spooky invasion

Chapter 1542 Conflict, House Arrest

After Jiuxiu Grand Secretary realized the crisis, he naturally could not be polite anymore and his tone became stern. This situation had completely challenged his authority as the chief Grand Secretary.

The authority that is unquestionable will never be allowed to be touched by anyone, not even the two great scholars with purple gold ribbons.

Grand Secretary Linghua was unusually calm. Facing the accusation from the Chief Grand Secretary, she simply smiled calmly: "Chief, although I have been planning the decapitation plan, I was not the one who proposed this plan. I was just one of the executors. Moreover, the reasons why the decapitation plan failed are well known. I don't think I need to reiterate it, right? Therefore, why would I stay on the surface for so long and dare not come back because of a responsibility that is not my fault? I just thought the Chief was joking."

The beheading plan had actually been declared bankrupt from the moment that Grand Elder Yin Qiao and his men were ambushed. This kind of thing was never meant to be seen in public, and once it was exposed, the enemy would be prepared. Even if Grand Secretary Yin Qiao and his men could successfully reach the Great Zhang Kingdom, they would still be defeated, the only difference being how they would be defeated.

The Grand Elder Yin Qiao is the ancestor of the Treasure Tree Clan, and the Chief Scholar of the Taiyi Academy is also from the Treasure Tree Clan, and is even a blood relative of the Grand Elder Yin Qiao. The Grand Elder Yin Qiao is of a higher generation, but the talent of the Grand Scholar Jiuxiu is something that only appears once every three to five hundred years, even in the Treasure Tree Clan.

This is also the biggest reason why he was able to sit on the throne of the Chief Academician of Taiyi Academy.

Although Grand Secretary Linghua appears to be graceful and gentle, she is obviously not a soft persimmon who can be bullied. Her words are gentle but firm, and her rebuttal is well-reasoned.

I wasn't the one who made the plan, I wasn't the one who leaked the secret, and I wasn't the one who failed. And Supreme Elder Yin Qiao is still the ancestor of your Baoshu clan.

As the chief academician, you should know who should bear the blame for this failure. You were too busy trying to cover up this matter, how could you think of putting the blame on me?

I went to the Eagle Country as planned. Although the decapitation plan failed, I at least presided over the construction of the teleportation array port there, which consolidated the morale of the Earth Core Clan and even achieved good results in the early stages of the battle with the Eagle Country.

These are things that everyone can see.

Even if she returned to the Earth Core World for help now, it would only be the same old problem that existed before. The Earth Core Tribe's combat power was not enough, and supplies and food were also in short supply. Many large combat equipment could not reach the surface world, and the Earth Core Tribe's advantages could not be maximized.

Of course, the most crucial thing is that during the war between the two places, Grand Secretary Linghua truly felt that for the Earth Core Tribe, the hope of winning this battle was very slim.

Many people in the inner world may not admit this and cannot accept it at all. But only those who have actually been to the surface world, participated in the surface war, and fought fierce battles with the surface humans will understand that her judgment is not to boost others' ambitions and destroy her own prestige.

For the Earth Core Tribe, they have already lost the best opportunity to conquer the surface world. The internal wars in the past few years have completely made them lose the best window of opportunity.

The surface humans, however, have been in a golden period of crazy growth over the past three or four years. Although 80% of the surface humans have been eliminated, this has given them the opportunity to fight with light equipment. Those who remain are all high-quality people, and because of the disaster, the surface humans, who were originally in many disputes, are also in an unprecedented state of unity.

However, the technological weapons of the surface humans in the Sunshine Age have not become ineffective. The advantages they had before still exist.

The strange era provided them with more advantages. Their individual combat power grew, and they all became awakened, and their combat power increased rapidly. What's more terrible is that the fertile land on the surface world has become even more fertile under the revival of spiritual energy. Not only has the yield of various crops increased significantly, but the quality is also far beyond the Sunshine Era.

What is even more rare is that due to the revival of spiritual energy, the surface world has begun to have various spiritual crops, and spiritual medicines and herbs are also appearing one after another.

This advantage, which originally belonged to the inner world alone, is now being rapidly caught up by the surface world.

These are of course just objective reasons.

There are also subjective factors. The humans on the surface are not afraid of war at all now, and their war mobilization capabilities are obviously much stronger than those of the inner earth people.

