“His Highness has arrived!”
Before Perfected Spirit Pine could respond, a loud announcement rang out.
The cultivators in the square all turned to look.
The Crown Prince’s retinue was slowly making its way down the passage from the east. Six snow-white steeds pulled a dark-colored phoenix carriage.
The wheels rolled over the bluestone pavement with a deep rumble, while the crimson-gold tassels hanging beneath the carriage eaves swayed gently in the wind.
Chen Busha rode at the very front on a tall horse. Golden Feather Guards followed on either side of the carriage, their armor gleaming with a chilling, murderous luster beneath the sunlight.
Everyone’s expressions instantly turned solemn.
It was hardly common for the Crown Prince to visit the Celestial Master Manor in person.
Although the manor’s headquarters was located in the Divine Capital, it had its own rules and dignity. Whenever the Crown Prince came, he traveled lightly and discreetly, without using a grand procession to impose upon others.
The scale of today’s retinue clearly meant this was no ordinary visit between friends.
As the phoenix carriage slowly came to a halt at the edge of the square, everyone’s gaze focused on the carriage door, concealed behind crimson-gold brocade curtains.
A female official stepped forward and gently lifted the curtain.
Everyone unconsciously quieted their breathing.
Luo Zhao stepped out of the carriage.
Today, she was not wearing her usual black-and-gold court robes. Instead, she had changed into the dark-colored everyday attire of the Crown Prince.
The sleeves were narrow, and a jade belt cinched her waist. There were no unnecessary ornaments anywhere on her person, save for a tiny, concealed phoenix emblem embroidered at the collar.
She looked capable without losing any of her dignity, and her brows and eyes retained that same cold, proud, and solitary air.
As her gaze swept across the square, it lingered a breath or two longer in one particular direction than elsewhere.
Lin Qingyan stood on the stone steps, while Gu Chengyin stood in the center of the square.
Luo Zhao’s gaze paused for an instant on Lin Qingyan’s face before falling upon Gu Chengyin.
It remained on him a little longer than it had on Lin Qingyan, yet her expression held nothing superfluous.
It was merely a faint, official glance.
Gu Chengyin had expected that the matter of his initiating the Taihe Challenge would provoke a response. He had even known that the Luo Emperor would take action.
But even Luo Zhao had not expected her father to support the matter.
She had originally thought that His Majesty would come up with some new countermeasure. She had even considered whether she should lend Gu Chengyin a hand.
Yet the imperial decree ultimately put an end to that idea.
Not only did the emperor support Gu Chengyin’s decision to initiate the Taihe Challenge, he had also ordered her, the Crown Prince, to oversee it.
What difference was there between this and asking the plaintiff to preside over the case?
Though somewhat surprised, Luo Zhao had carefully considered the matter on her way to the Celestial Master Manor.
Based on her understanding of her father, the greatest reason this emperor had chosen to support the Taihe Challenge was likely that Gu Chengyin had used his true name when swearing his oath.
Luo Zhao raised her voice. “The Taihe has issued a decree.”
Those four words were like someone plucking an invisible string in the air.
All the cultivators slightly lowered their heads.
The Celestial Master Manor stood beyond the reach of worldly authority, but by convention, the reigning emperor was the current Taihe.
The emperor’s imperial decree was therefore the decree of the Taihe.
To the cultivators of the Celestial Master Manor, it was not the emperor they acknowledged, but the office of Taihe.
Though the Golden Core enshrined masters did not lower their heads, they did lower their eyes slightly as a sign of respect for the Taihe.
Only Gu Chengyin did not bow his head.
He stood in the center of the square with his hands clasped behind his back, faint wrinkles still visible in his robes.
His gaze met Luo Zhao’s openly, without the slightest evasion.
He was a newcomer to the Celestial Master Manor, but he was also the one who had initiated the Taihe Challenge.
One who challenged the Taihe was not required to bow before the Taihe.
Luo Zhao did not take offense.
Yet the corners of her lips twitched faintly, as though seeing Gu Chengyin had reminded her of something else.
