"Might I ask the Saintess to enlighten us? Who exactly is this Lu Shou? This man has offered not an inch of merit to our Lu Family, yet how can he possibly occupy the position of the First Heir Apparent?"

The words, once spoken, drew dozens of sharp gazes from the air to settle squarely upon the speaker.

However, the one who spoke remained composed. Under the scrutiny of dozens of Venerables of the Saint Realm, he betrayed not a flicker of fear or nervousness.

A look of appreciation immediately dawned in Lu Yunge’s eyes.

The doctrine of the Five Criteria for the Lu Family Heir Apparent was what grated on him the most.

No matter how many achievements he amassed, how many formidable enemies he crushed on various battlefields—

In the final tally for ranking, he always ended up slightly disadvantaged. Sometimes, even the greatest meritorious deeds counted for less than another’s slight advancement in bloodline purity—

Everything transpiring today left Lu Yunge profoundly unconvinced!

The Saintess Fen Kong, standing before the Ancestral Temple, under the gaze of hundreds of thousands, remained silent for a brief moment before finally speaking.

"The succession line of the Fen Kong Lu Family has long adhered to the doctrine of the Five Criteria: Merit by Blood, Merit by Achievement, Merit by Talent, Merit by Influence, and Merit by Kinship!"

Her voice, ethereal, carried to every corner of the vicinity.

"By Kinship, this Lu Shou is the son of Lu Hanyan, the sole great-grandson of the current Fen Kong Saint Emperor! By Blood, his lineage has been verified by the Saint Venerables Fen Kong and Yan Yuan—he truly possesses the pure blood of our Lu Family, the Fen Shi Yan Tong [World-Burning Flame Pupils]. By Talent, he reached the Immortal Stage in just over twenty years—unheard of in the history of the Lu Family for millennia. By Influence, this man's master is a Saint Venerable of the Supreme Realm, a disciple of the Cloud Realm's Dragon Shadow Saint Venerable. As for Merit by Achievement—"

Her speech paused, and the Saintess said no more. Her cool gaze swept lightly across the crowd.

Everyone present understood her intent, their expressions calm.

Merit by Achievement: this man’s advancement to Pure Blood status, the bloodline regression, allowed all Lu descendants to refine the pure Fen Kong blood, ensuring the Lu Family would never again need to worry about the degeneration of the Fen Kong bloodline for thousands of years.

Furthermore, countless strong cultivators of the Divine and Saint Realms within the Lu Clan received the opportunity for further advancement due to this regression.

If one were to speak of merit, this was monumental merit!

More beneficial to the entire clan than if the Lu Family were to conquer and incorporate a dozen more worlds.

Not to mention that in the past few thousand years, the territory under the Lu Clan’s control had not expanded for many long years.

In the pavilion above, Lu Daoyan chuckled softly: "Cousin Yunge, in my view, it's best you set aside those petty thoughts. Your meager achievements, if placed a few thousand years ago, would amount to nothing. And you actually have the nerve to feel aggrieved? Truly laughable! If it weren't for the special favor shown by the Lord of Xuanhua Kingdom, how could a waste like you, who discards even his own fiancée like worn-out shoes, possibly rank second in our Lu Family's military merits? Compared to our nephew, who grew up abandoned and clawed his way out of the mire to benefit the entire clan, what exactly are you, Lu Yunge?"

He resented Lu Yunge's previous threats and now spoke without restraint, using the harshest words possible.

He even made no effort to lower his voice, allowing those nearby to hear everything.

This drew many gazes toward Lu Yunge—some filled with pity, others with schadenfreude, some with mockery, and some with regret.

This only fueled the burning resentment and pain in Lu Yunge's chest. A particular thorn was the pity and contempt in the eyes of these people, which he could least tolerate.

Fortunately, at this moment, the person who had spoken before the Saint Monument spoke again.

And once more, all attention was drawn back to the source.

