Pushing Him Straight into the Spotlight

Liu Clan.

All of their thoughts focused on the blue disc.

At this moment, the cyan disc was placed within a large array.

Everyone fell silent, but the atmosphere quickly became deathly still.

At this moment, a sound arose:

"Old Yuan, are you sure you gave it to him? Why can't you find anything now?"

All eyes turned to Liu Duanyuan.

Liu Duanyuan shook his head:

"Whether he gave it to me or not, I certainly remember. Perhaps he has simply placed it somewhere else for now."

"Impossible," a voice protested.

"This is the most powerful array. Even if one were to reach a secret realm or go to a lower region, with the help of this array, one could still detect something, instead of remaining completely unresponsive as is now."

This remark drew nods from several people.

They had already verified the disc's ability to spy.

With the true strength of their Liu Clan and the power of this disc, it's almost fair to say that throughout the entire Misty Clear Realm, the only question is whether they want to or not.

At this moment, Liu Duanyuan spoke up:

"Perhaps this kid is Non-Self Misty Clear Realm. Now that he's no longer in the Misty Clear Realm, what's so strange about the lack of response from our investigation?"

Misty Clear Realm's words caused many people present to frown slightly.

"Duanyuan, is it because you sensed something earlier that you say this?"

Liu Duanyuan shook his head:

"Just a guess."

"But we really can't rule out that possibility," someone else added.

"However, whether or not we should still make him the sheep in that situation needs further discussion."

"That's right," the other person echoed.

"The outside world is ultimately the outside world; there are too many uncontrollable factors. If there are too many unexpected changes, it will be counterproductive."

"Let's drop this matter, this kid. There are too many suspicious points about him. How long has it been since he obtained the Return to the Void Hand? Even if he is a genius, how could he have achieved such speed? I suspect that this is an organized and targeted sabotage operation orchestrated by external forces against our Liu Clan," another person concluded.

Hearing this, Liu Duanyuan frowned slightly.

When you can't find it, rack your brains to search for it.

Now that they've found it, they're being picky.

He had met and interacted with that kid. Although he had a unique talent for taking an unconventional approach and was somewhat intelligent, he was generally more inclined to be an honest person.

To say it this way now might seem a bit like nitpicking.

However, before he could speak, another person laughed:

"This territory of the Misty Clear Realm is not for outside forces to run rampant."

"As for Return to the Void Hand, since he didn't cultivate using our methods, how can we judge him based on our understanding?"

Another person chimed in:

"Regardless of whether he is from the outside world or not, do we really have a choice right now? How much longer does the Emperor's revelation remain? Besides, even if he really is from the outside world, does our Liu Clan not have the ability and means to completely control him?"

"You guys..." one person said, shaking their head with a smile.

"Indeed, one cannot operate in the shadows for too long. With so much time gone by, it seems you have forgotten the true strength of our Liu Clan. To dwell on these things is truly an underestimation of yourselves."

"..."

The group quickly split into three groups.

The two opposing viewpoints contrasted, while the remaining group, showing little interest in the debate, acted as a buffer between the two sides.

"Arguing about these things is pointless. What's more important right now is determining whether he can meet our requirements. If he can't even do that, then what's the point of your argument?"

As if this statement hit the nail on the head, the argument between the two sides slowed down, and at the same time, a voice said:

"Besides having him come in person, how else can we be sure?"

Liu Duanyuan looked thoughtfully at the white-robed elder who had just pointed out the key point, and said:

"Ruoyu, it seems you already have an idea?"

The white-robed old man, Liu Ruoyu, smiled faintly:

"Only by breaking out of the rules can we find unexpected solutions. In this matter, there's no need to proceed cautiously; we should simply push him to the forefront."

"Push it to the forefront directly?" Someone immediately frowned:

"With everything still uncertain, if we push him forward and he can't live up to expectations, it will be a loss of face and reputation for our Liu Clan."

"That's right, doing it this way is too risky. Taking a steady and cautious approach is not necessarily a bad thing. This is precisely what our Liu Clan has relied on to get to where we are today," another person added.

Liu Ruoyu glanced at the two people who were speaking:

"So, the very beginning with saying 'breaking the rules' was meant for your benefit."

He paused, then continued:

"His specific situation is currently unknown, but putting him in the spotlight only leads to two outcomes: either he's capable of the role, or he's not."

"If you can fulfill the role, that's naturally a good thing, but if you can't, is it necessarily a bad thing?"

Liu Ruoyu's gaze swept over everyone present, and he reminded them:

"Reputation is important, but it is ultimately just a byproduct of strength. Given the strength of our Liu Clan in the Misty Clear Realm, is it really unacceptable or impossible to change if our reputation is damaged?"

The expressions on the faces of several people present changed slightly.

Liu Ruoyu paused briefly, then changed the subject:

"Besides, his inability to perform is truly a bad thing for us?"

After saying that, Liu Ruoyu did not continue.

Those present at this moment are all extraordinary people, but they are simply unaware of many things due to habit.

Now that things have come to this point, there's no need for him to say anything more.

Really.

A moment later, someone's eyes lit up and they uttered a word of praise:

"After all these years, Ruoyu, you still hit the nail on the head."

Many eyes turned to the person who had spoken.

Meanwhile, a sound also arose from another location:

"If he's no good, then we'll just lay our cards on the table with the other forces. He's a fake. Then we can do it a few more times, mixing truth and falsehood to confuse the public. When it's real and what's fake is just a game of strategy. As for who will be the fake sheep, that's insignificant."

Now everyone understood.

"That's true. All we need is a sheep. It would be best if we could gain fame, but it wouldn't really matter if we didn't," another person added.

Liu Ruoyu nodded gently:

"Our strength is indeed formidable, but we must not allow it to become a constraint. We cannot refrain from thinking about or employing excessive strategies. We have never been arrogant, but in many ways, we already are."

He could see that what ran through the debate was that too many people had the idea that "the strong should..." and coincidentally, strong power could provide the direct option of overcoming all obstacles with sheer force.

Is it really that hard to think of or do such a misleading tactic?

Obviously not.

But why didn't anyone raise this issue before?

At this moment, Liu Ruoyu felt a vague sense of clarity, as if the clouds had parted and the fog had cleared.

Perhaps the calamity of the Liu Clan did not come from the outside, but from within.

Once you realize your own strength, you develop too many unnecessary airs. Under such self-imposed constraints, to what extent can you continue to pursue "becoming stronger"?

In this world, everything is either strong or weak. If one slows down or even stops progressing because of self-imposed constraints, and stops becoming stronger, then isn't that also courting self-destruction?

Calamity arises from the human heart, and when it stirs up the external world, a great catastrophe is imminent.

Upon realizing this, Liu Ruoyu felt as if he had been enlightened. He closed his eyes for a long time before opening them, looking at everyone, and slowly said:

"Everyone, perhaps what we really need to do is to calm our minds and reflect on ourselves. Only then may we find a way out for our Liu Clan."