They're definitely here to deliver the decree.
But then Minister Zhuo said, only one person from Blue Moon Kingdom got into the Spirit Alliance—and that was Zachary Stone.
Everyone else got rejected.
That included Grace Lawrence.
Grace Lawrence froze when she heard that, then blurted, "Are you sure?"
"Sophie Sun reported to the court herself. Gu Xingyun even asked her, 'You got first place, so why aren't you in?' She said it was Vermilion Spirit Alliance business, and she had no idea."
Grace Lawrence's eyes turned icy. She spun on her heel and stormed out.
She galloped straight to the Spirit Alliance, kicked open the main gate, and barged in with her sword.
She spotted Sophie Sun with a bunch of Spirit Alliance members, all gathered for Zachary Stone’s induction ceremony.
The second Sophie Sun saw her, her eyes flashed with smugness. She strutted over and snapped, "Chloe Zhu! Are you out of your mind? Do you even know where you are? You think you can just barge in here whenever you want?"
"How should I know?" Elias Woodsworth replied. "I'm only responsible for delivering decrees to the vassal states! The Blue Moon Spirit Alliance only had one token—there wasn't a second one!"
Chloe Zhu was silent for a moment, then looked at him and said, "I'll go to the Vermilion Spirit Alliance and investigate this myself!"
"Go ahead," Elias Woodsworth said blandly.
Chloe Zhu frowned and turned to leave.
Grace stared at her coldly. "As far as I know, the rules of the Spirit Alliance are ironclad! Even stricter than the military! Do you know the consequences of deceiving your superiors?"
Sophie Sun, the dignified president, was kicked to the ground and threatened at swordpoint. Her face turned bright red with anger, but she didn't dare move. She spat out, "The Decree Master of the Vermilion Spirit Alliance is right here! Ask him if you don't believe me!"
"Decree Master?" Grace looked toward the crowd.
And sure enough, she spotted a familiar face.
Wood.
He was already quite short, and dressed in a plain black robe. Grace hadn't noticed him when she first entered.
Like Elder Conrad, this man was also a vice leader of the Vermilion Spirit Alliance.
He was a member of the Wu Family, one of the three great houses of the Vermilion Kingdom. He was also the biological uncle of Imperial Noble Consort Wu.
And he was also Lily Xu's backer in the Spirit Alliance.
He was extremely cunning, always looking calm and composed.
But he was best at scheming behind the scenes, just like a lurking viper.
At this moment, he was sizing Grace up, with a half-smile on his face. "And who might this be?" he asked.
Grace hated that smile the most, so she didn't answer.
"Vice Leader Wu, her name is Grace Zhu. She's the daughter of the Prime Minister of Blue Moon Kingdom," someone who recognized her explained.
"Prime Minister of Blue Moon Kingdom?" Wood kept smiling. "I thought she was someone important, but she's just the daughter of a minor official from a vassal state! It's my first time seeing someone so bold as to disregard the Spirit Alliance. Truly eye-opening!"
Grace released Sophie Sun, stood up, and said, "Vice Leader Wu, forgive me! I was the top scorer in the entrance exam this time. When Vice Leader Kong left, he said both Zachary Stone and I would be accepted. So why is my name missing?"
"How should I know?" Wood replied. "I'm only responsible for delivering decrees to the vassal states! The Blue Moon Spirit Alliance only had one token—there wasn't a second one!"
Grace was silent for a moment, then looked at him and said, "I'll go to the Vermilion Spirit Alliance and investigate this myself!"
"Go ahead," Wood said blandly.
Grace frowned and turned to leave.
Just as she'd said earlier, the rules of the Spirit Alliance were truly strict.