With swift, thunderous means, Luo Xiaofeng annihilated every one of the thousand-plus experts loyal to the Tang Sect, leaving behind only those disciples whose loyalty to the sect was, at best, lukewarm... This leaderless contingent of Tang Sect disciples was naturally folded into Luo Xiaofeng's ranks. The officers in the army who originated from the Tang Sect, realizing their ultimate pillar of support had been destroyed, dared not act arrogantly any longer, settling instead for meekly fulfilling their duties as officers...

Of course, a fair number of officers sought vengeance for the Tang Sect, inciting mutinies among the soldiers, but every single one was suppressed with Luo Xiaofeng’s decisive, lightning-fast action... With the aid of the Tang Sect’s hidden weapons and poisons, the Imperial Court’s strength surged dramatically. Moreover, seeing the annihilation of the Tang Sect, the other minor factions were seized by panic, scrambling to pledge their allegiance to Luo Xiaofeng...

In an instant, the prestige and power of the Imperial Court reached an unprecedented peak, firmly overshadowing both Ninglang Commandery and Tian Commandery... All of this unfolded with impossible speed; merely a few days had passed—a duration long enough just to send a message... Originally, Qin Xuan and the others anticipated the Court would mobilize troops against them.

For the sake of their own interests, the three great sects had secretly formed an alliance: should the Court attack, they would face a united front. In their calculations, a military mobilization by the Court would necessitate extensive troop movements and recruitment, granting them ample time to prepare. Yet, neither White Cloud Villa, nor the Heavenly Sword Sect, nor the Tang Sect had ever conceived that Luo Xiaofeng would assault the Tang Sect personally with just three thousand Imperial Guards...

What audacity! What masterful strategy! Consider this: although Ba Commandery lay southeast of the Shu Yun Kingdom and did not border Ninglang Commandery or Tian Commandery, if the Shu Yun Kingdom were to march, the Tang Sect would undoubtedly be the first target, being relatively isolated.

However, Ba Commandery remained firmly within the Tang Sect’s sphere of influence, much like Ninglang Commandery. The garrison commanders and officers in Ba Commandery were all members of the Tang Sect; if the Court attempted to deploy forces, the soldiers of Ba Commandery would certainly turn their spears against the Imperial Army. After all, common soldiers only recognized their direct superiors; the concept of the ‘Imperial Court’ held little meaning for them...

One must remember, Ba Commandery housed over a million souls, with a standing army of fifty to sixty thousand—all troops fiercely loyal to the Tang Sect. This meant Luo Xiaofeng leading a strike force of just over three thousand to raid the Tang Sect was nothing short of recklessness. Had he engaged the armies of Ba Commandery, even reaching the Martial Saint realm would have been a death sentence.

A Martial Saint is still human, not a deity... Forget being a monarch; even a great general would hesitate to take such a gamble, yet Luo Xiaofeng did it—and achieved an absolute victory. This single stroke instantly threw the major sects, who previously held the upper hand, into a state of extreme vulnerability...

Presently, although Luo Xiaofeng had not officially moved against Ninglang Commandery or Tian Commandery, both White Cloud Villa and the Heavenly Sword Sect understood that the crisis had already arrived... Surrender was out of the question... Setting aside their unwillingness to relinquish their current status, even if they desired it, the Imperial Court would never let them off.

After all, even a beggar who had endured constant humiliation, upon suddenly acquiring wealth, would seek vengeance—how much more so a rightful King of a nation? Luo Xiaofeng had endured disgrace at the hands of these great sects for so many years; he could not simply let it go. Once his own power base was slightly diminished, Luo Xiaofeng would undoubtedly find pretext after pretext to eliminate White Cloud Villa.

After all, no monarch desired an unstable element persisting within their borders... Thus, White Cloud Villa stood at the precipice of survival or annihilation. Surrender was impossible.

The only remaining question was how to fight—how to wage war against the Imperial Army led by a Martial Saint... After listening to Qin Xuan's words, Ye Jingyu scoffed. Serves you right for being so arrogant, he thought.

You are merely a private martial arts sect, yet you dared to try and control the power of an entire commandery. Even if I were the sovereign, I wouldn't spare you... Yet, beneath his scorn, Ye Jingyu felt a secret shock.

He truly had not realized White Cloud Villa possessed such terrifying influence—a faction capable of opposing a nation. How vast must their hidden power truly be? Simultaneously, Ye Jingyu began to understand why, in recent times, White Cloud Villa had dispatched Qin Yan personally to recruit the wealthy and influential wastrels.

Besides needing vast sums of wealth for recruitment and provisioning, they needed to bind these powerful local magnates firmly to their side. Ultimately, had Ye Jingyu not been accepted as Qin Xiao’s disciple, he, like the other scions, would merely have been a hostage of White Cloud Villa... One should not underestimate these landed gentry and financial powers.

While they might be incapable of directly challenging a great sect like White Cloud Villa, the sum total of private forces maintained by so many magnates amounted to a considerable number. Furthermore, they were all fabulously wealthy. What does war require most?

Not troops, not weapons—but money... When these men learned the Court was mobilizing against White Cloud Villa, what would they think? If their sons were not disciples of White Cloud Villa, they could certainly stand aside and watch the fight, enjoying their fortunes regardless.

But the situation was different now; their sons were disciples, and if the Court attacked the sect, could they truly remain uninvolved? This simple tactic had successfully tied the majority of Ninglang Commandery’s landed elite onto the same sinking ship. One had to admit the mind behind this brilliant scheme possessed formidable depth...

Naturally, the disciple recruitment process had begun months earlier, while the news of Luo Xiaofeng achieving Martial Saint status was only released a month ago. This fact caused Ye Jingyu to marvel secretly at the immense capability of White Cloud Villa—to know of Luo Xiaofeng’s breakthrough so early suggested they had a substantial network of spies within Shu Commandery... To have placed informants inside the Imperial Palace—such methods, such power—tsk tsk...

Truly terrifying... It was at this moment that Ye Jingyu finally grasped the true horror of White Cloud Villa, and why his own father had acted with such fawning deference previously. Compared to White Cloud Villa, his father’s small sphere of influence was nothing more than an ant beside an elephant...

Observing the thoughtful expressions on everyone in the grand hall, Ye Jingyu’s eyes darted incessantly. He was calculating how he might extricate himself from this mess. He understood that neither White Cloud Villa nor the Shu Yun Imperial Court were behemoths he could currently challenge.

Once caught in their conflict, he wouldn't even have a sliver of opportunity to resist (percentage sign)... As for the oath he had discovered... Hmph, just missing out on a woman?

Am I, Young Master Ye, so desperate that I'd care about one woman? “Jingyu, do you have any good suggestions?” Ye Jingyu clearly intended to stay out of it, but fate seemed determined to drag him in. Noticing his constantly moving eyes, Qin Xuan mistook it for him formulating a plan and immediately questioned him...

Ye Jingyu’s expression instantly froze...