The Sims: I Open the Immortal Path for All Beings - Chapter 2029: 1974–1975: Sunk Costs Should Not Influence Major Decisions (Part 2)

Chapter 2029: Chapter 1974–1975: Sunk Costs Should Not Influence Major Decisions (Part 2)

As Tie Qianshan finished speaking, the field fell into silence, the divine light flickering intermittently in the eyes of the Emperor Monarchs, indicating they were communicating with one another.

…

“Ancestral Master, do you mean to say that those Taoist Monarchs are now intending to abandon the Five Old Lords and instead support the Human Race Five Emperors?” Wan Fayi was filled with surprise, his face full of incredulity.

Frankly, the outside world has been saying that Lord Divine Skill Miaoji and the others have paid a considerable price to support the Five Old Lords, and even due to overly favoring resource support, it has caused dissatisfaction among many True Monarchs within the Taoist School.

Only those within the true Taoist School know clearly that this is not false; indeed, after receiving the support of these Taoist Monarchs, the resources obtained by the Five Old Lords far exceed several times that of other True Monarchs; otherwise, they wouldn’t genuinely cause discontent from all sides.

This time, why, after the Five Old Lords’ move against the former Wood Virtue Star Lord failed, did such a backlash storm occur, is it not largely because the Five Old Lords occupied too many resources, drawing dissatisfaction from other Taoist True Monarchs.

Not troubled by scarcity but rather by unfairness, this is the true reason for the dissatisfaction among many True Monarchs of the Taoist School. But even so back then, those Taoist Monarchs ignored it, never reducing their support for the Five Old Lords.

Yet at this moment, Wan Fayi actually heard that several Taoist Monarchs plan to abandon the Five Old Lords and turn to support the Human Race Five Emperors, collaborating with them.

This not only shocked Wan Fayi greatly but also filled him with many emotions.

“Thunder and dew both come from above; what others can give you, they can also take back.” Yu Zhenzi said with a cold smile. He didn’t find this surprising.

He felt that Wan Fayi was still too naive, or perhaps having grown up in the lenient environment of the Shenxiao Sect, lacked real strength.

Everything carries a cost, the existence of the Five Old Lords itself was for the purposes of Lord Divine Skill Miaoji, which is also why they were able to receive such substantial support.

And since their existence now cannot bring sufficient returns for these Taoist Monarchs and instead may cause losses and impact, it’s natural for these Taoist Monarchs to decisively abandon the other side.

This is true rationality, starting from a standpoint that aligns with their interests.

“But these Taoist Monarchs have paid such a high price to cultivate the Five Old Lords, just to abandon them so easily?” Wan Fayi did not understand.

It should be known that even for these Taoist Monarchs, the resources and support they have invested in the Five Old Lords over the years have been at considerable cost, could they let go so easily?

“I teach you one thing: sunk costs do not partake in significant decisions.” Pei Xuanjing said with a smile.

“Sunk costs do not partake in significant decisions?” Wan Fayi pondered this statement with a complex expression.

Originally puzzled about the whole affair, after hearing these words, it was as if he saw a ray of light in the darkness, grasping the true answer.

Yu Zhenzi said softly from the side: “When making decisions, it is indeed necessary to consider many things, but sometimes it is also necessary to be decisive, not overly concerned with past gains and losses. Indeed, you have invested a great deal in something, reluctant to abandon. But who can guarantee that if you continue to persist, you won’t lose more.”

Yu Zhenzi indeed thought highly of Wan Fayi, and had often guided him out of谜, wishing for him to grow and one day take charge of the Shenxiao Sect.

But to take charge of a single force, besides one’s own strength and vision, one also needs a bit of ability, which is the ability to decisively make cuts.

Anything in heaven and earth is subject to change, even with many plans prepared in advance, the occurrence of certain unexpected events means certain things are destined not to succeed.

At such times, if you cannot make a cut due to over-investment, it’s easy to continue deeper into it, paying a greater price.

For Lord Divine Skill Miaoji and the others, it is undeniable that in the process of supporting the Five Old Lords, they’ve paid a considerable price, invested a significant amount of resources.

However, this doesn’t mean they should blindly continue down the path, always supporting the Five Old Lords, unable to give up. If truly so, what exactly is the relationship between these Taoist Monarchs and the Five Old Lords, who is the master and who is the subordinate?

The current situation has developed to this state, the Five Old Lords bearing so much negative impact also means their future has great limitations; continuing to increase support for the Five Old Lords at this time is not wise.

If there were no other options, then the continued investment by Lord Divine Skill Miaoji could be understood, as after all, they would have a chance to drag the entire Taoist School down with them, with a possibility of success at that time.

But with the Human Race Five Emperors watching closely, continuing to support the Five Old Lords would be an unwise choice.

At first glance, abandoning the Five Old Lords seems like abandoning their investments over the years, but if choosing the Human Race Five Emperors could achieve ultimate success, then for these Taoist Monarchs, the harvest would still be substantial.

And by leveraging the opportunity of cooperation with the Human Race Five Emperors, they could bring the entire Heterodox Alliance and Xuantian Sect aboard, introducing more power, reducing the resources they have to invest.

“But will Xuantian Sect agree?” Wan Fayi asked, puzzled.

Xuantian Sect was originally a supporter of the Human Race Five Emperors, and while joining hands with the Taoist Monarchs and the Heterodox Alliance indeed amplifies their support, the profits they gain would correspondingly decrease; this shouldn’t be a good choice, right?

Yu Zhenzi laughed: “Remember one point, only benefits that can truly be secured are real; if the benefits cannot materialize into reality, ultimately it’s just illusory.”

“Xuantian Sect supporting the Human Race Five Emperors alone, if they can push the Human Race Five Emperors to the position of Emperor of Heaven, indeed, it could bring unimaginable riches. But all this is based on the premise that Xuantian Sect can indeed accomplish pushing the Human Race Five Emperors to the position of Emperor of Heaven. Can Xuantian Sect do this alone?”

Xuantian Sect cannot!

Wan Fayi instantly understood the underlying meaning of Yu Zhenzi Ancestral Master, this is indeed lucrative, but the most crucial point is that Xuantian Sect simply cannot achieve this.

Indeed, the Human Race Five Emperors are strong candidates, but they are also facing fierce competition, particularly with the Taoist School being their biggest rival.

If the Taoist School was truly willing to spare no effort, even if they cannot elevate the Five Old Lords, blocking the success of Xuantian Sect and the Human Race Five Emperors would be easy.

Whether to choose to keep all the benefits to themselves, but with ninety-nine percent possibility of failure, or to concede a part of the benefits for a greater chance of success, the choice is clear.

This is not a probability issue, but a zero-sum game.

Because if rejected, Xuantian Sect would have no retreat, facing only two possible outcomes: success or failure.

Such a choice does not fit the style of Taoist Monarch Xuantian; they are not a black-and-white character.

Every Taoist Monarch has their own style; if it were Sword Emperor or some veteran Daoist Monarchs of the Demonic Way, their style might indeed be black-and-white most of the time, especially Sword Emperor, who is someone unswerving, and some Taoist Monarchs of the Demonic Way have moments of losing reason and betting everything.

But as a former leader of the Righteous Path of the human race, the working style of Taoist Monarch Xuantian is not one to easily break under pressure.

If truly the opposite side belonged to uncompromising way, only wanting to take everything for themselves, then conflict would have arisen when Pei Xuanjing rose to power, they would not face the current situation where the Xuantian Sect is losing dominance.

Moreover, who doesn’t know that the current strategy of the Xuantian Sect is nothing but posturing, using the Human Race Five Emperors as their bargaining chip.