CHAPTER 106 (1): ADVICE FROM YAN BEIHAN

Meanwhile, as Starlight remained seated on his throne, he was thinking about how much longer everyone's respect and veneration for him was going to last.

It was impossible for someone to remain atop such a lofty perch forever, and if he were to be knocked off his pedestal someday, then all of their illusions about him would be shattered, and that could prove to be a crisis in itself.

With that in mind, he decided that it was time to reaffirm their loyalty once again.

"What did you all think of Night Demon?" he asked.

"He was a terrifying man. I almost didn't even dare to speak in his presence," Zheng Yunqi replied, speaking on everyone's behalf.

A hint of dejection appeared on Starlight's face as he said, "Before this, you would've perhaps thought of me as quite a powerful warrior, but now that you've seen Night Demon, I'm sure you can tell that he's on a completely different level. There are certain prodigies in this world that we simply cannot hope to match, and Night Demon is one of those."

No one denied this.

Night Demon was indeed a prodigy that was completely out of reach.

He was like a bright moon in the sky, someone that everyone could only look up to in awe and veneration, while Starlight was a living, breathing person, a lofty, yet much more realistic target.

"We don't disagree with that, Helmsmaster," Zhao Wushang said. "Master Night Demon is truly a prodigy beyond our reach, but you're also a prodigy yourself, Helmsmaster! Master Night Demon is too far for us to reach, but at the very least, we're just barely able to reach you."

This was a very earnest statement from Zhao Wushang, and it was clear that it came straight from his heart.

"None of you got any funny ideas after seeing Master Night Demon?" Starlight asked. "Following him would be much better than following me."

"That's different! Master Night Demon wouldn't want us as his followers, and even if he did, we wouldn't dare to follow him," Zheng Yunqi said with a wry smile. "It would be far too dangerous for us to try and serve him. He doesn't care about the lives of others at all, nor would he even bother to consider our wants and needs.

“In his eyes, perhaps only the likes of Mistress Yan Beihan and Master Chen Yin are worthy of his attention at all. If we were to try and follow Master Night Demon, we would most likely be turned down, and that would be the best-case scenario! In the worst-case scenario, he would simply kill us! However, you're not the same, Helmsmaster.

“You don't have the best temper, but we can tell that you want what's best for us, and you're paving a future path for us. Perhaps you have your own selfish objectives as well, but that only makes you feel more sincere and reliable, not someone who's posing as a selfless saint who looks out solely for others. Hence, if we were given the choice, we would much rather remain by your side than follow Master Night Demon."

This was exactly what everyone wanted to say, and they were all nodding vigorously in agreement, including even the female escorts who idolized Night Demon.

Night Demon was their idol, and after meeting him, their idolization for him had only grown, but when it came to following him, that was not an appealing option.

They wanted to live for as long as possible, and following Night Demon was clearly not conducive to achieving that goal.

A wry smile appeared on Starlight's face as he said, "I've been doing my best to maintain a status of authority in this branch helm, but Night Demon's visit has completely shattered my authority to bits, so let's have a chat today as friends and equals. I'm sure all of you have always wondered why I've been so good to you."

Everyone was immediately intrigued.

Isn't it because you have your own goals and ambitions? Didn't you already tell us everything last time?

"I do have my own goals that I want to accomplish, but that's only going to become a possibility far in the future, and it's yet to be seen whether I'll even be able to live until then. Honestly, I don't have much confidence in that myself. My ambitions are as lofty as they are unrealistic, so let's set them aside for now. All of that is just an excuse."

This made sense to everyone. The objectives that Starlight had mapped out for himself would realistically only come into fruition many decades down the line, so his chances of achieving them were indeed quite slim.

"The reason why I've taken a liking to all of you is because I identify with you. In my eyes, I'm also a member of a side branch, except it's a side branch of the One Heart Church, rather than any clan."

This was a heavy statement for everyone to hear.

No matter how much potential they possessed, they were completely hamstrung by their status as branch lineal descendants.

In fact, the more prodigious they were, the more they were controlled and oppressed. Otherwise, if they were allowed to grow to their full potential, then the main branch of the clan would inevitably be dethroned, often in the form of a brutal bloodbath.

This was a very common occurrence in the clans of the Church of the Self-Righteous, and it was the reason why prodigies of side branches tended to fall prematurely.

