“The Emperor is already advanced in age, and the heir to the throne has yet to be decided. The princes have all grown greedy, dragging every faction in the court and beyond into the fray. How could our Pontiff possibly remain above it all…” Brian Sutton still kept his doubts to himself: why would the Pontiff support the Sixth Prince?

As the Thundercloud Beast passed by Brian Sutton, it suddenly opened its beastly eyes, turning its head to sweep a glance at the passersby. The fleeting anomaly made it restless, and it let out a low growl, only to be met with a lash from the driver’s whip.

Brian Sutton lowered his head, secretly moved by the Thundercloud Beast’s keen senses. Once a king among wild beasts, it had now fallen into the hands of a crude driver. The left hand of the goddess of fate was truly unfathomable.

Once the carriage had gone far, Brian Sutton and William Harper continued on toward Luyeyuan.

……

Beneath the Tower of Five Spirits, devout ascetics from all over, clad in white robes, prostrated themselves in worship before the tower. With three hundred years of expansion by the Qinglan Empire, the Tower of Five Spirits had already replaced the Seven Great Star Temples as the most important pilgrimage site on the continent.

Inside the Tower of Five Spirits was enshrined the corporeal remains left behind by the god Maha. Devout believers held that after death, their souls could be purified by the fleshly array and ascend directly to the divine realm, bypassing the cycle of reincarnation.

After Brian Sutton’s spiritual sense broke through the outer psychic barrier of the Tower of Five Spirits, he immediately sensed the powerful counterforce within.

For centuries, only one person in the mortal world—Mo Jie—had used the Grand Astrology to seize a star’s fate and become a new deity.

Thus, the Tower of Five Spirits, which housed Maha’s remains, held an irresistible allure for all cultivators under heaven.

Brian Sutton withdrew his spiritual sense, ceasing to probe the secrets of the Tower of Five Spirits, and entered the scripture hall beside the temple tower.

The ninth Pontiff of the Maha Orthodox Church wore a tall crown of green jade, his pair of strange, bewitching eyes fixed on Brian Sutton: one eye dazzling as the sun, the other gentle as the moon. These were said to be eyes that could peer into the wheel of another’s fate.

The Pontiff had presided over the church for thirty years, yet not a trace of age could be seen on his face.

“Lord Zuo Qing, as expected of one ranked among the Celestial List—your wheel of fate has already transcended the minor cycles. Yet I have seen your figure within the wheels of others’ fates. Would you care to hear about it?”

The Pontiff’s impropriety made Brian Sutton displeased. “As the chief priest of the nation, the omens seen by the Pontiff’s Eye of Fate should be reported to the Emperor, to aid the realm. How could Brian dare overstep?”

“This time, it is not a vague omen. I saw, quite clearly, Lord Zuo Qing standing before the Sixth Prince’s desk.”

Brian Sutton’s brow furrowed, and he shook his head slightly, but did not reply.

“The Sixth Prince came to ask about state affairs the night before last. I found him loyal and upright, so at the hour of the shining stars, I forced open the Eye of Mystery, and that is when I saw this scene.”

Brian Sutton could not tell whether the Pontiff had truly seen this with his bewitching eyes, or was simply trying to test him.

Brian Sutton was not about to let the Pontiff see through his thoughts so easily, and replied blandly, “What is so hard to understand about that? Every year, when the Emperor spends the summer in the Western Capital, the princes take turns acting as regent. In two years, the Sixth Prince will be old enough to participate in state affairs. As Zuo Qing, it would not be strange for me to stand before his desk someday.”

“Does Lord Zuo Qing think that such ordinary matters could enter the Eye of Mystery?”

“What does the Pontiff believe this omen portends?”

“It won’t be long before Lord Zuo Qing finds out.”

……

Brian Sutton walked out of Luyeyuan, his brow deeply furrowed. “Xiao Wu, what do you think of the Sixth Prince?”

William Harper asked in surprise, “The Pontiff summoned you just for the Sixth Prince?”

Brian Sutton nodded.

William Harper had followed Brian Sutton for seven years, earning not only his trust but also his appreciation.

“The Sixth Prince is only sixteen, but deeply favored by the Emperor. There have long been rumors at court that the Emperor’s delay in naming an heir is because he is waiting for the Sixth Prince to come of age. But these are just rumors from the neighborhoods. Above the Sixth Prince, there are still five adult princes, and they are the strongest contenders for the throne. Besides, the Sixth Prince’s mother’s lowly status is a major obstacle.”

Brian Sutton nodded, and said softly, “There are still two years before he comes of age. Who knows how many changes may occur in that time? The Emperor is no longer the man he was before the Battle of the Tanyuan River. The five princes each have their own ambitions, raising their banners in court and coveting the position of heir. If the throne remains vacant for another two years, chaos will surely erupt at court. The Mo Jie family must make a choice.”

“Does my lord wish to follow the old precedent…”

“The Mo Jie family’s old precedent…” Brian Sutton chuckled softly. In the struggle for the throne, countless powers became entangled, and in the end, some rejoiced while others lost their heads. At such critical moments, the Mo Jie family always became extremely low-key, even moving their power out of the capital to avoid the political storm. Compared to the rise and fall of other families, ever since Danna Liu became emperor, the Mo Jie family had always been one of the empire’s three great clans, never once declining. With every new emperor, though the Mo Jie family never played a decisive role in enthronement, the newly crowned emperors, eager to balance the power of their kingmakers, always found the deeply rooted and seemingly unambitious Mo Jie family to be the best choice.

Withdrawing from the capital’s struggle for the throne was the Mo Jie family’s old precedent.