Chapter 274: The Heavenwatch Pavilion’s Open Gambit (2)

Luo Daofan said nothing. He merely looked at Xu Yinhe. He knew perfectly well that within the Chancellor's Manor, Xu Yinhe’s word was law.

Xu Yinhe likewise remained silent. He simply glanced toward Xu Yuan, plainly signaling that Luo Daofan could negotiate the matter with him.

Luo Daofan’s heart sank, and he began cursing inwardly. He had witnessed this little bastard Xu Yuan’s uncanny behavior throughout their journey.

After parting with Ran Qingmo, there had been three secret realms conveniently located along their route north to the capital. Luo Daofan had suggested that Xu Yuan enter them in search of treasures, intending to secretly pocket a few materials he needed to prepare for possession.

Every time he made the suggestion, Xu Yuan said nothing. The brat would merely stand there, smiling pleasantly at him, smiling until Luo Daofan’s scalp went numb. It gave him the unnerving illusion that this boy understood him better than he understood himself.

At that thought, Luo Daofan glanced toward Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan blinked at him and gave him a bashful smile.

The corner of Luo Daofan’s eye twitched. His expression darkened like stormwater. “I refuse to negotiate with this brat.”

Xu Yuan was just about to speak when Xu Yinhe raised a hand. With no other choice, he shut his mouth.

Xu Yinhe swept his sleeve.

The soul ring slipped from Xu Yuan’s finger and flew into his palm. “If you are unwilling to negotiate with Changtian, then please accompany me to the main hall, Senior. We can discuss the matter there.”

With that, Xu Yinhe nodded to Feng Jiuxuan. “The First Martial Princess will be visiting the Chancellor's Manor tomorrow. Changtian needs to meet with her, so as for tonight and tomorrow…”

At night, most of the Chancellor's Manor had lost the bustle of daytime. The grounds were quiet and serene.

Xu Yinhe walked steadily ahead, while Xu Yuan followed behind in silence.

After ten days, Xu Yuan had finally left the hellish training grounds of the Sword Pavilion for the first time. Yet he felt little relief.

He spent a long while choosing his words before finally asking, “Father, about the Heavenwatch Pavilion…”

Xu Yinhe seemed to have expected the question. “The Heavenwatch Pavilion’s delegation should reach the Imperial Capital in roughly two months. I hear their Saintess will personally seek an audience with His Majesty. Changtian, you should know her.”

Xu Yuan fell silent. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked slowly, “By proceeding so openly, aren’t they afraid the court will detain their Saintess?”

Xu Yinhe glanced at him. “Most of the sects throughout the two southern provinces have raised no objections whatsoever to the Heavenwatch Pavilion’s return. Many sects that were once enemies have even set aside their disputes.”

Xu Yuan probed further. “You mean the Heavenwatch Pavilion has already taken effective control of the two southern provinces, and those sects’ conflicts are merely a show for us?”

Sect forces were spread throughout every province in the realm. The fact that none existed in the regions surrounding Emperor’s Hold was the result of decades of effort by Li Yaoxuan and Xu Yinhe.

Azure Point had been vague when describing the war to suppress the sects, but the scattered details made one thing clear. Tthe imperial court had essentially advanced from north to south.

Just when it was on the verge of unifying the realm, the Chancellor's Manor had collapsed beneath the weight of the plot.

Seen that way, the Heavenwatch Pavilion, which occupied the two southern provinces, must indeed have played no small part in the war.

Xu Yinhe continued along the lakeside without slowing. The full moon shimmered upon the surface of the water. “Correct. On the surface, the Heavenwatch Pavilion is sending a delegation to the capital to accept imperial investiture. In truth, they are applying pressure on the court over its military operations in the north.”

“Applying pressure?” Xu Yuan murmured.

Xu Yinhe narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a deeper meaning. “The Heavenwatch Pavilion could never side with the imperial court. Their position, interests, and motives all make it impossible. By coming here to pressure us, they are presenting a token of allegiance to the sects beneath Heaven.”