"Then why is Lu Hanyan able to occupy the second-highest position of Heir Apparent? Saintess, do not tell us it is merely because Princess Hanyan bore a Pure Blood descendant?"

Still completely undaunted by the scrutiny of the Saint Realm Venerables hovering above.

And the Saintess Fen Kong now raised her eyelids. Her eyes, like cold jade, were shining brilliantly.

"Is it not proper that the mother is honored by her son? Since Lu Shou is the only Pure Blood clansman, his mother's status is naturally second only to the Venerables of the clan, possessing great merit for the entire family. Furthermore, after Princess Hanyan entered the Death Prison, her cultivation never slackened for a single day. Approximately half a day ago, under the protection of Saint Venerable Jue Yan, she successfully passed her tribulation and entered the Divine Realm! The Fen Kong Saint Venerable is a divine treasure of this age, established by our ancestors. For tens of thousands of years, the assessments for ranking have never been unjust. You need not worry!"

The latter part of the Saintess's speech went unnoticed by most Lu descendants. All those with some insight were captivated by the phrase, "under the protection of Saint Venerable Jue Yan," in the Saintess's words.

It was protection and aid from Saint Venerable Jue Yan? In other words, the stance of this Saint Venerable Jue Yan was now made clear.

Was this faction intending to join forces with Saint Venerable Yan Yuan?

This was certainly no longer a matter concerning just two Supreme Realm Saint Venerables; it signaled the confluence of the orthodox lineage representatives within the Saint Court—more than ten Elder Venerables, at least two Kingdom Lords, and the forces of the two Great Halls!

At this moment, even Lu Yunge’s face turned pale. Only Lu Xuanhua, high above, remained calm, showing no change in expression.

The Saintess Fen Kong paused again. She seemed hesitant, but after a moment, she spoke again: "The two Saint Venerables further stated that Lu Hanyan endured extreme forbidden arts for twenty years, and the excitation from her son's bloodline mutation also shows signs of advancement. Though she may not reach the Pure Blood state, it will still bring minor benefits to our kin in the Lu Clan. There is one more matter: the Suppressing Venerable of the Nine Absolutes Death Prison, Lu Tianqing, due to negligence and carelessness, caused the destruction of the Nether Prison. Subsequently, he plotted against the First Heir Apparent—a crime of the utmost evil. Saint Venerable Yan Yuan was enraged and executed him; this has been reported to the Punishment Hall. Moreover, his entire immediate family has been cast into the Death Prison!"

A resounding crash instantly reverberated across the entire white jade plaza.

Hundreds of thousands of people erupted in an uproar.

Only those with closer blood ties, like Lu Daoyan, remained composed, showing no surprise.

He recalled the lingering tremor after the power of regression subsided; it turned out this was the reason.

The others, however, were mostly stunned, mixed with a sliver of hopeful anticipation.

Pure Blood was rare; one Lu Shou was already a miracle, and no one expected more.

However, if the power of the bloodline could reach back to benefit the entire clan through regression, the improvement must be considerable—

No wonder! The Fen Kong Saint Monument designated Lu Hanyan, imprisoned for twenty years, as the Second Heir Apparent!

At this point, no one paid attention to the matter of Lu Tianqing that the Saintess Fen Kong mentioned afterwards.

Only Lu Yunge felt a chill run through him, recalling the events of that day.

Lu Tianqing at that time had clearly sensed something vaguely, yet he himself had failed to be vigilant.

He raised his head again to look toward the sky. He saw Xuanhua and Xuanye both staring down with cold, stern expressions. The former's face was covered in dark shadows.

However, both of their gazes held a hint of killing intent as they looked toward the man in the crowd who had loudly questioned the Saintess.

Lu Yunge, brilliant as he was, after a brief pause, understood the reason.

This man seemed to be questioning out of discontent, but his intention was malicious!

To ask such things in broad daylight was worthy of death! It carried the taint of shaking the hearts of the people.

Was he attempting to build momentum for that mother and son? This man deserved to die!

