Within a courtyard deep inside the Bai Clan's territory, Bai Zihan sat behind a long jade desk.
Scrolls lay neatly stacked before him.
Reports.
So significant, others not so much.
His fingers moved slowly, unrolling one docunt after another, his expression calm-almost detached.
If one didn't know better, they might think he was rely reviewing routine clan affairs rather than reading about violence erupting across the empire.
"Imperial Guards intervened... the ruling leaned toward the Li-Zhao side again." Bai Zihan murmured softly.
There was no anger in his voice.
Only confirmation.
Seeing how they were still pretending to be impartial, it seed they did not yet wish to be openly associated with the Li-Zhao Alliance.
Perhaps the Imperial Family was still assessing which path would benefit them
more.
Well, Bai Zihan didn't care about their thoughts.
The mont they participated in assassinating him, they had already beco his enemies.
Bai Zihan exhaled slowly and rolled the scroll shut.
At the side of the room stood Kong Zhanghong, hands clasped behind his back, posture straight but relaxed.
While the rest of the world thought of Bai Zihan as crippled and looked down on him, Kong Zhanghong knew better.
Whether it was true or false didn't really matter-because the person before him was still Bai Zihan.
Even without cultivation, would he dare to oppose him or look down on him? The answer was a hard no.
Even now, he could see that Bai Zihan was in complete control of the situation, and Kong Zhanghong felt that it was only a matter of ti before Bai Zihan ruled over the Desolate Heaven Empire.
Perhaps even beyond...
In any case, his focus was only to carry out Bai Zihan's commands-not to question or speculate about the reasons behind them.
"Kong Zhanghong" Bai Zihan said calmly, not looking up.
"I want your attention on Princess Yu Feiyan."
Kong Zhanghong's eyes flickered briefly.
"As you command!"
No questions asked.
"Keep watching her movents-especially if she ets people who don't seem to belong to the Desolate Heaven Empire," Bai Zihan continued. "Also, continue
investigating the Emperor."
"Certainly. I will do my best!"
Although obtaining information about the Emperor was difficult, he could only increase his efforts.
As for Princess Yu Feiyan, he did not think it would be too difficult.
Bai Zihan glanced at Kong Zhanghong with satisfaction.
Among everyone Bai Zihan knew, Kong Zhanghong was the only one capable of probing matters tied to the Imperial Family.
It might be dangerous to gather information related to Qin Lingxiao given her strength; however, she would never suspect that it was him behind it.
Once the instructions were given, Bai Zihan rose from his seat.
He did not linger.
There was nothing more to say.
The empire was restless.
The factions were watching one another, and everyone was simply waiting for sothing to happen.
That, however, would be advantageous to him. The longer the wait, the more Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art would be cultivated.
He made his way toward his cultivation room.
The mont the door closed behind him, the outside world faded away.
Silence descended.
Bai Zihan stood still for a mont, then slowly clenched his fist.
After eting Qin Lingxiao-after witnessing her strength-he understood
sothing clearly.
The strength that others feared was still not enough.
Even Mó Zun, whom he had promised to kill in a few years, was nothing
compared to her.
She was the biggest variable in his plans.
Soone of her strength-no matter what strategies he employed-was beyond
his current ability to handle.
He also did not have the luxury of ti. Clearly, Qin Lingxiao's target was the
Bai Clan, for reasons still unknown.
In any case, he needed to prepare himself for when the inevitable arrived.
He sat down at the center of the formation, spiritual Qi already beginning to circulate around him.
Spiritual Qi surged inward like a tidal wave.
"Ti to cultivate!"
Bai Zihan lowered himself fully into a seated position at the center.
He raised his hand.
Resting on his palm was a jade bottle.
Grade-8 Healing Pills.
Given to him by Xi Yu.
Bai Zihan's gaze lingered on it for a brief mont.
If he consud these pills, his injuries-both hidden and apparent-would be
completely healed.
His ridians would be restored to perfection, his body returned to an optimal state without the slightest aftereffect.
To outsiders, this would have been the obvious choice.
But Bai Zihan rely closed his fingers and returned the bottle to his spatial
ring.
"There's no need."
