The Lords' Grand Assembly had brought a sudden surge of liveliness to the Glazed Glass Royal Capital. With lords from every direction pouring in, the entire city had become a bustling clamor.
Thirteen great kingdoms, eight hundred cities—add in the retinues they brought along, and the total number of people flooding into the Glazed Glass Royal Capital easily surpassed one hundred thousand.
Of course, given the capital's reception capacity, an extra hundred thousand people was hardly cause for alarm.
Each lord naturally had their own backers.
Among the lords converging on the Glazed Glass Royal Capital, at least a third had been promoted by the Peacock Great Emperor himself. As a result, these people still harbored deep affection for Peacock Sacred Mountain.
Furthermore, the Peacock Great Emperor had always been the undisputed foremost emperor of the Glazed Glass Royal Capital. So the very first thing these lords intended to do upon arriving was pay a visit to Peacock Sacred Mountain.
Naturally, every one of them had heard the various rumors about the Peacock Great Emperor. The lords who owed their positions to him were especially eager to reach the sacred mountain and get to the bottom of things.
However, the moment they entered the city, they heard a piece of news: the Young Master of Peacock Sacred Mountain was stationed at the Taiyuan Pavilion on Vermilion Bird Street.
"Have you all heard? The Young Master is back!"
"What? Wasn't it said that the Young Master had disappeared too? He's returned?"
"That's right. And the Young Master has even put out a statement—the Peacock Great Emperor has not fallen!"
"That's wonderful! A powerhouse like the Peacock Great Emperor—who in this world could possibly kill him? I never believed the Peacock Great Emperor had fallen!"
"Exactly, exactly! With the Peacock Great Emperor here, our Glazed Glass Royal Capital stays steady. Without him, nobody else can hold things together!"
"Shh! Brother, keep your voice down—don't go offending anyone!"
"Hmph! What's there to be afraid of? I acknowledge only the Peacock Great Emperor. Even if he's gone, I'll still support the Young Master!"
"But the Young Master is still so young!"
"So what? Ambition knows no age! Though the Young Master is young, he's already accomplished earth-shattering feats at his age! Some people live for thousands of years—so what? What have they ever done for the Glazed Glass Royal Capital? Can anyone give me an example to broaden my horizons?"
These words, both overtly and in their undertones, were clearly a jab at the Asura Great Emperor's lack of contributions to the Glazed Glass Royal Capital.
In fairness, the Asura Great Emperor had always lived in the shadow of the Peacock Great Emperor, and he had done some things for the capital. But under the brilliant light of the Peacock Great Emperor, those accomplishments appeared rather insignificant by comparison.
When it came to sheer influence over the Glazed Glass Royal Capital, the Asura Great Emperor might not even measure up to the Young Master, who had risen to fame only a few years ago.
"Come on, that's not fair to say! If the Peacock Great Emperor has truly met an unfortunate end, the Glazed Glass Royal Capital still needs someone to hold the reins. The Young Master is still young—he can't even command respect from within, let alone bear the burden of the capital against outside forces."
"So what if he's young? Who hasn't been young? At the Young Master's current age, even the Peacock Great Emperor wasn't his equal! Young as he is, with proper support from all of us and given his trajectory of growth, he'll be able to stabilize the situation within a hundred years, no problem!"
"But can the Glazed Glass Royal Capital afford to wait a hundred years? The Upper Eight Regions are a dog-eat-dog world—if you're even slightly careless, you could be devoured. Besides, if the Asura Great Emperor steps in as a transitional figure and holds the reins for a few centuries, by the time the Young Master truly comes of age, the future Glazed Glass Royal Capital might still be the Young Master's domain!"
"Bullshit! If we put you on that throne, would you be willing to step down? Would you hand over power?"
"By that logic, then a civil war in the Glazed Glass Royal Capital is practically inevitable?"
"That depends on whether certain people can rein in their ambitions. The right to rule the Glazed Glass Royal Capital belongs to Peacock Sacred Mountain. That's been the tradition for three thousand years!"
On the streets, one person after another chimed in with their opinions, and everyone was buzzing with discussion. Some supported the Young Master, while others backed the Asura Great Emperor.
Those lords who had originally been promoted by the Peacock Great Emperor, upon learning that the Young Master was holding court at the Taiyuan Pavilion, each felt a measure of reassurance settle in their chests.
They had been wracked with worry throughout their journey. They had heard the rumors of the Peacock Great Emperor's fall, and they had also heard that the Young Master was no longer in the Glazed Glass Royal Capital.
This had left them deeply unsettled. The Lords' Grand Assembly was transparently an attempt by the Asura Great Emperor to seize power.
But as people elevated by the Peacock Great Emperor, they could hardly stand by and watch the Asura Great Emperor take the throne with willing hearts.
Once the Asura Great Emperor consolidated power, those of them who owed their positions to the Peacock Great Emperor would inevitably be removed, one by one.
This was no empty scaremongering—it was something bound to happen.
So they were wholly unwilling to see the Asura Great Emperor rise to power.
But what could their unwillingness accomplish? With both the great emperor and the young master of Peacock Sacred Mountain absent, there was no center of gravity. Even if they wanted to object, they had no standing to speak.