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So the biggest concern behind Fang Nu’s move this time was whether Emperor Luo would personally step in.

He had gone over it countless times, preparing more than a dozen contingencies, most of them aimed specifically at Emperor Luo.

But now, it seemed that the emperor had no intention of getting involved.

Every word Fang Nu had spoken had been delivered straight to Emperor Luo’s face.

If Emperor Luo truly wanted to intervene, he should have shown some indication by now. Yet he hadn’t.

The imperial edict had said that the Crown Princess would oversee the matter, and Emperor Luo had truly left everything to Luo Zhao?

Fang Nu had no idea why Emperor Luo trusted Luo Zhao so much.

But as far as he was concerned, as long as Emperor Luo stayed out of it, the victor had already been decided—

“Some people have awfully loud voices. So loud, in fact, that they’ve drowned out all the people under Heaven.”

Just then, a voice drifted lazily in from outside the hall.

It instantly dispersed the tense, frozen atmosphere within.

The moment she heard that familiar voice, Luo Zhao shot to her feet.

All her pretenses collapsed in an instant. She was like a withered seedling that had been scorched beneath the sun for far too long, suddenly blessed with a downpour. From the inside out, she brimmed with fresh vitality.

Luo Zhao even forgot that she was still confronting Fang Nu, and that countless eyes were watching her every move.

The only thing she wanted to do now was run toward the source of that voice.

To throw herself into that person’s arms and pour out all her grievances and pressure in one breath.

But Luo Zhao was, after all, the Crown Princess. She managed to hold herself back.

She did not actually run over. She merely stood there, gazing hopefully toward the hall entrance.

The light from outside was reflected in her phoenix eyes. At last, she saw the most familiar figure emerge unhurriedly from the crowd.

Only then did the massive stone that had hung suspended in Luo Zhao’s heart for so long finally crash to the ground, breaking into fine dust.

She had delayed things this long precisely for this moment—for him to return.

Even if Lin Qingyan came back now, there would be nothing she could do.

It wasn’t that Lin Qingyan was not strong enough. This situation simply could not be broken through force.

Fang Nu was using a politically correct public-opinion offensive. It was an ideological battlefield that the Celestial Master’s Residence was least equipped to handle.

No matter how fast Lin Qingyan’s golden lightning was—whether it could split mountains or tear through the void—it could never cleave apart the towering hat of class discrimination.

In fact, the stronger her golden lightning was, the more tightly that hat would be pressed down.

In Luo Zhao’s eyes, there were only two people in all of Great Luo capable of resolving this situation perfectly.

One was Emperor Luo, calmly observing developments from the Warm Pavilion.

The other was her Master Daddy, Gu Chengyin.

Fang Nu had heard that unexpected voice as well. He turned his head in confusion, and then his pupils suddenly contracted.

It wasn’t because Gu Chengyin’s presence had intimidated him. Rather, Fang Nu had seen through Gu Chengyin’s cultivation at a glance.

The perfected Foundation Establishment Realm.

That level of cultivation was normally beneath notice. In front of Fang Nu, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, it was not even worth mentioning—less than an ant.

And yet, that was precisely what made the scene terrifying.

This Foundation Establishment ant was holding Lin Qingyan’s left hand.

The genuine Fairy Jingzhe, whose combat strength was so formidable that even Fang Nu only dared to make his move while she was away.

Yet now, Lin Qingyan was not only allowing a Foundation Establishment ant to hold her hand; there was not even the slightest trace of reluctance on her face.

She had even tilted her head toward him, her posture so intimate that she resembled a kitten nestled against its master.

If he had been holding only Lin Qingyan’s hand, perhaps it could still be dismissed.

But what shocked Fang Nu even more was the person holding Gu Chengyin’s right hand.

She had a delicate little face that looked too exquisite to be the work of the mortal world, along with an aloof, world-weary expression. Faint fluctuations of power circulated around her body.

The level of those fluctuations, their unfathomable depth, and the sheer density of spiritual power that she did not even bother to conceal—

Golden… Golden Core Realm perfection…

Half a step into the Nascent Soul Realm?!

Fang Nu inhaled sharply, instinctively examining her again and again to make sure.

There was no mistake. She really was at the Half-Step Nascent Soul Realm.

This World-weary Loli, who looked no older than fourteen or fifteen, was actually an ancient monster more than an entire realm above him!

And such a terrifying existence was also being led along by the hand of a Foundation Establishment ant.

What was going on?

This man was merely at the perfected Foundation Establishment Realm, yet he held an invincible Golden Core cultivator in his left hand and a Half-Step Nascent Soul cultivator in his right.

And both women, who stood at the very summit of the cultivation world, were willingly allowing him to hold their hands.

A name immediately surfaced in Fang Nu’s mind.

Gu Chengyin, the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince.

Fang Nu naturally knew that name. In his eyes, however, Gu Chengyin was at most a civil official skilled in schemes and political maneuvering.

Or perhaps he was merely an opportunist who had won the favor of powerful figures through his silver tongue and cunning, allowing him to prosper.

At best, he was a clever strategist. He was nowhere near important enough to warrant special precautions.

After all, judging by his cultivation, Gu Chengyin was only at the perfected Foundation Establishment Realm.

In the eyes of an old-school Golden Core cultivator like Fang Nu, merely being worthy of recognition as a person was already an extraordinary achievement for him.

But now, it seemed that his judgment had been gravely mistaken.

A man who could make an invincible Golden Core cultivator and a Half-Step Nascent Soul cultivator obey him so meekly could never be a mere opportunist.

As Fang Nu’s thoughts raced, Gu Chengyin had already led the two women into the hall.

His gaze swept casually across the room.

First, he looked at Luo Zhao, whose eyes were slightly reddened as she sat in the seat of honor, forcibly holding back her emotions.

Then he glanced at Cui Zilu and several female officials from the Internal Affairs Office, who stood protectively before Luo Zhao.

Only after that did his gaze settle on Fang Nu and the two elders of the Sun-Moon Sect.

When Fang Nu met Gu Chengyin’s eyes, he inexplicably felt a chill rise along his spine.

It was as if a chess player had been smugly preparing to deliver the finishing move, only to look up and discover that the opponent had somehow been replaced by AlphaGo.

What the hell?

He was a dignified late-stage Golden Core cultivator, yet he had actually been frightened by a mere Foundation Establishment ant.

No.

Fang Nu suddenly remembered that Gu Chengyin’s Dao Heart had already reached the Golden Core Realm.

The nature of this Taihe battle was also a clash of Dao Hearts.

So he hadn’t been frightened by a Foundation Establishment ant. Gu Chengyin’s Dao Heart was simply stronger.

That sounded much better than being scared by a Foundation Establishment ant, but in truth, it was not much better.

At least in the first exchange, Fang Nu had already fallen completely behind.

Just as he expected Gu Chengyin to press his advantage, Gu Chengyin withdrew his gaze and did not look at Fang Nu again.

He simply walked past Fang Nu and the others, heading straight for Luo Zhao on the seat of honor.

Only after reaching her side did a gentle smile appear on Gu Chengyin’s face.

“Your Highness, I’m back.”

Luo Zhao’s nose stung. She bit her lower lip, refusing to let her tears fall.

She merely nodded lightly and sat back down in the seat of honor.

Gu Chengyin stood beside Luo Zhao and turned his gaze toward Fang Nu once more.

One street outside the Crown Princess’s Palace—ask around and find out who’s the real boss.