As one of only two governance structures to endure throughout human civilization, the core authority of the Sect Alliance—unlike the absolute centralization of an imperial dynasty—had always shifted with the prevailing state of the world, consolidating at times and fragmenting at others.
When imperial power surged, the Alliance's core power consolidated.
When imperial power waned, internal infighting and power struggles erupted within the Alliance.
Yet no matter the era, resolutions formulated at grand gatherings such as the Tianyuan Grand Tournament retained immense binding force over every sect.
These proposals were tabled by the sect titans. Unless a sect wished to break away from the framework of the Alliance, forsaking its protection and renouncing its benefits, the best course was to comply.
Yet all crows under heaven are equally black.
Where self-interest was concerned, the human heart was invariably ugly.
At the inception of each dynasty, newly minted elites arose.
Most decrees and decisions forged at the grand gatherings of the Sect Alliance were designed by the great sects holding founding merits to protect their own interests by squeezing the middle and lower sects.
This led to an inevitable outcome:
Sects began forming factions.
To counter the oppression of the upper sects, those in the middle and lower tiers had no choice but to huddle together for warmth. Over the ages, the two strata struggled and compromised with one another, eventually arriving at a relatively stable equilibrium.
History moved in cycles, and the Sect Alliance of Great Yan had trodden this very path.
By now, the internal factions of the Alliance were drawn along distinct, unambiguous lines: Hongnong, Jiangnan, Huaibei, the Western Regions, Nanjiang, and the Northern Border, which was already annihilated.
Under normal circumstances, Luo Wei would hardly ever speak of such matters in front of Ran Qingmo. Yet now, out of sheer necessity, she had to cram the Alliance's broad internal framework into the head of this worldly-innocent disciple.
"...Ever since Xu Yinhe and Li Yaoxuan took power, they have been aggressive and overbearing. Nurturing the Barbarian threat in the Northern Border was one of our Alliance's countermeasures, intended to continually bleed an increasingly powerful court..."
"...The man-made disaster in the three northern provinces that left hundreds of millions dead and wounded was the culmination of a wrestling match among all factions under heaven. Unwilling though we are to admit it, our Sword Sect acquiesced to—and even helped propel—this catastrophe..."
"...Because we could not permit the court to take over an intact Northern Border."
"...The northern sects were part of the Sect Alliance, but their destruction was entirely self-inflicted."
"It began in greed, and it ended in stupidity."
"...Over the past twenty years, using their strategy of nurturing bandits as leverage, they demanded far too much from the Alliance. Their actions had already aroused fierce resentment across other territories. Yet in the end, they threw away three hundred thousand elite troops in a single battle."
"...They lost their value to the Alliance, and so they were abandoned."
"......"
"......"
On this winter night, neither cicadas chirped nor birds sang. Listening to her master's wife transmitting her voice, Ran Qingmo remained silent, merely following behind with bowed head.
The pair walked all the way from the back mountain to the grand hall of the main peak, where Luo Wei finally paused, turning back to gaze at the young woman in black robes beside her.
Originally, she had intended to reveal these truths to her disciple alongside that wretched old man slowly over time, but there was no time left.
Luo Wei did not know whether this disciple, who had lived entirely in the light, could stomach the shadows lurking beneath the behemoth of the Sword Sect, nor whether she could weather the malice that would soon arrive from every quarter.
Yet just as the Second Elder had said, even if Qingmo could not accept it, she had to force herself to.
This was her fate.
Her fate as the eldest disciple of the Sword Sect, and as its future sect master.
Breathing out a faint plume of white mist that dissipated into the desolate winter night, Luo Wei reined in her expression, her demeanor instantly turning noble, solemn, and inviolable.
"Qingmo, are you ready?"
Ran Qingmo slowly raised her eyes. Her dark pupils were as limpid as ever as she gazed at the familiar Sword Sect grand hall behind her master's wife. Hesitation flickered within them, but in the end, she nodded.
"Mm."
Rumble—
The hall doors swung open.
Light spilled out from within as the winter wind rushed into the hall.
A great many people filled the main hall, dressed in various attires. Most were already seated, though many still stood in the corners, conversing in low murmurs.
The furnishings inside had already been arranged according to the etiquette of the Sect Alliance. At the very back of the hall stood an exceedingly long, curved table facing the doors. Behind it sat representatives from prominent sects such as Celestial Master Manor, Nine Swords Sect, and Formation Spirit Valley. Flanking them below were low tables arranged at angles to the curved grand table, seating various small and medium sects ranked by overall strength.
The Sword Sect entourage, arriving late as the hosts, brought a momentary hush over the murmuring hall.
Most sect representatives rose to salute the Sword Sect delegation, while those whispering in secret in the corners paused their discussions and returned to their seats.
Just as Luo Wei had told Ran Qingmo,
as imperial power rose, the core authority of the Sect Alliance had gradually centralized.
Over the past sixty years, the Sword Sect had established a degree of prestige among these sects and consolidated considerable power.
Yet at this gathering of the Tianyuan Grand Tournament, an extraordinary number of hidden sects and aristocratic clans had emerged.
They sat in the lowest rows, eyeing the Sword Sect—the old master of the Alliance—with scrutiny, and even ridicule.
Amidst the silent gaze of the assembly, the Sword Sect party strode forward, their steady footsteps echoing crisply.
Following closely beside her master's wife, Ran Qingmo instinctively glanced toward the golden-eyed girl in the secondary seat.
Their eyes met in midair.
A divine, aloof gaze looked down upon her.
Compared to when they had parted last, Tianyan felt unfamiliar—unfamiliar enough to seem like a different person entirely.
Was it because...
Tianyan had fully shouldered the burden of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion?
