Chapter 185.1 What Is It That You’re after? (1/2)
"Wang Ke, you’re saying I should ditch Parlor Lord Se Yutian, my powerful backer, to come and follow you? Do you think I'm crazy?" Tong An'an was getting annoyed by Wang Ke's endless nagging.
"Nope. You’re not getting what I’m saying. Indeed, Se Yutian is more powerful than me; this is something I do agree with. But think about it, what have you been doing for Se Yutian? No, more specifically, what has Se Yutian ordered you to do so far?" Wang Ke asked in reply.
"What do you mean?" Tong An'an was still having trouble getting the idea.
"If I'm not mistaken, you’ve been working for Se Yutian all this time. He sent you to work as a double agent to act as Zi Bufan's subordinate. Then, Zi Bufan sent you to work undercover at Divine Dragon Island. Or rather, Zi Bufan wants you to spy on Zhu Hongyi. After that, while doing spy work on the island, Se Yutian gave you a mission to act against the Sacred Child and the Demon Sovereign, did he not?" Wang Ke asked.
"You knew everything?" Tong An'an was shocked.
"Do I even need to guess? Your life’s trajectory is clear, right before my eyes! You are like a ball, being kicked over here and there! Zhu Hongyi, Zi Bufan, and Se Yutian, all of them were using you! They only considered you a good tool! Once you do something wrong, they’ll discard you without batting an eye! And that is because they see you with contempt!" said Wang Ke as he spun his angle.
"You... You’re just babbling nonsense!" Tong An'an retorted with a worried look.
"You know very well whether I'm talking nonsense or not! Look at yourself; after so many years, you’re still a spy who can't even show his face anywhere. The highest you’ve achieved was to merely become a Chapter Lord, not even a Branch Lord!" Wang Ke sighed.
"The time is not ripe yet, but I will be one soon!" Tong An'an objected, gritting his teeth.
"The Demon Sovereign died more than a month ago; have any of the Parlor Lords nominated you? You were sent after Zhu Yan this time around, but that's a task a hitman would do! Se Yutian is just using you for the dirty work! He also gave you an assassination task before this, to kill me back in God Wang Tower. You should know best what would happen if you were exposed; they would deny all connections to you. Even if you managed to kill me, that would only be taken into account for your past mistakes; it wouldn’t be taken as a merit to promote you! In their eyes, aren't you just a hitman, or a spy? They are totally oblivious to your powerful socializing capabilities!" Wang Ke explained.
"Socializing capabilities?" Tong An'an muttered with a frown.
“Yeah. Look, the Parlor Lords have their own agendas and don't see eye to eye. I'm sure that a Parlor Lord's subordinates would be at odds with the ones under another lord, wouldn’t they? Such a fragmented structure in the demonic sect is easy for the Demon Sovereign to control. However, each of them seeking their separate agendas also equates to a great amount of internal resource costs! Others can only choose one camp, but you? Don’t you have friends in every camp? That's amazing! This is an extraordinary socializing capability! To have such a powerful talent overlooked; instead, they sent you out to work undercover and kill? Tsk tsk. What a waste of talent! It's really not worth it!" Wang Ke continued his brainwashing.
A tinge of pain appeared on Tong An'an's face.
"It’s no use. Only the powerful have a say in the demonic sect! I'm not powerful enough. But given how highly the Parlor Lord regards me, I already…!" said the latter as if consoling himself.
Wang Ke rebutted, "Regards you highly? You call that being held in high regard? He's just using you as cannon fodder! Tong An'an, are you willing to be cannon fodder? You want authority, but you can't get any! You want money, but you can't get it either! And you risk your neck each time you expose yourself!"
His words made Tong An'an's face turn grim. "It hasn’t been that dangerous!" Tong An'an said.
"Not that dangerous? Try remembering what happened! If not for me, do you think you could live until now? If it were a ruthless person wanting to kill you each time you were caught, how many times would you have died already? Let alone others, how many times have you fallen into my hands? How many times would you have died had I wanted you dead?" Wang Ke asked.
Tong An'an counted with his fingers. And he fell silent for quite a while.
"See?" Wang Ke continued, "Se Yutian, Zi Bufan and the others don't even care if you’re alive! Neither have they given you a respectable position nor a prosperous outlook. Do you really think it's worth risking your life for them all the time?" Tong An'an was silent.
Meanwhile, Long Yu was giving Wang Ke a strange look. Are you trying to make him rebel?
"One thing you must know is how a person can bring out his greatest value! And that is to meet a superior who truly appreciates him! Only when you meet someone who can truly appreciate you… that is when your rise to power will become unstoppable! Then you can truly crystalize your hopes and dreams! Or else darkness will loom over your life forever! Your future will be as murky as a swamp! Everything you do would be a mistake! Don't you feel it's really not worth it?" Wang Ke peppered the other with ideas and questions.
"I…!" Tong An'an began to doubt his motivations.
Wang Ke continued, emulating a genuine stance, "Life is the most precious thing to a person; you only live once, after all. This is the way to live: when the time comes to recount the past, there wouldn’t be any regrets for wasting years away, nor would there be shame for having no accomplishments. And so, upon one’s last breath, you can finally say that your entire life force and energies were devoted to the most valuable career in the whole world!"
Long Yu looked at Wang Ke, wide-eyed. Your bluff is soaring through the heavens! Tong An'an was merely unwilling to swear allegiance to you, yet you described him as though he’s worth nothing? How did your stupid God Wang Company became the most valuable career in the whole wide world?