The Master of Daluo

Luo Zhao’s gaze drifted toward the hall’s entrance. The doors stood open, and representatives from the other sects filled the space beyond.

Some huddled together, whispering among themselves. Others stood with their arms folded, watching with impassive expressions.

Some had schadenfreude glittering in their eyes, while others wore worried looks, apparently afraid that matters might spiral out of control.

But no matter what expression they wore, not a single one of them stepped forward to speak.

They were all waiting—waiting to see how the Heavenly Master’s Residence would respond to this move, and what the Sun and Moon Sect would do next.

They were waiting to see how this sudden challenge would ultimately end.

That was why Luo Zhao was not concerned with the sect representatives watching from the sidelines.

Her gaze passed over the crowd and settled on several figures concealed behind the corridor pillars, in inconspicuous corners shrouded in shadow.

They made no unnecessary movements and released no conspicuous fluctuations of spiritual power.

Yet Luo Zhao recognized them at a glance.

They were the Heavenly Master’s Residence’s Golden Core retainers.

Every last one of them had come.

All of the Golden Core retainers of the Divine Capital’s Heavenly Master’s Residence had arrived without exception.

And that was only the ones she could see. There would only be more among those hidden from view.

The Golden Core retainers had not stormed into the hall in a show of force, nor had they aggressively stationed themselves in front of anyone.

Instead, they had silently concealed themselves, like hunting leopards lying in wait among the grass, quietly waiting for their prey to reveal an opening.

Luo Zhao’s heart stirred.

The Golden Core retainers had always treated her respectfully, but that was largely because of her status as the heir apparent and their regard for Lin Qingyan. In private, they actually had little contact with her.

Yet now, at the moment she was facing a genuine threat, every one of these reclusive Golden Core cultivators had appeared.

This showed that, when it came to matters of right and wrong, the Heavenly Master’s Residence stood in complete unity.

At the same time, everyone understood perfectly that today’s challenge was not a simple verbal dispute. It was a carefully orchestrated political offensive.

Even so, the Heavenly Master’s Residence would not fire the first shot.

That was a matter of principle.

As the legitimate institution responsible for maintaining order in Great Luo’s cultivation world, it could not give anyone cause for criticism under any circumstances.

If the Heavenly Master’s Residence struck first, it would fall right into the Sun and Moon Sect’s trap.

They could then portray themselves as the oppressed underdogs, place the Heavenly Master’s Residence on the opposing side of public opinion, and incite every sect that harbored resentment toward the Heavenly Master’s Residence to rise against it.

Therefore, the Heavenly Master’s Residence absolutely could not fire the first shot.

But neither would it allow the Sun and Moon Sect to fire a second.

Not firing the first shot was a matter of principle.

Not firing the second would be weakness.

If even one of the Sun and Moon Sect’s Golden Core cultivators dared to make any suspicious movement—even a single aggressive gesture or the slightest leak of killing intent—the Heavenly Master’s Residence’s Golden Core retainers would immediately swarm them.

They would use overwhelming numbers and crushing strength to extinguish the threat before it could take root.

When that happened, no matter how fiercely the Sun and Moon Sect stirred up public opinion, the Heavenly Master’s Residence would remain invincible.

Luo Zhao understood this delicate balance.

Fang Nu understood it as well.

When he saw Luo Zhao withdraw her gaze from outside the hall and fall silent, the corners of Fang Nu’s mouth curved upward.

Of course he knew that the Heavenly Master’s Residence’s Golden Core retainers had surrounded the area.

He also knew that he and the two elders were currently being targeted by dozens of cultivators at the same level.

The moment they made the slightest move, a thunderous combined attack would descend upon them.

But Fang Nu was not nervous in the least, because he had never intended to fight.

In terms of sheer strength, the three Golden Core cultivators sent by the Sun and Moon Sect had certainly revealed the sect’s deep foundations.

