Chapter 53: Things Left Behind by Captain Qin

"All of you should already know about what happened at Tianshui River, right?"

As Wang Dali settled into the main seat, his entire aura underwent a seismic, earth-shattering transformation.

Overbearing, iron-blooded, and majestic—qualities that Chu Tian previously thought had nothing to do with Wang Dali—appeared on him almost in an instant.

"The news has spread far too quickly," Wang Dali said. "It is foreseeable that Shangshi is about to descend into chaos!"

"Then what do you want us to do?" Wang Zhong asked.

"I hope that this time, all of you can submit entirely to the command of the Righteous Qi Alliance," Wang Dali stated. "Let us face this crisis together and keep Shangshi stable."

"Captain Wang," a rather inconspicuous man among the crowd spoke up, watching Wang Dali quietly. "The era when the Righteous Qi Alliance commanded all cultivators in Shangshi has passed. Or do you, Captain Wang, truly believe you measure up to the former Captain Qin?"

When a heaven and earth spiritual treasure manifests, countless experts covet the opportunity. By that time, Shangshi will become a mixed bag of dragons and serpents, and troublemakers are guaranteed. However... why should the cultivators of Shangshi sacrifice their own chances of seizing this opportunity just to deal with those evil-doers?

Human nature is a deeply complex thing.

Sometimes, excessive freedom is effectively equivalent to a lack of freedom.

Back when Qin Zhong was alive, he suppressed all cultivators in Shangshi with overwhelming strength. At that time, they only needed to do one thing: obey!

They had no other choice, nor did they dare to have any other choice. Therefore, orders were executed as strictly as prohibitions, and the cultivators of Shangshi were as pliable as extensions of Qin Zhong's own arms.

However, after Qin Zhong died, that overriding supreme command etched in their minds vanished.

They no longer needed to blindly obey, which meant they began to develop their own agendas.

When everyone prioritizes their own self-interest, the organization inevitably disintegrates into a tray of loose sand.

This was precisely why, despite the numerous rogue cultivator organizations in Shangshi, not a single one had ever been able to shake the standing of the Righteous Qi Alliance.

It was because the Righteous Qi Alliance was free from the heavy self-interests that plagued them.

"I may not measure up to Captain Qin," Wang Dali said. "But dealing with you is still more than enough. If you dare to let me down at a time like this, Zhuang Xiekai! Do you believe that I'll lead men to flatten your Treasure Appraisal Pavilion today?"

Wang Dali's words were delivered with the fury of a raging lion.

Hearing this, the man named Zhuang Xiekai immediately began to stammer and stutter.

Clearly, he was not entirely fearless when it came to Wang Dali.

"Captain Wang, are you simply borrowing the tiger's might to intimidate others?" Zhuang Xiekai asked, a trace of defiance flashing in his eyes.

Wang Dali sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping across everyone in the room. It was not just Zhuang Xiekai; quite a few others present held lingering resentment.

Yet... so what?

Wang Dali let out a cold snort, felt under the table for a button, and pressed it. Behind Wang Dali, the wall of the room directly rotated, revealing a hidden cache covering the entire wall filled with firearms.

Handguns were relegated to the corners, while sniper rifles and submachine guns were barely squeezed into more prominent positions. Right in the dead center sat a rocket launcher, and dense stacks of ammunition filled nearly every remaining gap.

"Old Wang, these weapons look like ordinary conventional firearms. They're useless against ghosts, aren't they?" Chu Tian reached out and touched a weapon on the wall.

"These weapons cannot kill ghosts, but they are more than enough to kill men," Wang Dali said with a grin, revealing the fangs of a rabid dog. "Don't all of you think I am merely borrowing the tiger's might? Well, this tiger's might that I've borrowed... do any of you dare to defy it?"

"Wang Dali, even if you do this, we won't submit to you," someone stubbornly insisted.

"I don't need you to submit to me!" Wang Dali said in a firm, unyielding tone. "With the greater situation at stake, whoever dares to drag their feet, I dare to execute. I don't care what you think in your hearts or whether you hate me. I only want one result: until the Tianshui River incident is resolved, everyone here will maintain strict order in your respective territories. Whoever allows the normal lives of ordinary people to be affected will become an enemy of Wang Dali! Is my meaning clear?"

"What if we encounter a formidable enemy that even we cannot handle? Are we expected to grit our teeth and throw our lives away in a desperate fight?" asked a rat-faced man with furtive eyes.

"If you don't want to fight to the death, you can at least notify us, can't you?" Wang Dali stared directly at him.

Only then did the man nod, shrinking back into his seat with a hunched posture.

"That is all. For today's matters, I, Wang Dali, have undoubtedly caused offense. Once we clear this hurdle, I will personally visit each of you to offer my apologies," Wang Dali said, bowing deeply to the crowd. "I leave this in your hands."

The crowd looked at Wang Dali with complex expressions before standing up one by one and leaving the conference room.

Soon, only four people remained in the room: Chu Tian, Wang Dali, Chen Meng, and that man named Wang Zhong.

"Is this your new recruit?" Wang Zhong glanced sideways at Chu Tian and asked Wang Dali.

"Chu Tian, Brother Chu, owner of the Haunted House in Shangshi. You should have heard of his name," Wang Dali smiled at Wang Zhong and said, "All those tricky ghosts in Shangshi recently were resolved by him."

"You hold him in high regard?" Wang Zhong looked at Chu Tian again and asked.

"Extremely high regard!" Wang Dali answered Wang Zhong earnestly, staring straight into his eyes.

Wang Zhong met Wang Dali's gaze, and a trace of anger gradually surfaced on his face. Veins bulged on his forehead, and the fury in his eyes nearly materialized. He clenched his teeth as if suppressing the raging fire threatening to burst from his chest, and said, "So, you intend to give what Captain Qin left behind... to him?"

"What do you think?" Wang Dali asked calmly.

"He doesn't deserve it!" Wang Zhong raged.

"Why doesn't he deserve it?" Before Chu Tian could speak, Chen Meng stood up abruptly, stepped between Chu Tian and Wang Zhong, and glared at the latter. "If he doesn't deserve it, do you?"

"Of course I deserve it!" Wang Zhong shot back fiercely at Chen Meng, this fierce and protective "savage" woman.

"Wang Zhong, that's enough!" Wang Dali said in a deep voice.

"Enough? I've had enough!" Wang Zhong glared at Wang Dali. "I've asked you for it for all these years, and you refused. Now you're going to hand it over to an outsider? On what grounds? I was also a member of Captain Qin's team back then. The legacy Captain Qin left behind is not something only you can casually dispose of!"

"Then let's compete and see!" Wang Dali told Wang Zhong. "With this Tianshui River affair, a great many ghosts are bound to gather in Shangshi. Before the spiritual treasure from Tianshui River finds its master, whoever among you and Chu Tian resolves more ghosts—Captain Qin's legacy goes to him."

"Fine! Then I'll see just how this brat manages to snatch Captain Qin's legacy from my hands." With a sharp, piercing glare at Chu Tian, Wang Zhong turned on his heel and strode out of the room.