Chapter 86: A Drastic Change in Great Chu

“Who was it? Who could defeat you so easily?” asked Fan Li’s avatar with a frown.

Wuzhui was at the Grand Ascension stage, so only someone of equal strength could possibly best her. Yet, how could such a battle unfold in utter silence, without causing even a ripple of disturbance within the capital of Great Chu? Not even Fan Li had sensed anything.

A look of unwillingness flashed in Wuzhui’s eyes. She bit her lip, her voice weak. “Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting, Sword, Arrow...”

Fan Li’s avatar pressed, “What do you mean?”

“The six High Masters of the Brahma Pure Land—Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting, Sword, and Arrow—each represents their domain of expertise and arcane arts.”

In a rush, Fan Li’s avatar sprang to his feet, his face darkening with fury, both fists clenched tight. At last, he could no longer restrain his roar: “Outrageous!”

Sacred lands, places of cultivation—what nonsense! How much time had even passed? Yet the Brahma Pure Land had repeatedly set itself against him. Now, all six High Masters had come at once and abducted the Emperor of Great Chu. Were they determined to tear away all pretense with the mortal dynasty?

“Wuzhui, you’ve done well…” Fan Li did not blame her. She had gone to protect Xiang Ning on his orders, only to be confronted by six High Masters at once. In such dire peril, even someone of Wuzhui’s caliber might have perished.

Wuzhui shook her head with a bitter smile. “Master, one of them—the Calligraphy High Master—asked me to convey a message. The Brahma Pure Land will never be an enemy of Great Chu. It is only that they greatly admire Xiang Ning’s extraordinary talent and spiritual affinity. Thus, they have decided to take her as a disciple and bring her back for instruction.”

“The Calligraphy High Master?!” The title instantly reminded Fan Li of a certain person.

“She is also called the Virtue High Master, a devoted Confucian scholar. Her life-bound treasure is a divine tome titled ‘The Virtues of Womanhood.’ It is she who wishes to take Xiang Ning as her disciple.”

A cold gleam flashed in Fan Li’s eyes. As expected—Virtue High Master again!

“Among the six Pure Land High Masters who came, Virtue High Master is the weakest in terms of cultivation and martial power.”

“Virtue High Master also said that Great Chu must not be left without a sovereign even for a day. The Brahma Pure Land suggests that the Empress Dowager recommend a new emperor to ascend the throne. No matter whom she nominates, the Pure Land will support the new ruler of Great Chu to the fullest.”

On the surface, the Brahma Pure Land was being polite, but in truth, they were interfering in the imperial succession—a matter of the utmost gravity for any dynasty! No kingdom could normally tolerate such meddling. Yet…

Fan Li knew all too well that, with this stance from the Pure Land, the Empress Dowager Li would certainly accept it with open arms.

After all, the Empress Dowager and the Pure Land had been exchanging subtle favors for quite some time.

“An imperial edict arrives!”

Sure enough, just as he was thinking this, Fan Li heard a eunuch from the palace come to deliver a decree.

The Fan clan was the most powerful family in Great Chu; for a palace eunuch to shout so brazenly at their gates, he must either be drunk or weary of life. By the sound of it, Fan Li instantly recognized the man: none other than Eunuch Chen, the Grand Chamberlain and top master of the Harmonization Realm!

For this old eunuch to deliver the decree personally—clearly, this was not a good omen.

“You’re injured. Can you handle that old eunuch?” Fan Li asked Wuzhui.

Wuzhui barely hesitated before nodding. “It would be effortless.”

As expected of a Grand Ascension dragon! Even wounded, she could still dispatch a Harmonization expert with ease.

Fan Li was reassured. He strode out of the training hall, leaving another of his avatars behind to continue cultivating.

In the main hall of the Fan residence, Eunuch Chen sat with the imperial edict in hand, his manner haughty. In the past, he had always avoided visiting the Fan estate. If he absolutely had to come, he would stand, conduct his business briskly, and leave without delay.

Today, however, he sat grandly in the master’s chair, leisurely sipping fine tea poured by the eldest Fan brother himself, nibbling on candied fruits.

“With the Empress Dowager supported by the entire Brahma Pure Land, the Fan clan’s days are numbered,” he thought.

Eunuch Chen had always held himself in high esteem. As both confidant to the Empress Dowager and the palace’s greatest martial expert, he had always been forced to bow and scrape before Fan Li. Now that the Pure Land had openly thrown its weight behind the Empress Dowager, he felt his own back finally straightened.

“Master Fan, I’m just here to deliver a decree. No need for any fuss. Besides, isn’t your second brother away? Even if something happens, you can’t make the decisions. Better wait for his return; then I’ll discuss it at length with him.”

Eunuch Chen’s tongue was as sharp as ever. He first insulted Fan Ming, implying he was unfit to manage the household, and then addressed Fan Li as “the second Fan,” a form of address no one in court had ever dared use. In the past, Fan Li had always been called Chancellor or Lord Jin—second only to the emperor himself.

“The second Fan?” Fan Ming’s mouth twitched, but he forced himself to endure, resisting the urge to quarrel with the old eunuch.

Though his cultivation was only at the Divine Transformation level, with the bright and hidden guards of the Fan residence, he could easily ensure Eunuch Chen would never leave alive. But Fan Ming held back.

“This sycophant dares to throw his weight around in my house—clearly, something has changed in court, and a petty man has seized his chance. I must keep my composure and not cause trouble for my brother.”

With his mind made up, Fan Ming’s smile became all the more polite. “Eunuch Chen, it’s a rare honor for you to grace our humble home. Allow me to properly fulfill my duties as host. Why not let me prepare a fine banquet for you?”

The palace was a place of austerity; delicacies were reserved for the highest ranks—the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Empress, and the Imperial Consort. Even as the greatest martial master in the palace, Eunuch Chen was still a servant. Everything he wore and ate was strictly regulated.

At the mention of a banquet, the old eunuch was genuinely tempted. The Fan estate wielded such power that even a hastily prepared meal would rival the imperial kitchens.

“Very well, I’ll indulge myself,” Eunuch Chen replied, too pleased with himself to bother with courtesy. He was just about to ask what delicacies the Fan household had prepared—if not dragon liver or phoenix marrow, then at least bear’s paw, bird’s nest, shark fin, or sea cucumber.

“I heard there’s an imperial edict? I hurried back to the capital from afar for this very matter!”

A voice all too familiar to every official of Great Chu rang out. Eunuch Chen instinctively sprang to his feet, shocked to see Fan Li striding in from outside, accompanied by the nation’s Guardian Beast, Wuzhui.

“Fan… Lord Jin, how did you return so quickly?” Eunuch Chen blurted, suddenly nervous.

Servant’s nature is always to bully the weak and fear the strong. With Fan Li gone, it was easy to oppress his kin. But now that Fan Li had returned, no matter how much the Brahma Pure Land supported the Empress Dowager, old habits asserted themselves, and Eunuch Chen snapped to attention, suddenly finding the master’s chair uncomfortably hot.

Fan Li’s avatar stood before the old eunuch, glancing at the imperial edict in his hand, then at the master’s chair he’d just occupied. That chair, crafted by a master woodcarver at great expense, was reserved for Fan Li and Fan Ming alone.

“Brother, take this chair to the kitchen and chop it up for firewood.”

“And smash this tea set in the courtyard; bury the shards in the earth.”

Fan Li’s voice was as cold as steel, scraping mercilessly across Eunuch Chen’s face, leaving him no shred of dignity.