In 1 Dragon Villa’s cultivation room, Xiang Shaoyun was not cultivating. Rather, he was readjusting his mental state. He did not regret killing Di Lin. Instead, he was recollecting all he had experienced over the past few years.
After the betrayal, from being a down-and-out to personally killing Di Lin, he had finally settled a portion of the grudge between him and the Di Clan. However, he wasn’t joyful. He started wondering if all he had done in the past was right.
Why was he betrayed? Why had he transformed into a down-and-out youngster from a young master? Apart from Di Batian’s revolt, was he himself without any blame?
In truth, during his youth, many old-timers of the sect had advised him to not spend all his time fooling around. They advised him to spend time on cultivation, but he ignored them all and acted as he wished.
Perhaps the elders had become dissatisfied with him since then, thinking that he was unworthy of inheriting the sect.
Additionally, his father had been too lax on Di Batian, giving him too much freedom. Di Batian was given free rein on many sect affairs. It was the combination of many factors that had resulted in the eventual betrayal.
If Xiang Shaoyun had worked hard back then, perhaps things would be entirely different this day. Unfortunately, time would not rewind. It did not matter what he thought now.
Xiang Shaoyun stayed in the cultivation room for seven days and seven nights before finally finishing his introspection.
He stood up, took in a deep inhale, and muttered, “Di Lin deserved death, and my willfulness back then was wrong as well. From now onward, I will treasure all I have and strive hard to protect all I possess. That is what I should do.”
After deciding on his future direction, he relaxed. The seed of hatred within him also diluted considerably. After all, he held the most hatred toward Di Lin and Xia Yunxi. Now that one of them had been removed, he felt much better.
As for Xia Yunxi, she was most likely in great fear right now.
After leaving the cultivation room, he found several Overlord Legion members waiting for him.
“The overlord is out!” Ma Qihao shouted.
“Overlord, are you fine?” Tang Longfei asked anxiously.
Xiang Shaoyun smiled. “Sorry for making everyone worried. It’s just some superficial wounds. I’m mostly healed.”
“It’s good that you’re fine.” Everyone present heaved a breath of relief.
At this time, Tang Longfei proposed, “Overlord, our morale is high. It is time to make a move on the Di Alliance. They are currently in a complete mess, anyway.”
Without a leader, some members were fighting to be the new leader, some left for other factions, and some accepted missions outside the academy so they could stay away for the time being. One could say that it wouldn’t be long before the Di Alliance was no more.
Xiang Shaoyun sank into thought and said, “Release news that the Overlord Legion is willing to take in ex-members of the Di Alliance. The grudge between me and Di Lin is personal and has nothing to do with others.”
Everyone blanked out when they heard that. Evidently, that was not a decision they had expected Xiang Shaoyun to make.
After a while, Tang Longfei said resentfully, “Overlord, won’t we be letting them off way too easily this way?”
Previously, the Di Alliance had created trouble for the Overlord Legion repeatedly. Many Overlord Legion members had suffered losses in their hands. If Xiang Shaoyun wanted to make such a decision, he had to take into consideration the feelings of the existing members.
On the other hand, Zhuge Zhantian voiced his support, “Deputy commander, I agree with the overlord. Whatever faction one is from, we are all fellow apprentices of the same academy. Factions are only formed to give the members a better life and a better prospect within the academy. Like us, the Di Alliance members were merely seeking the shade under a big tree. Since their big tree has fallen, we can’t implicate all their members. If we can accept them, they will be deeply grateful and will follow the Overlord with great devotion.”
From Zhuge Zhantian’s eloquence, it was evident he had thought of the same as well.
“I agree,” Shang Jifeng said.
A few others voiced their support as well, and they praised Zhuge Zhantian’s analysis.
At this point, Tang Longfei had an embarrassed look as he said, “Sure. Since everyone agrees, let’s do this! I’ll personally work on recruiting Xia Qiuhua. He can be a sharp sword if used properly.”
“Deputy commander, you need to be careful when dealing with that kid. I heard he has reached fourth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm,” reminded Shang Jifeng.
“Haha, I’ll recruit him while I can still beat him. Otherwise, I will be the one bullied in the future,” said Tang Longfei with a chortle.
He had befriended Xia Qiuhua through battle. They had battled no fewer than three times, and each time, there was no clear victor. Because of that, their rivalry had transformed into friendship.
Before this, they each served a different master. But with the Di Alliance’s collapse, Tang Longfei was confident he could now recruit Xia Qiuhua into the Overlord Legion. Xiang Shaoyun wasn’t too bothered about that. He told Zhuge Zhantian to summon all the Overlord Legion members over.
This time, he wanted to use his victory to further raise everyone’s morale. That was his job as a leader. More importantly, he was going to hand out the remaining gleamstar water he had as well.
Previously, he had obtained a small pond of gleamstar water. Although a portion had been used to transform the astral cosmos sea, he still had some remaining. Of course, he couldn’t give it all for free, but he could trade it with the others.
When the majority of the members arrived, 1 Dragon Villa was completely filled with people. If it wasn’t for the fact that this villa was larger than the other villas, he wouldn’t have been able to squeeze this many people inside.
First, he gave an update on his current situation, telling everyone not to worry. He also encouraged everyone to work hard in cultivation and to put effort into interacting and trading with each other.
His leadership quality was revealed for all to see. A strong cohesiveness started forming among the Overlord Legion members. After this assembly, the ranking of the Overlord Legion within the academy would most likely rise. Before long, they would be comparable to the major factions.
After a day, Xiang Shaoyun finally dispersed the crowd and only kept Lady Shura behind in the villa. He had even sent away Tang Longfei, Zhuge Zhantian, and the others.
“Lady Shura, let’s sit down and have a chat,” said Xiang Shaoyun gently.
Instead of forcing himself to enter seclusion again, he took some time to relax. Lady Shura had always been his woman in name, but in truth, they had not done anything. Lady Shura sat down beside Xiang Shaoyun and took out some snacks and liquor. Evidently, she was preparing to have a drink with him.
“Overlord, a toast for your victory,” said Lady Shura with her glass raised.