Then she withdrew her gaze, unfurled the bright-yellow silk decree in her hands, and spoke in a clear voice:
“Gu Chengyin, as the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, is a member of the imperial court. His joining the Celestial Master Manor does not conform to established regulations.”
“However, having sworn his oath with his true name, his innocent heart is witnessed by Heaven and Earth.”
“Upon entering the Celestial Master Manor, he immediately initiated the Taihe Challenge. His ambition is truly capable of swallowing mountains and rivers.”
Luo Zhao paused. Her gaze swept over the heads of the crowd before settling on the figure in the center of the square.
This portion of the decree contained a great deal of information.
First, it pointed out Gu Chengyin’s identity in the imperial court. Then it mentioned that he had sworn his oath with his true name, before referring to the Taihe Challenge.
This was telling everyone that the Luo Emperor knew about the matter—and that he regarded it with great importance.
Then Luo Zhao raised her voice slightly, as though making a declaration to the entire Celestial Master Manor.
“If Gu Chengyin can truly defeat every enshrined master of the Celestial Master Manor, then why should the position of Taihe not be ceded to you?”
The moment these words were spoken, the cultivators who had kept their heads slightly lowered raised their eyes one after another, their gazes filled with shock.
Everyone knew that Gu Chengyin was determined to challenge the Taihe.
But for the Luo Emperor to personally say, “Why should the position not be ceded to you?”—this was no longer mere tacit approval. It was a promise.
The reigning Taihe had personally promised: if you win, the position is yours.
Such a promise had never before appeared in the history of the Celestial Master Manor. The cultivators who supported the Taihe Challenge were naturally invigorated.
But those who had been counting on the Luo Emperor to intervene and stop this farce now wore grim expressions.
“However, the Celestial Master Manor is the foundation of our Great Luo.”
“To avoid needless casualties, the contest shall be conducted by testing one’s Dao-heart, as Gu Chengyin himself proposed.”
“Furthermore, the Crown Prince shall oversee this Taihe Challenge, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs shall administer it in full.”
By the time Luo Zhao reached this point, her tone had once again returned to its usual calmness.
Bringing the Taihe Challenge under the supervision of the Crown Prince and the administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs made its significance self-evident.
From this moment onward, the Taihe Challenge initiated by Gu Chengyin was no longer an internal affair of the Celestial Master Manor.
It had become an officially recognized and properly sanctioned contest of Great Luo.
“Thus decreed.”
As these two words fell, the bright-yellow silk decree slowly folded shut in Luo Zhao’s hands.
The cultivators in the square exchanged bewildered looks. For a moment, none of them knew how to react.
The Luo Emperor had not only failed to stop the Taihe Challenge—he had actually supported it.
Moreover, he had specified that it would take the form Gu Chengyin had just proposed: a contest of Dao-hearts.
This was no longer tacit approval. In full view of the Celestial Master Manor, he had built Gu Chengyin a fair and honorable arena.
Luo Zhao’s gaze swept over the crowd once more.
This time, it passed over Gu Chengyin so quickly that it barely lingered.
In the end, her eyes settled on Perfected Spirit Pine.
“Perfected Spirit Pine, Father has entrusted me with overseeing this Taihe Challenge.”
“Do any of the enshrined masters have objections?”
By now, the easygoing expression Perfected Spirit Pine had worn while watching the spectacle had long since vanished from his round face.
He secretly wiped away a bead of sweat, cursing his luck inwardly.
He had stepped forward earlier merely to ease the tension a little. Yet in the blink of an eye, Fairy Jingzhe had nearly hacked him to pieces with her eyes.
And now the Crown Prince had singled him out to ask for his opinion.
He was only here to watch the show—how had he suddenly become the spokesman for all the enshrined masters of the Celestial Master Manor?
But when he met Luo Zhao’s cool, clear eyes, Perfected Spirit Pine understood.
She was not asking for his opinion alone. She was asking for the stance of all the enshrined masters.
If he misspoke by even half a word here, he could very well become the crack between the imperial court and the Celestial Master Manor.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
