Martial World (Web Novel)
Chapter 1134: Clearing the Snakes

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“Elder Liu, you are a veteran senior of Carefree Island. Of the three Highest Elders, you are the oldest. For these last tens of thousands of years, although I haven’t publicly appeared, I still stayed deep in Carefree Palace. I’ve been watching many things that you’ve done and I believe I have a deep understanding of your character. Before this, I spoke with Elder Zhou and he revealed some matters to me. As far as I know, in these last days, you, Elder Zhou, and Elder White have all been very close to each other, right?”

Mo Riverbliss’s light question caused Elder Liu’s heart to skip a beat as it fell onto his ear!

The Elder Zhou that Mo Riverbliss mentioned was the last of the three Highest Elders. When Mo Riverbliss wanted to give the Ten Severing Dao Fruit Tree to Lin Ming to help him break through his Ninefall, everyone in the sect had opposed this action. And White Brook, being the one that was so adamantly against it, had united many of the Elders together to resist Mo Riverbliss’s orders.

And in fact, the other two Highest Elders didn’t welcome Mo Riverbliss. No one wished that there would be another overlord hovering over their heads and stealing their authority.

In this sort of situation, they had tended to favor White Brook from the beginning.

But afterwards, Lin Ming had perfectly crossed his heavenly tribulation and achieved a complete nine by nine Life Destruction and then their thoughts had made a complete 180 change. Lin Ming’s performance had been far too magnificent and splendid. If Lin Ming could truly become a Great World King then Carefree Island would be able to ascend to a World King level Holy Land. And as their senior Elder, even sharing just a tiny bit of the soup would be an unbelievable advantage! This was absolutely not something that a single top heaven-step treasure like the Ten Severing Dao Fruit Tree could compare with.

Thus, they had begun to favor Mo Riverbliss instead. Now that they heard Mo Riverbliss suddenly mentioning old accounts and especially in a situation where she was dividing the Elders and talking to them one at a time, no one knew what anyone else would say, so all of their hearts were rife with fear and trepidation.

Once someone else confessed all of their matters, if they continued to be silly and help White Brook out then that would cause Mo Riverbliss to have an extremely bad impression of them. Then, even if Carefree Island rapidly ascended in the future they still wouldn’t be able to share in the profit and would only be regarded as an outsider who would be continually marginalized.

Ever since ancient times, there had been no right or wrong in struggles of power. Those self-proclaimed righteous and stubborn men of integrity would often die in the most miserable manner. Whether they were good or evil didn’t matter. All that existed in struggles of power were a few simple words – submit to me and prosper or oppose me and perish!

Elder Liu could already see that this woman, Mo Riverbliss, was not easy to deal with. Before now, she had quietly stayed in Carefree Palace because she didn’t want her status to be revealed. But now that she had, she would exert full and complete control so that when Carefree Island became a World King level Holy Land in the future, her authority would be smoother. What she wanted was for her voice to be the only one that mattered within the island.

As for White Brook and Xiao Haogan, they already stood opposite to Mo Riverbliss. Even if they sensed the winds and tried to switch sides, it was far too late. For those rulers with absolute control, what they had least was trust in others. And history had repeatedly proven that those rulers who easily trusted others and gave power to others would suffer tragic fates! In particular, trusting the enemy even once was the most stupid of behaviors!

It was obvious that Mo Riverbliss planned on being the only voice in the Council of Elders. Moreover, she wanted to establish her prestige. White Brook and Xiao Haogan would thus be punished as a warning to all others who dared to stand against her.

“Senior, I have something I must confess to you.”

After Elder Liu understood all of this, his choice became immediately clear. Mo Riverbliss did not lack ambitions, nor did she lack the means to accomplish them. Following her would be much better than following White Brook and his mixed band of supporters.

………

As time slowly passed, all of the Elders, besides White Brook and Xiao Haogan, had talked alone with Mo Riverbliss.

This caused Xiao Haogan to feel increasingly uneasy. Although he seemed relatively calm on the surface, the truth was that his heart was rapidly racing in nervousness, as if he were standing on pins and needles.