Comparing that to her own naivety and ignorance, a complex emotion welled up in Ran Qingmo's eyes. She instinctively started to lower her gaze to avoid those dazzling golden eyes,
but in the next breath,
"Do not lower your head."
The Second Elder's voice rang in her ear, sharp with a severity she had never heard from him before:
"Look straight ahead. You are the eldest disciple of the Sword Sect and its future master. You must never show weakness."
"......"
Ran Qingmo's frame trembled slightly, her hands clenching beneath her dark sleeves.
At that moment,
Tianyan quietly looked away, closing her eyes to rest her mind.
The party approached the curved main seats. As they passed the Celestial Master Manor's section, the Young Celestial Master secretly tugged at the corner of Ran Qingmo's robe. When Ran Qingmo looked back, the girl greeted her with a bright smile:
"Girl, long time no see... Well, I suppose it hasn't been that long. Anyway, relax. This is your home, and you have the Sword Sect behind you."
Ran Qingmo's eyes flickered. She gave a cool nod, cold as frost and snow.
As if devoid of emotion.
Seeing this, Tang Weijun blinked at her, then resumed a solemn expression.
Personal matters were personal; official business was official business.
Many leaders of the clans and sects had been close friends in their youth, yet sentiment could never surpass interest.
A well-intentioned reminder was the absolute limit of what she could do.
As the leaders of the Sect Alliance, the Sword Sect group naturally took their seats at the head of the curved table. Ran Qingmo sat to the left of her master's wife. Just a zhang farther down was the seat of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. Because only one person had come from the Pavilion, Tianyan was seated right beside Ran Qingmo.
Yet at this moment, the two girls acted like complete strangers.
Without needing a prompt, the clamor in the hall died down swiftly.
Once the room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, Luo Wei, seated at the head, cast a cold glance at the Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion and uttered the first words of the meeting:
"According to past tradition, this assembly should have been convened ten days from now alongside the tournament. What urgent matter prompted Your Holiness and our fellow Daoists of the hidden sects to demand an early gathering?"
Hearing the question, Tianyan reclined languidly in her seat, her breathtaking, detached countenance exuding divinity. Only after Luo Wei's words had hung in the air for a dozen breaths did she slowly open her eyes, her crisp voice echoing through the hall:
"Sword Master Luo, Ran Jianli, the head of the Sect Alliance and master of the Sword Sect, has passed away. Under the pressure of the imperial court, the Alliance now requires a new leader."
Silence fell with her words. The hall was instantly dead quiet.
Then came a surge of qi fluctuations as voice transmissions erupted back and forth.
The hall exploded.
The news of Ran Jianli's death had already spread widely. Even those unaware before the meeting had learned of it during the wait. Thus, the intentions of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion and the hidden sects were self-evident, yet no one had expected them to act so brazenly and directly.
"Your Holiness, with the Imperial Preceptor's bones barely cold, isn't your Overseeing Heaven Pavilion being a bit too impatient?"
The silence was bound to break.
A sect representative below took the lead, speaking with mockery.
Compared to the rigid hierarchy and ritual of the imperial court, the regulations of the Sect Alliance general assembly were far more relaxed; even the smallest sect possessed the right to speak.
And with the first voice raised, a chorus of support for the Sword Sect immediately followed:
"A state cannot go a day without a ruler, nor can an army be unprepared for the night. Yet as your Overseeing Heaven Pavilion claims, the long night approaches and war is imminent. Isn't changing commanders on the eve of battle at such a critical juncture all the more perilous?"
"Replacing a leader cannot be done overnight. We all know a transfer of power inevitably breeds turmoil. Does your Overseeing Heaven Pavilion intend to give the court an opening to strike while we are vulnerable?"
Those speaking up now were not entirely staunch supporters of the Tianyuan Sword Sect. They were willing to speak simply because, compared to the unknown Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, they trusted the Sword Sect, with whom they had shared affairs for hundreds of years, to protect their interests.
Denunciations rose one after another below. Tianyan's expression remained utterly unruffled. Only after the voices gradually subsided did she speak once more:
"Whether the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion is fit to lead the Sect Alliance is not my place as its Saintess to judge. But looking at what happened to Ran Jianli, the Sword Sect is certainly no longer fit."
In the next instant,
Luo Wei's voice turned bone-chillingly cold:
"Your Holiness, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion has stood for tens of thousands of years, and we of the Sword Sect respect you. Yet we will never permit you to defame our sect master. He sacrificed his life fighting for the Sect Alliance. If Your Holiness cannot provide a proper explanation, then forgive Luo for being discourteous."
"Defame him?"
Tianyan's expression did not waver in the slightest as she said indifferently, "Sword Master Luo and Alliance Leader Ran were devoted husband and wife for decades. I can understand the grief of losing a husband and the desire to defend him. But I would like to ask you, Sword Master Luo: while the imperial court delivered that 'congratulatory gift,' why is it that Ran Jianli's remains are in our hands?"
"......"
Hearing this, Luo Wei instantly realized what had happened to her husband. Her lowered voice took on a trace of murderous intent, the raspy words practically squeezed through clenched teeth:
"Luo has no idea what you mean. Pray explain clearly, Saintess."
Tianyan slowly turned her gaze to look at the leader's widow, enunciating each word:
"Ran Jianli betrayed the Sect Alliance. My hidden sects purged the traitor on your Sword Sect's behalf—"
"Tianyan!!"
Hum—
Before the words finished falling,
an ink sword unsheathed.
The instant the cold gleam flared, a biting blizzard swept through the entire hall.
Ran Qingmo,
without the slightest warning, slashed her sword straight toward Tianyan beside her!
Chapter 754