“A token of allegiance?” Xu Yuan frowned. “The sects cannot possibly view the Heavenwatch Pavilion too favorably. Will they really accept it?”

The sects were separate entities, but they also formed a collective whole.

Now that the Heavenwatch Pavilion, their former leader from 10,000 years ago, had suddenly reappeared and sought to rejoin that collective, conflict with the sects’ current leader was inevitable. Whether the other sects would even accept them remained uncertain.

In the original storyline, the Sword Sect had been wiped out almost as soon as the war began.

The sects had needed a new leader, leaving the Heavenwatch Pavilion plenty of room to scheme from the shadows.

But now, the Sword Sect was still standing. Ran Jianli remained the Imperial Preceptor.

With the Heavenwatch Pavilion emerging at this moment, a split within the sects was inevitable. One faction would support the Sword Sect, while the other would support the Heavenwatch Pavilion.

With the sects divided like that, the imperial court would have plenty of room to maneuver between them.

Xu Yinhe sighed. He turned to look at Xu Yuan and calmly asked, “Changtian, what if the Heavenwatch Pavilion invokes the coming calamity?”

Xu Yuan’s eyes widened slightly. Countless thoughts surged through his mind at once, tangled and disordered.

Because of the Heaven Deriving Art’s unique nature, the Heavenwatch Pavilion occupied an awkward position. One could even say it was naturally opposed to every other power in the realm.

Ordinarily, few sects would follow its declarations or support its stance. But that would change if its words benefited the sects.

Whether the Pavilion Master had fabricated the claim that a calamity was approaching hardly mattered. The sects would all speak with one voice and make it true.

Xu Yuan walked another dozen yards with a frown. “Once the Heavenwatch Pavilion reaches the capital and receives an imperial audience, the matter of the calamity will strip the court of its righteous cause.”

A righteous cause could seem utterly useless at times. At others, it was invaluable.

The Great Flame Empire remained a single, unified realm. So long as everyone continued operating within its established rules, righteousness provided a justification for action. Victory under such a banner won the people’s support, legitimacy steadied the army’s morale, and no one could openly stand against it.

At present, the imperial court held the absolute moral high ground in its campaign against the barbarians.

The sects might not want to see the campaign succeed, but the most they could do was have their mouthpieces at court complain that the war was exhausting the people and draining the treasury. Or they could obstruct it through methods like the previous self-destruction. They could not openly oppose the campaign.

But a calamity was different.

The Great Flame Empire’s most powerful sects likely knew that such calamities existed. Even if some did not, the sects that did would quickly send word to the rest.

At that point, preserving the empire’s strength to face the approaching calamity would become a cause even greater than purging the barbarian threat.

Xu Yinhe stopped walking and gazed southward, his eyes deep and distant. “They trade the court’s righteous cause for a token of allegiance that will gain them entry into the sects. The Pavilion Master is remarkably skilled.”

Xu Yuan rubbed the Sumeru Ring on his finger. “Against an open scheme like this, the court has few options unless it is willing to cast aside all pretenses and openly break with the sects. But we are not yet in a position to do that.”

Xu Yinhe nodded, then suddenly asked, “Changtian, how would you deal with this?”

Xu Yuan answered without hesitation. “Stall.”

“Stall?” Xu Yinhe murmured the word. Understanding dawned in his heart, and a faint smile entered his gaze as he looked at Xu Yuan. “Why?”

Xu Yuan spread his hands, amusement coloring his voice. “His Majesty spends all his time secluded within the palace, while you, Father, are constantly overwhelmed by affairs of state. Even if the Heavenwatch Pavilion spreads word of the coming calamity throughout the realm, there will inevitably be a few treacherous scoundrels who conceal the truth and obstruct the flow of information to both you and His Majesty. As such, neither of you will learn of the matter until the Heavenwatch Pavilion’s delegation has already reached the capital.”

A promise that cannot be fulfilled becomes a shackle. We’re doomed. Or are we…?