24: Chapter 24 Annihilation of the Sect

In an instant, the will to resist crumbled.

It was already a one-sided slaughter; many people had long harbored thoughts of surrender in their hearts.

What was missing was merely a trigger.

Now, Li Youran's actions provided them with the perfect excuse.

At this moment, resistance no longer had any meaning, and all the surviving members of the Holy Land threw down their weapons one after another.

Subsequently, their knees went weak, and they all knelt down on the ground.

Then, they began to beg for mercy incessantly toward the direction of Ji Gang and the three Old Ancestors of the Imperial Dynasty in the Void Realm.

The backbone of the Holy Land was completely broken at this moment!

On the other side, Saint Master, who was fighting desperately against Azure Dragon, heard Ancestor Wang Xuan's mockery and the earth-shaking pleas for mercy from below. His mind was severely shaken, and a flaw instantly appeared in his Move.

"How bold! You dare to be distracted while fighting this Commander?"

Azure Dragon let out a cold snort, his blade light like lightning, instantly breaking through Saint Master's defense and leaving a wound deep enough to see the bone on his chest.

Saint Master let out a muffled groan, staggering backward as all color drained from his face.

He looked at his fellow Disciples kneeling all around, listened to the grating pleas for mercy, and glanced at Li Youran, who was dying and had lost all face in the distance.

An unprecedented sense of sorrow and despair surged into his heart.

Xuantian Holy Land… a thousand-year Legacy… is it truly going to perish today?

Ji Gang stepped on the Void Realm, his gaze sweeping over the members of the Holy Land kneeling on the ground below, and he said in a cold voice.

"Xuantian Holy Land, today—erased from the records!"

Hearing Ji Gang's cold and resolute words "erased from the records," all the survivors of the Holy Land were stunned; they felt a chill shoot straight to their scalps!

Erased? They had already given up resistance and knelt to beg for mercy; could it be… the other side still refused to let them go? Did they really want to slaughter them all?

"Wait… wait!" Just as everyone was falling into despair, suddenly, a hoarse voice rang out.

In an instant, everyone's gaze turned to the person who had spoken. It was the current Saint Master of Xuantian Holy Land—Saint Master!

He ignored everyone's gaze, instead clutching the wound on his chest and staggering forward a few steps.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at Ji Gang no longer held anger or arrogance, leaving only a near-despondent plea.

He knew that the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander before him was the key to deciding the fate of everyone in their Holy Land.

"This… Commander."

"I, Saint Master of Xuantian Holy Land, Saint Master, hereby announce on behalf of the Holy Land… from this day forth, Xuantian Holy Land… is officially dissolved!"

Once these words were spoken, the countless Disciples below all fell silent, and many even let out suppressed sobs.

Dissolution meant that this thousand-year-old Legacy would be completely severed in their generation!

What they found somewhat difficult to adapt to was how this change could happen so quickly.

Yesterday, they were still arrogant and haughty Disciples of the Holy Land, so wild that they looked down on everyone. How did it end up like this in the blink of an eye? This was too sudden…

However, Saint Master did not give everyone time to react and continued to speak.

"Everything within the Holy Land shall be surrendered to the Imperial Dynasty. I, Saint Master, am willing to bear all the blame alone and accept any punishment!"

Speaking to this point, he suddenly raised his head, a flash of determination in his eyes.

"I am willing to use my life to apologize to the Imperial Dynasty and to Your Majesty! I only beg… I only beg that the Imperial Dynasty can show mercy and spare these ordinary Disciples! Most of them… were only following orders and had no choice; their crimes do not warrant death!"

After speaking, this former head of the Holy Land, who had been high-spirited, ambitious, and looked down on everyone in the world, actually collapsed to his knees with a thud.

Subsequently, he deeply kowtowed his arrogant head toward the direction of Ji Gang!

At this moment, there was no longer any trace of his former arrogance and majesty; only a humble figure remained, willing to sacrifice all dignity and life to protect those behind him.

Did he regret it? Yes! He regretted his own arrogance, which gave the Imperial Dynasty an excuse to strike with thunderous force.

He regretted not restraining the actions of the Holy Land sooner, and even more, he regretted… implicating these thousands of Holy Land Disciples.

But if time could turn back, being in his position and facing a gradually declining Imperial Dynasty and his own constantly expanding power, he would probably… still walk a similar path.

Who could have imagined that the seemingly waning Imperial Dynasty would hide such terrifying fangs? And that it would be so reckless and decisive in killing?

He was just unlucky, happening to become the "chicken" selected to "warn the monkey."

Ji Gang looked at Saint Master, who was kneeling and kowtowing with a fading aura but an earnest gaze. On his stern face, his brows moved almost imperceptibly.

In the intelligence of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, this Xuantian Saint Master had always been known for his arrogance and stubbornness, but he had not expected that at the last moment of the Holy Land's destruction, he would be willing to give up his final dignity for those ordinary Disciples, and even use his own life as a bargaining chip to plead for mercy.

Just for this point, he was much stronger than Li Youran, who had abandoned everyone and tried to escape alone.

What a pity. A faint, imperceptible sigh flashed through Ji Gang's heart. But immediately, this fluctuation was replaced by absolute coldness.

"Your sense of responsibility and these actions of yours make this Commander… somewhat appreciative."

Upon hearing this, a faint glimmer of hope suddenly rose in Saint Master's eyes.

However, Ji Gang's next words completely crushed that glimmer of hope in his heart.

"However, Your Majesty's decree is clear and explicit, and cannot be changed—flatten Xuantian Holy Land to uphold the Imperial discipline!"

"The Imperial decree is as heavy as a mountain, and the Imperial order is like the heavens. Today, the name of Xuantian Holy Land must be completely erased from this world. No pleas and no conditions can change this result."

The light in Saint Master's eyes instantly extinguished, turning into a deathly gray.

The last hope was shattered. The new Emperor of the Imperial Dynasty was so determined that he did not even leave a shred of room for maneuver.

He slowly stood up, not looking at Ji Gang again, but turning around to face the surrounding Holy Land Disciples who were full of fear and despair.

His gaze slowly swept over faces that were familiar, young, or old. There were the true Disciples he had personally taught, the diligent Elder, and countless ordinary Disciples who simply yearned for the Dao and had come for the reputation.

Deeply, he bowed deeply to all the Disciples.

This bow almost exhausted his last bit of strength and seemed to drain away all his spirit.

"Fellow Disciples of the Holy Land… it is I, Saint Master… who have failed you."

His voice was hoarse and low, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears, carrying endless guilt and sorrow.

"It is my arrogance, my failure to strictly govern, and my… inability to protect the Holy Land, and even more, my inability to protect you. I have not only failed the Li Yourans of the Holy Land, but even more, I have failed… every single one of you."

"I will bear the sins of the Holy Land. As for the path of the Holy Land, let me… go first."

As his voice fell, before anyone could react, Saint Master suddenly raised his palm. Then, without hesitation, he struck his own crown!

"Pfft—!" With a muffled sound, blood mixed with brains splattered out…

Saint Master's eyes rapidly unfocused, and his body swayed, carrying a trace of relief, yet also endless unwillingness and regret, as he slowly collapsed. A generation's Saint Master thus drew his curtain to a close.