"Let's leave Sect Master Ning's matter for later."
Xue Ye brushed the matter aside.
It was not that he had never approached Ning Fengzhi. He had, but Ning Fengzhi simply refused to come to the palace.
He understood what Ning Fengzhi meant: he wanted to help neither side.
But Ning Fengzhi was, after all, Xue Qinghe's teacher, so Xue Ye could not help harboring some resentment toward him.
He appeared to be helping neither side, but in truth, he had decided to sit high above the fray, watching the tigers fight from the mountain. Whichever side won, Ning Fengzhi would benefit.
If Xue Qinghe won, Ning Fengzhi was still her teacher in the public eye. Whatever happened, she would not turn against him.
The same held true for Xue Ye. Ning Fengzhi was, after all, the master of one of the Upper Three Sects.
If he committed himself to siding with the Spirit Hall, Xue Ye would be the one in trouble.
Xue Ye understood Ning Fengzhi's thinking, but he did not approve of his actions at a time like this.
Ning Fengzhi was far too calculating. Sometimes, being too calculating stripped a person of human warmth and made him rather detestable.
Still, despite his inward disgust, Xue Ye said nothing more.
Helping neither side was better than siding with Xue Qinghe.
"Minister Dugu, have you heard about Qian Daoliu's recent appearance?"
Xue Ye changed the subject.
Xue Qinghe's affair certainly gave him a headache, but Qian Daoliu's appearance filled him with profound apprehension.
He had ruled the empire for decades and had witnessed the overwhelming might of the Spirit Hall when Qian Daoliu held its reins.
It was fair to say that, had the Clear Sky Sect not had Tang Chen back then, the entire continent would almost have