Qian Renxue smiled and didn't say anything more. Instead, she looked at Yue Yi in her arms with a doting expression and a faint smile on her face.
"Dad, Mom, do you have time now? Shall we go to Heaven Dou City to play?" Yue Yi looked at Jun Xuehan and Qian Renxue with expectant eyes, and her little hands involuntarily clenched Qian Renxue's clothes.
"If we have time, let's go to Heaven Dou City." Seeing Yue Yi's expectant look, Qian Renxue readily agreed without much thought.
"We still have some time, so it's no problem to take you around Heaven Dou City." Jun Xuehan nodded slightly to Yue Yi, also not refusing.
"You all take Yue Yi to play, then I'll head back to my courtyard first." Qian Daoliu to them and turned to walk straight out of the palace.
With his strength, leaving the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace without anyone noticing would be incredibly easy.
Seeing this, Jun Xuehan and Qian Renxue nodded slightly to Qian Daoliu, then got up and took Yue Yi with them, heading out of the palace.
Leaving the palace, Jun Xuehan and Qian Renxue led Yue Yi along the bustling streets, their eyes scanning both sides of the street, searching for something that would interest Yue Yi or that she wanted to play with.
At the main gate of the Tang Sect, the entire Tang Sect was now completely surrounded by the Imperial Guards, who were launching an attack on the Imperial Guards Tang Sect.
The entire street was also blocked off by the Imperial Guards, prohibiting anyone from passing through. At the end of the street, Niu Gao, the patriarch of the Defense Clan, looked in the direction of the Tang Sect with a very complicated expression in his eyes.
The Tang Sect now consists only of direct descendants of the Strength Clan, who are simply no match for the Imperial Guards' attack. The only outcome would be complete annihilation.
Just as Niu Gao was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of Jun Xuehan and the others walking by.
"Sect Master, wait a moment." Niu Gao called out as he looked at Jun Xuehan's figure.
Upon hearing Niu Gao's voice, Jun Xuehan paused, her gaze instinctively turning towards the source of the sound.
"Senior Niu Gao, what is it you need? I'm not handling official business today. If it's not particularly urgent, let's talk about it tomorrow," Jun Xuehan said softly, watching Niu Gao walk briskly towards her.
"Sect Master, I have a private matter I wish to ask for your leniency." Niu Gao approached Jun Xuehan, bowed respectfully, and spoke earnestly.
"Private matter, what is it? Senior Niu Gao, please speak freely." Although he asked this question, Jun Xuehan glanced subtly in the direction of the Tang Sect.
"Sect Master, could you please spare some Core Flame for the Strength Clan? The Strength Clan and our Defense Clan have the closest relationship. Please, Sect Master, show some mercy for the sake of our Defense Clan, which has followed you since its inception." Niu Gao looked at Jun Xuehan and bowed respectfully, his voice filled with utmost sincerity.
"Senior Niu Gao, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, but this time it wasn't our Wind Snow Pavilion that made the move, but the Imperial Guards of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. You must have heard about the Tang Sect and Clear Sky Sect joining forces with the Star Luo Imperial Family to assassinate Emperor Xue Ye. Assassinating Xue Ye is punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family. How can I show leniency?" Jun Xuehan smiled and said with some helplessness.
"Sect Master, you have a good relationship with the current Emperor. Could you please plead for the Strength Clan? I don't ask that the entire Strength Clan be spared, I only ask that you preserve a Core Flame of the Li Strength Clan, just like you did with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Core Flame back then." Niu Gao said sincerely.
"The Strength Clan has a life-or-death bond with you, but Xue Ye and His Majesty Xue Qinghe are like father and son. Even if I wanted to help, I would be powerless. Moreover, His Majesty has just Ascend the Throne, and this is his first summons. If I were to reject the summons, how would the civil and military officials in the Imperial Court, and His Majesty himself, view me?" Jun Xuehan gave a bitter smile, shook his head slightly, and said, "In this world, there is no medicine for regret. The path you choose, even if it leads to an abyss where you will fall and be shattered to pieces, you still have to walk it."
"The Strength Clan has no way out now. Whether they can preserve any Core Flame depends on themselves. Moreover, since its establishment, the Tang Sect has been opposing our Wind Snow Pavilion at every turn. I have already shown mercy by not kicking them when they are down." Jun Xuehan said calmly, her eyes filled with tranquility.
The reason he let Ning Rongrong go in the first place was because Ning Rongrong was just a Support Soul Master who could never break through Level 80 in her lifetime, while the Strength Clan was different. They were not Support Soul Master without any combat power, and he had no reason to let her go, whether from a moral or legal standpoint, or from a public or private perspective.
"Well, it's alright, I've put the Sect Leader in a difficult position." Niu Gao sighed helplessly, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the Tang Sect.
"Then we'll be leaving now." Jun Xuehan looked at Niu Gao, who had gotten up, nodded slightly, and then walked straight towards another street.
As Niu Gao watched them leave, he shook his head slightly and walked straight towards the direction of the Wind Snow Pavilion. He knew very well that some things could be done once or twice, but not three or four times. He had already pleaded for mercy, but it was no use at all.
He and Tai Tan are now serving different masters, but Tai Tan simply chose the wrong one.
"Tai Tan, being tricked by the Clear Sky Sect once wasn't enough, now you've been dragged down by the Clear Sky Sect again. If you had listened to me earlier, this would never have happened," Tai Tan muttered to himself, his voice filled with helplessness.
On the other side, Jun Xuehan and Qian Renxue acted as if nothing had happened, remaining silent about the Strength Clan.
Let alone the fact that the blame for the Xue Ye has already been placed on the Tang Sect, they have no reason to let it go just for the fact that they protected Evil Soul Masters.
Moreover, some things may be false if one person says them, and they may also be false if ten people say them, but when thousands or thousands of people discuss them, even if the thing is false, it becomes true.
Furthermore, the most terrifying thing about public opinion is that you never know how a story will be presented in the mouth of the next person. For example, regarding the Xue Ye, in just one night, more than a dozen versions of the story were already circulating in Heaven Dou City.
Unsurprisingly, in these dozen or so versions, the Tang Sect was portrayed as utterly wicked, and even the Clear Sky Sect was significantly implicated. The reputation of the Clear Sky Sect plummeted, becoming the talk of the town in Heaven Dou City.