The next day, two events rocked the Federation's leadership.
First, more than a dozen Parliament members had vanished from the Parliament Building overnight.
Second, Spirit Pagoda Master Qian Gu Dongfeng had died in his office without leaving so much as a body behind.
News of both events came from the Federal Council Secretariat and Spirit Pagoda Headquarters almost simultaneously. The Federation's leaders were at a loss.
The surviving Parliament members were terrified.
Some packed their bags that very day and left Mingdu under the pretext of "visiting family back home."
Some canceled every public appearance and shut themselves away.
Others kept asking in private whether Pavilion Master Cao had made any new moves. The replies were always the same: "He went back to the Sea God Pavilion." "He's reading." "He hasn't said a word."
Those days of silence were harder to bear than any explicit threat...
Like a blade hanging over their heads.
They didn't know when it would fall.
Or whether it would fall at all.
The factions that had once made moves against Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect in Parliament went quiet. Like grass struck by frost, they kept their heads down for a long time afterward.
Meanwhile, at the Spirit Pagoda...
Qiangu Dieting returned to the fray.
The former Pagoda Master appeared in public the very day after Qian Gu Dongfeng's death.
He brought several direct descendants of the Qian Gu Family into Spirit Pagoda Headquarters and announced that he would take charge of all its affairs.
His graying hair was combed neatly into place.
His steps were steady and his gaze sharp.
He expected the succession to be straightforward. After all, the Qian Gu Family had run the Spirit Pagoda for years and had deep roots there.
But then...
Gu Yue arrived with Di Tian