Chapter 174: It Has Been Decided, A New Era Shall Begin!

The King of the Guanxuan Universe!

Lu Tian closed his eyes with clenched fists. His blood boiled once more.

He wanted to remain calm, but he couldn’t help it.

The Head Military Official smiled slightly and said, “Calm down!”

Lu Tian suddenly bowed deeply to the Head Military Official and said, “Regardless of whether I become the new king of the universe or not, you will still be my tutor, sir.”

The Head Military Official smiled and said, “Let’s head to the Gu Clan! Things will be more or less settled once you’ve acquired the Gu Clan’s support. You just have to fight Ye Guan, and your era will start afterward.

Lu Tian nodded, and the two quickly arrived at Gu World.

The Gu Clan welcomed them warmly. The important figures of the Gu Clan even stepped forward to greet them personally, including Crown Prince Gu.

Crown Prince Gu was Rank 1 on the Divine Martial List, and Princess Xin appointed him as the crown prince of Gu Nation. Princess Xin was often in Xuzhen World, so Crown Prince Gu was in charge of the Gu Clan’s affairs in the Guanxuan Universe.

Crown Prince Gu was clad in a long green robe. He was tall with a warm and gentle demeanor. He seemed like a refined gentleman.

Crown Prince Gu cupped his fist upon seeing the Head Military Official and Lu Tian.

“Head Military Official, Brother Lu, welcome! It’s so nice to see you.”

The Head Military Official smiled and asked, “Is it convenient for us to talk, Crown Prince?”

“Of course it is!” Crown Prince Gu smiled and said, “Let’s head in!”

The three soon arrived at a large hall.

A maidservant served them tea before leaving them alone in the grand hall.

Crown Prince Gu sipped his tea, but he didn’t speak.

The Head Military Official shattered the ice and said. “Crown Prince, we hope to acquire the Gu Clan’s support.”

Crown Prince Gu asked, “You want the Gu Clan to support Brother Lu?”

The Head Military Official nodded.

Crown Prince Gu fell silent.

The Head Military Official directed a meaningful gaze at Lu Tian.

Lu Tian stood up and spread open his palm. A faint red glow enveloped his skin.

Boom!

A bloodline power pervaded the air around them.

Crown Prince Gu’s eyes narrowed. “The Mad Demon Bloodline?”

The Head Military Official nodded.

Crown Prince Gu didn’t say anything in response.

The Head Military Official stared at Crown Prince Gu and asked, “Crown Prince, is the Gu Clan willing to help us? It’s completely fine if the Gu Clan is not willing to take on such a risk.”

Crown Prince Gu smiled and asked, “What do you want us to do?”

The Head Military Official smiled and said, “Crown Prince, you’re smart. You should know why I’m here.”

Crown Prince Gu looked at Lu Tian and asked, “Brother Lu, how confident are you in defeating Ye Guan?”

Lu Tian replied, “I’m a hundred percent confident.”

A hundred percent? Crown Prince Gu fell silent. I’m not sure where you got that arrogance from, and I don’t even know what to say.

The Head Military Official asked, “What do you think? Please speak your mind, Crown Prince.”

Crown Prince Gu calmly said, “I can’t make a decision by myself. I have to consult my ancestors.”

The Head Military Official nodded. “All right!”

He stood up and cupped his fist. “We’ll head off first, Crown Prince.”

Crown Prince Gu nodded. “Safe travels.”

The Head Military Official and Lu Tian left the grand hall.

Crown Prince Gu was left alone in his seat. He shook his head and chuckled.

Just then, a young woman walked toward him and sat down across from him. She glanced outside the hall and asked, “Brother, is Lu Tian really the son of the Sword Master?”

Crown Prince Gu shook his head. “No!”

The young woman frowned and pointed out. “But he has the Mad Demon Bloodline!”

Crown Prince Gu shook his head and said, “That doesn’t prove anything. The Yang Clan has the Mad Demon Bloodline running through their veins, does that mean they’re all descendants of the Sword Master?”

