The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly grew even heavier.
Sima Zhao's brow was tightly furrowed as well.
As the commander overseeing the Sima Family's support for Ma Huainan's Divine Kingdom, he was under considerable pressure himself.
If they ultimately lost this war, the lineage elders would likely question his abilities.
His father still had a thousand years left before his next term ended.
During those thousand years, the performance of every candidate within the lineage would be recorded, becoming a crucial basis for determining who would inherit its core authority.
He absolutely did not want such an obvious stain on his record.
"How did the attempt to contact Lu Mingshi of the Lu Family go?"
Sima Zhao took a deep breath and turned his gaze toward his younger sister.
Hearing this, Sima Yurou immediately stood up.
"He refused all contact with anyone from the Sima Family."
"His stance was extremely firm."
"Good." A trace of anger flashed through Sima Zhao's eyes.
"This Lu Mingshi certainly knows how to be ruthless!"
A moment later, however, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
In the past, whenever conflicts arose among the Five Great Families, both sides would generally take a step back.
Even when things truly reached the point where someone had to be eliminated, most people were unwilling to act personally. Instead, they threw money at hired help, finding other forces to handle that dirty work for them.
Yet this time, Lu Mingshi had insisted on taking action himself.
By now, the entire Federation knew he was the powerhouse behind the invasion of Ma Huainan's Divine Kingdom.
But not only had he made no attempt to hide it, he could not even be bothered to entertain the Sima Family's peace overtures, shutting the door on every