Chapter 11665 — Even We Know It's Bound to Be So
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
A few words from Wei Zhao were all it took to bring everyone to their senses: so this whole business had been a pit dug for him by the Zhou Son of Heaven from the start.
The entire performance was plainly an exercise in moral coercion.
Cultivators contend with heaven and strive against earth; those who are utterly selfless are vanishingly rare. What choice anyone would make in such a predicament required no guessing.
Were it any other faction's leading figure standing there, unless his brains had been waterlogged, there was no chance on earth he would agree to the Zhou Son of Heaven's demand at a moment like this.
The Zhou Son of Heaven's eyes flickered.
He knew very well that Wei Zhao was not a man so easily fooled; if a few glib words could have done the trick, Wei Zhao would long ago have been spun around his little finger. How then could he have become the mortal threat at his heart that he was today?
Still, that Wei Zhao had seen through his intent so quickly caught him somewhat off guard.
Yet the Zhou Son of Heaven was not in the least flustered.
This was an open conspiracy.
Whether Wei Zhao himself saw through it did not matter in the slightest; what mattered was that the vast populace of the Inner Royal Court stood on the side of the Zhou Son of Heaven!
With the eyes of the whole hall upon him, the Zhou Son of Heaven said earnestly, "Even We know that this matter is indeed rather difficult for you, but there is truly no need for you to deliberately belittle yourself, Wei Zhao."
"With your present strength and influence, you could wipe the Prince of Qi's Estate from the earth in a single battle."
"If you insist on claiming you cannot bear the karma of it, then that is somewhat self-deceiving."
Wei Zhao's face turned strange.
Yet everyone else present, and above all the vast populace of the Inner Royal Court watching the scene from afar, nodded along one after another.
In their simple understanding, since Wei Zhao could annihilate the Prince of Qi's Estate in a single battle, he was the strongest man in the Inner Royal Court, bar none.
If even the strongest man could not bear such karma, then who on earth could?
If Wei Zhao merely denied it, he was simply shirking responsibility on purpose.
The Zhou Son of Heaven went on, painstaking and heartfelt: "With great power comes great responsibility."
"We know that with your strength, Wei Zhao, you could indeed choose to watch the fire from the far bank and keep yourself safe and sound."
"But if it came to that, Our own suffering would be nothing; but to drag the vast populace of the Inner Royal Court into suffering alongside Us, then We would truly deserve death ten thousand times over and never atone for it."
With a few sentences, the image of a Son of Heaven whose heart was bound to the countless living souls of the realm stood there plain and unmistakable.
Especially when joined to his present demon-ridden appearance, in the eyes of the Inner Royal Court's people his sympathy score shot straight to the top.
Many of them planted themselves at his side on the spot; and in doing so, they naturally set themselves against Wei Zhao.
Feeling the surge of public sentiment, the Zhou Son of Heaven laughed inwardly, while his face remained utterly sincere.
"For you, Wei Zhao, this is no more than the lift of a finger; a single thought from you and the living souls of the realm are saved from fire and flood."
"But for the vast populace of Our Inner Royal Court, it is the difference between life and death."
"Think it over carefully: if the Inner Royal Court should fall apart and living souls be drowned in misery, then no matter how lofty you stand, what good would it do you?"
"Conversely, if you lend your hand and save them, countless people of the Inner Royal Court will be forever grateful to you; from this day forth you will be the savior of the whole Inner Royal Court. What a sight would that be?"