Inside the main hall of the Third Seat's Dao Palace.
Cloud Sea sat cross-legged on the floor, his posture relaxed. Raising his eyebrows slightly at Wu Blind Man, he sneered, "Heh, you mean tonight isn't the Military Faction dredging up old grievances for personal revenge, but the Imperial Court using the declining old faction to set a trap for me and weaken the now immensely powerful Myriad Spirits Garden?"
"More than a hundred and sixty years have passed, but the Imperial Court hasn't changed, nor have its rotten, antiquated rules and order." Wu Blind Man walked slowly toward the Third Seat, his voice steady. "For some people, the only change is that the once all-powerful Military Faction has become today's Myriad Spirits Garden."
"The five Seats possess heaven-reaching cultivation and are in their prime, with hundreds of thousands of disciples massed outside Heavenly Capital City. Who could look at that and feel at ease?"
Cloud Sea had last met Wu Blind Man over forty years ago. Chu Meidan had still been alive then. Upon noticing that his master had developed a taste for collecting antiques, he had acted as an intermediary and introduced Wu Blind Man to him.
But over all these years, although Cloud Sea had maintained his antique-related "exchanges" with Wu Blind Man, they had never met again.
Wu Blind Man understood perfectly well that today might be their second meeting-and their last. He dared not play mysterious or show off his cleverness, offering only sincere, objective advice. "As I see it, you already have an old grudge against Tiantong, and Myriad Spirits Garden and the Martial Academy have been locked in factional strife for years... given that, the Imperial Court certainly won't enter the fray itself. Doing so would look both impatient and immature... if I were