"Absolutely. With Wei Zhao at the lead, that Xue Jianfeng fellow isn't even fit to shine his shoes, yet there he was, putting on that lofty, preening air, and the moment he opened his mouth he wanted Sister Lingshan to go with him—the man's begging for death." Kang Xiaobo was seething.

"Ah, but there's nothing we can do to reach Leader Wei Zhao right now. Even if we wanted to write him a letter, we've no way to get one to him, let alone ask him to come back here and pull us out of the fire." Wu Chengtian smiled bitterly.

"Distant water can't put out a fire close at hand. This time we'll have to rely on ourselves. Oh, right—we should also let Senior Lin Dongfang know. Who's to say he might not have a way?" Zhao Qitan suddenly clapped a hand to his head.

"Yes, yes!" Everyone nodded at once. Senior Lin Dongfang's performance last time had left a deep impression—he had dealt with several Heaven Grade grand-completion experts as if it were child's play. Perhaps this time he would have a way to handle things too!

"And there's something else. Sister Lingshan, that primordial-spirit cultivator you mentioned—from the sound of it, it's most likely just a pretext the Tai Gu Alliance cooked up to pick a fight. But if it happens to be real, we might be able to make something of it." Wu Chengtian spoke thoughtfully.

"Make something of it how?" Qiu Lingshan didn't catch on right away, and the others all wore looks of confusion as well.

"Think about it, everyone. The Tai Gu Alliance has come on strong, and with the strength of our mortal world, we simply have no power to fight back against them. Even if they have a rule that they cannot disturb the order of the mortal world, rules are dead and people are alive. As long as someone among them takes a notion to, finding a pretext and exploiting a loophole is child's play—and this time that Xue Jianfeng has already shown signs of exactly that, hasn't he?" said Wu Chengtian.

"Quite right. The man was plainly out to make an issue of it—that much is obvious." Qiu Lingshan nodded.

Using the death of two Tai Gu Alliance disciples as grounds to force his way into the Mystery Bureau, not only compelling the mortal world to conduct an investigation but also seizing the moment to propose selecting outstanding disciples from the mortal world—and even demanding to his face that she come with him—it was clear that Xue Jianfeng's focus was not on this primordial-spirit cultivator at all. That was purely a pretext.

"So, considering the big picture, it isn't just us here—the cultivators of the entire mortal world will face two choices. Either submit utterly to the tyranny of the Tai Gu Alliance, accept whatever they say, obey in all things and resist in nothing." Wu Chengtian laid out his analysis.

"That's just too infuriating!" Qiu Lingshan and the others all frowned. True, their strength was far inferior to the other side's, but this was the mortal world after all—by what right did the Tai Gu Alliance get to call all the shots?

"Quite right, it is infuriating. Where there is oppression, there is resistance. If the Tai Gu Alliance chooses a soft approach, well and good. But if they find some pretext and simply take what they want by force, I believe the vast majority of the mortal world's cultivation factions will not accept it—especially the ancient sects and great families." Yu Bing nodded.

This was not hard to understand. Better the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix—these people had been exalted masters in the mortal world, lording it over all, and to suddenly be made to bow and scrape and dance to another's tune was a fall no one could adapt to overnight.

Unless the Tai Gu Alliance tore off all pretense and carried out a bloody suppression, washing the mortal world's cultivation factions in blood from top to bottom—only then could they truly cow everyone. Fortunately, there was no sign of that yet.

"Then only the second choice remains. Of course, we don't have the nerve or the capital to tear off all pretense with them, so we can only strive for a relatively equal footing for cooperation, rather than unprincipled submission." Wu Chengtian mused.

"Equal partnership? Is that even possible?" At these words the others exchanged glances. Equal partnership presupposed at the very least that both sides stood on the same level. The mortal world's cultivation factions were many, and taken all together they could indeed be called formidable, but set against the Tai Gu Alliance they still paled into insignificance—there was hardly any basis for comparison.

"It sounds far-fetched, but if you think it through, it isn't actually impossible. Think about it, everyone: if the Mystery Bureau steps forward and unites all the cultivation factions of the mortal world under one banner, so that everyone speaks with a single voice—then surely even the Tai Gu Alliance couldn't afford to take us too lightly, could they?" said Wu Chengtian.

"That's a good proposal. In ordinary times, uniting all the factions would be unrealistic, but the situation is special now. With the Mystery Bureau taking the lead, it does have a certain feasibility." Yu Bing voiced her agreement.

"All right, I'll discuss it with Director Feng and put it into practice as soon as possible." Qiu Lingshan nodded, though she was still somewhat worried. "But even so, our individual strength is still far too inferior to those people from the Tai Gu Alliance. It'll be hard to win any real say for ourselves, won't it?"

After all, strength determines whose voice carries weight. The sheer number of the mortal world's cultivation factions could at best guarantee a seat at the table. Once it came down to specifics, the weakness of their individual strength would inevitably leave their words without force, and in the end they would still come out the losers.

Put plainly, a gaggle of children gathered together can never change their disadvantaged position before adults. Even if they turned hostile on the spot, all they would get was a one-sided beating. Under such circumstances, even if they won the chance to talk, they would still end up led by the nose.

"And what if that primordial-spirit cultivator is one of ours?" Wu Chengtian said meaningfully.

At these words everyone was struck dumb, and only after a long moment did they react. Yu Bing clapped her hands. "Old Wu, you're something else—not bad, not bad at all! If that primordial-spirit cultivator really exists, then he's certainly not one of the Tai Gu Alliance, which means he's very likely one of the mortal world's own—it's just that we never paid him any attention before. And he's made an enemy of the Tai Gu Alliance, so winning him over shouldn't be too hard. You could say he's already in the same camp as us."

"Since this primordial-spirit cultivator could kill those two Foundation Establishment disciples of theirs, his strength must be extraordinary. I'd say even they must find him intimidating—that makes things much easier!" Zhao Qitan nodded in agreement.

It was like a pack of children among whom a child leader suddenly emerged who could beat up adults. Even if the adults still held the advantage, they would at least not dare to throw their weight around as recklessly as before—because if you pushed the other side too far, they would flip the table, and you'd get a beating yourself.

"Well said. And if we can't find this primordial-spirit cultivator, we still have Senior Lin Dongfang—that should be enough to keep things under control." Kang Xiaobo added.