Just as this thought arose, a deep, resonant voice drifted down from high above.

"Twenty years ago, a person deemed guilty by our Lu Family for illicit association with an outsider. Now, she is the Second Heir Apparent of my Lu Family Saint Court. And the child, once deemed to have stained the bloodline of our Lu Family, is now the only Pure Blood descendant outside the Supreme Realm! Reflecting on this now, was the judgment issued by the then-Head of the Punishment Hall not somewhat hasty?"

Lu Yunge looked in the direction of the voice, and the corner of his eye twitched violently.

It was Fang Jue, now the Hall Master of the Cang Yan Hall!

While anger surged in his heart, a wave of icy coldness followed.

Twenty years ago, the Head of the Punishment Hall was Xuanhua. The spear of this remark was aimed directly at Xuanhua's improper handling back then!

Was this an attempt to overturn the verdict?

Xuanhua’s gaze, sharp as a blade, turned toward that direction as well.

Fang Jue, however, was completely unfazed, instead sneering.

"Because of this absurd punishment, the Pure Blood Heir Apparent of our Lu Family, the future Supreme Realm Saint Venerable, has been wandering outside for two decades, unable to return to the Saint Court. It is only due to Heaven’s mercy that the Young Master did not perish early and has struggled to this day. Otherwise, the loss to our Fen Kong Lu Family would be incalculable by the measure of a single realm or kingdom!"

Xuanhua raised an eyebrow, seeming about to speak, but checked himself, as if struck dumb.

Glancing around, he clearly saw dozens of gazes fixed upon him, carrying both reproach and warning.

He ceased arguing, merely snorted, gave a cold laugh, and flicked his sleeve, sweeping away into the air, utterly ignoring Fang Jue's words.

Meanwhile, Xuanye, still suspended in the air, let out a slight sigh. His expression was strange, and it was impossible to know what he was contemplating.

Lu Beiwu also gazed fixedly at the two names at the very top of the Saint Monument.

It seemed as if he could see the people themselves through those names... "Your intention is to pledge allegiance to me?"

Outside the shattered void of the Nether Prison, Zong Shou scrutinized Ye Xuan.

To say he was uninterested would be a lie. Though he had not witnessed this man's swordsmanship firsthand,

As a cultivator of the Way of the Sword, the mutual sensitivity between such individuals was extremely acute.

The person before him was one of the purest swordsmen.

His swordsmanship was supreme, likely having reached the peak of the Soul Realm. Only half a step away from his sword entering the Divine, becoming divine and thus illuminating the Dao, allowing him to merge with the great principles—

His actual combat power was likely several times stronger than Ao Kun before the latter mastered the method of existence and ascended to the Saint Realm!

He, Zong Shou, was absolutely no match for this person in a single exchange.

Having such a person swear fealty would be like having an extraordinarily powerful thug at his side at all times.

Whoever displeased him, he could take care of. As long as he didn't run into a Supreme Realm Saint Venerable, he could even provoke and contend with ordinary Saint Realm Venerables.

However, Zong Shou was self-aware; his small temple was likely too cramped to house such a great figure.

How could such a formidable sword cultivator be contained within his personal sphere? He would certainly never earn this man's true loyalty.

After careful consideration, Zong Shou shook his head.

"If the one you wish to serve is the First Heir Apparent of the Fen Kong Saint Court, the Young Master of the Lu Family, then I must beg your pardon, but Zong Shou cannot comply. If you wish to pledge allegiance to my Great Qian Immortal Court, my current forces are merely fledgling, and I cannot afford to support a peerless swordsman like yourself."

This was a joke. The jade plate currently held by Lu Wubing still contained over a hundred Immortal cultivators.

He already found maintaining his small territory difficult enough for these people in the future.

He would need to conquer at least twenty minor thousand worlds in the short term to meet those needs.

Adding another peak Divine Realm expert would mean he couldn't even afford to keep Zong Shou if that expert decided to sell him out.