However, it was also because of this that the prodigies of the side branches had to be more cruel and ruthless if they wanted to grow. If they wanted to seize power someday, then they had to eliminate the roadblock that was the main branch.

"Our situations may be different, but I empathize with all of you. None of us have orthodox paths of progression laid out before us, and when I look at Night Demon, I feel the same way as when you look at the main branch prodigies of your clans. We envy and fear them, but it also feels demeaning to try and suck up to them.

“Night Demon is high up in the clouds, while I have to wallow in the dirt. He doesn't even have to spare me a thought, while I have to constantly keep him on my mind. I feel like I'm a very capable person, and that I can do everything he does just as well as him, if not better, but whenever I see him, I instinctively feel inferior.

“Wherever he goes, he's always the center of attention and praise, while I'm just an insignificant bystander, someone that can only applaud and flatter him from afar. The higher-ups of our church are always looking only at him, and every little thing that he does is met with praise and reward, while my efforts are constantly being ignored.

“In the face of peril, people like us are always the first to be thrown to the wolves as meat shields, cannon fodder, and scapegoats, all to protect people like Night Demon. People like us will never be appreciated, and we'll never be able to rise to the top, but we have to work so much harder than everyone else just to survive!"

Everyone in the hall lowered their heads with dejected looks on their faces, and many of them even had tears swimming in their eyes.

Some of the girls were already weeping in silence.

As women, they were far more sensitive than their male counterparts, and as a result, the pain ran even deeper for them.

The young mistresses of the main branch were treated like precious princesses from birth, while those of the side branches were seen as even lower than maidservants.

Starlight's words reached directly into everyone's hearts, and it was as if he could read their innermost thoughts.

These emotions had been suppressed and buried in their hearts for so long, yet they were now being verbally conveyed by Starlight, and even the coldest and most unfeeling ones among them couldn't help but feel moved.

"Perhaps some people will argue that all of you were born into prominent clans, so you can live worry-free lives of luxury and do nothing till the day you die, so you have nothing to complain about," Starlight continued.

Wry smiles appeared on everyone's faces.

While it was true that they were currently living lives that countless people could only dream of, their positions of privilege only made the oppression that they had to deal with even more unbearable.

"I often find myself asking why. Why should I be inferior to others? Why do I have to look up to and bow down to them? Why am I not given the same opportunities? Why am I always the first in line to be sacrificed? Why is it that I've worked so hard for so long, yet no one even bothers to spare me a glance?

“That day, when all of you came to my branch helm, I was suddenly struck by the urge to try something different. I wanted to see if I could change the landscape by uniting all of us, the rejects and outcasts of our clans and churches. Together, will we be able to alter the course of fate? Will we be able to actually do something with our lives?

“Thus, we've come to today. I don't know what the future is going to be like, but right now, all of us, including myself, are already different from our past selves."

Starlight's voice wasn't very loud, but it was practically deafening in everyone's ears, and their heads were ringing from this revelation.

Certain things that they had never seen and never even considered in the past were beginning to take shape in their minds.

"This is why I'm constantly urging you to do better, and why I feel so much resentment when I see any of you slacking off. What if we can also succeed, even if only a single one of us gets to the promised land? My biggest dream is that all of us can amount to something together in the future, that we can be comrades-in-arms and face the world together.

“Ideally, all of us survive, and even more ideally, all of us reach lofty heights previously thought impossible. However, I know that's not realistic. Even I can't guarantee that I'll still be alive when that time comes. Perhaps I'll be dead long before I get to see this path through to the end. However, all of you are different. Right now, you're only in a position of peril because you're in the White Cloud Prefecture.

“Once you return to the main church, at the very least, you shouldn't have to fear for your own survival. Hence, all of you have the opportunity to grow and develop in relative safety. For the sake of our collective ambitions, I hope that all of you can continue to help each other out in your respective times of need.

“If one of you manages to reach the top, and I'm already six feet under by then, I hope you can come to my grave and tell me that my vision wasn't just a senseless delusion!"

Zheng Yunqi raised his head to speak, but Starlight raised a hand to stop him as he continued, "Night Demon's visit has dredged up some emotions in my heart that I've been suppressing for a long time, so I decided to have a candid conversation with you, but I won't say anything like this again after today, and none of you need to say anything, either.

“Keep what you want to say bottled up in your hearts because there's no point in saying things now. That's all I have to say. It's already quite late, so let's all go to bed."