One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

In front of the octagonal table, the stark white light of the lamp seemed to freeze the air almost solid.

Gong Qing's three resounding slaps on the blue brick floor still echoed, and blood slid down his pale cheeks from his forehead, but it did nothing to conceal the almost insane determination in his eyes.

The hearts of the ten elders present all sank.

This guy's motto is "put yourself in a do-or-die situation and you'll survive," he's so ruthless that it sends chills down your spine.

However, Gong Qing had no intention of stopping.

He took a deep breath, and despite the bloodstains covering his forehead, he resolutely straightened his back once again.

The young Taoist boy's face, though still innocent, showed no trace of the dishevelment of being a prisoner; instead, it exuded an unprecedented solemnity and reverence.

He wanted to write a biography for Quanxing, and he wanted to make an effort for this sect that had been burdened with infamy for a thousand years in front of the leaders of the righteous path and the official leaders!

"Leader Zhuge, the two Grand Tutors, and all the distinguished elders!"

Gong Qing's voice suddenly rose, each word booming like a great bell, resounding in the deathly silent meditation room:

"For thousands of years, people have called Quanxing the source of chaos and regarded us as rats crossing the street, evil people to be punished by all! But I dare ask you all, who still remembers that the first leader of Quanxing, the nominal founder of the sect, was Yang Zhu, the forerunner of Taoism, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Warring States period?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Jinbai's eyebrows furrowed sharply, and the old master Zhang Zhiwei, whose eyes were originally half-closed, opened them completely.

Gong Qing's eyes shone brightly as he spoke with absolute certainty: "When our ancestor Yang Zhu founded Quanxing, the fundamental core principle he established was 'Preserving one's true nature and not letting material possessions burden one's form!' His complete teaching was—'To sacrifice even a hair for the benefit of the world, one would not give; to have the whole world offer oneself, one would not take!' This means not giving up a single hair, not taking a single hair! What our ancestor pursued was the supreme ideal of everyone preserving their innate nature and not plundering others in the slightest! His philosophical enlightenment even predates Zhuangzi, making him the undisputed foundational figure of Chinese Daoist thought! At that time, Quanxing was a pure sect pursuing the highest spiritual liberation!"

At this point, Gong Qing's face showed deep remorse: "I only regret that unworthy descendants in later generations have taken things out of context, focusing only on the indulgence of selfish desires in 'not giving away a single hair,' while throwing aside the reverence and rules of 'not taking a single penny,' thus causing the thousand-year-old tradition to degenerate into a heretical and evil path!"

Gong Qing paused abruptly, his tone suddenly shifting like a knife into modern times:

"But looking back over two thousand years of history, after a long period of decline and stagnation, how did the second-generation leader of the Quanxing Sect—the senior Feng Yao, also known as Wugensheng—act during the chaotic calamities of the War of Resistance against Japan?!"

Lu Jin's withered fingers, which were resting on his knees, suddenly clenched, and the hard bluestone ground was actually cracked by his protective qi! The three words "Wugensheng" were his incurable sore spot that he could never heal in his life!

Gong Qing seemed completely oblivious to Lu Jin's murderous glare, his chest heaving as he delivered his impassioned speech:

"Firstly! When the nation is in peril, righteousness comes first! When foreign enemies invaded and the country was shattered, the second-generation leader, Wugensheng, resolutely led the Quanxing disciples to the battlefield to fight against the Japanese! He personally enlightened Gao Gen, who had acted extremely, and guided the Quanxing members to put aside their internal conflicts and defend their country! In the face of the bloody crucible of national survival, the blood shed by Quanxing was upright and honorable, and they never retreated a single step!"

"Secondly! To redeem the lost is the greatest virtue! He helped Li Muxuan, who had been expelled from the righteous path, resolve his century-old grudge with the Sanyi Sect, preventing him from becoming a peerless, murderous evil child; to help the villain Wu Man attain enlightenment and realize the emptiness of the five aggregates, he personally shaved his head and guarded the gate, allowing this group of people, despised and abandoned by the mainstream supernatural world, to understand their true nature, stop wantonly venting their destructive power, and rediscover the original goodness of humanity in the quagmire of a chaotic world!"