The philosophy that humans on the surface believe in is to defend their homes and fight to the death for survival.

Because once the humans on the surface are defeated, they have no way to retreat. They can't go to the sea, let alone go to the starry sky.

The surface world is their only home, and they cannot afford to lose. Therefore, the determination of the surface humans to fight to the end must be stronger than that of the inner earth people.

Not only is it difficult and costly to mobilize the Earth Core Tribe at the moment, but there are also numerous factions within it. Not only are there intrigues between different forces, but there is also a high level of antagonism between different classes.

If there were no war on the surface, perhaps the turmoil within the Earth Core Clan would soon spread. As long as there were some grassroots strongmen who were unwilling to be mediocre and stood up to make a call, it was likely that a powerful impact would erupt.

The ruling structure of the three great palaces and the ten golden clans has made it impossible for the grassroots to see any path to upward mobility, and their dissatisfaction has accumulated to a certain critical point.

It is the export of war to the surface world that has prevented this critical point from breaking out.

Overall, the morale of the Earth Core Clan is rapidly declining due to their early setbacks in the surface world and the tension of the recent war.

The Inner Earth Tribe was defeated, and everyone felt that they had a fallback in the Inner Earth world, so there was no need to fight with the surface humans to the point of mutual destruction.

This is the mentality of most of the Earth-centered people.

Perhaps when the battle was going well, the Earth Core Tribe would not think so much. But when the battle was at a stalemate, or even at a disadvantage, this kind of thinking would definitely come to the fore.

Even for the three great academies and the ten golden clans, it is difficult to change this kind of thinking.

The three great academies may be able to use their strong authority to force some people to go to the battlefield, but they have absolutely no way to change their thinking.

The era of allowing them to brainwash and drive us around and recruiting cannon fodder anywhere is over.

During the trip to the surface world, Grand Scholar Linghua saw all the pros and cons and had this profound realization.

She also knew that her idea of ​​returning to the inner world would probably be seen as capitulationism or even heresy, at least among the top leaders.

On the contrary, among the people in the inner world, her idea of ​​stopping the war may have a huge mass base.

After years of continuous war, the living standards of the vast majority of the Earth Core Tribe have actually deteriorated rapidly, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are living in danger at any moment.

In the past, when there was no large-scale war, even the grassroots, even the most humble adventurer, with their own hard work, as long as they were willing to work hard and spare no effort, they could make a living. It was nothing more than the difference between living a more luxurious life and a more tight life.

But now, even the adventurer teams that once lived a comfortable life have to tighten their belts to make ends meet. Some of them can't even afford to eat, so they simply turn into bandits.

As for those who were brainwashed in the early stage and sent to the surface battlefield, there is no news at all. It is very likely that they died in a foreign land and may not even have a place to be buried.

Under such circumstances, it is difficult for the people in the inner world not to miss the past, and it is difficult not to miss the time when war did not break out on a large scale.

It has been advocated that once the surface war breaks out, the wealth of the surface world is waiting for them to seize, the women of the surface world are waiting for them to rob, and the territories of the surface world are waiting for them to occupy, and everyone will have a bright future.

After such a long time, the original advocacy has not been fulfilled at all. Instead, a large number of the Earth Core Tribe died in the war on the surface.

Facts speak louder than words.

Under such circumstances, it is difficult to fool people with the ideas that were advocated in the past. Even the most fanatical minds will calm down and recognize the facts clearly.

The war on the surface did not bring them wealth, good luck, or a bright future. Instead, it brought them bad news, fear, and death...

The Earth Core Tribe are indeed fearless and valiant, but they are not afraid of death. What they fear is that their death will be meaningless, without any achievement, and they will be forgotten like cannon fodder.

Grand Secretary Linghua knew that even though there were huge risks in telling all this, she had to say it because she was in a high position.

This is not only responsible for the identity of the Grand Secretary with Purple Gold Ribbon, but also for the inner world of the earth.

Even though Jiuxiu Grand Secretary hinted that so many people questioned her, opposed her, and even denounced her.

But aren’t there nearly half of the people who remain silent?
What does this mean? It means that at this point, even the top leaders of Taiyi Academy have realized that they can no longer fight this battle.

