Li Ling pondered briefly, then confirmed, "That is indeed the case!"
Lian Xiong's expression changed slightly at those words. "Prince Consort Li, forgive my bluntness, but this truly goes too far."
"Oh?" Li Ling's expression shifted. "But I have heard that beneath all heaven, no land is not Wang's; within the bounds of that land, no subject is not Wang's. Isn't it only natural for cultivators to register and pledge their service to Xu Xin?"
Lian Xiong laughed in sheer fury, his face indignant. "Of course not!"
Sensing the tension, Yang Zhi spoke with a trace of concern. "Valley Master Lian..."
Perhaps realizing that he had become too agitated, Lian Xiong calmed himself slightly and heaved a long sigh. "Prince Consort Li, cultivators are born to their parents and raised by their families. Having transcended the mundane, we have no need to band together like Mortal People to ward off threats from outside. How can you lump us all together?"
"All this time, the spirit peak and our kind have lived in peace. Even when fellow cultivators chose to serve the authorities and register themselves, they did so of their own free will, free to come and go. When has anyone ever heard of compulsion?
"All we rogue cultivators seek is longevity and freedom. Now that the fruit of longevity remains so distant, must even freedom be denied us? Heaven produces all things to nourish mankind; it is not Xu Xin that nourishes us. The very claim that all land beneath heaven belongs to Wang is utterly wrong!"
As the old valley master Lian Xiong's emotions surged, he gave off a clear, pine-resin-like scent, as though he were firewood. It was plain that his impassioned words were no pretense, but came from the heart.
Hearing this, Li Ling felt rather