Eldest Brother's bloodline. I had even misjudged him before. He had clearly already seen through Tong Qiang and the others. Even I only understood Eldest Brother's intentions in recent years, yet he was able to see through them."

The more Sixth Master Ren Tianzong thought about it, the more miraculous it seemed. The delighted expression on his face never faded. He stood there savoring the matter for quite a while, until the time arrived and he hurried toward the Wooden House in quick strides, not forgetting to remind Wan Hong as he went.

"Think it over carefully. Also, once the Family Head has finished being busy these next few days and has time, go to the Family Head and tell him I cannot conveniently leave. Ask the Family Head to come over whenever it is convenient for him. And have the people outside intensify the spread of news about the conflict between the Family Head and the Council of Elders, as well as the conflict between the Ren Family and the Gao Family. No news whatsoever from the Family Head's residence may be leaked. Deal with every suspicious servant originally attending the Family Head's residence. We cannot leave behind any more hidden dangers."

"Oh... yes!" Wan Hong was stunned for a moment before hurriedly agreeing, though he had yet to recover from Sixth Master Ren Tianzong's words.

Sixth Master was actually having him go and invite Ren Jie. One had to know that Sixth Master was not merely a member of the Council of Elders; unlike those elders who had once held no real authority, he possessed genuine power. Such an attitude could only mean one thing: he truly regarded Ren Jie as the Family Head, despite Ren Jie being his junior and a Family Head who had yet to come of age and was being suppressed by the Council of Elders.

Wan Hong was not foolish either. After Sixth Master's guidance, he thought again about the scenes he had witnessed in Ren Jie's courtyard through the water mirror. The deeper he considered them, the more terrifying they became.

How could he have known that Ren Jie's realm was so high? Moreover, Ren Jie had crossed over from Earth. Because of the Sage Dao Discussion, everything he had heard, seen, and learned in his previous life—even things, knowledge, that he himself had once forgotten—had all become clear and available for his use.