Given Wei Zhao's habit of leaving the reins to others, most matters great and small in the New Heavenly Palace were decided by this man alone.

His power needed no elaboration.

A figure of such stature—one whom even the old, top-tier clans dared not slight—had now appeared at the Lin family's gate.

The crucial point was that the Lin family's upper echelons had not come out to greet him at once, but instead left him waiting at the door.

Such a scene truly left onlookers slack-jawed.

"I heard the Lin family has deep ties with Lord Wei Zhao, our sovereign of Heavenly Command. Seems it's really no lie."

"How so?"

"Look—even a man like Lord Cao Mang has to wait obediently at the gate. If someone told me the Lins had nothing at all to do with Lord Wei Zhao, who'd believe it?"

The passersby around them nodded one after another.

If not for being kin-by-marriage to Wei Zhao, the Lin family, with their meager scale, would never dare slight Cao Mang so—not if they had a hundred times the nerve.

Under the gaze of all sides, a group of Lin family higher-ups came out together to receive him.

"Lord Cao, your honored arrival caught us unprepared—pardon us, pardon us."

Cao Mang swept his eyes over them. "Where is your family head?"

The Lin higher-ups all looked somewhat awkward.

One old man explained with a sheepish laugh, "The family head has prepared a banquet and is waiting for you in the inner hall."

Cao Mang was slightly taken aback.

To say nothing of his present standing, merely as head of the Cao clan, even before Wei Zhao's rise, few would have dared slight him so.

Cao Mang grinned. "Seems your family head is a truly busy person."

The group exchanged glances.

Cao Mang waved a hand. "Don't just stand there. Take me to see her."

The Lin higher-ups breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ushered Cao Mang through the gate.

The Lin estate was a maze of layered halls and terraces, magnificent beyond measure—anyone who saw it would have to marvel.

But Cao Mang strode in with his head high, not even glancing at it.

The Lin family's splendor was indeed striking, but compared with a top-tier clan of deep foundations like the Cao, it fell far short.

To put it simply:

It reeked too strongly of the nouveau riche.

Fine for fooling ordinary folk, but to a connoisseur like him, everything about it seemed incongruous.

The Lin family's inner hall.

Lin Hongchou sat upright in the seat of honor, robed in crimson brocade, dragons and phoenixes in resonance—every inch the image of a matriarch at the zenith of her power.

Only when she saw Cao Mang enter did Lin Hongchou rise and give a slight nod in greeting. "Lord Cao is a rare guest. Your honored arrival today must mean you have important matters to discuss."

Cao Mang narrowed his eyes.

He was a blunt, straightforward man by nature, fondest of people who were crisp and decisive—especially rare in a woman.

Only, Lin Hongchou's manner was perhaps too direct.

Cao Mang cut to the chase. "The family head is a forthright person, so I won't hide or hedge either. I hear the Lin family means to help the Academy of Heaven and Humanity establish an outpost—is this true?"

Lin Hongchou nodded frankly. "There is indeed such a matter."

Cao Mang said gravely, "Family Head Lin, you share a surname with Lord Wei Zhao, our sovereign of Heavenly Command. That is a rare bond of fate—and a rare dignity for your Lin family."

"Take my advice: do not touch the Academy of Heaven and Humanity's affairs. The waters run too deep; you cannot hold your footing."

Behind her, the Lin higher-ups hesitated, words dying on their lips.

On the matter of assisting the Academy of Heaven and Humanity in establishing an outpost, the majority within their ranks had opposed it.

However prosperous the Lin family might appear today, at bottom they were still a second-rate clan and utterly unqualified to meddle in affairs of that level.

One careless step, and they would be reduced to cannon fodder in the blink of an eye.

Unfortunately, Lin Hongchou's word was now law; no one in the Lin family could stop what she decided.

Lin Hongchou raised her head and looked at Cao Mang with a faint smile. "Lord Cao, I respect you as my elder, so I would rather not say certain things too harshly."

"How the Lin family associates with the Academy of Heaven and Humanity is the Lin family's business, and no outsider's."

"If you came today solely for this, I fear you will be disappointed."

Cao Mang frowned. "You—"

The words had not left his mouth before Lin Hongchou cut him off. "That the Lin family has come this far rests not on anyone's charity, but on ourselves."

"Whether it be the sovereign of Heavenly Command or you, Lord Cao—come to the Lin family as a guest, and we welcome you with all our heart. But if you wish to make decisions for the Lin family, then we must respectfully decline."

Cao Mang was stunned for a long while, then, unexpectedly, his anger turned to laughter. "Rumor had it that a woman of grand vision and strategy had risen in the Lin family. Seeing you today, it seems no lie."

Lin Hongchou smiled and lifted her teacup. "I have matters to attend to. If you have nothing else, Lord Cao, then forgive me for not keeping you company."

"The banquet is already prepared. If you do not mind, Lord Cao, you might stay and sample a dish or two; I will have the Lin elders keep you company."

Cao Mang said coolly, "No need. I have a place to eat. Don't trouble yourself."

He gave Lin Hongchou a long, deep look, then turned and strode away, leaving the Lin higher-ups exchanging glances.

One of the venerable elders could not help saying, "Family head, Cao Mang is the New Heavenly Palace's number two. Is it wise to offend him so?"

Lin Hongchou glanced at him dismissively. "Did I offend him? I even invited him to dine—he simply chose not to."

The others were speechless for a moment.

With the way things had just gone, not to mention Cao Mang—even an ordinary man would likely have stormed off in a huff.

That was no invitation to dine; it was a slap across the face in public.

The elder opened his mouth again, but Lin Hongchou raised a hand to cut him off. "The Academy of Heaven and Humanity's envoy will be here soon. Go and make preparations at once."

The Lin family members looked at one another, and in the end could only nod in helpless assent.

Meanwhile, in the great hall of the New Heavenly Palace.

Having heard Cao Mang's report, Wei Zhao showed little surprise.

"So this Lin Hongchou is truly set on throwing in her lot with the Academy of Heaven and Humanity?"

Cao Mang nodded. "That she is."

Wei Zhao's expression turned strange. "Does the Academy of Heaven and Humanity truly hold such charm?"

With the grip he now held on Heavenly Command, to say nothing of a second-rate clan like the Lin, even a top-tier clan would have to think twice before defying his will.

Cao Mang chuckled. "Be that as it may, they are still a first-rate academy of the gods. In the eyes of traditional clans like ours, they remain lofty and exalted, their standing utterly transcendent."

Among the lower rungs of Heavenly Command, however, these academies of the gods stirred little enthusiasm.

Most people had never even heard of them.

But among scions of traditional clans like them, every last one had been steeped in such notions since childhood.

To one day join an academy of the gods was the dream they all cherished.

It was all but a steel brand seared into their minds.

After all, not everyone truly possessed Wei Zhao's confidence—to treat the academies of the gods as equals, and even dare to clash head-on with them.