Chapter 728: 303. A surge of good character, drawing consecutive excellent fortunes! (Combined Chapter)_2

The monarch was the minister’s guiding principle.

The real author of these rules might have been an emperor, or perhaps a succession of emperors.

He controlled and crushed the world, no one dared to disobey.

But for one reason or another, this vertical order between monarch and minister carried the possibility of change.

If the emperor always remained dominant, he would keep all his ministers in check.

If the emperor were inwardly weak, then the ideal state imagined by the Great Scholar would emerge, with the Holy Celestial Son ruling without effort.

As long as the nation’s fate did not collapse, this solid system could keep running indefinitely, while Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, martial, even Witchcraft Sect legacies would all be woven beneath it, bowing their heads and presenting themselves as vassals.

Until the mountains and rivers wavered, and the dynasty changed hands once more.

For a particular minister, perhaps the emperor’s authority still meant if the monarch willed the subject to die, the subject could do nothing but die.

But in this dynamic contest, the emperor was not facing an individual, but a group—a group of Scholarly Cultivators who, alongside himself, constituted the complete system that pressured the entire world.

This meant there could be some changes.

*Hmm, the emperor still had to bargain and balance with his subordinates. Did that sound a little pathetic?*

*Like hell was he pathetic.*

"Ruler and father, ruler and father" meant being a dad to everyone on earth.

*Lei Jun did not care how other people viewed this, but he himself had no affection for such a man.*

He was not quite like Xu Yuanzhen, who was always itching to rebel against someone.

But if he had to rebel, he would not just rebel against nobles and spare the emperor.

Especially not the so-called "ruler-father" who wanted to be everyone’s daddy.

Or maybe now the Heavenly Order’s emperor was not so strong.

*But the more Master Lei learned about him and the rites and rituals represented by these Confucian Scholars, the more he felt he was about to snap...*

Compared with those noble families monopolizing resources through bloodline inheritance, which side was more detestable truly did not matter. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Because both were detestable.

As the Great Celestial Mirror turned, Lei Jun’s expression remained calm as water. His state of mind recovered its tranquility, and he continued to observe in silence.

In his line of sight, he gradually caught glimpses of some familiar faces.

Miaoxin, Abbot of Tianlong Temple.

Fang Yue, who had parted ways with him not long ago.

Ye Yao, the brilliant daughter of the Qingzhou Ye Clan, one of the young generation’s representatives.

Ye Zhuo, the elder of Qingzhou Ye Clan.

Chu Taoyuan and Chu Peng, elders of Suzhou Chu Clan.

Lei Jun even spotted an acquaintance he had not seen in years.

The former leader of a Jiangzhou Lin Clan branch, now the new Clan Chief of Southern Lin Clan, Lin Yuwei.

Back then, he made the decision to lead the battered, rain-soaked, spiritually broken Southern Lin Clan, ultimately choosing to bow low to the Tang Imperial Court and the Empress, just like the Xiao Clan from outside Longwai.

Because the remaining major aristocratic families among the Four Surnames and Five Prestiges were focused on recuperating and mending relations with the Tang Imperial Court, Lin Yuwei and the Southern Lin Clan caught a breather, avoiding immediate suppression by the northern and southern giants Chu and Lin.

Yet the Southern Lin Clan had paid too heavy a price, losing both people and land. Ten years on, they still had not recovered their Primordial Qi.

However, since they received protection from the Tang Imperial Court, the Southern Lin Clan could rest and recover, provided they followed the Imperial Court’s orders.

So for this East Sea campaign, Lin Yuwei showed up—and proved astonishingly fierce.

Chu Xiuyuan and Ye Yan saw Lin Yuwei, but showed no reaction, chatting happily.

Their current attention was mostly fixed on the Scholarly Cultivators of the Heavenly Order.

On the surface, the Great Tang Cultivator were lagging behind the Heavenly Order Cultivators.

The main reason was that Chu Xiuyuan had temporarily stepped back from the front lines, leaving Ye Yan to prop things up alone.

Still, the old Clan Chief of Suzhou Chu Clan was perfectly fine, not lacking for stamina.

He only seemed to withdraw, when in fact he was preparing in secret.

But at this moment, only Ye Yan was left supporting things as best he could.

This Qingzhou Ye Clan Chief kept his eyes and ears open in all directions.

Chu Xiuyuan and the others’ preparations gradually built up momentum, allowing Ye Yan to relax, making it easier for him to spar with the Great Scholar ahead of him.

But the Ye Clan Chief was not entirely free of worries.

According to the plan, his clansman Ye Ming should have already returned to the vicinity of the Void Gateway, but so far, there was no sign of him.

There was a fierce battle underway with a formidable enemy, and the area’s global Spiritual Qi was in chaos, leaving Ye Yan unable to reach Ye Ming for the moment.

Given all the complications, it was normal if something went wrong, making it hard for people to move about and miss the scheduled arrival time.

Yet Ye Yan’s cultivation was profound and his senses sharp. Somehow, regarding his clansman Ye Ming, unease surfaced in his heart.

This ill omen made Ye Yan frown in concern.

But right now, he could not afford the distraction and had to focus all his energy on fighting the Heavenly Order Cultivator ahead, hoping Ye Ming would have fate on his side.

Lei Jun spun the Great Celestial Mirror, first at Ye Yan, then at Chu Xiuyuan.

Seeing Chu Xiuyuan busy covertly arranging the sacrificial rite, Lei Jun knew his earlier guess had been correct. As expected, the Great Tang side were preparing the "invite the enemy into the trap" maneuver, luring them deeper.

The only question remaining was whether the Heavenly Order side would bite.

Such arrangements depended not only on your own forces, but also on your opponent.

On the Heavenly Order side, more cultivators exited the Void Gateway and set foot in the Great Tang Realm.

Here, Lei Jun did not know as many of them—most he had never met face-to-face.

Only by referring to diagrams drawn by earlier Great Tang Cultivators after contests with them could Lei Jun match these Heavenly Order Cultivators to their portraits.

Currently, the Heavenly Order’s court and government were split into roughly three factions.

The Wu Party, the Gan Party, and the Chu Party.

By Great Tang’s latest intelligence, the position of Prime Minister in the Heavenly Order’s cabinet was vacant.

All three factions watched it hungrily.

While scheming for themselves, they were also sniping at one another behind the scenes.

Take Wang Feng, for example, one of the mainstays of the Wu Party, who now knew this from bitter experience—though, sadly, he could no longer plead his case in person.