Troubles of Moonlight Pavilion, walls crumbling as everyone pushes, broken drums beaten by all.

At this, Tang Yuehua's tone grew somewhat heavy. "But now, the situation is different."

"Second brother Tang Hao is wanted across the entire continent, father was angered to death, and eldest brother was forced to announce that the Clear Sky Sect was sealing its mountain gates, with the entire sect living in seclusion."

"Although this news has not yet been thoroughly made public, those high-reaching, well-connected great nobles and major factions in Heaven Dou City received wind of it long ago."

"The Clear Sky Sect has fallen—or rather, the Clear Sky Sect has retreated. Meanwhile, the might of Spirit Hall is as blazing as the midday sun."

Tang Yuehua took a deep breath, her hands tightly interlocked.

"Those people who once tried to curry favor with me are now like sharks that have caught the scent of blood."

"They know that I am left alone in Heaven Dou City, having lost the protection of the sect."

"There are already factions that can no longer sit still; they want to bring down Moonlight Pavilion, and even want to capture me."

"They intend to use this to claim merit and court rewards from Spirit Hall, attaching themselves to its influence."

"Although I am the master of Moonlight Pavilion, I only possess level-nine Soul Power."

"Facing those factions, I... I truly have a headache, or I might even say I am completely at my wits' end."

After listening to Tang Yuehua's account, Ronan's face did not display any look of surprise.

All of this was completely within his expectations.

Douluo Continent was fundamentally a world of the strong preying on the weak, where interests reigned supreme.

Noble grace and etiquette, moral principles—none of these were worth a fart in the face of absolute power and interests.

When the Clear Sky Sect was prosperous, Tang Yuehua was an unreachable goddess.

The moment the Clear Sky Sect showed signs of decline, she became a fat piece of meat in everyone's eyes.

"A very normal reaction."

"Walls crumbling as everyone pushes, broken drums beaten by all."

"Those people want to use you as a stepping stone to please Spirit Hall; that is a business deal with guaranteed profits and zero losses."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Tang Yuehua could not help asking.

Since eldest brother Tang Xiao had entrusted her to Ronan, her only hope now was this unfathomable Soul Saint before her eyes.

Ronan stood up and stretched lazily.

"What else can I do?"

Ronan sneered, a sharp, piercing cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Since I took your eldest brother's benefits and agreed to this transaction, then taking people's money to eliminate disasters for them is my rule."

"Wait a moment, I will go with you to Moonlight Pavilion."

He walked to Tang Yuehua's side. "Since some people want to test the waters, I will go and back you up."

"I want to see just how many daredevils in Heaven Dou City have the guts to make a move on the woman bearing my, Ronan's, name."

Hearing the words the woman bearing my, Ronan's, name, Tang Yuehua's heartbeat inexplicably skipped a beat.

Although she knew this was merely a transaction, at this moment when she felt most isolated and helpless, Ronan's overbearing protection made her anxious and unsettled heart feel a trace of stability.

"Alright, I'll go prepare the carriage right away."

Tang Yuehua nodded and prepared to get up.

"Wait."

Ronan suddenly spoke up to stop her.

Tang Yuehua raised her head in confusion. "What is it?"

Ronan looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her legs for a moment, and asked out of the blue:

"How are your legs and feet? Can you still walk? Do you need me to carry you out?"

As soon as these words came out, the air in the room seemed to freeze instantly.

Tang Yuehua was stunned at first.

Then, a visible flush rapidly spread from the base of her neck.

In an instant, it crawled all over her cold and aloof face, and even her crystal-clear earlobes turned as red as blood.

Those crazy, shameful scenes from last night rushed into her mind like a tide.

"You... what kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

Tang Yuehua abruptly stood up, but because of the sudden movement, she aggravated a sore spot, sucked in a cold breath of pain, and swayed slightly.

She bit her red lips fiercely, glared at Ronan with a mix of shame and anger, abruptly turned her head, and said through gritted teeth:

"I'm fine! I don't need your help! We can leave now!"

With that, she walked out of the room quickly, almost as if fleeing, though her somewhat messy and stiff pace completely betrayed her present embarrassment.

Watching Tang Yuehua's hurried escape, Ronan could not help letting out a soft chuckle.

"This woman is quite interesting."

Half an hour later, a low-key yet luxurious carriage drove slowly into the most bustling central area of Heaven Dou City.

This was the heart of the Heaven Dou Empire. Shops lined both sides of the street amid a bustling stream of traffic, and those coming and going were all brightly dressed nobles and impressive Soul Masters.

Amidst this bustling prosperity, an elegantly styled, imposing five-story building stood out in particular.

That was Moonlight Pavilion.

The most elegant place in Heaven Dou City, a palace dedicated to teaching noble etiquette, music, and art.

However, right outside the doors of Moonlight Pavilion, there was none of the usual tranquility and elegance; instead, it appeared foul and chaotic.

The carriage stopped a few dozen meters away from Moonlight Pavilion. Ronan lifted the carriage window curtain and looked coldly ahead.

Sure enough, just as Tang Yuehua had said, people were already making trouble.

Below Moonlight Pavilion's wide white jade steps, more than a dozen people were currently gathered.

These people were dressed in various attires, and a few looked like marketplace ruffians.

Yet Ronan could tell at a glance that these troublemakers were Soul Masters.

Though they were only ordinary Soul Masters of mediocre strength, likely the type who took money to do dirty work.

They blocked the main entrance of Moonlight Pavilion, holding some broken instruments and inferior silks while pointing at the doors of Moonlight Pavilion and cursing loudly.

"What kind of crap Moonlight Pavilion is this! It's simply a den of iniquity hiding filth!"

A burly man with a fierce face waved a broken-stringed harp in his hand and yelled with a raspy, broken-gong voice.

"Come and take a look, everyone! This is the so-called top-grade ancient zither Moonlight Pavilion sold me, and it broke after I played it only twice! This is clearly swindling money!"

"Exactly! And they claim to be the most elegant place in Heaven Dou City—bah!"

A sharp-cheeked, monkey-faced thin man immediately chimed in.

"I've heard that what's taught in this Moonlight Pavilion isn't any noble etiquette at all, but rather cheap methods specifically taught to tempt men!"

"It simply ruins the morals of our Heaven Dou Empire!"

"Get your pavilion master, Tang Yuehua, to crawl out here! Today she must give us an explanation!"

"Right! Make Tang Yuehua come out to confront us! Don't hide inside like a coward!"

The roaring curses of these dozen-plus people were extremely loud, drawing surrounding passing pedestrians and nobles to stop and watch.

Soon, over a hundred people had gathered in front of Moonlight Pavilion.

Among the crowd, many pointed at Moonlight Pavilion and whispered among themselves.

"What's going on with this Moonlight Pavilion? Usually it looks quite elegant, how could they sell fake goods?"

"Who knows? You can know a person's face, but not their heart."

"I heard the pavilion master of this Moonlight Pavilion is an absolute beauty; maybe it's just as they say, and she's engaging in some shady business behind the scenes."