"It depended on their own conduct and decisions."
After leaving those words behind, Qiu Yan said no more. His figure flickered, and he vanished from where he stood.
"So the Marquis of Pacifying the Realm had grown so arrogant the moment he gained power?" Seeing this, the Noble Clans' guardian shook his head. He seemed to be complaining, yet his tone was calm, as though he had finally let out a breath he had been holding.
Ancestor Chen glanced at him, noticing the faint aura lingering around him. A realization dawned on him, and he smiled. "You old fox, you nearly deceived even me. I thought your temperament was like a stubborn rock, impossible to move no matter what. Yet today, at every turn, you advanced by retreating."
"You truly think I was retreating?" The Noble Clans' guardian shook his head. "It was merely where the greater tide lay. Behind that Marquis of Pacifying the Realm stood a Heaven Lord. Even if Donghua held no ordinary status, he was only a somewhat useful chess piece. An arm could not twist a thigh; in the end, one still had to bow one's head. The Marquis of Pacifying the Realm understood my thoughts perfectly. He was merely giving me a step to descend."
As he spoke, his voice instead grew increasingly spirited, with no trace of dejection.
Ancestor Chen clicked his tongue in wonder.
The guardian said, "Just as I told the Marquis of Pacifying the Realm, what I protect is the Noble Clans, not any single individual. In truth, even my own main branch had long since vanished like smoke and scattered clouds. The present Wang Clan was merely a branch of that original house that migrated south, wandered through many twists and turns, planted its feet, and developed anew. So