"Quite a few people have arrived. They are all inside a sealed secret realm at this moment—looks like they are preparing some kind of major operation."

Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow. "What sort of major operation?"

Zhang Baiyu replied, "That still requires further observation and analysis."

Wei Zhao walked over to the map of Tianjun, quietly unfolded his World Will, and swept his focus across the region where the Lin family was located.

A quarter of an hour later, Wei Zhao's eyes shifted slightly, and a rather peculiar expression surfaced on his face. "This Lin Hongchou—being the Lin family head is not enough for her. She is preparing to make herself empress."

Zhang Baiyu and Cao Mang, standing nearby, were both startled. "What do you mean?"

Wei Zhao said darkly, "The people from the Academy of Heavenly Humanity are conducting a Heavenly Dao ritual. They are preparing to place the title of Lord of Tianjun upon Lin Hongchou's head."

Cao Mang blurted out with a cry of alarm, "Has she lost her mind? With nothing but a second-rate clan, she wants to become Lord of Tianjun? Does she take us for dead men?"

Zhang Baiyu analyzed, "It is not entirely impossible."

Cao Mang looked utterly dumbfounded. "Are you sure? With her? What can a mere Lin family possibly defeat? Unless the Academy of Heavenly Humanity personally sends its elites down to wage war across Tianjun on her behalf?"

That possibility could not be said to be entirely absent, but it was exceedingly slim.

Tianjun, after all, was subject to layer upon layer of restrictions. Even though those restrictions were gradually loosening now, they had not been fully lifted.

Even if the Academy of Heavenly Humanity paid an enormous price to send a batch of elites down, against Wei Zhao's group—now with strong soldiers and sturdy horses—the odds were overwhelming that they would only end up eating dirt. By any measure, it was not a worthwhile trade.

Wei Zhao shook his head. "All she wants is the title of Lord of Tianjun. She has no need for real blades and real spears."

Cao Mang was baffled.

Zhang Baiyu explained, "Lin Hongchou's maneuver here is to use the Heavenly Dao ritual to fraudulently claim a status from the Heavenly Dao that is parallel to the lord's."

"That way, Tianjun will have two Lords of Tianjun—at least, that is how the Heavenly Dao will perceive it."

"When the Academy of Heavenly Humanity wants to establish an outpost then, they will not need the lord's approval, because Lin Hongchou will hold equal authority."

Cao Mang was stunned speechless. "They actually came up with that!"

"Wait—she does not actually think that with this title she can truly stand as the lord's equal, does she?"

"Is she not afraid the lord will slap her to death with one palm?"

Wei Zhao and Zhang Baiyu exchanged a glance. "It is quite possible that is exactly what she thinks."

Wei Zhao pondered for a moment, then immediately issued his order: "Send word to the Lin family—cease cooperation with the Academy of Heavenly Humanity at once, or bear the consequences."

He could now be completely certain that Lin Hongchou was the target chosen by the fusion ritual.

Otherwise, she could not possibly have stirred up such a great spectacle in so short a time.

To drive the Academy of Heavenly Humanity into staging such a grand Heavenly Dao ritual on her behalf—the cost was no small matter. Relying solely on the Lin family's own influence, such a thing was simply impossible.

The only explanation was the influence of the fusion ritual.

Say what you will, the influence of the Immortal Divine Armament was truly terrifying. A single fusion ritual had actually been able to mobilize such vast resources, dragging even the Academy of Heavenly Humanity into the fray. It was truly inconceivable.

Of course, the Academy of Heavenly Humanity's own intentions were also at play here.

The two sides had simply found common ground.

The greatest effect of the fusion ritual was most likely that it had led the Academy of Heavenly Humanity to select Lin Hongchou.

After all, looking across all of Tianjun, she was not the only cooperative target with qualifications like hers.

Cao Mang asked, "Do we send this only to the Lin family, or broadcast it across all of Tianjun?"

The corner of Wei Zhao's mouth curved. "Across all of Tianjun, of course."

Although Tianjun was calm on the surface now, beneath it there was still no avoiding the surge of undercurrents.

After all, with the Master God's fortune sitting right here, every faction was secretly reaching in. Using the Lin family affair now was the perfect chance to strike the mountain and startle the tiger.

When the announcement spread, all of Tianjun was in an uproar.

The New Heavenly Palace used no harsh wording and gave no explicit punishment—just four simple words.

Bear the consequences.

The fewer the words, the graver the matter.

Everyone understood this principle.

Those in Tianjun who had originally assumed the Lin family was connected to Wei Zhao by ties of kinship were, for a time, utterly bewildered.

Could it be that all the previous rumors were wrong?

But if the Lin family had no relationship with Wei Zhao, then on what grounds had their momentum risen so fiercely during this period? Could it really be due to the personal ability of Lin Hongchou, the new family head?

If that were truly so, then she had certainly lived up to the aura of the Lin family's matriarch!

Everyone was waiting to see how the Lin family would respond—or rather, everyone was waiting for Lin Hongchou's reaction.

Would she bow her head and retreat, stall for time, or seek someone to plead on her behalf?

As for confronting the New Heavenly Palace head-on, that possibility simply did not exist.

In the end, it was only a second-rate clan. However fierce its momentum, the gap in sheer scale was still there for all to see.

Compared with Wei Zhao's New Heavenly Palace, calling it as lowly as an ant might be a slight exaggeration, but describing it as a mantis trying to stop a chariot would be entirely apt.

The general consensus in the streets was that Lin Hongchou would most likely seek someone to intercede, or perhaps come to beg in person.

Even without a direct blood relation, simply for the sake of sharing the same surname, Wei Zhao, as Lord of Tianjun, could hardly press a mere woman too harshly.

Yet merely the time it took to burn a stick of incense later, Lin Hongchou issued an announcement of her own, likewise proclaimed throughout all of Tianjun.

"Tianjun has been the Tianjun of the great clans since ancient times! My Lin family has stolen nothing and robbed nothing; we have risen to this day by our own strength, one step at a time. When it comes to what we choose to do, outsiders have no right to point fingers!"

Lin Hongchou then added one more line: "Outsiders who have usurped a high position have already taken great advantage of our Tianjun clans. It would be best to have a little self-awareness."

All of Tianjun fell silent.

After a long while, someone in a teahouse muttered faintly, "That woman is truly fearless."

More than fearless—Lin Hongchou's declaration, in the eyes of the crowd, was simply invincible!

Where on earth did the Lin family get the confidence to confront Wei Zhao, the Lord of Tianjun at the zenith of his power, so rigidly?

Did she truly believe that attaching herself to the Academy of Heavenly Humanity made her invincible?

The Academy of Heavenly Humanity—and the Beast God Academy as well—how many times had they already eaten dirt at Wei Zhao's hands? Had they still not learned their lesson?

Never mind the other factions—even Wei Zhao, who had anticipated this, now wore a look of sheer astonishment.

"I am having a hard time following this person's thought process."