The Leader, The Times Have Changed, The Solution to Break Through

"Someone outside? Watching us with hostility?"

Qin Yuzhi currently had no idea who these three people before her even were, her mind filled with little question marks.

It was just like falling asleep in a university lecture, waking up to attend another class—only to realize it wasn’t even her scheduled course...

"I see you’re completely clueless."

Li Mo wore a solemn expression, his voice low and grave.

"...Should I be?"

Before her slumber, Qin Yuzhi’s soul had suffered severe damage.

Now, after being forcibly "rebooted," she had woken up only to nearly witness what seemed like the revival of the First Immortal of the Nine Heavens—scaring her soul half out of her body.

At the moment, all she knew was her own identity, the reason for her long sleep, and some scattered fragments of memory.

"My name is Li Mo. It all started like this... During the New Year, Ying Bing had a strange dream."

Time was of the essence—the people outside might lose patience at any moment.

Li Mo kept it brief, first introducing himself and Ying Bing.

Then, starting from the Black Nian Beast, he quickly recounted their journey to this place.

"So you broke through the Cloud Dream Palace’s challenges and arrived here."

"But because of the anomalies in the Cloud Dream Palace, you attracted many other factions. They’ve also reached the Crystal Palace, just a step behind you, and are now blocking the exit?"

"I see..."

Listening to Li Mo’s explanation, this former leader of the Call of Demons Sect—or perhaps the Call of Divines Sect—roughly grasped the situation.

She frowned:

"But how could the anomalies in the Cloud Dream Palace draw so many factions here...?"

"Well, that’s not the main issue."

Li Mo glanced at the ceiling and cleared his throat:

"The problem now is that the people outside won’t let us leave so easily."

"Heh... Nothing to worry about."

Qin Yuzhi chuckled lightly, clasping her hands behind her back with an air of confidence, as if everything was under control.

Tall and imposing—only slightly shorter than the "ice block" (Ying Bing)—with her bangs covering one eye, she had initially seemed timid and nervous. Now, however, she actually looked like a sect leader of her stature.

"By the way, who exactly is out there?"

"The Crown Prince of the current dynasty... and his guardian."

"The Crown Prince?"

Hearing this, Qin Yuzhi’s expression didn’t change. She pulled out the Red Tile (Hongzhong) and unfolded it.

Wait, so this thing is actually a spatial treasure?

Li Mo couldn't help but mentally complain. Then he watched as she retrieved a bronze whip from it—eight-sided, each face engraved with different totems, exuding solemn dignity.

"This was bestowed by the founding emperor upon his ascension, a divine whip passed down to each successive leader of the Divine Sect."

"It can strike down foolish rulers above and treacherous officials below. Even the emperor himself would tremble before it!"

"That powerful?"

Young Li leaned back slightly, extending his hands with reverence.

This was practically the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands’ version of the Shangfang Sword (Imperial Authority Blade)!

"Absolutely authoritative."

Seeing Li Mo’s awestruck expression, Qin Yuzhi handed him the whip, reluctantly letting him touch and admire it.

"Tsk, the craftsmanship, the material..."

The moment Li Mo held it, he felt its substantial weight.

The intricate carvings were masterful, the material extraordinary—resembling the rare divine metals stored in his system’s inventory.

And... it faintly carried the aura of a treasure hammer?

But what puzzled him was that with such material and craftsmanship, this should have been a divine weapon. Why did it lack any spiritual essence?

Turning it over, Li Mo frowned:

"‘Made in the first year of Great Shang’s Tianwu era’... Which emperor bestowed this again?"

"Are you stupid? Obviously, Emperor Tianwu!"

Qin Yuzhi rolled her eyes—how could he not know even this?

Li Mo: "..."

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Qin Yuzhi asked, confused.

"You’re using a whip from the previous dynasty to strike the current dynasty’s Crown Prince?!"

Li Mo threw the whip to the ground with a clatter.

On second thought, it made sense. In the current Great Yu Dynasty, the emperor’s authority was supreme.

There was no way something like the Shangfang Sword would be entrusted to a sect that worshipped deities.

Seems the Great Shang Dynasty leaned more toward the "divine right of kings" concept...

"You—why did you throw my whip?!"

Qin Yuzhi was initially furious, but then she realized something was off.

"What do you mean ‘previous dynasty’...?"

"The Great Shang fell millennia ago! Now, the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands are unified under the Great Yu Dynasty, ruling the Four Seas and Eight Wastelands alongside the sects."

Leader, times have changed!

The sheer weight of this revelation struck Qin Yuzhi like lightning. Her legs trembled.

"The Great Shang is gone... How could the Great Shang be gone? That was the nation under her protection... Mandated by Heaven’s will..."

She muttered to herself, unconsciously glancing at Ying Bing.

Then, as if wary of something, she averted her gaze and sank deeper into confusion.

After a long silence, Qin Yuzhi finally snapped out of her daze:

"If it’s just the current Crown Prince and his guardian, and we’re inside the Cloud Dream Palace... I might still have a fighting chance."

"That man is the Crown Prince’s uncle, at the mid-stage of the Palm Mystic realm," Tian Miao interjected.

Ying Bing, staring toward the Crystal Palace’s exit, added softly: "He wields the Heavenly Tribulation Dao."

"A royal guardian... the Heavenly Tribulation Dao?"

Qin Yuzhi’s expression froze. Her Dream Dao was utterly suppressed by this path.

Not to mention the gap in cultivation.

"What about the other group?"

"Ah... The other group—well, you used to be their leader. A long, long time ago."

Li Mo coughed awkwardly, unsure how to phrase it.

"Oh? My Divine Sect still exists?!"

Qin Yuzhi’s eyes lit up, her posture straightening. She laughed:

"Of course! Our sect traces back to the Age of Gods and Demons. There’s no way it could’ve perished..."

"Correction—it’s the Demonic Sect now," Li Mo clarified.

Qin Yuzhi: "?"

Li Mo didn’t know what had transpired over the years but shared what he knew:

"The Call of Demons Sect is now infamous, its crimes too numerous to record. Every branch is full of scoundrels, especially the Hundred Beasts Hall—they’re ‘heartwarming’ even to their own members. Across the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, they’re universally despised."

"The Great Yu Dynasty has decreed that anyone joining the Call of Demons Sect will be executed upon discovery—no trial needed."

"If the Call of Demons Sect turned out this way, it’s likely ‘the fish rots from the head.’ If your identity is exposed, neither the sect nor the dynasty will spare you."

"Wha—?"

Qin Yuzhi collapsed to the floor, her gaze vacant, as if her soul had left her body.

Li Mo couldn’t bear it and added: "Though the Call of Demons Sect is evil, they’ve... sort of contributed to society?"

"Like what?"

"Speeding up the Great Yu Dynasty’s legislative progress—anti-fraud laws, anti-smuggling laws, laws against organ trafficking..."

"..."

Sect Leader Qin’s already slumped posture finally broke entirely.

Sitting curled up on the floor, hugging her knees, a dark cloud seemed to hover above her head. She probably wished she could crawl back into her coffin.

Seems like we can’t count on her.

BOOM—

Outside, thunder roared, blinding flashes of lightning illuminating the sky. The Crystal Palace trembled from the vibrations.

A destructive aura seemed to pierce through the walls, making everyone’s hair stand on end, filled with dread.

But it was precisely at the moment of that lightning strike—

Genius Li Mo had an epiphany!

"I’ve got a plan!"