“What are you so panicked about? Mo Riverbliss hasn’t even done anything and yet you feel so pressured. Don’t be confused about your own position and stop shaking your legs. If she really did anything then you can’t just stretch out your neck and accept it.”

White Brook chided Xiao Haogan with a true essence sound transmission. Xiao Haogan forced a smile and nodded. He certainly knew what White Brook was trying to say, but could he feel that way in front of someone like Mo Riverbliss, where he didn’t even have the faintest bit of superiority? After Mo Riverbliss had borrowed the momentum of Lin Ming crossing his heavenly tribulation and split up the Elders, now, whether it was her own strength or her position in the hearts of the Elders, she surpassed White Brook in every aspect.

At this time, the minor dimension in front of Xiao Haogan trembled and then a white-clothed Mo Riverbliss appeared in front of everyone.

“Elder White, Elder Xiao, come with me…” Mo Riverbliss faintly said.

White Brook’s heart tightened. As he looked at the minor dimensional gate behind Mo Riverbliss, he felt as if he didn’t have the courage to step in at all.

This Carefree Palace was under the control of Mo Riverbliss to begin with. Not just that, but Mo Riverbliss’s strength surpassed theirs by several times. Who knew what would happen once they entered that minor dimension!

Xiao Haogan also thought of this. His complexion became increasingly ugly.

White Brook forced a smile and said, “Fairy Mo, if there is any matter then you can speak it right here!”

As White Brook spoke, all of the other Elders began to feel a bit of pity for him. In truth, everything that White Brook had done was a normal response for someone who was accustomed to holding great power. It was human nature for a person to not wish to cup their hands across their chest and hand over whatever authority they had. Moreover, because of White Mirrorjade’s situation, White Brook had wanted to kill Lin Ming. To a Highest Elder, killing a simple junior disciple to set an example wasn’t a problem at all. Unfortunately, he had messed with the wrong young man and had ended up kicking himself in the face.

Now, Mo Riverbliss was clearly looking to push White Brook over the cliff. At the very least he would lose his current high status. And most of the other Elders of Carefree Island had likely betrayed White Brook by now, especially those that had been close to him. They all rushed to privately contact Mo Riverbliss to display their utmost loyalty to her.

After all, they weren’t sure if anyone else had betrayed White Brook and revealed what all the other Elders had done. If those people had confessed all of their wrongdoings while they tried to hide what they knew, that would be the actions of an idiot.

On the other hand, if they clearly revealed all that they knew then that would be a sign of their loyalty; there would be no loss for them.

It could only be said that humans were inconsistent and fickle beings, quickly tempted towards extremes. Now that they faced White Brook, they all felt a bit guilty in their hearts. This sort of feeling didn’t feel too good. If one felt guilty for too long then this guilt would turn to hate. This was the subtlety of human psychology.

‘If you make me feel guilty and fearful, then I will no longer wish to see you or even talk to you!’

Thus, imperceptibly, White Brook and Xiao Haogan had already been isolated from the others.

“Oh? We can speak here too.” Mo Riverbliss spoke as if she were in a very jolly mood. She faintly smiled at the other Elders and said, “Then, may all the other Elders besides Elder Xiao and Elder White wait outside.”

Mo Riverbliss’s words left Xiao Haogan and White Brook startled. As they looked at everyone, they discovered that they were all evading their eyes.

Island Master Xiao Skywhite was the first to leave. Then, everyone began to scatter without a single one remaining. There were even some people that were much faster than the others in fear that they would leave a bad impression on Mo Riverbliss.

As the other Elders departed, the space where Mo Riverbliss, White Brook, and Xiao Haogan were was completely sealed up.

When White Brook saw this, he mirthlessly smiled, “Hahaha! I never thought this would be! The world of martial artists is truly a reflection of human nature! To think that I, White Brook, would one day suffer a fate like this and become no different from a plague. Everyone who sees me fears me and everyone wishes to cut apart all relations they had with me! Your methods are truly wonderful!”

