Chapter 12464

Chapter 12464

Even if some heinous incident occurs, the mainstream narrative is that the Heavenly Palace is the culprit, and the Five Sages of the Noble Families are simply being misled by the Heavenly Palace's powerful figures.

But this time it's a little different.

The sheer volume of illicit activities, involving a massive number of people, goes beyond what can be simply explained by deception.

Within the final meeting alone, Lin Yi heard many discussions about the Five Saints of the aristocratic families, and quite a few openly cursed them.

The same applies to the outside world.

The overall reputation of the Five Sages of the Aristocratic Family has been significantly affected.

In the past, the Five Saints of the aristocratic families would have taken remedial action long ago, but this time is different. They did not take any action from beginning to end, which is quite like letting things take their course.

Lin Yi hadn't thought too much about it before.

After Liu Aozhi's reminder, there is a very high probability that there is indeed some deeper meaning behind this.

"Can't we stand with the people?"

Lin Yi turned to Jiang Xiaoshang and asked, "What does this mean?"

Jiang Xiaoshang gave him an expression as if he were an idiot: "If you were a leader and you were to promote someone, would you prefer that person to have a weaker local background or a stronger local background?"

"Of course, it's better to be a little worse."

Lin Yi blurted out, "You can interpret it like that?"

However, upon closer reflection, the entire logic of cultivation and leveling up has undergone a complete transformation since the four-zhang Dharma form was reached.

The mere fact that there are limited spots already makes it completely different from before.

While Jiang Xiaoshang's explanation may not be entirely accurate, it does contain that meaning to some extent.

Not long after Liu Aozhi left, Lü Bukui suddenly rushed in.

"President, we're surrounded."

Lin Yi was genuinely bewildered.

Given the current situation, the Five Saints of the Aristocratic Family dare not make any rash moves. Liu Aozhi has even taken the initiative to come and pay his respects, yet there are still people who dare to surround them.

Lin Yi asked in surprise, "The Twelfth Group of the Heavenly Palace?"

Given the current strength of the Termination Society, if we're talking about encirclement, sending only one or two groups wouldn't be enough; at least half of the twelve Heavenly Palace Groups would need to be present.

Lu Bukui smiled wryly and said, "No, they are just ordinary people who were incited by others. The leader is Ji Ruxin."

Lin Yi did have some recollection of this name.

This is the woman who previously publicly attacked the Emperor of the End under the guise of fairness.

I never expected them to actually bring people to block the door today; that's quite unexpected.

Lin Yi thought for a moment and said, "I'll go take a look."

Lu Bukui quickly said, "President, perhaps you shouldn't show yourself for now?"

The phrase "Emperor of the End" is now the tipping point of contention. If Lin Yi personally intervenes, any mishandling could easily escalate the situation.

The key point is that this is a public opinion event, and it has little to do with individual ability.

No matter how strong Lin Yi is, he could still be manipulated by someone with just a few words.

"fine."

Lin Yi waved his hand and immediately stepped out.

At this moment, a massive crowd of at least 100,000 people had gathered outside the headquarters of the Termination Society.

Given the average strength of the people of Tianjun, even without any training, just these 100,000 people would be a force that should not be underestimated.

Even if they couldn't sweep through all thirteen counties of the Divine Realm, it would be difficult for even a single ordinary county to withstand them.

Seeing Lü Bukui accompany Lin Yi out, the already excited crowd became even more agitated.

The situation immediately showed signs of spiraling out of control.

"He's out! The End of the World has emerged!"

The crowd immediately surged toward Lin Yi's location, but fortunately, Lü Bukui was prepared and had arranged for a group of Termination Society experts to block them in front.

Fortunately, it was not overwhelmed by the wave.

Judging from this situation, it's only a matter of time before the defensive line is breached, as the two sides are simply not even in the same league in terms of numbers.

Then a clear female voice rang out.

"Please calm down, everyone. I believe the End Emperor is not an unreasonable person. Can you give us a chance to talk and communicate?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it was quite penetrating and could be clearly heard by everyone present.

Lin Yi looked in the direction of the sound.

A young woman in a white dress was slowly walking towards her.

This woman's features weren't exactly stunning, but she was still considered beautiful. However, her overall aura carried a certain sacredness, making those around her feel unworthy to profane her.

"Ji Ruxin has met the Emperor of the End."

The woman in white curtsied to Lin Yi, her manners impeccable and flawless.

Lin Yi nodded slightly: "Miss Ji, I've heard so much about you."

While speaking, he assessed the other party's strength and summarized it in three words.

Very general.

Don't even mention his several-foot-tall Dharma form; he's not even a Divine Realm expert, just a peak early-stage Earth Rank Venerable.

This level of strength might be considered impressive elsewhere, but in Tianjun, a place teeming with heroes, it's simply unremarkable.

The more this was the case, the more curious Lin Yi became.

What gives someone like that the right to stand out?
Ji Ruxin smiled gently and said, "Emperor of the End, please don't misunderstand. We are all gathered here today not to harm you personally, nor to target the End Society."

Lin Yi grinned: "What's the point then? Are you here for a bonfire party?"

"..."

Ji Ruxin choked for a moment, then continued, "We just want the End Emperor to give us an explanation."

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

Ji Ruxin casually pointed to an old man next to her: "This Uncle Han has a family history of incomplete primordial spirits. Nine out of ten of them are unable to take care of themselves. There are more than ten people in his family, and he has to take care of all their needs, from eating and drinking to relieving themselves."

"Their most important livelihood is delivering spirit incense to people."

"The day before yesterday, the employer told him that he no longer needed to deliver, because the entire industry had been shut down."

"Now his whole family doesn't know how to live."

The old man she pointed to immediately became excited.

Ji Ruxin then pointed to another person: "This Aunt Guo is in a similar situation. Her whole family worked for Cai Le Fang, but now that Cai Le Fang has been shut down, I don't know how they will continue to live."

She went through them one by one, and she knew their situations like the back of her hand.

Objectively speaking, even with prior preparation, being able to memorize it so fluently is a skill in itself.

Lin Yi was somewhat puzzled: "What is Miss Ji trying to say by telling me all this? Their loss of livelihood doesn't seem to have anything to do with the end of my association, does it?"

The industries the other party mentioned were all traditional gray industries controlled by powerful families.

That is, the batch that was purged by Liu Aozhi's iron-fisted approach in the past few days.

Lin Yi roughly understood.

The 100,000 people gathered in front of us are all unemployed people from the gray industry.

“You may think there is no direct relationship, but in my opinion, there is.”

Ji Ruxin said loudly, "As citizens of Tianjun, all people are born equal. No one should be left behind; that would be unfair."