Everyone finally understood that as long as the higher-ups trusted Nan Xiao, the Jun Clan's smear campaign wouldn't matter. If the Temple of the Gods issued a single divine decree, the public opinion of the Jun Clan would collapse instantly, as the Jun Clan's strength was nowhere near enough to contend with the entire Temple of the Gods. In this world, power reigned supreme. The one with the most power controlled everything. All Nan Xiao had to do was win the support of the top Main Gods. Old Ji looked at Nan Xiao and said, "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but who exactly is this Young Master Ye?" Hearing this, everyone in the room turned to look at Nan Xiao. Only now did they recall that everything had started because of that young swordsman named Ye Guan... They were all quite curious about the relationship between Ye Guan and Nan Xiao. Nan Xiao replied, "He is my sworn brother." Everyone exchanged glances but remained silent. In other words, Nan Xiao would go all in against the Jun Clan for Ye Guan's sake. As for Nan Xiao's trusted men, they would naturally stand with him through thick and thin. "Everyone, you all know I'm not someone who ignores what's right and wrong. By now, you should know what kind of person Jun Buqi is. He is just a lawless rich brat who has relied on the Jun Clan's influence to get away with all kinds of illegal and immoral acts, and he covers things up with money. "This time, he dared to set his sights on Brother Ye's wife? Fuck, the Jun Clan is not even worthy to carry my brother's shoes!" Upon hearing that, everyone understood that Ye Guan was no ordinary person—far from it. Nan Xiao continued, "Brother Ye hasn't made a move because he's merciful, but I'm the one who brought him here. Since he has been wronged, I can't just stand by and do nothing. "Even if I have to throw away my future prospects, I'll go head-to-head with the Jun Clan to the very end. If any of you have a different opinion, say it now. I won't force anyone to be a part of this." "Boss!" one of the officers said, "What are you saying? Every one of us here was promoted by you. Without you, we wouldn't be where we are today. Saying something like that really hurts us, boss." Another officer added, "As long as you're not rebelling against the Divine Will, we are willing to follow you through fire and blood." A third officer said, "Since Young Master Ye is your brother, then he's our brother, too. Your top priority now should be to go to the Main God Temple to report this to the Main Gods. "They need to know the full truth of what's happened. We're in the right here; The Jun Clan's actions are tantamount to defying the divine and digging their own graves!" Old Ji said gravely, "From what I know, Jun You isn't someone simple either. I'm more worried that they have other tricks up their sleeve. Of course, we'll investigate immediately. "Right now, you need to head straight to the Main God Temple." Nan Xiao nodded. "I'll go there right now. Old Ji, I'll leave everything here to you." Old Ji reassured him, "Don't worry." Nan Xiao stood up and disappeared from the hall without a trace. After he left, Old Ji immediately began giving orders. "The public lacks the ability to distinguish right from wrong, so they might easily be swayed by the Jun Clan's smear campaign. "Remember, tell our people to restrain themselves. Don't do anything that might harm civilians and give the Jun Clan something to use against us. To prevent the Jun Clan from pulling something underhanded, dispatch a squad of Judicial Guards to secretly protect Young Master Ye and that young lady. "Notify the Divine Guards and the Imperial Guards to come protect our hall..." One officer asked, "Will they come?" Old Ji replied, "Whether they come or not is their problem. As long as we notify them, if anything really does happen later, we can pass the blame." Old Ji's concerns were not unfounded. Not long after Nan Xiao left, many people began gathering outside the Judicial Office to protest and cause a commotion. Moreover, Old Ji had ordered everyone to show restraint, so the protesters grew bolder, and the crowd swelled in numbers. Inside the grand hall, the head of the Hall of Justice, Qu Jin, looked calmly at the Grand Elder of the Jun Clan, Jun Yan. He said, "So the Jun Clan wants me to stab Nan Xiao in the back?" Jun Yan hadn't expected Qu Jin to be so blunt. He froze for a moment but quickly composed himself and said in a solemn tone, "Hall Master Qu, as the saying goes, the people shouldn't fight the officials. "Our Jun Clan doesn't want to oppose Judicial Officer Nan Xiao either. But what choice do we have when he seems set on destroying us?" Then, he abruptly shifted the topic. "I've heard that Officer Nan Xiao has ambitions to become a Main God." Qu Jin chuckled, a trace of mockery in his smile. "The Jun Clan is certainly well-informed." Jun Yan didn't catch the sarcasm in Qu Jin's tone and added, "Hall Master Qu, our Jun Clan is willing to give you our full support." Qu