"Thirdly! Breaking down sectarian barriers and expanding the boundaries of cultivation! With divine assistance, he helped Zuo Ruotong, the sect leader of the Sanyi Sect, see clearly the insurmountable chasm of the 'Triple Reversal of Life' in cultivation, helping a grandmaster complete the perilous path of seeking the Dao without leaving any regrets! Subsequently, he defied the world's conventions and spearheaded the formation of the Thirty-Six Thieves' brotherhood, breaking the millennia-old bad habit of various sects working in isolation, ultimately giving birth to the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, opening up an unprecedented path to heaven for future generations of extraordinary individuals to cultivate!"

"Fourthly! He retired after achieving his goal, leaving a legacy for future generations! The Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley was an extremely rare and secluded place, yet he did not claim it as his own private property. Instead, he personally modified the energy patterns within the valley, erasing previous theories and leaving behind a completely open sacred ground for enlightenment for all seekers of the Dao in the entire world of extraordinary beings and even in future generations!"

His words poured out like a tidal wave crashing against the shore, a resounding and thought-provoking statement!

Gong Qing took a half step back, then bowed deeply to the ground, his forehead almost touching the earth, his voice hoarse and tragic:

"From the Warring States period to the present day, the Quanxing sect has only had these two leaders in theory! In the rest of the time, without a leader, it became a quagmire that everyone in the world of supernatural beings avoided! This situation must be completely ended in the modern era!"

"I, Gong Qing, hereby solemnly swear: I will take the previous two leaders as my guiding lights, learn from their profound cultural concepts and sense of national righteousness, and thoroughly integrate Quanxing with modern civilization! Under the guidance of the Party and the government's policies, and under the strict supervision of the people, I will reshape the rules of Quanxing and complete the great revival of its traditions! If I utter even a single falsehood, or if I slacken in reform in the future, I am willing to suffer the punishment of being struck by lightning, going astray, being killed by both gods and men, and never being redeemed!"

Gong Qing prostrated himself deeply, his voice filled with a tearful plea:

"I implore Leader Zhuge! I implore Grand Tutor, Second Grand Tutor, and all the elders! Give the Quanxing lineage a chance to start anew! Do not let this precious treasure of thought from the Hundred Schools of Thought, passed down for two thousand years, be completely extinguished in our generation!!"

……

The room was deathly silent.

Several cold lights illuminated the octagonal table, but the expressions on the faces of the giants of the supernatural world present were extremely varied.

The old Celestial Master Zhang Zhiwei stroked his long beard, his cloudy eyes now fully open, their sharp light concealed, as he looked down at Gong Qing, who was prostrate on the ground.

Having lived for over a hundred years, what kind of spectacle hadn't the old Celestial Master seen? Yet, the courage and words of this young man before him truly shocked him.

The Celestial Master's Mansion inherits the Celestial Master lineage of Zhang Daoling, and the pre-Qin Taoist doctrines of Yang Zhu, the founder of the Quanxing sect. In terms of its Taoist origins, it is even older than the Celestial Masters sect!

What's even more deadly is that Gong Qing is too cunning! He not only invoked the patriarch to suppress the orthodox Taoism, but also held high the "righteous cause of resisting Japan" as a get-out-of-jail-free card! On the land of China, the blood and sweat of the people's salvation are heavier than Mount Tai. Anyone who dares to deny the merits of resisting Japan is cutting themselves off from the great cause of China! As the leader of the righteous path, Zhang Zhiwei's sense of responsibility for the greater good finally moved him slightly.

……

On the other side, Old Master Lu Jin clenched his fists tightly, and the veins on his forehead bulged slightly.

When he heard Wugensheng say that he would "help Zuo Ruotong finish her last journey," he was so angry that he almost burst out.

That was the pain of the destruction of the Sanyi Sect, a knot in his heart for life! Under normal circumstances, he would have slapped Gong Qing into a pulp.

But at this moment... Lu Jin glanced sideways at Zhuge Ming, who sat calmly in the main seat, and swallowed his anger.

As the head of the Lu family, this is not the time to act impulsively. He must not make a wrong political stance, especially under the banner of resisting Japan. The Lu family is full of loyal martyrs, and he cannot go against the tide.

……

As for Wang Ai and Feng Zhenghao, their thoughts were practically in sync.

Wang Ai squinted her cloudy, triangular eyes, inwardly exclaiming, "Good heavens!"

A few days ago, he himself used the old story of the War of Resistance against Japan to express his stance in front of Zhuge Ming. Now Gong Qing is doing the same thing, directly standing on the Mount Everest of morality.

The Wang family still has a mess to clean up, and Wang Ai has made up his mind to shut up and act like a grandson, clapping wherever the leader points.

……