Starting from Tianlong, Wudu Tianxia

The Misty Palace was unusually quiet, with only the faint, hazy smoke rising from the incense burner.

Although the grandmother was as small as a girl, her eyes carried a heavy weight, and the temperature in the hall seemed to have dropped a few degrees.

Although this was Gao Yuan's second time experiencing such a scene, he was still deeply moved.

After all, the previous commotion was nowhere near as big as this one.

Whether in my past life or since my rebirth, this is the first time I've ever seen this.

However, having come from Xuzhou, he had seen quite a few things in the martial arts world, so he naturally showed no fear on the surface.

My grandmother, having held a high position for many years, was already accustomed to the proper etiquette of paying respects to elders.

All the nine heavens and nine departments are her servants, their lives and deaths entirely at her command, so it is only natural for them to show reverence and kneel in worship.

Grandma's eyes remained expressionless, her gaze lingering only on the boy beside her for a moment.

Seeing that Gao Yuan remained calm and composed, without losing his dignity, Grandma nodded in satisfaction.

After a while, Grandma's voice slowly rose from the table, where the incense smoke was wafting softly.

"Get up, everyone."

"Thank you, Your Excellency! Thank you, Young Master!"

The women rose to their feet, but remained standing with their eyes lowered, their gazes respectfully fixed on the ground before them, none daring to look directly at the person above them.

"Xiao Yu, this trip down the mountain took quite a while. Have you completed all the tasks assigned by the various departments?"

When her name was called, Grandma Yu knelt down to report:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to news from the Juntian Department, Xuanhuangzi has been captured and will be escorted back to the palace soon."

"Thanks to the Lord's illustrious name, the sisters of the Thirty Caves and Fifty-Three Caves, who were ordered to go to various places to instruct, are on their way back. The offering accounts and lists for the Six Caves and Three Islands, including the Crimson Flame Cave, are being verified on the third day of the third month."

Grandma snorted and suddenly said angrily:

"You all think this old woman is blind, don't you? Nobody cares about her."

Upon hearing this, Granny Yu kowtowed heavily on the ground, saying, "I dare not."

"What do you mean you wouldn't dare? If you think this old woman is blind, why would you hide the fact that Xiao Qin failed to take down the Shennong Gang, and instead let you clean up the mess while Grandma was out gathering herbs?"

"Are you afraid I'll punish her, so you're deliberately playing the good guy? If I hadn't happened to go to Kainan Prefecture, would you have kept this a secret forever?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Ziqing immediately knelt down, trembling, while the other women were all terrified.

"Your Majesty, the matter of subduing the Shennong Gang is a major task entrusted to you. Since Your Majesty is not in the palace, I can only act on your own initiative..."

To her surprise, this only fueled Grandma's anger: "You scoundrel!"

"If that's the case, why didn't you inform me on your way back from Kainan?"

Grandma Yu, interrupted, didn't dare to speak further, only repeatedly saying, "Yes, yes!"

"Since you know it's utter nonsense, how dare you spout it in front of me?"

Seeing that the master was angry, Granny Yu dared not utter a sound and could only continue kowtowing. But then she heard Granny say:

"As for Xiao Qin, you have disappointed your grandmother. You have been in the palace for more than ten years now, and you can't even handle Sikong Xuan. I'm afraid you have long forgotten the skills your grandmother taught you."

"Your Majesty, please have mercy! I have done wrong. If Your Majesty wishes to punish me, I am willing to accept the punishment. I beg Your Majesty not to expel me from Lingjiu Palace, and not to upset me."

This was the first time Gao Yuan had witnessed the majesty of a palace master emanating from his grandmother.

Seeing Qin Ziqing crying and trembling all over, Granny Yu dared not breathe and finally took half a step forward.

"Senior Sister, please allow me to say a word."

As soon as he opened his mouth, all the women held their breath in surprise.

They grew up in Lingjiu Palace from childhood and knew that the Lord's majesty was unquestionable; no one dared to speak when she was angry.

Surprisingly, Grandma did not get angry.

"What does Junior Brother want to say?"

The women in the hall were all dumbfounded.

"Junior brother, look at this. On the surface, it seems like they're hiding something, but think about it..."

"If the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments weren't so loyal to you, why would Sister Qin remember your instructions, and why would Granny Yu take the initiative to clean up the mess? It's all because she was afraid of distracting you."

"They were wrong, but isn't it also because of your long-standing authority and influence?"

Gao Yuan certainly wouldn't go against his grandmother. He seemed to be making excuses for the two of them, but in reality, every word he said touched his grandmother's heart.

Grandma's tense jaw softened a little: "You certainly know how to make excuses for them."

"Junior brother is telling the truth."

Gao Yuan laughed:

"Besides, Senior Sister, you don't need to get angry over such trivial matters. If you get upset, not only will Lingjiu Palace be in danger, but our Xiaoyao Sect also needs you to lead the central leadership now that the sect leader is missing!"