Jin asked with amusement, "And how do you plan to 'support' me?" Jun Yan stood up and placed a storage ring on the table in front of Qu Jin. Qu Jin glanced at the ring and smiled. "What a generous gesture." Jun Yan looked him in the eye. "Right now, Nan Xiao is mired in scandals. With just a little push from you behind the scenes, he could be utterly ruined." After a moment of silence, Qu Jin said, "I'll accept the ring." Jun Yan was immediately overjoyed. He gave a slight bow and then retreated. After he left, a man in white robes stepped out from a side hall. The man in white chuckled and said, "The Jun Clan really wants Nan Xiao dead." Qu Jin asked, "What's your take?" The man sat down beside him and smiled. "What else is there to say? They're digging their own graves." Qu Jin replied calmly, "Let's hear it." "The conflict between them and Nan Xiao was originally a personal grudge, but now, they're trying to manipulate public sentiment to pressure the Temple of the Gods. The Main Gods, or anyone in power, will never tolerate that." Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel✦fire.net "So, I shouldn't help them, should I?" "Old Jin, don't play coy. You've already made up your mind and can see the situation clearly. You just want to hear me say it." "I still value your opinion." "The Jun Clan is powerful, sure, but their domain is commerce, not governance. The people above allow competition because it drives progress, but from their perspective, and ours, the merchants are outsiders. "We can fight among ourselves, but you absolutely cannot collude with outsiders to target your own people. No one should cross that line unless the bosses on top explicitly want you to do so. "The limitation of merchants is that they think money can influence politics, but they fail to realize that this only works in certain places. Here? It's impossible, unless their strength surpasses ours. Otherwise, a single charge of treason would be enough to annihilate them." Qu Jin nodded, signaling for him to go on. "They want to instigate internal conflict among us. It's not a bad idea in theory, but what they didn't expect was that Nan Xiao had already voluntarily withdrawn from the contest to become a Main God. "At a time , we should be trying to win him over, not target him. So, my suggestion is this—Inform Nan Xiao of what's going on immediately. Also, pass along evidence of some of the Jun Clan's illegal dealings. "Do him this favor, and even if he doesn't end up helping us, he certainly won't help Ge Han mess with us either." The white-robed man looked at him and said, "Your turn to speak." Qu Jin smiled faintly. "You made an excellent point, and your analysis was spot on, but..." The white-robed man said calmly, "But... there's a 'but,' right?" Qu Jin replied,"Ye Guan." "Damn it!" The white-robed man suddenly slapped his thigh. "I actually overlooked him. He's the real key!" Qu Jin nodded. "For someone to earn such deep respect from Nan Xiao... he is truly intriguing." The white-robed man immediately stood up. "I'll go investigate." With that, he turned around and left. Nan Xiao arrived at the Main God Temple. Inside the great hall, he recounted the entire course of events, then stood respectfully in silence. The hall was eerily quiet. After a long while, a voice echoed. "Understood." It was the Executive Main God's voice! Nan Xiao bowed deeply and turned around to leave. Just then, the Executive Main God asked, "What is your view on this matter?" Nan Xiao was slightly puzzled at the question. The Executive Main God clarified, "The actions of the Jun Clan." Nan Xiao respectfully replied, "Your wisdom sees through all. I dare not speak out of turn." The Executive Main God said calmly, "You may go." Nan Xiao bowed deeply and left. After he left, another Main God's voice sounded, "Quite impressive. He's becoming more composed." The Executive Main God asked, "What is your judgement on this matter?" The second Main God answered coldly, "Merchants meddling in politics... such actions must be punished. The root of this matter lies in the Jun Clan's failure to discipline its own people. They allowed their younger members to act recklessly, showing blatant disregard for the divine laws. "They should have been punished for that a long time ago, but now, not only have they knowingly broken the divine laws, they've even incited the public and manipulated the public's opinion to interfere with our governance. "Their behavior is utterly heinous and egregious. This cannot be allowed to set a precedent. Once the floodgates are opened, the consequences will be disastrous. "Hence, I recommend immediate and severe punishment. What do you think?" The Executive Main God calmly replied, "It's not enough." After a moment of silence, the other Main God responded, "You mean that punishing them now won't be enough to convince everyone... but if this continues, they'll likely resort to even more extreme actions?" The Executive Main God asked, "How large is the budget deficit?"