Universal Cultivation had been underway for some time now. These elders, who should have been first to set foot on the cultivation path, clearly understood what called to their hearts — so why were they迟迟不肯迈出这一步?
Because they had no choice.
In the past, so long as there were no major consequences, they could leverage their status to secure certain advantages for their families, descendants, and those around them.
But after attaining clarity of heart — could they still convince themselves to do it?
What they would have to choose then wouldn't be the benefits they could reap for themselves, but the benefits they could bring to the nation.
Take an example.
They could use their position, their connections, to seat a junior from their network in a particular post.
That junior certainly had the ability to sit in that position.
But was there no one better suited to it?
未必.
"呵."
Skyler Quinn gave a light scoff, a hint of mockery in his gaze.
In the end, it was all about those things.
Boring beyond words.
"As you say, the Black Rhino Armor summoner is merely the spark."
"They intend to use this to select a leader among the Espers."
"Theoretically, such a person could oversee all Espers, wielding enormous power and status."
Leo Swift could see what Skyler Quinn was getting at, but said nothing about it.
Some things were obvious to everyone — they weren't even hiding it. It was simply that no one had taken the initiative to bring it up.
Until now, there had been far too much to deal with.
Whether beast tides or mutant creatures appearing within the cities, it all demanded attention.
They had no energy left to busy themselves with politics.
Now, though peace had only just settled in for a spell,
Certain people were already beginning to stir with ambition.
"Esper Leader?"
"What a grand title."
A smile tugged at Skyler Quinn's lips — though what that smile actually conveyed was anyone's guess.
"What do you all think?"
"If you don't want any part of this, I can take it up the chain."
"As long as none of you are interested, no amount of talk from them will matter."
What needed to be said, Leo Swift had said.
Now it was Skyler Quinn's call.
If Skyler Quinn and the others weren't willing, there was no point to the selection process.
At the end of the day, in this day and age, it all came down to talent and strength.
Did they not know that Skyler Quinn and the others' talents surpassed even those of the other First Sequences by a margin?
Of course they knew. They simply had every reason to talk themselves into it, and there was no more time to wait.
The path of cultivation lay before their eyes — of course they wanted to walk it.
This was their last chance to secure advantages for their families and descendants. If this failed, they wouldn't have the patience to wait any longer. They'd step onto the cultivation path and be done with it.
"No."
"Let them proceed."
Skyler Quinn shook his head, his voice mild.
"I have only one condition."
"Strength."
"If they don't have the strength to defeat me, I will not acknowledge any so-called Esper Leader."
If they could defeat him, then it didn't matter which family or faction they came from.
"Military merit, character, knowledge, accomplishments."
"I don't know what standards they'll use for the selection — but I will not acknowledge someone weaker than me as the so-called Esper Leader."
At present, the only person Skyler Quinn genuinely, from the bottom of his heart, recognized as fit to lead the Espers was Brandon White.
It was just that Brandon White was a god, and his concerns extended far beyond华夏.
Skyler Quinn was different. His vision was narrow — narrow enough to encompass only the ground beneath his feet. Anything beyond that一分 — he wouldn't spare it a thought.
He had no stake in whether lands outside these borders survived or perished, no concern for the disasters they faced. He cared nothing for how the Spiritual Energy Revival had changed their lives, how many had died for it.
Selecting an Esper Leader — Skyler Quinn didn't object to it. Whatever their motives.
Prestige, profit, whatever.
He didn't care about any of it.
Because none of it — aside from becoming fodder for public discussion — would affect their lives.
The only exception was Brandon White. Beyond him, anyone who wanted Skyler Quinn and the others to acknowledge them as fit to lead had to possess the strength to defeat them.
If their strength was insufficient, then no matter how outstanding they were in other regards, it was simply impossible.
After all, Skyler Quinn and the others were already exceptional to begin with.
In every single way.
—
Vantora City Spiritual Energy Bureau.
"An Esper… Leader?"
"You're not seriously telling me this."
Firewing didn't get it.
Neither the idea of selecting an Esper Leader, nor the fact that they thought they could win the title against them.
She couldn't wrap her mind around either one.
The move to select an Esper Leader was, in Firewing's eyes, completely unnecessary.
Every First Sequencekeeper had their own assigned city. When beast tides struck, they were the first to clear the beasts in their own city before responding to orders to aid neighboring ones.
In peacetime, they were all in deep cultivation.
What was the point of selecting an Esper Leader?
The Leader would still have to cultivate themselves.
The missions they executed would still be the dangers detected and assigned from above.
The so-called authority to command all Espers — that was purely symbolic.
The First Sequences already had authority over other Espers, didn't they?
This would just add one more First Sequence on top of that.
But the First Sequences mostly stayed in their own cities, and support types like Ethan Yates and Charles Longfellow had their own chains of command anyway.
Unless it was a mission requiring all First Sequences to act together, this authority would be meaningless nine times out of ten.
So — was this really just about so-called prestige, and whatever value that prestige carried?
Firewing shrugged.
She really had no talent for this sort of thing.
But even if there was some value to it that she couldn't see, Firewing didn't think their scheming would succeed anyway.
Where did they get the confidence to think they could defeat her?
The Black Rhino Armor?
The Five Element Armors were indeed powerful, and the Black Rhino Armor's performance within the tokusatsu series was impressive enough. But Skyler Quinn wasn't Xi Nuo — he wouldn't show any mercy.
Besides, Skyler Quinn had more than just the Fire Dragon Armor.
If someone absolutely had to be named Esper Leader, Skyler Quinn would be the most suitable choice.
Setting aside that cheating freak Brandon White, Skyler Quinn's strength should be in a tier of its own.
At least, as of now, Firewing had never seen anyone actually defeat Skyler Quinn.
Not even Firewing and Chen Bing.
"But that's the past now. These days, it's not so clear-cut."
Between Firewing's fingers, a Clow Card materialized.
On its uppermost face, the sun motif bore a single character — 镜.
Mirror.
The Mirror Card, symbolizing a period of deep self-reflection, held the power to replicate people or objects.
Strictly speaking, given enough spiritual energy, Firewing could replicate several Skyler Quinns — and even a Brandon White wasn't necessarily out of reach.
But that was the stuff of fantasy. Who knew how much spiritual energy it would take to replicate a Brandon White?
Clow Reed himself couldn't be replicated, after all.
(This chapter is complete.)
———
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