If we were to say what else Grandma cared about in her entire life besides her obsession with Wu Yazi.

Only the position of leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect.

Grandma had seen countless people in her life; what kind of flattery hadn't she heard?

But somehow, the words that came out of the boy's mouth touched her heart, making her angry expression turn into a light laugh.

"Glib-tongued."

Grandma snorted, but there was no trace of anger in her voice.

"Fine, since you pleaded for them, I'll spare them the python whip punishment this time. But if they do it again, they'll be sorry!"

Granny Yu and Qin Ziqing were overjoyed to hear of the Lord's unprecedented act of mercy.

"Thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency! Thank you for your mercy, Young Master!"

Most of the women had lived together in Lingjiu Palace since childhood and shared a deep bond. Seeing that the Lord had shown mercy, they all knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

When they looked up, everyone's gaze towards Gao Yuan was full of respect and gratitude.

Gao Yuan observed the attitudes of the women.

As the saying goes, "I can rise and fall between heaven and earth, and I can turn the landscape at my own discretion."

He experienced for the first time the thrill of controlling other people's fates, with life and death hanging in the balance.

No wonder Murong Bo, Ding Chunqiu, Duan Yanqing and their ilk are always thinking about causing trouble.

Grandma raised her hand to stop her:

"Alright, enough of the small talk. The reason I've gathered you here is twofold: first, to hear how well you've done with the tasks assigned to you; and second, and most importantly, to let you get to know each other."

She paused, then said, "Although Gao Yuan is young, he is my true junior brother. From this day forward, he will be the deputy palace master of Lingjiu Palace. All servants of the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments of Lingjiu Palace will treat him as if they were me."

"If anyone is disrespectful..."

Grandma's eyes were icy: "Go to the Cold Mist Prison and ask for your life or death!"

"yes!"

Gao Yuan naturally knew that his grandmother was elevating his status and also giving the women a heads-up.

As for the grandmother's harshness towards them, it was due to her personality and was a distorted form of "parental" care.

He not only took in unfortunate women and protected the masses, but also granted them the ability to protect themselves and seek revenge, giving them a status above many other martial arts figures.

Due to physical reasons, he was violent and believed in the power of fear.

However, despite Grandma's extremely domineering management of them, the women of Lingjiu Palace never had any thoughts of betrayal, because Grandma was their 'savior'.

It is a being that possesses both kindness and severity.

For this reason, compared with other major martial arts sects, Lingjiu Palace can be described as an organization with absolutely no internal strife and extremely centralized power.

It should be noted that even powerful groups like the Shaolin Temple and the Beggars' Sect have internal conflicts and infighting to varying degrees.

Of course, this excludes the cave masters and island masters under the Lingjiu Palace.

It's not that they don't want to fight, it's that they dare not!

After the women dispersed, Grandma and Gao Yuan did not leave the Misty Palace immediately.

Gao Yuan had some doubts about the effectiveness of "Nanming Chuiyun" in clearing the mind and focusing the thoughts, so he asked his grandmother for advice.

Upon hearing this, Grandma took the jade in her palm and examined it intently.

But for some unknown reason, the jade had no effect on her.

This situation is too strange; no wonder Grandma doesn't believe what Gao Yuan said.

Instead, they wondered if Gao Yuan had made a mistake while practicing Beiming, causing his inner demons to create this illusion.

After examining him for a while, she breathed a sigh of relief once she confirmed that the boy did not show any signs of disordered internal energy.

"Senior sister, aren't you assigning any tasks to junior brother?"

Since he couldn't uncover the secret of Nanming Chuiyun, Gao Yuan stopped worrying about it.

Grandma shook her head.

"You don't need to do anything for now. Since you're here to pass on your skills on behalf of your master, you should follow me and learn martial arts properly."

After saying that, Grandma added with a hint of disdain:

"You brat, don't be like that clever little brat, wasting your energy on trivial matters. You can't even beat Murong Bo; your senior sister is ashamed for you!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yuan gave a helpless, bitter smile.

It seems that Grandma is ashamed of herself for bringing shame to the Xiaoyao Sect!

His grandmother had high hopes for him and wholeheartedly advised him: "Once you have mastered your skills, your senior sister will make arrangements for you."

"Yes, Senior Sister."

Finally, Grandma looked at Gao Yuan again.

"You haven't been in the palace long, and your residence has just been prepared. I'll have Xiao Yu take you to Lingze Courtyard later. If you need anything, just tell Xiao Yu. Don't be shy with them."

"The four maids, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, are still young. I'll have them find a clever maid to take care of you later."

Gao Yuan, as a promising young man in the new society, is faced with such a corrupt lifestyle.

How could I possibly allow myself to... refuse!

He immediately said righteously:

"Thank you for your concern, senior sister!"

......