The file for Floor 130 remained open on the stone table for a long time.

No one in the Qin Estate spoke immediately.

[Floor 130: Thirteenth Gate — The Council Without a Crown]

Type:

Gate threshold / shared standards / coalition leadership / anti-conquest governance.

Warning:

If all roads need one crown, the roads were never trusted.

Qin Mo was the first to break the silence.

"So this is the Tower’s way of saying: congratulations, you built standards, now prove you are not secretly building a throne."

Qin Yuheng looked at the warning again.

No crown.

That phrase had followed him many times already. Mist Crown City. Hollow Crown Battlefield. Pale King’s Chessboard. The Council Without a Crown was not unexpected, but its timing mattered.

After Floor 129, Qin Yuheng had gained the Shared Protective Standard Core. The Qin family, Heavenly Gate Academy, Lin Xian’er’s market network, Wei Chen’s family, and several allied training halls had begun adopting common protective standards against dream-script tokens, predatory talent testing, identity fraud, voice imitation, road debt, false contracts, and child-path exploitation.

That was good.

It was also dangerous.

When many roads followed one person’s standards, enemies could claim that person sought a crown.

The Tower would test that.

Qin Wanshan stood beside the table, hands behind his back.

"This floor is important. Not because of combat alone, but because of precedent."

Qin Zhengyuan nodded. "If Yuheng clears it by forcing unity, the reward may be strong but the path will bend."

Mu Qinglan looked at Qin Yuheng.

"Do not become the answer to every question."

Qin Mo immediately raised one finger.

"Also, do not let everyone else become useless to avoid responsibility. That is how councils turn into decorative furniture."

Qin Yuheng almost smiled.

"Understood."

Before entry, Qin Mo insisted on updating Qin Yuheng’s personal progression panel. It had been too long since they reviewed it clearly.

Under the sealed formation, Qin Yuheng voluntarily displayed a partial private record to the core family.

[Qin Yuheng]

Age: 18

Current Level: 28

Class:

SSS Grade Tri-Gate Thunder War Commander

Public Talent Status:

Awakened

Public Talent Details:

Hidden

Hidden Talents:

1. Primordial Origin Evolution — Hidden

2. Primordial Thunder Emperor Body — Hidden / publicly guessed as high-grade thunder-body talent

3. Empty

Core Path Marks:

Fifth Gate Clear Path Bearer

Sixth Gate Shadow-Road Witness

Seventh Gate Clean Road Trader

Eighth Gate Living Values Bearer

Tenth Gate True Dawn Gate Bearer

Twelfth Gate Self-Sovereign

Major Current Principles:

Rightful Time

Self-Ownership

Clean Exchange

Protection Without Possession

Shared Standards Without Crown

Qin Mo stared at the panel.

"Level 28 looks very innocent beside all that."

Qin Wanshan said calmly, "That is why he must remain cautious. His conceptual path is deeper than his raw level."

Qin Yuheng agreed.

His tools were terrifying. His foundation was abnormal. His SSS evaluations had stacked deep path marks. But he was not yet a high-level climber. He could not mistake conceptual resistance for invincibility.

Before entering Floor 130, Qin Yuheng inspected the most relevant items:

Shared Protective Standard Core.

Minimum Law Consensus Tablet.

Living Values Compass.

Self That Cannot Be Owned Core.

Clean Exchange Road Seal.

Public Truth Resonance Mirror.

False Throne Authority Breaker.

Common Road Stewardship Crystal.

House of Living Roots Crystal resonance token.

Chosen Road Banner Field.

Qin Mo added one final item: a stack of blank council agreements.

Qin Yuheng looked at him.

"Blank?"

"Yes. Pre-written agreements are suspicious in a council floor. Blank ones admit we still need discussion."

That was sensible.

The Tower gate opened.

The team entered.

Floor 130 did not begin in a battlefield.

It began in a circular hall beneath an open sky.

Thirteen roads led into the hall from thirteen different directions. Each road carried a different group of remnants. Farmers, soldiers, merchants, healers, beastfolk, scholars, children, refugees, craftsmen, river spirits, mountain wardens, caravan guards, former criminals, and silent shadow watchers.

At the center stood no throne.

Only an empty round table.

Above it floated the mission panel.

[Floor 130: Thirteenth Gate — The Council Without a Crown]

[Main Mission]

Open the Thirteenth Gate by forming a shared protective standard without crowning a ruler.

[Sub-Missions]

1. Unite at least 9 of 13 roads under minimum common standards.

2. Prevent any faction from seizing the central seat.

3. Defeat crown-seeking challengers.

4. Expose false unity contracts.

5. Preserve council autonomy.

6. Open the Thirteenth Gate without accepting crown authority.

[Warning]

A council that fears disagreement will beg for a king.

Qin Mo looked around the hall.

"This is worse than a battlefield."

Qin Lian scanned the thirteen roads.

"Some are already suspicious of us."

Qin Yuchen nodded.

"Some are desperate."

Qin Yuheng looked at the empty round table.

No head seat.

Good.

Then the first faction arrived.

A group of armored remnants from the Soldier Road marched into the hall and immediately placed a sword on the table.

Their leader said, "Protection requires command. Give us authority, and we will secure the roads."

From the Merchant Road, a wealthy remnant laughed.

"Give soldiers authority and they will secure our goods into their warehouses."

The Farmer Road shouted, "Merchants already did that!"

The Healer Road demanded supply guarantees.

The Refugee Road demanded safe passage.

The Beastfolk Road refused human law.

The Scholar Road requested written standards before trust.

The Shadow Watcher Road said nothing.

Within minutes, the council nearly collapsed before it began.

Qin Mo whispered, "I vote we go back to fighting moths."

Qin Yuheng stepped forward.

He did not sit at the table.

That was deliberate.

"I will not command this council," he said.

The hall quieted slightly.

"I will propose minimum protections. Each road may keep its customs beyond them. No road may sell children, steal names, bind futures without consent, take talents as collateral, forge voices, force road debt, or punish without evidence."

The Merchant Road narrowed its eyes.

The Soldier Road frowned.

The Scholar Road began writing.

The Refugee Road looked hopeful.

The Shadow Watcher Road finally lifted its head.

A panel appeared.

[Minimum Standard Proposal recognized.]

[Council Trust: 11%]

Qin Mo muttered, "Eleven percent. Historic."

Then the hall doors slammed shut.

A golden crown appeared above the round table.

A voice echoed from the sky.

"When disagreement grows, crown one voice."

Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.

The trial had begun.