"The sons of the Li Household were vying for supremacy, so someone had to put up a Longevity Ranking List?" Chen Cuo narrowed his eyes. Thinking over what he had seen and heard since awakening, he began to see the shape of it.
"The more they dress it up in mystery, the more it's like looking at flowers through mist—enough to leave anyone bewildered," Tingyi said. "Why not watch what they do? Then we can find the hand behind it."
"Watch what they do? That means dancing to their tune." Chen Cuo shook his head. "Whether it's Louguan Dao or the Way of Nature, the many Incomplete Daos gathered here, or even Hemp Robe, who carries the path of Rise and Fall, they've made quite a spectacle of it. One takes the stage as another bows out. But these are all people who drew little notice before. Forty years ago, hardly anyone mentioned them. Now they've suddenly sprung up. How many people would truly pay attention? The Li Household's Tang Kingdom is on the rise, and great sects are scrambling to attach themselves to it. Why would anyone pass over those close at hand to recruit them?"
Tingyi's interest was piqued. "What would you do, then?"
"Without establishing a path and making it into Legalism, it's all passing clouds. Whoever put up the Ranking List cares neither about ranking the Incomplete Daos nor even about their cultivators." Chen Cuo looked toward the Imperial Palace. Around the jade-green list, radiance shifted and changed as one image after another tried to imprint itself upon it. "They're taking a false path to attack Guo. By establishing this list, they'll claim the right to judge the Incomplete Daos!"
Tingyi rubbed her forehead. "So which hidden schemer is making a clumsy imitation of the Lu