The young woman fell silent.

Crown Prince Gu continued. “The Head Military Official and Lu Tian are going down the wrong path as well.”

The young woman frowned and asked, “What does that mean, Brother?”

Crown Prince Gu chuckled and said, “Did you not see them just now? They’re not confident in their chances of succeeding. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have come here and asked for our clan’s help.”

Crown Prince Gu glanced outside before continuing. “Nothing is going to happen if Brother Lu defeats Ye Guan, but if Ye Guan wins, the factions behind Lu Tian will definitely make a move to suppress Ye Guan.”

The young woman lifted a brow and asked bitingly, “Will they dare?”

Crown Prince Gu calmly responded, “Why wouldn’t they? The vested interests of so many families and clans are behind them. The support of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion, the Milky Way, and Future Clan are worth mentioning as well.

“It would be foolish for anyone to underestimate their combined power.”

“Aren’t we one of the four great clans of the Guanxuan Universe?” said the young woman.

Crown Prince Gu’s eyes narrowed.

The young woman picked up the subtle change in his mood.

“What’s wrong?” asked the young woman.

“Something is weird.” Crown Prince Gu said.

The young woman frowned and asked, “What is it?”

The Crown Prince clenched his fists and pointed out. “The Committee is too quiet!”

This revelation surprised the young woman as well.

“B-B-Brother, are you saying…” she stammered.

Crown Prince Gu explained, “The Chosen One is openly pulling people to his side, so how come the Committee is still silent? Isn’t that weird?”

The young woman muttered, “It is weird…”

“I’ve come up with two possibilities…” Crown Prince Gu muttered, “The first possibility is that Lu Tian is truly the Chosen One, and the Committee has allowed him to build a foundation for himself.

“The second possibility is terrifying. The Committee knows that he’s not the Chosen One, and they’re using him to bait out the corrupt members of the Guanxuan Academy.”

The young woman’s expression turned serious.

Crown Prince Gu’s voice deepened as he continued. “Committee Head Li placed Representative Ye on house arrest, but she didn’t punish her. I think that was her way of protecting Representative Ye from the factions that are against her.”

“Aren’t we one of those factions, Brother?” asked the young woman.

Crown Prince Gu’s pupils quivered as he asked, “What do you think will happen if the Gu Clan and the Yue Clan ended up supporting the wrong side?”

The young woman frowned and pointed out. “What can the Committee do at that point? The Gu Clan and Yue Clan are influential and powerful enough to just hand the Academy Master position over to him, even if he’s not the Sword Master’s son.”

If the Yue Clan and the Gu Clan worked together, there wouldn’t be any need for them to be afraid of the Guanxuan Committee. Even if the armed forces of the Guanxuan Academy were deployed along with their Dao Soldiers, the combined forces of the Gu Clan and the Yue Clan could still overpower them.

After all, both clans had a total of almost ten million troops, each on par with every troop of the Guanxuan Academy.

“You should be correct… Crown Prince Gu trailed off before saying, “But…”

“But?

Crown Prince Gu stared intently at the young woman. His voice was trembling as he asked, “What if… what if Ye Guan is the Sword Master’s son?”

“That’s impossible!” the young woman jumped up with a face filled with disbelief and exclaimed, “How could that be?!”

Crown Prince Gu calmly said, “Why is it impossible? If Ye Guan is the Sword Master’s son, standing on Lu Tian’s side means damning ourselves. The Committee will say that we’ve rebelled as a justification to destroy our clan.

”By then, we would only have two options: go all-out in an actual rebellion or surrender to the Committee and accept our punishment.”

The young woman asked, “What if we actually rebelled?”

“Our clan will be annihilated!” exclaimed Crown Prince Gu. “The Sword Master is missing, but who can say for sure that he’s already dead?

”And so what if he’s already dead? Empress Qingqiu is still alive. Even if she remains asleep, the powerhouses loyal to the Sword Master are strong enough to reduce our Gu Clan to mere specks of dust.”

