Factions

*Whoosh!* Less than ten seconds after Yaoguang departed, two figures burst into Family Head Shangguan Jinlong's room one after the other. Looking at Shangguan Jinlong, who had already been reduced to a corpse, shock and horror welled in the eyes of both men. Unlike the patriarchs of other families, Shangguan Jinlong had actually murdered his second uncle to seize power. The circumstances behind it were rather complicated, but the reason Shangguan Jinlong had been able to secure his position as family head and win their full backing was entirely due to his staggering martial talent and ruthless, iron-fisted methods. His rule over the family was built on fear, not virtue. He knew full well that the family's other branches harbored their own hidden agendas. Thus, after becoming family head, he had never once slacked in his cultivation, wholeheartedly striving to become a Hunyuan Martial Saint, condense a flawless body, and live to be over a hundred years old. Yet now... Such a formidable Spirit Intent Martial Saint who had risen by sheer force had been beaten to death on the spot by that very same force! The scene shook the two branch-family Martial Saints to their core as they stood there in haste. Looking toward the silhouette that had already vanished into the night, a flicker of dread crossed their eyes. Of course, feeling fear was one thing; demonstrating loyalty and stance was another. Without hesitation, the two roared orders in fury: "Pursue him! After him! Chase him down! How dare someone commit murder in our Shangguan family—he must have lost his mind!" "Rally everyone to pursue! Even if we have to turn the entire imperial capital upside down today, we must find the murderer of the family head!" "Understood!" Amid a chorus of affirmations, the entire Shangguan estate swiftly blazed with lights as a full-scale mobilization began. *** The aristocratic district where the Shangguan family resided was situated right at the foot of Mount Zhaoxing. And atop Mount Zhaoxing stood the imperial palace. The massive commotion and uproar from the Shangguan estate naturally drew the attention of the imperial royals on the mountain. *** At that moment, in Zhenxiu Hall—where Emperor Jiang Shengtian handled state affairs—the Chixing emperor was conferring with three high-ranking officials. Solemnity hung heavy on everyone's faces. "Has it been determined? Why has the Rebirth Society suddenly gone completely quiet recently? This behavior... feels like the calm before the storm," Jiang Shengtian asked gravely. The one answering him was Qi Renjie, head of the intelligence department and son-in-law of the Jiang family. "The investigation is still underway. Although we've tried repeatedly to plant operatives inside and have displayed great goodwill toward them, they are, after all, fundamentally different from us. Infiltrating them to make contact with their inner circle is simply too difficult," Qi Renjie said. "Remaining passive like this won't do either. We need to speed up our Demon Lord Plan as soon as possible," said Jiang Ruolong, a senior clan member and the biological father of Jiang Banzi. "The Demon Lord Plan... We want to complete it as soon as possible too, but we've been stuck on this final step for so long, and there's really nothing we can do about it. After all, immortal weapons and demon weapons are meant to be the 'rent' we pay to the Artifact Sect for presiding over this world. They were never meant for us to wield. Trying to master them is simply too difficult..." Jiang Shengtian sighed. "Yet if the Demon Lord Plan cannot proceed smoothly, we will have no leverage against the Rebirth Society." "We can only wait. We've waited this many years, and the plan has advanced to the very last step. Waiting another eight or ten years makes little difference. If the situation really shifts too rapidly... our only choice will be to trigger a world-ending war." "Out of the question! The Rebirth Society will never allow that. If we truly do so, it would be tantamount to forcing them into an early war with us." "Over the years, their power has clearly expanded rapidly, especially recently. Based on our observations of the fluctuating feedback from the Star Gate, their strength is growing greater and greater... We might not even have eight or ten years left." As the men deliberated, their brows knitted tighter with each passing moment. After a long pause, Jiang Ruolong asked, "What did the Xie family say?" "They took an uncompromising stance toward the Rebirth Society, which is why the society shifted its focus toward us. After all, back then, most of our personnel and equipment had already been evacuated. If not for the Heavenly Venerable's breakthrough, which made the Old Ancestor reluctant to hand this world over, we wouldn't even be here right now." When Jiang Shengtian mentioned the words "Heavenly Venerable," a distinct radiance lit up his face. Confidence resonated in his voice: "The reason Xuelong hasn't moved against us yet is precisely their fear of the Heavenly Venerable. After being out of contact for so long, they have no idea what level the Heavenly Venerable has reached. Perhaps... he is already our sect's Dao Child." Not just Jiang Shengtian, but smiles appeared on the faces of the others as well. Even though the time had come for the rotation of the world's administrator, the Jiang family dared to linger and refuse to leave, even maintaining their hegemony over this world to this day, precisely because they knew the Xuelong Xie family lacked the nerve to thoroughly cross the Jiang family. "They don't dare make a move, but the Rebirth Society has no such qualms..." Qi Renjie remarked. "The Rebirth Society..." Jiang Shengtian pondered for a while before saying, "Do you think... the Rebirth Society is merely putting on a bluff to intimidate us, keeping us from taking rash actions so they can slowly infiltrate the world