The Emperor held absolute power over the affairs of the entire Empire. However, innumerable influences and powers existed in the Empire, creating a complex network governed by these influences known as clans.

One of these power clans was the Luzon Clan. Having been existing since the past century, they secured themselves deep within the Empire and with the power that they accumulated. Even the Emperor himself feared the Luzon Clan.

But of course, there were influences that didn't fear the Luzon Clan such as the Duterte Royal Clan and the Paradyne Academy. Both influences could easily annihilate the Luzon Clan whenever it wanted to.

Knowing this fact, the members of the Luzon Clan continuously spread their good deeds throughout the entire Empire and the hearts of the common populace grew closer to them, making them harder to erase nor fight against.

However, the reality of having such a righteous clan merely existed as a facade. For the Luzon Clan continuously engaged in slave trafficking, building their own influence, underground.

This information didn't escape the Emperor's eyes, but when he noticed all of this, everything was too late for the Luzon Clan had deeply embedded itself in the Empire and ever since that day, both sides stood with a tacit agreement of not letting anything cross down their bottom line.

In other words, as long as the Luzon Clan didn't do anything that directly harmed the royal family or blatant attack against the common populace. They could do whatever they wanted deep in the shadows.

The Patriarch of the Luzon Clan realized that they could never stretch out their influence and conquer the royal family from the inside. And so, they turned their focus on the Paradyne Academy where literally everyone could enter and started on building their faction there.

Inside a dimly-lit room somewhere within the Luzon Clan Estate, a shadowy figure of a man sat calmly on a chair. His countenance looked solemn as he read through the documents in his hands.

"it seems like Jamie has failed to acquire the position of an Honorary Disciple despite offering Vincent a huge and tempting price..." He whispered and his breath formed a whirlpool of Spiritual Qi which remained stagnant in the air for a moment.

"As for the other Honorary Disciple, Natalie Longinus? Why does this name sound familiar, have I heard about this name before?" Cupping his chin on his palm, he mused for a moment before shaking his head, though cultivators normally possessed almost perfect memories, to prevent information overload, their brain would still discard unnecessary information such as the sizes, shapes, and smell of trees around them and the faces of mortals passing by as they walk.

"Patriarch! Patriarch!" Hurried footsteps echoed outside of the door along with consecutive knocks as the Patriarch of the Luzon Clan unlocked the door and with a creak, his subordinate came rushing in bringing with him numerous documents.

"Seeing that you look so panicked, the news that you're bringing should be something that is detrimental for the Clan, right?" The Patriarch spoke in a solemn voice with his eyes flashing in a dangerous light.

The subordinate gulped a mouthful of saliva. The pressure from the Patriarch's figure made him out of breath, but he still summoned his courage, stepped forward and announced.

"I have completed the task of intelligence gathering regarding the second Honorary Disciple of the Paradyne Academy. According to the information that I gathered, Natalie Longinus came from the distant Empire of Dawn, specifically in the City of Cloud where she spent most of her days in the slums community with her daughter."

"After the young master of the Longinus Clan took fancy of her, her status shot up and she soon became a cultivator which was something incomprehensible since she long since went past the prime age of cultivation..."

The Patriarch lifted his hand and the subordinate stopped his narration.

"Empire of Dawn? The City of Cloud? And she also has the same name as her?" The Patriarch shook his head, "No, no, no, that shouldn't be the case, no one should possibly have the idea of marrying a tainted flower like her, and that Natalie should merely have the same name as that Natalie, they shouldn't be the same."

The Patriarch denied the ideas forming in his mind and his subordinates continued his talk.

Meanwhile, back at the Paradyne Academy, Dan used his authority and exited the Academy through the gates before heading towards the direction of the Luzon Clan. Despite Natalie's reluctance of letting him go and deal with the Luzon Clan on his own. Dan sneaked away from the Pavilion and took matters in his own hands.

Since Mathias Paradyne, the Headmaster of the Paradyne Academy himself was there to cover his back and wipe his ass, why would he feel afraid of anything?

Arriving before the gates of the Luzon Clan, Dan flashed his authority token as an Honorary Disciple and the guards who saw the domineering splendor went pale and immediately ran to report what happened back to the Patriarch.

The Patriarch of the Luzon Clan's expression changed and he swiftly wore the most luxurious clothes that he had and immediately summoned a dozen virgin members of the Luzon Clan and called for a banquet.

Dan revealed a small smile on his face when he saw the fanfare that welcomed his entrance to the Luzon Clan. 'The status of an Honorary Disciple really is useful, to think that I would easily be able to enter their residence without exerting much effort and with my target welcoming me with a wide smile on his face.'

Though the Patriarch of the Luzon Clan was mighty with decades of experience under his sleeves, he could merely be considered as a junior under Mathias in terms of influence and overall strength. Having an Honorary Disciple of the Paradyne Academy visit his residence was an honorable occasion which improved his mood and made him jubilant.

However, never did the Patriarch of the Luzon Clan that the moment that he invited Dan inside his residence was the start of his nightmare that he would forever regret, even in his dreams.