Otherwise, with the authority of the chief academician, would these people remain silent easily? Don't they know how to express their opinions to please the chief academician?
Even among those who expressed their opinions, or even denounced her, Grand Secretary Linghua, many of them probably did not mean what they said, as their attitude was determined by their butts.

This is actually the reason why Jiuxiu Grand Secretary was so angry.

Even when he used his authority, nearly half of the senior executives still refused to express their opinions.

The people's support had obviously exceeded the imagination of him, the chief academician.

"Suzuka, let's put aside the decapitation plan for now. But you should know what the impact of your argument will be once it spreads. What consequences will it bring to you personally?"

Grand Secretary Linghua said calmly: "Chief, I have thought through the consequences on my way back. If I must face any disaster, I will not be afraid. My generation can become a Grand Secretary with a purple gold ribbon. Everyone has enough knowledge and judgment on things, and enough determination to defend their own views. If I have to say it, this is the Tao."

"Chief, Linghua's Path, please allow me to move forward unwaveringly. No matter how bad the outcome is, I am willing to accept it. But I must let the Earth's core world know what I have seen, heard, and thought, so that every member of the Earth's core tribe can hear a different voice."

At this moment, a trace of respect flashed through the heart of Jiuxiu Grand Secretary.

He saw some kind of sacred and firm power in Grand Secretary Linghua. She did not emit a halo, but she seemed to be surrounded by a halo that made people respect her.

However, as the chief academician, even though he admired Linghua for being loyal to her beliefs, he could not agree with Linghua's point of view in any way.

"Linghua, I'm sorry, I am the chief academician of Taiyi Academy. If Taiyi Academy is only allowed to have one voice during the war, this voice must be made by me. Now, I declare that you are suspended. Leave behind your purple gold ribbon and crown, and you must enter Mingxinyuan to reflect on your mistakes. You are not allowed to leave."

At this moment, Jiuxiu had no intention of holding back on his arrogance as the chief academician.

Everyone was shocked. They never expected that the Chief Academician would actually take such a big move. The first thing he said was to suspend him from his post. Suspension would have been fine, but he was sent directly to Mingxin Temple to reflect on his mistakes. To put it bluntly, this was house arrest.

Grand Secretary Bi Yao hurriedly asked, "Chief, is this punishment too much? In these troubled times, we cannot afford to lose our composure like this."

Grand Scholar Jiuxiu said coldly, "Fellow Daoist Biyao, you don't need to say more. I know that you and Linghua are like sisters. I hope you just sympathize with her, not agree with her point of view. Otherwise, you will also have a share of the meditation cushion in Mingxinyuan."

Grand Secretary Bi Yao turned pale and was surprised for a long time, with a hint of shame and anger flashing in his eyes.

"Okay, okay, Chief, since you've said this, I'll take the initiative to resign and go to Mingxinyuan with Linghua."

It was only a legend in the past that the two of them were as close as brothers and sisters, but it was only at this critical moment that it was truly proven.

Grand Secretary Linghua hurriedly advised: "Sister Biyao, you don't have to do this."

Grand Scholar Bi Yao shook his head and said, "You and I have a mutual understanding. I recognize your strength and naturally your judgment. If you know that there is a pit of fire ahead, why do you have to jump forward?"

Jiuxiu Grand Secretary said angrily: "Come here, send them to Mingxin Courtyard immediately, and don't leave even a step. If anyone leaves without permission, or spreads evil rumors without permission, they will be punished as traitors. What happened today must be kept secret by everyone present. Anyone who leaks a single word will be treated as a traitor!"

Good man, the Grand Secretary Jiuxiu has gone bloodthirsty and has completely lost his mind.

The Tongye Grand Secretary, who had been moving his lips to offer some advice, tactfully shut his mouth.

In name, he was also a Grand Secretary with a Purple Gold Ribbon. At present, he was the only one who had the right to speak. But seeing the domineering attitude of Grand Secretary Jiuxiu, Tongye really didn't have the courage to say anything.

After all, even if he spoke, he would be pleading for Linghua and the others, and this would certainly not be welcomed by Grand Secretary Jiuxiu.

As a result, the scholars who had not expressed their opinions before were a little uneasy. They did not express their opinions before, which actually meant that they agreed with the views of Grand Scholar Linghua and tacitly agreed that there was no need to continue the war at this point.

But now that Jiuxiu Grand Secretary is bloodthirsty, will he vent his anger on everyone else?