under our administration?" "We've entertained that suspicion for over a decade. However, before the Rebirth Society—or rather, the Moon Demon Empire—ever arrived, back when we still maintained communication with the Artifact Sect, the Old Ancestor did mention that they had opened up a new battlefield. That aligns with the origins of the Rebirth Society." Jiang Ruolong shook his head. "Still, discussing this now serves little purpose. All we need to know is that we urgently need to execute the Demon Lord Plan. On one hand, it will restore contact with the Artifact Sect; on the other, by wielding the power of the Demon Lord, we can force the Rebirth Society to the negotiating table and even leverage their strength to return to the Artifact Sect. As long as we can return to the sect, giving them this world wouldn't matter in the slightest." His words drew nods of agreement from the others. Returning to the Artifact Sect. That was currently their sole demand. Everything else was inconsequential. Whether this world was destroyed or not had little to do with them. Just then, Qi Renjie seemed to recall something and suddenly spoke up: "Speaking of the Rebirth Society's unusual silence lately, I did hear a piece of news. According to an undercover agent, a traitor seems to have emerged within the Rebirth Society. Their higher-ups have placed a bounty on information regarding him..." "A traitor?" Jiang Shengtian's eyes brightened. "Who?" "Still investigating. After all, our infiltration into the Rebirth Society has been far too slow." "Report to me the instant there is any news," Jiang Shengtian said solemnly. When dealing with those fiends from the self-proclaimed 'Moon Demon Empire'... One could never be too cautious. Right at that moment, Jiang Shengtian seemed to sense something and asked abruptly, "What's happening?" A voice soon called in from outside: "An incident occurred at the Shangguan family. An assassin broke in and killed Shangguan Jinlong." "Shangguan Jinlong was assassinated?" Qi Renjie was somewhat surprised. "I thought rather highly of him... He had a decent chance of taking another step forward into the Sixth Heaven realm, at which point he could have served our Jiang family for several more decades." "Merely a family slave. Dead is dead; just have them pick another one," Jiang Ruolong said, waving his hand dismissively. "Daring to kill someone in the imperial capital is no small matter," Jiang Shengtian said, his expression turning cold. "Whether it's infighting among the servants or the brazen audacity of other factions, it must never be condoned! Renjie, head over to the Shangguan estate and investigate personally. Find out who did this! Once it's clear, no matter who it is—even if it's someone from the Xuelong Xie family—arrest those who should be arrested, and execute those who should be executed!" With that, he snorted coldly. "The audacity! Daring to murder someone at Mount Zhaoxing crosses the line! We must make the world understand our stance, or they will assume our Jiang family is an easy mark." Qi Renjie nodded. Jiang Ruolong and the others thought for a moment and agreed with Jiang Shengtian's reasoning. Forget that the dead man was Shangguan Jinlong; even if it were a stray dog, daring to kill someone in the imperial capital was a provocation against the Chixing imperial family. Such provocateurs, regardless of background or status, would face no mercy. "I shall go at once," Qi Renjie said, rising to his feet. Yet at that exact moment, alarms began ringing wildly outside. Accompanying them were frantic, furious shouts: "Assassin!" And along with the shouts, a massive aura was rapidly closing in on Zhenxiu Hall. Evidently, the intruder was coming straight for them. "What gall! Daring to run wild on Mount Zhaoxing!" Jiang Ruolong barked in anger. Qi Renjie glanced down at a device in his hand. "Divine Soul intensity 11.21. A newly ascended Spirit Intent Martial Saint." "Summon the commander, or let Lei Ting handle it," Jiang Shengtian suggested. "Allow me." At that moment, the young man under thirty, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke. It was Jiang Xuntian. The most outstanding prince among the Jiang family's younger generation, groomed by the clan elders as the future head of the family and even a prospective Heavenly Being. He had attained the Martial Saint realm at the age of twenty-one. By now, he had taken another step forward, ascending to the realm of Spirit Intent. "There are only so many Spirit Intent experts; this person might be the culprit who killed Shangguan Jinlong... It would still be safer to have Commander Banzi or Lei Ting handle it." "Both may be Spirit Intent, but the gap between one Spirit Intent and another can sometimes be greater than that between a man and a dog," Jiang Xuntian said placidly. "Besides, how could the martial skills practiced by a family slave ever compare to mine?" Hearing this, Jiang Ruolong smiled and nodded. "Well said." He glanced at Jiang Shengtian. "Since Xuntian is interested, let him go. In the end, it's merely a newly ascended Spirit Intent. How formidable could he possibly be? Besides, won't we be watching from the side? Three Spirit Intents and one Martial Saint—such a force would be more than enough to crush any rebellion across an entire continent's martial arts world." Hearing that, and recalling his nephew's unbroken streak of victories since becoming a Martial Saint, Jiang Shengtian could say no more, merely advising, "Be careful. Put on your dharma robe and equip your dharma artifacts. Remember, a lion uses its full strength even when hunting a hare." "I know what I'm doing," Jiang Xuntian nodded faintly. He then pushed the door open first and stepped out of the conference hall. Jiang Shengtian and the others followed close behind. As the doors swung open, they saw a figure tearing through the guard perimeter and leaping toward them.