Xu Yuan listened habitually when it involved local governance.

This was a habit he cultivated over the past year.

After dealing with governmental affairs, he would sneak into taverns for leisure, taking the opportunity to eavesdrop on voices from different walks of life.

From the chatter of peddlers on roadside tea shops to the secret meetings of nobles in grand estates.

The speakers were two men and one woman.

Their cultivation was average, two Primordial and one Soul Condensation.

Accompanied by the rain knocking against bamboo leaves, the voices of the two men carried complaints:

"Do you see it this way too?"

"I’ve encountered many similar issues on my end; who knows what the Empress and Lord Han King are thinking?"

"Indeed, the power of the Heavenly Craft Mansion is too great, allowing a bunch of people mostly at Soul Condensation Realm to oversee large construction projects, even we Primordial Grandmasters have to follow their commands, isn’t it absurd?"

"Actually, there’s nothing wrong with it."

During their conversation, the third person suddenly chimed in.

It was the woman, with a clear and bare face, her brows and eyes carrying a hint of decisive and swift action.

Her cultivation level was significantly lower than the two men, but her protective dharma treasures were numerous, especially the Green Silk Robe, the formation patterns of which could even withstand a Mortal Transcendence strike.

Upon hearing the woman speak, the two High-Rank Cultivators quieted down; although their cultivation was far higher than hers, her financial and political clout as a newly risen tycoon in Lin’an Prefecture was something they couldn’t compete with.

The woman’s voice appeared cool, sipping a fragrant tea:

"I had my stewards tally up the results, compared to before, after the Heavenly Craft Mansion came, each civil construction project’s efficiency was on average double than in the past."

The Man surnamed Zhou and the Man surnamed Min exchanged glances, somewhat resigned, their voices half-jokingly laced with a hint of snark:

"Miss Qin, you’re a guild president, we are not, talking without experiencing the pain isn’t a good practice."

The war has ended, and the entire realm was in ruins waiting to be rebuilt.

The civil war ravaged much of the Central Plains, and over the past two years, reconstruction efforts have been vigorously underway across the realm.

For the High-Rank Cultivators who could manipulate iron and wood structures, every rebuilding decree from Di’an represented an opportunity.

After all,

although the projects would be contracted to large local guilds, the position of Chief Architect had to be handled by professional experts like them.

The potential benefits were self-evident.

But the decree from Di’an in early spring directly slashed their authority—personnel from the Heavenly Craft Mansion would be dispatched to supervise imperial designations of large projects, essentially taking over the Chief Architect role.

Many people voiced their objections to this, and several sects even leveraged their connections to collectively petition during court deliberations, but as several Ministry of Industry officials were swiftly dismissed, such voices dissipated.

During the Sword Gate Pass battle, the direct imperial regiment was severely damaged, and during the reception of Sect Alliance remnants, the power of the Han King expanded rapidly and naturally; to this day, even surpassing the once influential Xu Xiang.

The entire Imperial Court had become the Han King’s domain.

Rumors within the Jiangnan Family suggested that the military esteemed Empress has become the Han King’s captive, seeking pleasure under him every day to ensure the continuation of the Li Family.

Of course,

these were secret drunken whispers during private mansion gatherings, never daring to surface openly.

After a pause, the Man surnamed Zhou lightly sighed and said:

"Comparing reactions, the former Sect Alliance big shots’ reactions were truly odd, they actually accepted this decree, that cut was on many of their lifelines."

Miss Qin shook her head, softly murmuring:

"Brother Zhou, if you knew that the Han King is truly the sovereign, you wouldn’t find it strange."

Upon hearing this, the other two were taken aback, speaking:

"What do you mean, implying the Han King’s intention to take over as emperor?"

".....?"

Miss Qin’s attractive brows slightly furrowed; this is why she disliked deep interactions with these crude Cultivators.

With a little cultivation, they become arrogant, merely Primordial yet daring to rashly speak in this teahouse without care—are these words meant to be voiced externally?

Lin’an Prefecture these days is a focal point of court observation, should a true expert settle here, this sound insulation array couldn’t completely block their investigations.

Miss Qin felt displeased, but the two fellows were indeed the benefactors of her guild’s development, so she suppressed her dissatisfaction, saying:

"Through a chance, I interacted with a dignitary from the Sword Pavilion, he subtly hinted that the Han King can live until the end of time."

The other two were puzzled. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Immortality was too distant for them.

Miss Qin did not further explain, just said:

"In essence, even if opposed, the big shots’ decrees will eventually become reality; for the former Sect Alliance figures, accepting with a sweet reward early is beneficial to both sides, after all, hasn’t Lord Han King provided them compensation?"

The Man surnamed Zhou pondered for a moment, not pursuing further, sighing:

"You mean the imperial-certified martial arts academy graduates who can choose a sect for further training based on their academic results, and the Imperial Court will allocate special funds to the sects?"

Miss Qin softly replied:

"That’s part of it, but Brother Zhou, you only know part of it."

The Man surnamed Zhou sat upright upon hearing this, saying:

"Please elaborate."

Miss Qin smiled slightly, saying:

"The Han King also granted each sect the eligibility to send disciples to the Heavenly Craft Institute."

"Isn’t this the Han King consolidating power?"

The Man surnamed Zhou voiced his immediate thought: "Sending your best disciples to the Imperial Court’s Heavenly Craft Mansion, why would the Sect Alliance big shots agree?"