The actions of Great Qin this time shocked countless forces, but more were angered. Two sects were directly exterminated by Li Xiaotian, their methods were too ruthless.
"Is Great Qin trying to force civil war among humans? To become a laughingstock for the demon race? Exterminating two sects, how mighty!"
Someone questioned. They could understand Great Qin wanting to reclaim lost territories, but annihilating the Beast Taming Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect was unacceptable.
"They also defended humanity in ancient times, contributing to human affairs. The current humans might be their descendants. Is this how you repay those who protected you?"
Incessant questions were raised. It could be said that some forces were fearful, fearing they would be the next to be annihilated by Great Qin.
"Great Qin is mighty, but their methods this time were indeed a bit cruel. Two sects were simply wiped out; they were, after all, contributors to humanity."
Ordinary people spoke, feeling happy about Great Qin's strong actions, but somewhat disagreeing with the outcome, finding Great Qin's methods too overbearing and cruel.
"Indeed, although Great Qin wishes to unify, if they resort to such indiscriminate killing, we cannot accept it, even if we are people of Great Qin."
"You understand nothing! Don't speak nonsense if you don't understand. Have you considered why, out of five sects, Great Qin only annihilated two? If Great Qin were cruel, they would have annihilated all five!"
Someone stood on Great Qin's side, believing there must be reasons unknown to outsiders.
Online, all sorts of opinions circulated. Many people of Great Qin felt their current lives were good and didn't want Great Qin to reclaim lost territories.
Others, living in dire straits, facing the threat of death daily, spoke favorably of Great Qin, hoping for their swift liberation.
Until Great Qin's official website released a statement and some videos, everyone fell silent.
"Beast Taming Sect occupied Zheng City and used Zheng City's human population to feed their sect's demonic beasts. Over two million people in Zheng City were buried within the bellies of demonic beasts! They treated our Great Qin citizens like ants. Their entire lineage shall be exterminated!"
"Heavenly Fire Sect, after occupying Qing City, treated human lives as worthless. They implemented ancient systems in Qing City, where all humans were slaves to the Heavenly Fire Sect. Those who did not kneel when encountering Heavenly Fire Sect disciples were executed on the spot. Moreover, Heavenly Fire Sect disciples forcibly abducted civilian women in Qing City. If resisted, their entire families were killed, forcing women into submission. Over four hundred thousand people in Qing City died at the hands of the Heavenly Fire Sect. Such a sect deserves annihilation!"
"Qingshan Sect occupied Shancheng. Although some of their disciples were arrogant, they did not engage in indiscriminate killing. The War Department entered Shancheng, executed those whose hands were stained with human blood, and in consideration of Qingshan Sect's lack of major transgressions, they were conferred the title of Great Qin's Qingshan Sect, forever guarding Shancheng for Great Qin!"
"..."
On Great Qin's official website, the situations of the five sects were listed one by one. Accompanying these were videos of Zheng City residents retaliating against Heavenly Fire Sect disciples.
When people clicked on the videos, they were stunned by the scenes within. The ordinary people of Zheng City appeared more ferocious than demonic beasts at that moment.
"Convey the Dragon King's words: Great Qin only seeks to reclaim lost territories and improve Great Qin's entire construction system. We will establish martial arts academies and use the strength of a nation to enhance the power of Great Qin's people."
"Great Qin only kills those who deserve to be killed. If there are sects like the Beast Taming Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect, Great Qin has only one attitude: exterminate their entire lineage!"
At this moment, many people of Great Qin in various locations felt a surge of excitement. Great Qin was still the Great Qin of old, coming to save them.
Others were deeply shocked, having never imagined the actions of the Beast Taming Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect. As fellow humans, why would they disregard human lives?
Simultaneously, some resurgent forces fell silent. The actions of the Beast Taming Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect truly deserved heavenly wrath and widespread resentment; their deaths were not unwarranted.
In fact, many of them knew that resurgent forces had no affection for the humans of this era, thus they utterly disregarded the lives of this generation's humans.
Yet, even so, many sects maintained a degree of restraint and did not engage in indiscriminate killing.
However, some sects immediately became panicked, as their actions were likely even more excessive than those of the Beast Taming Sect.
"All sects are forbidden from indiscriminately killing humans. Otherwise, this old Daoist will not mind acting on behalf of Heaven before Great Qin!"
Dao Xuan directly issued a statement, which was spread online. Previously, he had some difficulty understanding why Li Xiaotian had annihilated the Beast Taming Sect, but now he understood. If he were Li Xiaotian, he would have made the same choice.
"Well done! If Great Qin encounters such sects in the future, you may seek assistance from my Sword Pavilion disciples!"
Jian Chen spoke, his heart filled with intense killing intent, wishing he could single-handedly investigate all sects within Great Qin with his sword.
"The Beast Taming Sect died too easily. They are humans, yet they are worse than beasts."
Some ordinary people commented, feeling sorrow for the people of Zheng City and harboring intense hostility towards the resurgent forces.
"I never imagined such places still existed. I thought these resurgent forces, despite their revival, would not be so cruel to us, after all, we are all human."
"They deserved to die. There are many more such sects. Great Qin, keep it up! I wish I could immediately become a martial artist and kill all these beasts."
At this moment, many sects fell silent. If they said any more, it would likely incite public outrage.
However, some sects still felt Great Qin's methods were excessive. In their view, ordinary ants dying was not a significant loss, and exchanging the lives of a city's populace for the strengthening of a sect was a worthwhile deal.
But at this moment, they dared not voice their opinions, as both the Dao Sect and Sword Pavilion had spoken. To have differing views now would be outright disrespect to the two magnates.
However, in secret, many forces began to contact each other, forming alliances and arranging their retreats.
At this time, Li Xiaotian and others had returned to the capital. Only a portion of their forces remained to guard the five newly occupied cities.
Great Qin's strength was still too weak. Although they currently held the advantage, they could not press their offensive to reclaim lost territories in one go, as this would force some sects into a corner, leading to drastic actions.
"Xiaotian, come with me, I have something good!"
As soon as Li Xiaotian returned to the capital, the Qin Lord sought him out, looking extremely excited.
"What good thing?" Li Xiaotian asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
The Qin Lord did not answer immediately but led Li Xiaotian away directly, instructing someone to notify the other Imperial Rank experts to gather in the east of the city.
The east of the city? Li Xiaotian's eyes flickered. The east of the city was currently the weapon research and development base of the War Department.
After the great changes in heaven and earth, the effectiveness of modern firearms had diminished compared to before. As long as one's strength reached the King Rank, firearms were basically no longer a threat.
Before Li Xiaotian's return, the Qin Lord had focused most of his efforts on the development and research of new weapons, which had been progressing slowly.
However, after the battle in the capital, Great Qin had obtained many demonic beast corpses. While the demonic beast blood and flesh were consumed by the soldiers of the War Department, all the demonic beast bones remained.
Some of these bones were given to sects like the Dao Sect and Sword Pavilion for refining artifacts, but there were still too many, and some were used for research, unexpectedly leading to astonishing breakthroughs.