Crown Prince Gu shook his head and said, “Our ancestors told us to follow the descendants of the Sword Master. Why do you think they told us that? I believe it’s a decision they’ve made, not just because they’re loyal to the Sword Master but for the Gu Clan’s survival as well.”

The young woman was silent for quite a while.

Eventually, she spoke hesitantly, “We still can’t say for sure if Ye Guan is really the Sword Master’s son.”

“I’m sure of it,” said Crown Prince Gu.

The young woman stared at Crown Prince Gu in surprise.

“How?” she asked.

Crown Prince Gu nodded and said, “I have evidence!”

“Really? What evidence do you have?” asked the young woman.

Crown Prince Gu opened his palm, and a portrait floated over to the young woman.

“This is Ye Guan’s portrait.”

The young woman’s eyes brightened, and she exclaimed, “How come he’s so handsome?!”

Crown Prince Gu rolled his eyes at her and said, “Look at this.”

The young woman chuckled and took a closer look at the portrait.

“He has a great figure as well!” said the young woman.

Crown Prince Gu’s expression darkened.

“Don’t you think he looks similar to the Sword Master?” He pointed out.

The young woman was startled. She examined the portrait once again, and her expression turned serious.

“He’s most likely the Sword Master’s son!” exclaimed Crown Prince Gu.

The young woman stared at Crown Prince Gu and asked, “What should we do?”

Crown Prince Gu pondered for a while before saying, “We should go ahead and tell our ancestors what we think. They have to come here and wait for the reveal.”

Crown Prince Gu fell silent, seemingly pondering over something.

“I’ll tell the Head Military Official that our clan is willing to support him.”

The young woman asked in confusion, “Why?”

Crown Prince Gu calmly explained, “We’ll support Lu Tian on the surface. This way, the clans and families that are still waiting on the sidelines will surely support Lu Tian. We’ll support Ye Guan behind the scenes, and we’ll jump ships to openly support Ye Guan at the right time.”

The young woman fell silent at Crown Prince Gu’s reply. Eventually, she asked, “If Ye Guan loses against the Chosen One in a fair battle, what’s going to happen?”

Crown Prince Gu remained calm as he said, “If Ye Guan loses even though he’s the Sword Master’s son, it means the end of the Sword Master’s era. The strongest will become the next King of the Guanxuan Universe. Mm… I think we can give it a try!”

The young woman went silent.

Crown Prince Gu continued. “I can also follow the footsteps of our ancestors and help Ye Guan like what they had done for the Sword Master.

”If he’s more outstanding than me, I’ll have to support him. His background is better than mine as well, so I’m willing to support him. However, I will have to check if he’s a good-for-nothing. If he is, then forget it! I will not support a wastrel!”

“Sounds great!” exclaimed the young woman.

“All right.” Crown Prince Gu nodded and said, “I’ll go ahead and contact our ancestors!”

“Wait!” the young woman called out and said, “Gu Hao tried to kill Ye Guan in Qingzhou because of the Great Dao Destiny.”

Crown Prince Gu frowned. “I would have forgotten that if you hadn’t mentioned it! Didn’t I forbid anyone from intervening?”

The young woman sighed helplessly. “He secretly went out and did it, anyway.”

“Wait, can you repeat what you said earlier?” Crown Prince Gu asked.

The young woman was surprised, but she obliged, “Gu Hao tried—”

“Gu Hao?” Crown Prince Gu frowned. “Who is that? I don’t know a Gu Hao.”

The young woman didn’t know what to say.

…

On a mountain peak of the Martial Department.

The Head Military Official received a letter. He read it and smiled lightly once he was done. He turned to look at Lu Tian cultivating nearby and said, “The Gu Clan has decided to support us. It’s done!”

Lu Tian’s grinned.

He eventually failed to remain calm and burst out laughing. It’s done! My era is here!