We Were Rash

Gu Chengyin had only just joined the Tianshi Prefecture, and his cultivation was merely at the Foundation Establishment realm. Yet the moment he adopted that unyielding stance, everyone present—

whether they were the Golden Core enshrinees applying pressure in unison or the sect representatives cowed by his overwhelming presence—

could not help but develop the illusion that the one issuing orders was not a Foundation Establishment ant who had just entered the prefecture, but the Tianshi Prefecture's Taihe himself.

The feeling was exceedingly subtle, yet so vivid that no one could afford to ignore it.

In terms of cultivation, Gu Chengyin was merely at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Within the hall, that put him squarely at the level of an ant.

In terms of seniority, he was pitifully inexperienced. He had been a member of the Tianshi Prefecture for barely a day.

Even though his official position at court was not low, it carried no weight whatsoever in the cultivation world.

And yet this was precisely the person who, by all appearances, had no business taking control of the situation.

In that short span of time, he had used a style of attack no one had ever seen before to force the menacing Fang Nu into a corner with nowhere left to retreat.

Every word Gu Chengyin spoke was neither servile nor overbearing. He showed the cultivation sects the respect they were due, yet from beginning to end, he uttered not a single word of insult or contempt, leaving them no excuse to seize upon.

At the same time, he had expressed the Tianshi Prefecture's bottom line and attitude with absolute clarity. He had placed the thousand-year-old ironclad rule of swearing the oath before everyone present—something that allowed neither bargaining nor ambiguity.

The reason the Golden Core enshrinees had not made a move was not that they feared these cultivation sects.

To be frank, with the current forces stationed at the Divine Capital Tianshi Prefecture, taking down the three Golden Core cultivators of the Sun-Moon Sect would be as easy as turning over a hand.

But they could not make a move. The Tianshi Prefecture was the institution that governed the order of the Great Luo cultivation world.

Every action it took represented orthodox authority. Under no circumstances could it leave an opening for criticism.

So, for the sake of the greater picture, they endured.

They had endured until their hands itched for action, until the swords at their waists hummed within their scabbards, yet they still had to hold back.

That was the natural restriction imposed by the Four Oaths, and it was also the key to how the Tianshi Prefecture had maintained its purity to this day.

But that was no reason for Fang Nu to push his luck.

The Tianshi Prefecture endured because it respected the rules.

If one mistook the prefecture's restraint for weakness, its self-control for concession, and its tolerance for a step that could be trampled at will, then one had made a grave mistake.

The Golden Core enshrinees were all suppressing a seething anger. It was just that none of them knew how to express that anger in a suitable manner.

They were not skilled with words, nor did they understand all those convoluted political tactics.

If they were made to debate Fang Nu, there was a good chance he would lead them around by the nose with one lofty and righteous argument after another.

In the end, not only would they fail to refute him, they might even leave him with ammunition to use against them.

Gu Chengyin's declaration, however, had said precisely what they wanted to say but could not.

He had not raised the grand banners of freedom and fairness like Fang Nu, waving them about with impassioned fervor.

Nor had he behaved like some pedantic gentleman of the righteous path, filling his mouth with benevolence and morality while offering no practical solution whatsoever.

Instead, he had drawn the Tianshi Prefecture's bottom line clearly before everyone.

Swear the oath—that was the bottom line. Accept it, and they could continue talking.

Refuse, and there was nothing left to discuss.

Simple. Decisive. It left no room for bargaining and contained no loophole their opponents could seize upon.

The manner of his declaration left every Golden Core enshrinee present feeling thoroughly satisfied.

At the same time, they knew that if they had been the ones speaking, they certainly could not have put it as beautifully as Gu Chengyin had.

So when Gu Chengyin assumed the bearing of Taihe, the Golden Core enshrinees of the Tianshi Prefecture tacitly accepted it.

No one stepped forward to question whether he had the authority.

