"You foolish kid, you don’t even know how to apologize! You’ll be the death of me!"

Third Brother Ni strode forward and kicked Yun Xuzi to the ground.

If not for Yun Xuzi’s status as the Sect Leader, and not wanting him to lose face in front of so many people, Third Brother Ni’s temper would have driven him to give the man a savage beating.

Yun Xuzi didn’t get angry. He stood up, a helpless expression on his face. "Junior Brother Mo, I understand what you mean. But this is a world where strength reigns supreme. Often, there’s no room for reason or fairness. As the Sect Leader, I must prioritize the Sect’s interests and be responsible for the future of the Void Sect."

"Hah!" Mo Qi laughed. "So your idea of ’prioritizing the Sect’s interests’ is handing over our disciples to the Wolf Fang Sect to appease their anger? Your idea of ’prioritizing the Sect’s interests’ is arbitrarily judging and punishing a disciple just because their talent isn’t good enough?"

"So let me ask you, where does the future of the Void Sect lie?"

Yun Xuzi remained silent. He didn’t agree with Mo Qi’s words.

In his mind, his only mistake was misjudging Mo Qi’s talent and abilities, not his methods.

Geniuses have always received preferential treatment; that was an undeniable fact.

That was why Mo Qi now had the chance to speak to him from a victor’s position.

"Does the future lie with them?" Mo Qi pointed to several Core Disciples not far away. "With people who don’t even have the courage to step up and fight?"

The Core Disciples he indicated lowered their heads, not daring to meet Mo Qi’s gaze. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Although they had been singled out and ridiculed, they felt not a shred of resentment or anger—only terror and unease.

"Or does it lie with them?" Mo Qi gestured toward the Elder Council. "A pack of opportunists who sway with whatever wind is blowing?"

Many of the Elders exchanged awkward glances. They wanted to say something in rebuttal, but they swallowed the words before they could speak.

"You must have thought that Liu Hui was the future, right?" Mo Qi asked, pointing at Liu Hui.

"Yes," Yun Xuzi said with a nod.

"Then did you know that this ’future’ of yours was once an Outer Disciple whom no one gave a second glance? That he even nearly died at the hands of a so-called ’genius disciple’?"

"You didn’t know!" Mo Qi sneered. "All you know is your ridiculous, self-serving philosophy!"

"I admit, the Martial Arts World is a place where the strong devour the weak. But isn’t the very purpose of a Sect to establish a semblance of stable order within this cruel world?"

"You’re only admitting you were wrong now because you think I can bring more benefits to the Void Sect. But you have to understand something. While my strength is one reason I’m still alive, a much bigger part of it is pure luck."

"How can you be so sure that in all the years past, there weren’t others just like me who, because their luck ran out, were driven to their deaths by that foolish, self-serving philosophy of yours?"

"Perhaps the Void Sect once had many futures, and you were the one who personally destroyed them all!"

The final words struck Yun Xuzi like a thunderclap.

He had never asked himself such a question, nor had anyone ever dared to ask him.

’Could he be sure? He couldn’t!’

He had always believed that everything he did was for the good of the Void Sect, and that Mo Qi was merely an exception.

But now, he could no longer be so certain.

’Have I really been wrong? Have I been wrong for centuries?’ Yun Xuzi’s eyes grew vacant, lost in a daze.

Mo Qi shrugged. "Don’t ask me. I’m just a cook. Ask your own heart."

With that, Mo Qi pointed to Chen Liang and Huang Hao, who had been revived by the hotpot broth. "In any case, I think the two of them are far more suited to be the future of this Sect than those Core Disciples."

Mo Qi didn’t necessarily believe he was completely right, or that Yun Xuzi was completely wrong.

He had simply stated his own perspective.

Only someone like him, who had clawed his way up from the very bottom, could truly appreciate the potential hidden within ordinary people.

He had never believed talent was everything. He put his faith in blood and sweat, because those were the only things that would never lie.

’Hard work and perseverance are the true engines of progress. A Sect should give a chance to those willing to work hard and endure, shouldn’t it?’

Yun Xuzi was kneeling on the ground, looking utterly crestfallen.

The Ni Brothers sighed, yet at the same time, felt a sense of relief.

If Yun Xuzi could truly understand and overcome this, he would become one of the greatest Sect Leaders in the history of the Void Sect.

The three of them stared at Mo Qi as if he were some kind of monster, wondering what on earth was going on in his head. He was just a teenager, yet he had managed to shake the Dao heart of the centuries-old Yun Xuzi.

"Brother Ni, Second Brother Ni, Third Brother Ni, please don’t look at me like that. It’s creeping me out." Mo Qi shrank back slightly and moved to Niu Kexin’s side.

Just as the Ni Brothers were about to call out to Mo Qi, they were blocked by Liu Hui, whose face had darkened.

"Brother Ni, Second Brother Ni, Third Brother Ni?" Liu Hui glared at the three ancestors.

"Back in the Secret Realm, you told me your names were Uncle Ni, Second Master Ni, and Third Master Ni. You even made me call you that."

The three ancestors’ expressions froze, and they broke into sheepish grins.

Liu Hui didn’t care. He grabbed Brother Ni by the beard.

"Trying to pull one over on me, were you?"

"No, no, no! It’s a misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding! Let go! Ouch! Second Brother, Third Brother, come help me!"

Brother Ni was fuming internally. Just as they had done with Mo Qi, they’d been amazed by Liu Hui’s talent back then and had tried to cozy up to him in the same way. The only difference was that the names they’d casually made up used the "-Master" honorific.

Meanwhile, Second Brother Ni and Third Brother Ni pretended not to hear his cries for help. They walked over to Chen Liang and Huang Hao, respectively, and made a show of checking their injuries.

"Hmm... not much recovery here."

"Mmm... this little one’s quite sturdy."

Brother Ni: "..."

’Is it too late to disown them?’

Mo Qi took Niu Kexin’s hand, sensing her physical condition.

"Sister Kexin, are you alright?"

Niu Kexin smiled sweetly. "I’m fine now. What about you? Are you hurt?"

Mo Qi puffed out his chest and laughed. "Of course not! Who could possibly hurt me?"

Nearby, Liu Ruyan pouted and muttered coquettishly, "Hmph. Brother Mo doesn’t even care about me."

Hearing this, Mo Qi let out a laugh and stepped forward to pinch Liu Ruyan’s cheek.

"Well then, my dear Miss Ruyan, are you alright?"

"You’re impossible!" Liu Ruyan huffed, slapping his hand away as a blush crept up her face.

"Huh? San Pang, what’s wrong?" Mo Qi suddenly noticed Jin Sanpang sitting by himself in the back, looking distracted.

He had never seen Jin Sanpang like this before. Given San Pang’s simple and cheerful nature, such an expression was completely out of place.

"Ah!" Jin Sanpang snapped out of it. When he saw it was Mo Qi calling him, he quickly shook his head and forced a smile. "I’m fine, really."

’Hm? That’s even more suspicious.’

Anyone could tell Jin Sanpang was hiding something.

A thought struck Mo Qi, but he didn’t press the matter.

"San Pang, if something’s wrong, you have to tell me, okay?"

"I know." Jin Sanpang nodded, his usual bright, innocent smile gone from his face.