Seeing that they had reached the main topic, Huang Zhengliang's expression straightened, and he spoke with earnest solemnity:
"Advisor Chen, the faction hopes that during the internal meetings of the advisory group, you can fight to secure a larger resource allocation quota for the Purist Faction."
In training martial artists at present, the resources required for the low- and mid-tier fighters were supplied by the faction's own industries. For high-tier martial artists, part of what was needed came from the immortality fissure beneath Liepi Gorge, while another part came from state allocations.
This latter portion was the lion's share.
All resources originating from the Ring of the World were uniformly allocated by the state.
Nominally, the body directing the allocations was the government, but in truth, the actual power of allocation lay in the hands of the advisory group. Only after the advisory group reached a decision would the government officially announce it.
When it came to resisting the outer world, the Purist Faction contributed immense effort and had made tremendous sacrifices in the past. Yet every time resources were allocated, what they received was merely just enough—barely meeting the faction's threshold, with a slight margin to spare, but not much.
After all, the total pool of resources was fixed. If one side received more, it meant another received less. The allocations given to the other factions hovered around the same line, making it appear generally even-handed.
Within the Purist Faction, however, this stirred immense resentment.
*We put forth the greatest effort and suffered such heavy sacrifices, so why should those who hide in the rear enjoy the exact same allocation rights as us? Were our sacrifices made for nothing?*
To be sure, the Purist Faction followed its own convictions and willingly stepped forward to resist otherworldly incursions, but having other factions sit back and reap the benefits without receiving any less made feelings of injustice inevitable.
In the past, because the Purist Faction held no significant advantage within the advisory group, they had simply endured it. Now that they had gained an advisor—and one clearly valued by Tianshu—they naturally sought the benefits they rightfully deserved.
Vice Chairman Zhu spoke up: "Advisor Chen, the Great Impact is imminent, and our preparations remain insufficient. Our greatest concern is whether our faction will still have an adequate supply of resources once the Great Impact arrives.
"We held numerous meetings over this, but the conclusions were not optimistic.
"When the time comes, if we cannot obtain resources promptly, our numbers will only dwindle as we fight. We must amass more strategic reserves in advance, which is why we hope to secure a larger quota from the advisory group."
Originally, they thought that if they could not secure more, they would simply have to economize now and stockpile what they could. They had not anticipated Chen Chuan becoming an advisor, which brought fresh hope on this front.
Thus, after these words were spoken, everyone present turned their eyes toward Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan was well aware that this was the core authority of the advisory group: wielding supreme martial power while simultaneously controlling the distribution of the highest-grade resources.
Through this leverage, the entire martial system of Great Shun could be driven and coordinated from the top down.
Looking at everyone, he gave an unequivocal answer on the spot: "Ever since the dawn of the new era, our faction has stood at the absolute forefront. In this impending world conflict, the party that contributes the most ought to receive the greatest support. Past distribution methods seemed equal on the surface, but they were far from fair.
"I will fight for a larger quota for our faction at the upcoming advisory group meeting."
The moment these words left his mouth, delighted expressions washed over every member of the Purist Faction.
At the beginning of this new year, the new round of allocation meetings had not yet taken place. If Chen Chuan joined forces with several other advisors, there was genuine hope of securing more resources than in prior years.
Huang Zhengliang offered his sincere thanks: "Advisor Chen, thank you very much."
Chen Chuan said, "It is nothing. I am a part of the Purist Faction as well. Chairman Huang, everyone, if there are any other matters, feel free to voice them. Today, we can resolve them together."
Huang Zhengliang nodded. With a slight gesture from him, Vice Chairman Zhu tapped his boundary credential, transmitting a dossier of documents to Chen Chuan. "Please take a look, Advisor Chen."
Instantly, a wealth of materials and images appeared before Chen Chuan.
With a solemn demeanor, Vice Chairman Zhu said, "The faction has been preparing for the Great Impact all along, and we have drafted many contingency plans for after it strikes.
"One of them is a plan anticipating that if local governments collapse in certain core cities where we have branches, our faction's personnel will swiftly step in to assume administrative functions, mobilizing all manpower and material resources to wage a prolonged resistance against entities from beyond the boundary."
Chen Chuan glanced over it and asked, "Vice Chairman Zhu, on what basis did you arrive at this assessment?"
"It is like this," Vice Chairman Zhu explained. "Upon entering the new era, once it was confirmed that the world had entered an era of absolute flux and that the two worlds were headed for a collision, the faction began preparing for the worst-case scenario.
"The Liepi Gorge guarded by our faction sits above one of the world's top three immortality fissures. Many conditions there indirectly mirror aspects of what will happen after the two worlds collide.
"We utilized that location to run several simulations.
"This included what would happen if a town completely sank into the environment on the other side. All participants in the simulation experiments were condemned criminals and inmates serving heavy sentences. Furthermore, we set up an identical experimental zone in the convergence zone.
"These experiments lasted thirty years in total. We employed three control groups, conducting continuous, staggered deployments and observations. Although the overall scale was limited, a certain level of continuity and comparability in the follow-up data was guaranteed."
