The sun sank in the west, and night descended.
Xu Manor was stripped of its former moonlit serenity, reduced to a field of desolate ruins.
Yet compared to half an hour ago when Xu Yuan had entered the attic, the manor now bustled with a bit more life.
Martial apprentices and guards hurriedly mobilized from the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce or the Tian'an Martial Hall worked methodically among the collapsed heaps of rubble, searching for possible survivors.
Apart from that, however, Xu Yuan also saw many corpses still radiating faint warmth in the winter night.
Some were martial apprentices, but most were ordinary mortals.
Their varied, gruesome states of death left him feeling slightly sickened.
Walking along the path, Xu Yuan could roughly guess what had occurred in the manor over the past half-hour.
Whenever disaster struck, there would always be those eager to seek wealth amidst danger.
With the perimeter walls of Xu Manor collapsed on all four sides, there was certainly no shortage of people looking to plunder. It took only a single instigator, and greed combined with herd mentality would sweep through the crowds like an avalanche.
Wangjiang Tower was a seven-story pavilion situated at the northwest edge of the manor grounds. Overlooking the bustling night market on both banks of the Jing River as well as the scenic pleasure boats drifting along the water, it was one of the few buildings in Xu Manor to have escaped ruin.
A guard had informed him that the Eldest Young Master was resting here.
Ascending the tower alone, Xu Yuan did not bother knocking and pushed the door open.
Moonlight poured down like a cascading waterfall.
The night markets along the tributary of the Jing River had not languished in the slightest despite the upheaval in Xu Manor.
Hell within, paradise without.
A man clad in green stood with his hands behind his back before the window, looking out over the expanse of river scenery and ruins. The gentle night wind ruffled his sleeves and his long black hair.
At the sight, Xu Yuan's eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly.
*Without you, Xu Changge, the way of posturing would be an eternal night.*
After standing at the doorway for a second, seeing that Xu Changge made no move to speak, Xu Yuan took it upon himself to walk over to the tea tray in the room and sit down. He poured himself a cup of tea and sipped it unhurriedly.
Silence reigned within the tower room.
The bustling clamor of the distant night market blended with the faint weeping and wailing from within the manor.
The silence between the two brothers lingered for roughly half an incense stick of time before Xu Changge finally turned around and broke it.
"Changtian, what is it?"
Xu Yuan glanced at him, set his teacup down with deliberate composure, and cut straight to the point. "Xu Changge, do you know of the Heaven-Deducing Art?"
"..."
Xu Changge furrowed his brow, eyeing Xu Yuan with a strange look.
*Did my third brother somehow learn of something again?*
After a moment's thought, Xu Changge shook his head slightly. "I do not."
Instead of answering immediately, Xu Yuan gestured toward the prayer mat opposite him, indicating for Xu Changge to sit.
Xu Changge remained silent for several breaths, then walked over and sat upon the mat. "The Heaven-Deducing Art sounds like a cultivation technique," he asked in a low voice. "Is it the one you practice, Changtian?"
Xu Yuan shook his head. "No. It is a technique capable of deducing heavenly secrets."
"Deducing heavenly secrets?"
Xu Changge narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. After pondering for a long while, he asked quietly, "Where did you learn of this?"
"From Ran Qingmo, of course," Xu Yuan replied casually.
Surprised, Xu Changge asked in a hushed tone, "Is it truly wise for you to tell me about this?"
*Won't it affect your relationship with that woman?*
Xu Yuan gave a faint smile. "Rest assured, she does not mind."
Looking at the smile on his third brother's face, Xu Changge hesitated for a moment before advising, "Changtian, having read so many internal reports, you should understand what Father intends to do. Keep a sense of propriety. Ran Qingmo is, in the end, someone from the sects."
Xu Yuan's gaze hardened slightly upon hearing this, and he let out a soft sigh. "We'll discuss that later."
Xu Changge raised his voice slightly. "Oh? You seem to have quite a lot to say to me."
Xu Yuan chuckled and deliberately flaunted his merit with just the right amount of pride. "Xu Changge, you know, that Saint's remnant soul Qin Mo carried was only discovered because of me."
Hearing this, Xu Changge went quiet for a moment, an appreciative smile creeping into his eyes. "Indeed, it truly was all thanks to you, Changtian."
For Qin Mo to hold that soul ring was simply casting pearls before swine.
A Saint's remnant soul was a boundless treasure trove.
The knowledge amassed over countless years, the cultivation arts known, the entrances to secret realms—it was impossible for a single individual to digest it all. Even with the immense influence of the Chancellor's Manor, it would take considerable time to fully assimilate the information extracted from him earlier.
Techniques and martial arts would serve as rewards redeemable within the Chancellor's Manor's internal armament system, and they would provide a source of capital for the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce's sale of cultivation methods.
The entrances to various secret realms would be developed under the manor's authority, and cultivation resources of all kinds would flow into the Chancellor's Manor's treasuries like running water.
In some of those secret realms, they might even find strategic resources the manor currently lacked.
And the inception of it all was the intelligence regarding Qin Mo brought by his third brother before him.
At the thought, Xu Changge smiled faintly and spoke again. "Changtian, well done."
Xu Yuan raised a hand to cut him off. "All right, let's return to the Heaven-Deducing Art first. But I think it's best to inform Father about this."
Xu Changge's gaze sharpened, and he gave a slight nod. "Very well."
Seeing his agreement, Xu Yuan prepared to stand and head down to the subterranean secret chamber, but Xu Changge raised a hand and pinned him to the mat with Source Qi.
While Xu Yuan looked on in confusion, a small, crystal-like sphere materialized in midair before them.
Xu Yuan frowned slightly. Sensing it with his intent-soul, his pupils contracted sharply.
This... this was the formation of the communication crystal from the secret chamber.
The original communication array runes had covered nearly a hundred square meters of floor space, yet now those intricate runes had been condensed onto a crystalline sphere of this size!
A portable communication crystal!
As Xu Changge operated it, he explained to Xu Yuan, "A Heavenly Communication Crystal. It was created by the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce's Gewu Academy. For now, there are only two prototypes, prepared for the military."
Xu Yuan's pupils shrank at the words.
*Prepared for the military...*
If such easily portable communication crystals could truly be mass-produced, long-distance real-time communication would fundamentally revolutionize the very nature of warfare in this world.
After two seconds of silence, Xu Yuan stared at the Source Crystal and licked his lips. "Ahem... Eldest Brother, this thing..."
Noticing his gaze, Xu Changge let out a low, helpless chuckle. "You cheeky brat. It's still in development, so you couldn't use it anyway. Once you reach the second rank, or when the Gewu Academy refines it, Father will naturally grant you one."
Xu Yuan clamped his mouth shut and said nothing more.
He had just sensed that the energy powering the Heavenly Communication Crystal came from Xu Changge's inexhaustible, tide-like Source Qi. If it were him instead, he would be drained dry in an instant.
A moment later, the steady voice of the Great Yan Prime Minister resonated within the room:
"Changge, what else is there?"
Evidently, the father and son had already spoken earlier regarding the Saint's remnant soul.
Xu Changge spoke in a warm, relaxed tone, "Father, Changtian would like to ask if you know of a cultivation art called the Heaven-Deducing Art."
Chapter 89