The Conclave Hall was colossal — big enough for armies, glowing with celestial lanterns that burned without flame.
Every sect leader was present.Their combined power made the air feel heavy, like reality was sighing under spiritual tax pressure.
Xuan Mo took his throne — moonlit, cold, merciless.
Lin Yue stood at his right side, which caused at least four heart attacks in real time.
A Sect Master of the Sun Flame Sect rose, furious.
"Your Majesty, this mortal girl—"
"Proceed carefully," Xuan Mo said.
The warning was soft. Deadly soft.
The sect master immediately reconsidered his entire vocabulary.
"She— she destabilizes the balance. She must be inspected, recorded, regulated—"
Xuan Mo's fingers drummed once on his throne.
The sect master choked mid-sentence, as if the moonlight thickened around his throat.
Lin Yue stepped in instinctively.
"Wait."
The room went silent.
Even Xuan Mo stilled — surprised.
Lin Yue stepped forward, palms open.
"Sect Master, you want regulation? Fine. Let's regulate."
He blinked. "I— what?"
"I, Lin Yue, am willing to undergo inspection by neutral sects," she said calmly, "if every attending sect leader does the same to prove their cultivation has no hidden corruptions, demonic traces, unregistered techniques, or forbidden artifacts."
The room went still enough to hear regrets dropping.
The sect master sputtered. "That— that is not— we cannot—"
"Why?" Lin Yue asked sweetly. "Are you perhaps… hiding something?"
Gasps.Several.
Xuan Mo's lips twitched.
Oh no.
Was he proud?
Lin Yue continued, voice crisp:
"If I must be scrutinized because I resonate with the Night Emperor's cultivation, then surely all of you—powerful, respected leaders—should have nothing to fear from the same level of transparency."
A silence thick and profound followed.
A guilty silence.
Lin Yue added, "Unless, of course, you would like to explain publicly what you're afraid of."
Sect leaders shifted uncomfortably.
Xuan Mo leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand.
"An excellent proposal," he murmured."Adopted."
Chaos.
Actual chaos.
A sect master tried to object——Xuan Mo raised an eyebrow——the objection died on impact.
Within minutes, all dissent vanished.
The Conclave ended with every sect forced into compliance because a single mortal woman weaponized administrative logic.
Xuan Mo dismissed the hall.
Only when they were alone did he turn to her and say:
"You enjoy causing trouble."
"That was diplomacy!" she protested.
"That was war," he corrected.
She opened her mouth to argue—
—but Xuan Mo stepped closer.
Too close.
And with quiet intensity, he said:
"Lin Yue. Do you realize what you just did?"
"…A political proposal?"
"You bent the world," he said softly."You turned fear into obedience. Suspicion into silence. You altered the balance that cultivators cling to."
His hand brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You did so without power."
His voice dropped.
"And that makes you more dangerous than any cultivator here."
Her breath caught.
"Is… that a compliment?"
"It is a warning," he murmured."And an inevitability."
She swallowed. "Which is…?"
Xuan Mo's eyes softened in a way that should've been illegal.
"You and I," he whispered,"are going to bring chaos to the heavens."