White Brook grit his teeth as he looked at Mo Riverbliss. And behind him, Xiao Haogan was already shaking in his boots. Facing Mo Riverbliss, he felt an unbelievably strong pressure. This woman could take their lives whenever she wished.

“My methods aren’t much at all. It’s just that after Lin Ming crossed a nine by nine Life Destruction, whether it be in strength or prestige, I now occupy the absolute superiority. You are no longer my match. I could have let you go, it’s only that… I will no longer leave behind even the smallest chance for my current enemies or my potential enemies in the future. This is the lesson that my father paid a deep price to carve into my heart! I will no longer abide a snake that is looking at me from behind. Even if you do not have the strength to threaten me, it is possible that you will betray my information to my blood enemy in the future, or you may even sell out Lin Ming. Or in the future when I have troubles, you may even kick me when I’m down! You already have a festering hatred of me in your heart. Since we cannot resolve our issues, why should I allow you any chance to seek revenge?”

The annihilation of the Verdant Feather Holy Lands had left a lifelong lesson in Mo Riverbliss’s heart. It was because the old Holy Lord of the Verdant Feather Holy Lands didn’t act against Tian Mingzi ahead of time that they all suffered such a fate.

How could Mo Riverbliss allow the same mistake to occur again? Once White Brook realized that her hated enemy was Tian Mingzi, then even the spirit artifact scroll she had all the Elders sign might be useless. Tian Mingzi possibly had his own ways to remove such a curse. At that time, Tian Mingzi would find out about her as well as about the existence of Mo Eversnow and Lin Ming. The consequences of this could be imagined!

“Good! You are ruthless enough! I acknowledge that I deserve this punishment. So, let me see just how you’ll dispose of me!”

White Brook coldly said as he flung his sleeves open. In his opinion, Mo Riverbliss was merely relieving him of his duties. At most she would imprison him, not kill him. Otherwise, if a senior Elder died because of a power struggle then there would inevitably be fissures. Although no one would dare to do anything to her, she still had to be cautious of the effects her actions on public opinion!

If her killing sins were too great, it would be easy to lose the will of the people.

Mo Riverbliss seemed to see through White Brook’s thoughts. She cunningly smiled. “You seem to think you’re safe? As if you have nothing to fear? What a pity… your speculations are all wrong…”

“Mm!?” White Brook’s heart shook as he suddenly stepped backwards. He reached out to trace his own spatial ring, but at this time all he felt was a blinding haze before him; Mo Riverbliss had already arrived right in front of him!

Bang!

White Brook couldn’t see how Mo Riverbliss had acted. In only an instant, all he felt was a dizzying pain in his head. It was as if he had fallen into some unknown space with ice and snow falling all around him, enveloping the world.

White Brook wanted to shatter this world, but he felt his body become increasingly powerless. His consciousness and divine sense seemed to leave his body. This feeling was like a mortal being placed in front of the vastness of nature; there was no chance of resisting…

The difference was too great!

……..

Three days later, everyone saw Xiao Haogan and White Brook in Carefree Palace. They followed behind Mo Riverbliss. There didn’t seem to be anything different about them, except that they displayed absolute loyalty towards Mo Riverbliss. Moreover, there was also a deep sense of awe and fear shining from their eyes!

This sort of look was like someone who had their mind controlled and had a slave seal planted within them. Of course, no one dared to question Mo Riverbliss. They could only suppress their own suspicious and pretend to not notice anything. Everyone began to increasingly dread this woman known as Mo Riverbliss. Without a doubt, she was not some bleeding heart individual. For whoever disobeyed her, their fate would truly be tragic! Xiao Haogan and White Brook were the perfect examples of this!

No matter what Mo Riverbliss did to Xiao Haogan and White Brook, at least they hadn’t died. As for the ordinary disciples of Carefree Island, none of them knew about this situation to begin with, thus changes in public opinion never occurred. Like this, Mo Riverbliss calmly controlled all of Carefree Island while removing all of her enemies. Not only were there no negative effects, but her authority instead rose to an unprecedented level.