No one asked, “What gives you the right to speak for the Tianshi Prefecture?”

And so, all the pressure shifted onto Fang Nu.

Fang Nu stood where he was, the beads of sweat on his forehead already merging into thin streams that slowly slid down his lean cheeks.

He was trapped either way.

If he accepted, it meant that today's provocation had ended in complete failure.

The Sun-Moon Sect had spent so long planning this offensive, preparing every argument and every maneuver with painstaking care, only for Gu Chengyin to dismantle them all by himself.

Fang Nu had been suppressed by Emperor Luo for decades. At long last, he had waited for an opportunity when Emperor Luo seemingly had no intention of entering the fray personally.

Yet he had run into an opponent even more difficult to deal with than Emperor Luo and was still beaten without the slightest ability to fight back.

But if he refused to accept it, then it would no longer be a matter of failure.

He would lose his life.

Fang Nu had no doubt that the moment he uttered the words “I refuse,” Gu Chengyin would immediately seize upon them and make a huge issue of it.

From the Sun-Moon Sect openly trampling upon the Tianshi Prefecture's bottom line, to the Sun-Moon Sect refusing to obey the prefecture's rules, to the Sun-Moon Sect harboring designs on overthrowing the world and all its living beings—

A whole set of charges would be placed upon them in one smooth, seamless progression. Every accusation would have reason behind it, precedent to support it, and law to justify it.

By then, the Tianshi Prefecture would have just cause to act, while Fang Nu would be the fool who had willingly placed the blade in its hand.

And once the Tianshi Prefecture had just cause, it truly would resume the Jiazi Demon-Cleansing Campaign.

This had never been a secret among the upper echelons of the cultivation world.

Every Taihe who had ever led the Tianshi Prefecture had received joint petitions requesting the resumption of the Jiazi Demon-Cleansing Campaign.

In the eyes of these enshrinees, demonic cultivators and righteous cultivators alike were all calamities. None of them deserved to exist.

The sword wielded by the founding patriarch when he established the prefecture had not been swift enough, nor ruthless enough.

It was only because of the Tianshi Prefecture's inherent restrictions—that it needed just cause to act—and because of the intricate web of interests binding the various cultivation sects together,

and because the imperial court both restrained and feared the Tianshi Prefecture's excessive power, that every Taihe in succession had refrained from approving the resumption of the Jiazi Demon-Cleansing Campaign.

But that did not mean the Tianshi Prefecture did not want to resume it.

Quite the opposite. The Golden Core enshrinees had been waiting far too long for an opportunity to act with just cause.

So long that their swords had rusted in their scabbards. So long that their hands trembled whenever they heard the Sun-Moon Sect spout its outrageous nonsense.

Fang Nu understood this perfectly.

He knew that if he truly said he refused, the Sun-Moon Sect would meet only one fate:

becoming the first offering of the Jiazi Demon-Cleansing Campaign.

And so Fang Nu lost his nerve.

If he had been exchanging blows with Luo Zhao, he could have continued maneuvering.

But facing Gu Chengyin—truthfully, Fang Nu had little confidence.

The pressure this man brought him was no less than that of Emperor Luo.

Besides, accepting meant nothing more than suffering a defeat.

It was not as though the Sun-Moon Sect had never lost before. One more defeat today would hardly matter.

At worst, they could return, carefully review their mistakes, and come back with a different strategy next time.

But if he refused, he would truly die.

Fang Nu might have been rebellious to the core, but he was not stupid.

Leaving everything else aside, the two people standing beside Gu Chengyin alone were enough to make life extremely difficult for him.

The only reason they had not yet acted was that Gu Chengyin had left him a way out.

If he refused even that way out, then what awaited him next would no longer be a clash of words, but physical annihilation.

“Junior Preceptor Gu, you truly are worthy of being the challenger to the Taihe Battle.”

Fang Nu swallowed with difficulty. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down before he finally forced the words out.

“We were too rash in this matter.”