CHAPTER 79: 2) THE SECT MASTER.

Lu Yanyu’s eyes flashed with a mix of defiance and sorrow as she met her husband’s cold gaze.

How can he... He dare he...

The weight of their words hung heavy in the thin air. She could see the unyielding ambition in his eyes, a fire that burned away all reason and compassion.

"Wisdom?" she echoed, her voice trembling with barely contained fury.

"Is it wisdom to send our son to his death? Or is it your own ambition, dressed in the robes of necessity?"

Her hands clenched at her sides, the silk of her robes rustling with her agitation.

"Ambition?" He repeated her words with a hint of mockery.

"It’s not merely ambition; it’s the weight of legacy. The Celestial trial has always been a threshold for greatness, and the weak have always fallen like leaves in the wind. That’s the way it was, that’s the way it is, and that’s the way it will always be... Tian’er will either burn bright or he will be consumed. That is the path of cultivation," he declared with a grim certainty.

Everything is not but a pawn on his game of chess, be it his wives, be it hai son, or even the Holy Envoy.

Everything is well calculated, everything is well planned.

The most powerful piece on his board isn’t his wife, not his child but it’s Zhao Fan.

Lu Yanyu’s eyes narrowed. She knew her husband’s ambition knew no bounds, but to so callously disregard their son’s life was unconscionable.

Of course, it was her belief that her son would meet his end, while Sect Master was sure with Young Master Zhao there, as long as Lu Tian followed him, their son was destined to rise.

Alas.

"So that is it then? Our son is nothing more than a pawn in your grand scheme?" she spat, her voice dripping with contempt.

She stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

Her delicate facial skins were twisted in a rare display of open fury, her usually serene demeanor shattered.

"A pawn? Is it not? Aren’t we all the pawns?" The sect master’s lips curled into a smirk, a glint of approval in his eyes.

"You understand the necessity of our situation. With your influence and allure, you can be a valuable asset in securing the support of the Holy Envoy. Your beauty and charm are unmatched, and they can be used to our advantage... "

"Don’t get me wrong, wife... Your existence is useless to me, and I know you don’t like me either, thus, I should hand you over to another man for anything I can get... If you have a say, speak up."

Her eyes were full of anger and hatred.

Sell her, no care for the son’s life, willing to hand over both daughters and now even his wife to a strong man just for support?

How pathetic, but she can’t help but think it’s better.

This man is helpless and trash, If another man wants her, it’s better that way.

Lu Yanyu’s lips quivered, not from weakness but from the effort to contain the storm surging in her heart. Useless... he had said. After centuries of standing beside him. After offering her body, her cultivation, her clan’s goodwill—all for the sake of a sect that now felt colder than a blade’s edge.

Her gaze dropped for a moment, the long lashes hiding the glint of old wounds resurfacing.

So that’s all I ever was. A tool. A vessel. A bargaining piece to trade upward in the ladder of influence...

But still, she did not break.

When she raised her head again, her golden eyes shimmered—not with sorrow, but resolve. A solemn calm washed over her expression, as if something inside had snapped free, finally unchained.

"I see," she whispered. "Even beasts care for their cubs. You... are beneath even that."

Lu Yuntian narrowed his eyes slightly, as if registering her shift in tone, but he ultimately said nothing.

It’s pointless to speak with foolish people.

Does he really never care for his son? He cares but in his own way. He wants Lu Tian to carry on the legacy of the sect, however, as a cultivator one must overcome the hardship and stand on peak.

..

She stepped forward, no longer trembling, no longer screaming, her voice was as smooth as frozen riverwater, eerily still.

"Let me ask you one thing, Holy Lord Lu Yuntian... not as your wife, not as Tian’er’s mother, but as a cultivator who once bore the divine will of the Eternal Sky Temple."

He raised an eyebrow, vaguely intrigued by her shift.

"What happens if Tian’er survives?" she asked softly.

"What if he does not return as a pawn, but as a kingpiece? What if he walks out of that accursed domain with eyes brighter than yours, ambition deeper than yours? Will you kneel to him?"

A faint flicker passed through Lu Yuntian’s eyes.

"If he does... Then that’s my blood, if not, he better die there... Someone incapable of ruling and unable to see the bigger picture can’t be the heir, In the end, I have a few more sons." He remained cold.

"I see... Then you no longer desire me and wish to send me away, but what if I refuse... What if I refuse to be a lowly bed warming woman for another man?" she spoke up for herself.

Lu Yuntian looked at her then, not as a husband gazing upon his wife, but as a sect master measuring an asset, property of sect that had begun to defy orders.

His expression didn’t change, but the temperature in the hall seemed to drop several degrees. The silence stretched thin.

"I never said you had a choice," he replied flatly, voice devoid of inflection. "You lost that the moment you lost your value to me."

But even as the words left his mouth, a flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes. Guilt? Regret? No... perhaps only fatigue, buried deep beneath layers of hardened ambition.

Lu Yanyu’s heart twisted, not from pain, but from bitter clarity.

There it is. The final truth. Not even hatred, not even scorn... just indifference. That’s what I mean to him now. Less than a chess piece. A forgotten token from a game already won.

Her spine straightened. The heaviness in her chest crystallized into something sharp and defiant.

"Then allow me to enlighten you, Holy Lord," she said coldly, each word etched with resolve.

"I will not be handed over like some worn-out concubine to curry favor from another man. I was born a daughter of the Luán Clan. I once bore the Divine Seal. Even the Holy Envoy himself used to bow before my clan’s ancestral shrine."

She took a step closer, her presence pressing down like falling snow—quiet, cold, yet suffocating.

Of course, it was all a lie, how can Zhao Fan, a holy emperor power house realm, kneel before their weak Luán family’s ancestral hall? And sect master knew she was merely saying whatever she wants, to make her feels superior, as if she is worth something.

Tch, Tch, Tch, he can see though her like reading a common scripture written by roadside scholars.

"If I am no longer of value to you, then I will reclaim my value myself." She added.

He stared at her, unmoved on the surface, but his knuckles had whitened around the sleeve of his robe.

How dare a woman talk to him like this.

"You are free to go," he said finally.

"I won’t stop you... But deep down we both know you have nowhere to return to, you are no longer the saintess of the eternal sky temple..