But confronting the Heavenly Master’s Residence head-on in the Divine Capital would be no different from throwing an egg at a rock.

So Fang Nu had chosen a different approach.

He would raise the politically correct banner of class discrimination and launch an offensive through public opinion.

The Heavenly Master’s Residence was powerful, was it not? It had plenty of Golden Core cultivators, did it not?

Fine, then. Go ahead and attack.

The moment it did, he would cry out.

Representatives from all the other cultivation sects were watching. Without just cause, would the Heavenly Master’s Residence dare touch him?

That was the trump card each side held.

The Heavenly Master’s Residence’s trump card was force.

With countless Golden Core retainers funded by the resources of all Great Luo, it possessed enough strength to crush any faction that refused to submit.

The Sun and Moon Sect’s trump card was public opinion.

It would exploit the resentment the sects of the cultivation world had accumulated against the Heavenly Master’s Residence over the years, present itself as the representative fighting for their rights, and force the Heavenly Master’s Residence to hesitate before acting.

When both sides held trump cards powerful enough to prevent the other from acting rashly, they could only rely on their words to determine the winner.

At present, this heir apparent had some ability—but not much.

Fang Nu silently assessed Luo Zhao’s performance.

Her ability to respond under pressure was decent. Unfortunately, she still lacked experience. Otherwise, she would not have chosen to stall for time.

Yes, Fang Nu had seen through Luo Zhao’s intentions at a glance.

But what difference would it make even if she delayed until Lin Qingyan returned?

Fang Nu gave a dismissive sneer inwardly.

He admitted that Lin Qingyan was indeed extraordinarily powerful, invincible among Golden Core cultivators. No one in the entire cultivation world could defeat her.

But fists could not solve the current situation.

Even if Lin Qingyan returned right now and used overwhelming strength to crush them, it would only make matters worse.

Such a course of action would not convince anyone. Instead, it would further damage the Heavenly Master’s Residence’s prestige and diminish Luo Zhao’s authority.

So even though Fang Nu had seen through Luo Zhao’s attempt to stall, he was in no hurry.

The advantage was his. The initiative was his. The pressure was on Luo Zhao.

No matter how long she delayed, how she changed the subject, or how she used evasive verbal maneuvers to run down the clock, sooner or later she would have to give the Heavenly Master’s Residence a definite answer regarding its discrimination against the sects.

That was the true purpose of today’s challenge.

It was an ideological struggle that had been brewing for a long time.

The Sun and Moon Sect wanted to undermine the Heavenly Master’s Residence’s authority at its roots, break its control over the cultivation world, and transform the sects from those being governed into the ones who made the rules.

Every word Fang Nu spoke here today did not represent his personal opinion.

He represented all the cultivation sects that harbored resentment toward the Heavenly Master’s Residence.

Cultivators should be the true masters of Great Luo.

Fang Nu was merely their spokesman, their vanguard, their scout sent to test the road.

And today, the stone he had thrown to test that road had to make a resounding impact.

That was why, from beginning to end, Fang Nu had never regarded Luo Zhao or Lin Qingyan as the true opposition.

The person he was genuinely wary of was the one in the warm chamber.

As the Sun and Moon Sect’s vice sect master, Fang Nu had tried countless times to challenge the Heavenly Master’s Residence’s authority through various means.

He had attempted to secure greater autonomy and room for development for the cultivation sects.

But each time, the same person had crushed him completely.

That person was the current Taihe of the Heavenly Master’s Residence—Emperor Luo.

What was most frightening was that Emperor Luo never relied on schemes or devious tricks.

Everything he did was an open and aboveboard stratagem.

So open and aboveboard that, even when one knew there was a pit ahead, one still had no choice but to jump into it.

He had forced the entire cultivation world into a corner so thoroughly that no one could even turn around.

Even now, recalling the sensation of being driven step by step into a dead end by such fair and upright methods was enough to send a chill down Fang Nu’s spine.