Was This Still the Sect Master She Knew?! (Please Subscribe and Vote with Monthly Tickets)

Upon hearing that the emperor was about to speak, everyone around him, whether standing or seated, straightened their backs.

It felt as though they were waiting for Li Chen to deliver a lecture.

Yuan Tianhe immediately set down his wine cup and focused his gaze on Li Chen, afraid of missing even a single word.

The entire Moon-Gathering Pavilion fell utterly silent. Even the disciples standing in attendance held their breath.

Li Chen put down his cup and said, "Regarding coordination with the sects, I established the Ministry of Sect Affairs, yet your Eight Gates Heaven-Sundering Hall has still not registered."

Before he had even finished speaking, Yuan Tianhe rose and bowed respectfully. "Your Majesty, please understand that this was indeed an oversight on my part. I will immediately dispatch the Grand Elder responsible for this matter to register in person at the Ministry of Sect Affairs. Our Eight Gates Heaven-Sundering Hall will faithfully follow Heavenly Strategy's policies and flourish under Your Majesty's wise leadership!"

His words were watertight, leaving everyone present momentarily stunned.

Who would have imagined that this normally stern, rigid master of a hidden sect could deliver such polished bureaucratic platitudes?

In a corner, a white-haired elder could not help muttering, "When did the Sect Master learn all this?"

Another elder beside him whispered, "What do you know? The Sect Master worked in official circles when he was young. Only later did the former Sect Master take him as a disciple."

As it turned out, Yuan Tianhe had not come from a cultivation family.

His father had been an official in Heavenly Strategy's Southern City, and he had absorbed the ways of officialdom from childhood.

Later, a chance encounter caught the attention of the wandering Former Sect Master of the Eight Gates Heaven-Sundering Hall, setting him on