After hearing his explanation, Chen Chuan examined the data provided. The contents were extraordinarily detailed, with thorough demonstrations covering various scenarios alongside corresponding contingency plans.
Among them was an extreme scenario: when the Great Impact arrived, because ordinary people would be unable to adapt to the sudden global fluctuations, a small portion would die, while another portion would fall into an unconscious state.
Since the vast majority of government officials were ordinary people, even with protective fields in place, their bodies would inevitably suffer, and the effects would persist for a period during which they would be unable to act or think normally.
Should external enemies invade under those conditions, it would be impossible to organize an effective defense.
This plan called for branches of the Purist Faction to swiftly step in and take over certain governmental functions to help navigate that stage. After all, from top to bottom, even the administrative staff in the Purist Faction had martial artist backgrounds, allowing them to adapt well to the discomfort caused by the clash of worlds.
After reviewing the essentials, Chen Chuan had Kaiyang check whether the government had conducted similar simulations. He was informed that the military had also run experiments along these lines, but their findings deviated somewhat from these; it was difficult to say which was correct.
He nodded and said, "Preparing for a rainy day is essential. From what I see, this plan was never disclosed to the government or the advisory group before?"
Vice Chairman Zhu said, "Because it is merely a simulation, we cannot be certain whether the actual situation following the Great Impact will unfold this way. Furthermore, we do not trust certain factions. Certain individuals may maintain close ties with beings from beyond the sky.
"If this plan proved truly effective and they moved to obstruct or sabotage it, all our preparatory efforts would have been in vain."
Chen Chuan nodded. "It seems we are in agreement on this point."
Huang Zhengliang looked at him. "Advisor Chen, by that you mean...?"
Chen Chuan said, "This is precisely what I intended to address next." He looked around at everyone present. "I harbor the same distrust toward those people. Not just the Refined Practice School and the Convergence faction, but the entire conservative faction as well."
Zhan Jiyue had been watching them converse from below in a fairly relaxed mood, but hearing this, he was instantly struck dumb, growing so restless he could barely sit still. Was this something he was even allowed to hear?
Vice Chairman Zhu exchanged a glance with Huang Zhengliang and immediately spoke up: "Indeed. Those people have become our fetters. In the past, aside from handling complex internal affairs, Chairman Huang had to divert a portion of his energy just to stay on guard against them."
Huang Zhengliang sighed. "Healthy internal competition promotes progress among various groups. If only a single voice existed, achieving that would be impossible in the first place, and even if accomplished, it would not be a good thing.
"However, competition must be kept within reasonable bounds. If it exceeds those boundaries and leads to actions that harm the country and the world, then it becomes a malignant tumor from within."
Chen Chuan said, "Which is why internal self-cleansing is necessary."
Huang Zhengliang said, "Advisor Chen, we have actually tried in the past, but in many instances, to preserve the greater picture, we had no choice but to compromise.
"Moreover, Great Shun is not without enemies. Previously, there was the former imperial household in the convergence zone, and internationally, there are the Federation and various regional powers. We could not afford to squander everything on internal strife."
Chen Chuan said, "That was the past. Now, only half a year remains. We do not have the luxury of waiting slowly."
Huang Zhengliang straightened solemnly. "May I ask how you intend to proceed, Advisor Chen?"
Chen Chuan said, "Right now, there is a matter that requires the faction's cooperation."
Huang Zhengliang's face turned grave. "Please, speak."
Chen Chuan said, "I previously served as an administrative commissioner in the Ministry of National Security, so I have some understanding of the situation there.
"As the state security apparatus, the Ministry of National Security ought to defend national security and eliminate domestic perils. Yet those sitting at the top have failed to shoulder that responsibility.
"In my view, that is a dereliction of duty.
"If time permitted, we could make adjustments gradually. But now we no longer have time to wait. What is wrong must be set right."
Vice Chairman Zhu glanced at Chairman Huang again and ventured to ask, "Advisor Chen, is it only the Ministry of National Security? Would it be convenient to give us the full picture?"
If it were merely the Ministry of National Security, he felt Chen Chuan would not have raised it so deliberately; there had to be more to follow.
Chen Chuan said, "Taking back control of the Ministry of National Security is for the sake of utilizing the department's functions. The target I truly intend to purge is this organization."
Through his boundary credential, he transmitted a dossier to both Huang Zhengliang and Vice Chairman Zhu.
"The Ascending Ladder... As expected, his aim is directed at them."
Huang Zhengliang's face tightened involuntarily.
As chairman of the Purist Faction, he was well aware of many things unheard of by those below.
He even knew that people within the Purist Faction had been solicited, and certain high-ranking figures might have already joined this organization. That was why, when dealing with important factional affairs, he typically communicated one-on-one.
Dealing with this organization would be no easy feat; it touched upon countless facets, and if things went wrong, it could trigger a massive political earthquake.
If asked whether he was willing to cooperate, he was personally willing.
Today, they had brought their faction's request to the table, so even if treated as a condition of exchange, they had to support this matter no matter what. Besides, the matter itself benefited the Purist Faction.
However, he still harbored a reservation.
He ventured to ask, "Advisor Chen, regarding this matter... what is the attitude of those above?"
Chapter 1485