The existence of sects brought both benefits and drawbacks!

"Forget it. I'll clear things up the next time we meet."

Now that she had developed some affection for Li Chen, eloping was the last thing on Chu Ruoyan's mind.

Chu Ruoyan had not grown up dressed in silks and dining on delicacies, but her living conditions had hardly been poor.

On one side lay braving wind and sleeping under the open sky with Xiao Ming; on the other, enjoying wealth and splendor in the imperial palace.

Besides, Xiao Ming was merely a promising prospect. Perhaps in ten years, or several decades, he might achieve something great.

That was only a possibility, though. No one could say what the future held.

Li Chen already stood at the pinnacle of this world. As the emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty, his power had reached its peak, and his looks were unrivaled under heaven.

He was an emperor with genuine authority, and his strength was unfathomable.

To say Chu Ruoyan was not tempted would have been impossible.

It was not that she chased power and influence. The problem was that Li Chen's advantages were right there for all to see. What woman could resist? Besides, this had only been their first day together.

On top of that, Li Chen was already a seasoned hand at romance. He knew his strengths perfectly well. Once he determined what sort of woman he wanted to win over, he simply had to play to those strengths.

Back in her room, Chu Ruoyan had intended to cultivate for a while, but Li Chen's strikingly handsome face kept surfacing in her mind, disrupting her thoughts.

Even after undressing and lying down to rest, Chu Ruoyan was still recalling the scenes she had witnessed in the Imperial Study.

At first, she had merely thought Li Chen imposing and commanding. But now, as she carefully considered his exchanges with the ministers, she increasingly felt that there was far more to him than met the eye.

She still remembered how Grand General Guo Poyun had arrived with mud all over his hands and shoes.

He had said he was growing vegetables, but he was actually displaying weakness, aiming to let His Majesty know that he harbored no great ambitions.

The craftiest of them all had been Prince Li Longyu. When His Majesty first asked whether his subordinates had forcibly seized fertile farmland, Li Longyu had answered evasively, casually claiming ignorance and saying he would discipline them upon his return.

He had been playing dumb, with no intention of making any concessions.

After all, he was His Majesty's uncle. Perhaps he had assumed His Majesty would not pursue such a matter.

Only when His Majesty truly lost his temper and rebuked Li Longyu with the prospect of a popular uprising did he kneel and promise to deal with it strictly, even detailing how he would do so. Only then had His Majesty told him to get out.

Recalling Li Chen's muttered remarks, Chu Ruoyan could not help smiling.

Chu Ruoyan truly thought it remarkable that Li Chen could match wits with those old foxes at such a young age.

At dinner, Li Chen had apparently arranged to see her again tomorrow, too.

As her thoughts wandered, a faint smile lingered on Chu Ruoyan's lips, and she drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning.

Chu Ruoyan felt restless the moment she got out of bed.

Even over breakfast, she was wondering when Li Chen would summon her and what she should wear.

Did Li Chen like yesterday's outfit, or would he want to see something different?

Looking at the room full of clothes, she felt for the first time that she did not have enough. She had already changed outfits several times that morning.

She had kept the maids so busy that their hands ached.

Yet the maids remembered how reluctantly their young mistress had dressed yesterday, as numb and unresponsive as a rag doll.

Why was she so eager today, even complaining that she did not have enough clothes and wanting to buy more?

While changing, Chu Ruoyan looked at herself in the mirror and began wondering whether her figure was good enough, whether her makeup needed touching up, and so on.

In the past, Chu Ruoyan had never considered such questions when attending banquets and meeting the children of other powerful families in the Imperial Capital. Even without makeup, she was already an exquisite beauty.

Time slipped slowly by, and the closer it drew to noon, the more uneasy Chu Ruoyan became.

There was still no word of a summons from Li Chen.

Li Chen was the emperor, after all. She could hardly go looking for him herself. Had he forgotten?

A tangle of complicated emotions began weaving through her heart again.

Chu Ruoyan's mother seemed to notice and reassured her, "His Majesty has only just ascended the throne. He must be quite busy lately. Morning court probably hasn't even ended yet. Just look at how anxious you are."

"Who-who's anxious? We just agreed to meet last night, that's all. Mother, hurry up and leave. I'm changing."

A hint of bashfulness colored Chu Ruoyan's face as she spoke.

"You said it yourself. Your mother has years of experience putting outfits together. Are you sure you don't want to hear my advice?"

Chu Ruoyan's mother could offer her no guidance in cultivation, but when it came to displaying a woman's charms, Chu Ruoyan truly could not compare with her.

"I was wrong, Mother. Please help me choose."

Chu Ruoyan hurriedly stopped her mother from leaving and begged her for a few pointers.

Meanwhile, Li Chen had just finished morning court-another day of the ministers making a fuss.

The main issue discussed at Morning Court that day was none other than the regulation of sects within the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.

Sects were already difficult to control. Some had Saint Realm experts among their ranks and stood beyond the constraints of secular authority.

These sects enjoyed tremendous prestige in their regions, seriously undermining the local government offices' ability to govern.

If the sects were reasonably upright, it was not much of a problem.

The local authorities would turn a blind eye, and neither side would muddy the other's waters.

They could even cooperate when necessary. For instance, if Demon Beasts wreaked havoc nearby or evil cultivators used people to refine pills, these sects would also step forward in the name of righteousness and contribute to local stability.

Thus, successive emperors had left these sects unregulated-or, rather, had been unable to regulate them.

But problems had emerged in recent years. As sects developed and their disciples grew in number, the character of those disciples varied widely, and all manner of conflicts arose between sects.

These sects began forming alliances. The Piaomiao Immortal Alliance, the Nine Abyss Sacred Domain, and the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace, for example, were all major sect coalitions within the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.

These alliances had originally been established merely to mediate conflicts between sects in their respective regions.

Now, they had evolved into rival powers that fought one another and seized territory.

In particular, whenever rare ore deposits were discovered or divine treasures descended into the world, they fought tooth and nail, plunging the surrounding region into tremendous chaos.

Experts gathered in these alliances like clouds. The Heavenly Strategy Dynasty had neither the resources nor the ability to control them.

Had another emperor been on the throne, these ministers might never have raised the matter in the Imperial Court, mentioning it only in private memorials instead.

To put it bluntly, these sects already stood above imperial authority. Even if other emperors wanted to control them, they could not.

Any minister who raised the matter in the Imperial Court would simply be embarrassing the emperor.

But Li Chen was a Saint Realm emperor, the strongest sovereign in the past five hundred years. Only because of that did they dare bring it up in the Imperial Court and ask him to find a way to rein the sects in.

Li Chen understood this all too well. While reading memorials yesterday, he had seen numerous provincial officials report that some sects had become havens for vicious criminals, leaving the authorities helpless.

Military officers' memorials also described sect disciples brawling in military camps and disrupting their normal operations.

Li Chen felt these were genuine problems. However, he had yet to deal directly with anyone from the sects, so it was difficult to determine what they were thinking.

He would wait for an opportunity to meet them before making a decision.

The existence of sects brought both benefits and drawbacks. Finding a way to manage them was the best course.

Once these matters had been discussed, that day's morning court was declared over.

Li Chen returned to the Imperial Study. Since he had been fairly diligent yesterday, there were few memorials today, and he finished handling them all in no time.

Stretching, he noticed that the countdown for his "Novice Task" was still ticking away.

"If I remember correctly, Chu Ruoyan's home is in the eastern part of the city. I can have her act as my guide and continue my romantic offensive while I'm at it."

With that thought, he ordered a eunuch to summon Chu Ruoyan.

Before long, a tall, lovely figure appeared in the Imperial Study.