The turning point came fast.
So fast that even the Immortal Realm failed to react in time.
Outside the Imperial City
At first, there were only a few people.
They stood before the palace gates—no shouting, no banners.
They simply knelt.
"Isn't that Zhang Wu?""The one who lost control a few days ago?""It's him—I recognize him!""Why does he look… healthier than ever?""Didn't they say cultivation harms people?"
More citizens gathered.
The murmurs grew louder.
Zhang Wu knelt at the very front.
He didn't chant slogans.Didn't raise his voice.
He simply bowed deeply toward the palace gates.
"This commoner, Zhang Wu," he said clearly,"once nearly caused disaster due to ignorance in cultivation."
"It was Her Majesty the Empress who brought me into the palace and taught me how to stabilize my qi."
"I can now control myself."
"Today, I am not here to confess guilt."
"I am here—to petition."
He raised his head.
"I petition that cultivation should be a choice made by mortals themselves."
The crowd exploded.
"I want to cultivate too!""My father can work again after taking those pills!""I don't want to fly—I just don't want to be sick!""Who decided this was a disaster?!"
More and more people dropped to their knees.
Not forced.
Voluntary.
Inside the Palace
An emergency court session was convened.
The ministers' faces were grim.
"Your Majesty! Public sentiment is spiraling out of control!""If we don't suppress this now, consequences will be dire!""This could shake the Heavenly Order itself!"
Xiao Xuanyin sat on the dragon throne.
He didn't speak immediately.
Then he asked quietly—
"Have any of you ever gone down to the fields?"
The ministers froze.
"Have you ever seen peasants unable to afford medicine?""Who now, because of a single pill, can live ten years longer?"
"Have you ever seen soldiers survive because their bodies were strengthened—because they didn't die where they once would have?"
He stood.
His voice was not loud.
But every word struck like iron.
"I sell pills not to pursue immortality."
"I sell them so my people can live."
Outside the hall, the voices of the citizens carried faintly—
"We don't want others making decisions for us!""Whether we cultivate or not—we choose!"
Fengyi Palace
Su Wan stood by the window.
Her phone screen blazed with cascading data.
[Public Will Convergence: CRITICAL][World Consciousness Response: RISING][Judgment: Phase Consensus Available]
She inhaled slowly.
"It's time."
For the first time—
She left Fengyi Palaceand walked toward the city gates.
She stood before the people.
The crowd fell silent.
Countless eyes fixed on her—
the Empress spoken of in rumors and whispers.
Su Wan didn't posture.
Didn't shout.
She simply asked one question.
"Are you afraid?"
The people hesitated.
"Afraid of losing control?""Afraid of backlash?""Afraid of being told you're not worthy to cultivate?"
The air went still.
"I won't promise you safety," she said evenly."Cultivation always carries risk."
"But I can promise this—"
"The choice will belong to you."
"You can choose not to cultivate.""You can choose to move slowly.""You can even choose to take only the benefits."
That single sentence—
Unlocked everything.
"We don't want ascension!""We want fairness!""We want a chance to compete with those above us!"
Above the Clouds
The Immortal Realm's observers panicked.
"Mortal willpower is converging!""This isn't individual strength—they're forming a collective response to the world itself!"
Immortal Arbiter's Hall
The Arbiter stared at the shattered star chart.
Trajectories shifted.Fates rearranged.
He finally murmured—
"She isn't rebelling against Heaven."
"She's trying to awaken something."
Nightfall
Xiao Xuanyin stood atop the city walls.
Su Wan stood beside him.
Below them—thousands of lights.
The people hadn't left.
But they weren't noisy anymore.
There was calm.
A kind that had never existed before.
"From today onward," Xiao Xuanyin said quietly,"if the Immortal Realm interferes again…"
"They won't be opposing just the two of us."
"They'll be opposing everyone."
Su Wan nodded.
"They may strike harder."
She smiled faintly.
"But now—we have more people standing behind us."
Back in Fengyi Palace
The concubines gathered around a small table.
Late-night snacks. Quiet chatter.
"It's lively outside.""Are we part of this now?""Of course you are.""You swept the courtyard the hardest yesterday."
No one knew—
That every sweep of their broomhad already begun shaping history itself.