His injuries were not as severe as the world believed. Troubleso, yes-but manageable, and more importantly, recoverable.
These pills were far more valuable when used at the right mont.
Perhaps to save his life one day.
With that thought settled, Bai Zihan's expression remained calm as he shifted
his focus inward.
Next ca another decision.
Which cultivation technique to use.
The Myriad Breathing Technique-or the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art.
By rank alone, the latter stood far above.
The Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art was a terrifying existence-an art
capable of exerting absolute control over those who practiced its incomplete
versions.
That was the reason was classified as a higher-grade technique.
But Bai Zihan understood it better than anyone.
In terms of pure cultivation speed, it was not significantly superior to the
Myriad Breathing Technique.
Its true value lay elsewhere.
Control.
Domination.
And Bai Zihan had already learned it.
Practiced it.
But only for one purpose-to control and make use of others.
Not for cultivation.
"Myriad Breathing Technique."
It was better to continue cultivating with what he had already mastered,
especially when there was no imdiate benefit to switching.
He took a deep breath. Each breath drew in spiritual Qi from the surroundings, circulating it through
his ridians in a pattern he had practiced countless tis before.
The Qi flowed smoothly, without resistance, responding as if it had always
belonged there.
(Looks like there is no problem with cultivating.)
Only then did Bai Zihan take out several jade bottles, all containing cultivation
pills.
Pills refined by his mother.
Pills taken from the Bai Clan treasury, each one worth a fortune outside.
He did not hesitate.
One bottle after another was opened.
dicinal Qi flooded into his body, colliding with circulating spiritual energy
and dissolving seamlessly into his ridians.
Warmth spread through him-repairing, nourishing, reinforcing. With his damaged ridians, many believed his body would collapse the
mont he circulated Qi.
But aside from so initial discomfort, nothing serious happened.
***
Outside, the storm had not yet broken.
Yet the wind was everywhere. Across the Desolate Heaven Empire, conflict simred without pause.
Argunts still erupted in marketplaces, sect gates were still shut to those bearing the wrong insignia, and blood was still spilled in alleys where words had failed.
And yet-
Sothing strange was happening beneath the surface.
Amid the rising hostility between the two alliances, an unprecedented wave of cultivation swept through the empire.
They were cultivating harder than ever before.
With High Earth-Grade cultivation techniques no longer the exclusive privilege
of a single power, they had quietly beco the new standard of the Desolate Heaven Empire.
What was once a treasure worth waging wars over-
Was now sothing that could be obtained-if one chose a side.
Or even simply prepared for what was to co.
Loose cultivators shut themselves inside caves and rented formations for
months at a ti.
Small clans poured every last resource they had into pills, spirit stones, and
cultivation rooms.
Sect disciples who once wasted ti on rivalry now competed in silence, asuring progress not with words, but with breakthroughs. One could even say-
The overall strength of the Desolate Heaven Empire was rising.
Rapidly. And that fact alone made the situation all the more dangerous. Within the Bai Clan, this shift was even more pronounced. While the outside world focused on recruitnt numbers and political
maneuvering, the Bai Clan itself had entered a period of intense consolidation.
Allies were important-but raw strength was paramount. Elders who had not shown their faces for decades erged briefly, only to
vanish once more into deep seclusion.
Grand Elders refined their Dao.
Even those who had long accepted that their peak had passed now struggled
desperately to take one more step forward.
The Bai Clan was not rely expanding-
It was sharpening itself.
As for the Li-Zhao Alliance...
No one truly knew what they were doing.
So whispered that they were cultivating with the stolen technique,
attempting to fully digest and refine it before its flaws surfaced. Others believed they were stockpiling strength, waiting for the mont when
cultivation alone would no longer decide the outco.
And then there were darker rumors.
Sches.
Preparations that had nothing to do with cultivation at all.
No one could confirm any of it. Which only made the silence more unsettling.
Thus, the Desolate Heaven Empire entered a strange equilibrium.
Fights erupted daily.
Yet so did breakthroughs.
Hatred deepened.
Yet so did foundations.
It was chaos-
And calm.
It looks like everyone was quietly sharpening their blades!
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