Li Shaochun nodded with satisfaction at the quiet scene below and continued, "Everyone here today is a hero of their respective regions, so I won't waste your time with pleasantries."
Li Shaochun then looked at Nanjing Shuo beside him and said, "Xiao Nan, it's your turn to speak."
Nanjing Shuo smiled, showing none of the usual imposing aura and dignity of the Black List. He said, "Thank you, Old Heavenly Master."
The assembled crowd did not show any contempt at Nanjing Shuo's demeanor.
Among the three major sects, the Heavenly Master's Mansion's strength surpassed the other two.
Not to mention Li Shaochun's own power, if a fight were to break out, Nanjing Shuo might not be a match for the Heavenly Master's Mansion.
Nanjing Shuo walked to the front, looked at the crowd below, and began to explain the purpose of gathering everyone.
"Everyone present is a sect leader. We have gathered you here for two matters."
"The first is about a dark force that has suddenly appeared in the Jianghu over the past six months, weakening the strength of various sects. The second is about the Divine Religion."
Upon hearing this, Yu Daohan's expression changed slightly.
It seemed that, as Da Hu had guessed, the Supernatural Affairs Bureau had also discovered this dark force.
He wondered how they intended to resolve it.
Everyone present remained silent, each with their own hidden agenda.
Seeing that no one was speaking, Nanjing Shuo continued, "I believe some sects have already sensed the presence of this dark force. For the time being, I hope all sects will put aside their grievances and unite against this common enemy."
Huang Yong chuckled lightly, stood up, and said, "Master Nan, what you say makes sense, but you can't expect everyone to simply let go of past grudges with just a word."
The sect leader of Zhenbao Sect, standing behind him, seconded this, saying, "That's right. Even if this dark force is somewhat capable, it's unlikely they can take on the entire Jianghu all at once."
Some of the major sects, seeing others speak up, began to chime in with their agreement.
Yu Daohan watched Huang Yong in front of him and chuckled inwardly.
Nanjing Shuo's words were clearly advantageous to some sects, but offered no benefit to major sects like Huang Yong's.
Moreover, he had recently heard that the Corpse Herders and Zhenbao Sect had been actively recruiting skilled individuals from the Jianghu, while simultaneously suppressing smaller sects.
Nanjing Shuo's statement had touched upon their vested interests.
When it came to the interests of their sects, no one was willing to back down.
To put it plainly, only the smaller sects had suffered so far.
For these major sects, nothing had happened to them.
Nanjing Shuo had anticipated someone would object and said, "I can understand everyone's feelings, but we don't know the true intentions of this dark force. If we continue to fight amongst ourselves, we will only give them an opportunity."
"This..." The sect leader of Zhenbao Sect's confidence wavered.
Their sect did not have any Black List experts to rely on.
Seeing this, some sects also fell silent.
They were merely fence-sitters, unwilling to offend a Black List expert.
Huang Yong, seeing the Zhenbao Sect, which had been so confident moments ago, suddenly fall silent, snorted dismissively.
He himself was a Black List expert, why should he fear Nanjing Shuo?
As long as he could refute Nanjing Shuo, the others would naturally follow him in protesting.
Just as Huang Yong was about to speak, Li Shaochun, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Xiao Nan is right. Now is the time to unite against the common enemy."
Although Li Shaochun's tone was calm, it was enough to silence Huang Yong, who could only snort and sit back down, cursing inwardly.
*Old man, always using the Heavenly Master's Mansion to suppress people.*
Zhang Xiaoqiang, sitting in his chair and remaining silent, looked at Huang Yong, who had been rebuffed, and felt disdain.
*Fool, this Gathering of Heroes is ostensibly hosted by Nanjing Shuo, but in reality, it's Li Shaochun, that old fox, who is orchestrating everything.*
*Offending Nanjing Shuo is no different from offending the Heavenly Master's Mansion.*
As the saying goes, for every policy, there is a countermeasure. No matter what Nanjing Shuo says, he just needs to be more discreet in his private actions.
The Yan Shu Sect had suffered heavy losses after the last coup and was in urgent need of experts to lead them.
Over the past six months, the Yan Shu Sect's covert actions were no less than those of the Corpse Herders and Zhenbao Sect.
At such a time, it was even more important not to offend Nanjing Shuo.
"I propose that we should quickly investigate this dark force and then eliminate it in one fell swoop," Zhang Xiaoqiang suddenly stood up and said.
Everyone turned to look at Zhang Xiaoqiang, and Yu Daohan also turned his head.
The current Zhang Xiaoqiang was completely different from the Zhang Xiaoqiang of a year ago, especially in terms of his aura.
Nanjing Shuo looked at Zhang Xiaoqiang with some confusion, "I recall that fellow Daoist Xiaoqiang is an elder of the Yan Shu Sect."
As far as he knew, Zhang Xiaoqiang was merely an elder of the Yan Shu Sect.
This gathering was for sect leaders only.
His implication was that Zhang Xiaoqiang was not qualified and could not represent the Yan Shu Sect.
Zhang Xiaoqiang naturally understood Nanjing Shuo's meaning and said calmly, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zhang Xiaoqiang, and I am also the current sect leader of the Yan Shu Sect."
Upon hearing this, everyone present was shocked.
This young man, who had only become an elder of the Yan Shu Sect a year ago, was now the sect leader.
However, the most shocked was Yu Daohan.
When he saw Zhang Xiaoqiang upon entering, he had a suspicion, but he truly couldn't believe it.
Zhang Xiaoqiang was indeed the sect leader of the Yan Shu Sect!
Nanjing Shuo was also slightly surprised that Zhang Xiaoqiang was the sect leader of the Yan Shu Sect.
"If that is the case, then before we identify this dark force, I request everyone to put aside their past grievances and unite against the common enemy," Nanjing Shuo declared.
After this minor interruption by Zhang Xiaoqiang, Huang Yong and the others, though unwilling, had no choice but to accept the situation for now.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Nanjing Shuo began to discuss the second matter. "As for the second matter, it concerns the Divine Religion, which is also the main theme of this Gathering of Heroes."
"I believe everyone knows that after the seal on the entrance to the Seventh Level of Hell was broken, evil spirits entered the human world. In one night, an entire county was wiped out. Even now, these evil spirits have not been completely eradicated. We can only station people there to guard it. There are casualties every day on the front lines. If the encirclement breaks, the consequences would be unimaginable. This time, we request all sect leaders to send disciples to provide support."
Upon hearing Nanjing Shuo's words, everyone present fell into silence.
If the former matter concerned only individual interests, this latter matter concerned the interests of everyone.
Even Huang Yong and the others dared not speak rashly.
To put it nicely, this was a great mission to save the common people. To put it bluntly, it was sending disciples to their deaths without any reward.
Yu Daohan also remained silent. This was not the time for heroism. He also understood the true purpose of this Gathering of Heroes.
When he encountered San Sui Xie and the Demon-Faced Ghost last time, he had felt that the encirclement would surely not hold.
Now, hearing Nanjing Shuo say this, the encirclement was likely precarious. If there were no reinforcements, the people from the Supernatural Affairs Bureau alone would not be able to hold on for long.