Chapter 272: How to Move Forward? (1/2)

The elders were incredibly nervous. They hadn't faced such a danger to the Lightning Sect before in their lives. After all, Lasar was the strongest Sect Master out of all the Sect Masters. On top of that, they also had Old Man Lightning. In their minds, there hadn't been anything that could threaten the well-being of the Lightning Sect.

The elder responsible for internal affairs had already started planning. After all, planning these things was his responsibility. ”I see four possible solutions to this,” he said.

Old Man Lightning looked at him. ”Then let's hear them.”

The elder walked into the middle of the hall. He was too riled up, and his brain thought too quickly to stay put in his throne. ”First solution. We won't make any more Destruction Lightning disciples. Like this, we can keep the old Sect and the quota. Of course, the bad thing is that we would give up our path forward.”

”I disagree with that,” said another elder. ”Giving up our path forward isn't worth it.”

Stor also nodded. ”I also disagree.”

Old Man Lightning lifted his hand to stop the discussion. ”What's the second one?” he asked.

The elder continued. ”Second solution. We keep a carefully maintained balance of disciples that cultivate natural lightning and Destruction Lightning. Like that, no side can become more powerful. Of course, that could still lead to civil war, and keeping the numbers equal isn't the same as keeping the strength equal. One side just needs one more top expert to dominate the other.”

”Also disagree,” one elder said. ”This would still create a civil war. Like this, the Sect will split into two. This is no solution.”

Old Man Lightning shook his head. ”This is unacceptable. Third solution, please,” he said.

”Third solution. We split the Sect into a Destruction Lightning Sect and Natural Lightning Sect. Like this, we don't have any conflicts between the side.”

The elders didn't instantly disagree this time. This solution was worthwhile to consider, after all.

One of the elders sighed. ”Like this, we would split apart directly without casualties. Our Sect might not become stronger in this instance, but become weaker. After all, we would give up a lot of disciples to the Destruction Lightning Sect. Though, we could also consider it as our Sect.”

Old Man Lightning shook his head. ”This is a bad solution. You guys don't look at the situation from the point of view of young, aspiring cultivators.”

The elders looked at Old Man Lightning. ”What do you mean?” one of them asked.

”Think of yourself as someone in the Body Tempering Realm,” Old Man Lightning started explaining. ”You have the choice between natural lightning and Destruction Lightning. Which one would you choose?” he asked.

The elders all realized what Old Man Lightning meant, and they grimaced. ”Everyone would choose Destruction Lightning.”

Old Man Lightning nodded. ”Exactly! Why would anyone want to choose a weaker element? Destruction Lightning is objectively more powerful. If we split our Sects, the Destruction Lightning Sect will flourish while the old Lightning Sect would deteriorate until nearly nothing remained. Without new blood to replace the old, the old Lightning Sect will die out.”

Old Man Lightning turned to the elder responsible for internal affairs again. ”What's the last solution?”

The elder took a deep breath. ”Fourth solution. Every single new member of the Lightning Sect will, from now on, learn Destruction Lightning. The new will completely replace the old. Until the natural lightning people die out, we will maintain the current rules. Like this, the internal conflict will still be there, but there won't be any civil war. After all, the cultivators only have to wait.”

The room remained silent as the elders thought about this last possibility. All in all, logically, this was the best decision. The Lightning Sect would still remain the Lightning Sect, and no civil war would happen. Yet, emotionally, this was a difficult decision.