Chapter 97: Factions

Swoosh!

Less than ten seconds after Yaoguang departed, two figures rushed into the room of the family head, Shangguan Jinlong, one right after the other. As they looked at the corpse of Shangguan Jinlong, shock and horror flooded their eyes.

Compared to the heads of other families, Shangguan Jinlong had actually seized his position by killing his own second uncle. The internal details of that struggle were complex, but the reason Shangguan Jinlong held his seat so securely and commanded their total support was entirely due to his staggering Martial Dao talent and his violent methods. He ruled the family through fear rather than virtue.

He understood that the other branches of the family held their own hidden agendas. Therefore, after becoming the head, he never relaxed his cultivation. He remained entirely focused on becoming a unified martial paragon, condensing a Flawless Body so he could live for over a hundred years.

But now Shangguan Jinlong, a man who rose to power through sheer force, had been beaten to death by someone using those same methods! This scene deeply shook the two martial paragons from the branch family who had rushed to the scene.

Gazing at the figure that had already vanished into the night, a sliver of dread flashed through their eyes. Of course, fear was one thing, but declaring their stance and position was quite another.

Without hesitation, the two roared orders, "Chase him! Go after him! Someone dared to commit murder within our Shangguan family's residence? This is out of control!"

"Gather everyone and hunt him down! Even if we have to flip the entire imperial capital upside down today, find the one who killed the family head!"

"Yes, Sir!" Amidst a chorus of affirmations, the entire Shangguan family's residence quickly became brightly lit as they mobilized in full force.

The noble district where the Shangguan family resided sat right at the foot of Zhaixing Mountain. And atop Zhaixing Mountain stood the imperial palace. The great commotion and clamor caused by the Shangguan family naturally drew the attention of the imperial family members on the mountain.

***

Within the True Cultivation Palace, the place where Jiang Shengtian handled national affairs, the Crimson Star Empire's emperor consulted with three high-ranking officials. Every face was incredibly solemn.

"Has it been cleared up? Why did the Rebirth Society suddenly vanish recently? This behavior... feels like the calm before a storm," Jiang Shengtian asked cautiously.

The man who answered was Qi Renjie, the head of the intelligence department and a son-in-law of the Jiang family. "It is still under investigation. Although we tried more than once to infiltrate the Rebirth Society and expressed a friendly attitude toward them, there is ultimately a fundamental difference between us. Trying to sneak in and reach their core layers is too difficult."

"Staying passive like this is not a solution. We must speed up our Fiend Lord Plan," said Jiang Ruolong, a high-ranking elder and the biological father of Jiang Banzi.

"We want to complete the plan as soon as possible, but the final step has been stuck for so long that there is simply no way around it. After all, immortal weapons and fiendish artifacts are the rent we are supposed to pay to the Artifact Sect for ruling this world. It is too difficult for us to try and master things that were never meant for our use..." Jiang Shengtian sighed.

"But if the plan cannot be implemented smoothly, we will have no way to deal with the Rebirth Society."

"We can only wait. We have waited all these years, and since the plan reached the final step, it does not matter if we wait another ten or eight years. If the situation changes too rapidly... we can always trigger a world-ending war."

"Absolutely not! The Rebirth Society will not allow that to happen. If we really did that, it would be equivalent to forcing the Rebirth Society into an early war with us."

"Over the years, their power clearly expanded rapidly. Especially in recent years, based on the fluctuations observed from the Star Gate, their strength grew more and more formidable. We might not even have ten or eight years left."

The men discussed the matter, their expressions growing heavier. After a long silence, Jiang Ruolong finally asked, "What did the Xie family say?"

"Their attitude toward the Rebirth Society is very firm. That is exactly why the Rebirth Society shifted its focus to our side. After all, many of our personnel and equipment were withdrawn back then. If it were not for the breakthrough of the Heavenly Venerable, which made the Ancestor reluctant to hand this world over, we would not even exist."

When Jiang Shengtian mentioned the words "Heavenly Venerable," he appeared high in spirits.

His tone overflowed with renewed confidence. "The reason the Snowdragon Empire does not move against us now is that they also fear Heavenly Venerable. After all, having been out of contact for so long, they do not know to what level Heavenly Venerable grew. Perhaps... he is already a Daoist Seed of our sect."[1]

Not only Jiang Shengtian, but also the others smiled. Clearly, it was time for the world administrators to change, yet the Jiang family dared to overstay and maintain their position as the hegemon of this world. They knew that the Snowdragon Empire's Xie family lacked the courage to truly offend the Jiang family.

"They don't dare to act, but the Rebirth Society has no such qualms..." Qi Renjie noted.

"The Rebirth Society..." Jiang Shengtian pondered for a while before saying, "Do you think that the Rebirth Society is simply bluffing? Is their goal just to deter us so we dare not act rashly, allowing them to infiltrate the world under our jurisdiction bit by bit?"

"That suspicion has existed for over a decade. However, before the Rebirth Society—or I should say, the Lunar Fiend Empire—descended, and even while we still maintained contact with the Artifact Sect, our ancestor mentioned that they had opened a new battlefield. This aligns with the origins of the Rebirth Society."

Jiang Ruolong shook his head. "There is little point in discussing that now. We only need to know that we urgently need to execute the Fiend Lord Plan. On one hand, it will re-establish contact with the Artifact Sect; on the other, we can use the power of the fiend lord to force the Rebirth Society to the negotiating table. We might even use their strength to return to the Artifact Sect. As long as we can return to the Artifact Sect, it does not matter if we give this world to them."

His words prompted the others to nod in unison. Returning to the Artifact Sect was their only current demand. Everything else was irrelevant. Whether this world was destroyed or not had little to do with them.

Qi Renjie seemed to remember something and suddenly spoke up. "Speaking of the Rebirth Society’s unusual silence lately, a piece of news came to mind. According to an undercover agent, there appears to be a traitor within the Rebirth Society. High-level members are offering a bounty for leads on his whereabouts..."

"A traitor?" Jiang Shengtian’s eyes lit up. "Who?"

"It is still under investigation. After all, our infiltration into the Rebirth Society has been far too slow."

"Report to me the moment you have news," Jiang Shengtian said solemnly.

When dealing with those daemons and monsters of the Rebirth Society, who called themselves the Lunar Fiend Empire, one could never be too cautious.

Just then, Jiang Shengtian sensed something and abruptly asked, "What happened?"

A voice soon drifted in from outside. "An incident occurred at the Shangguan family's residence. An assassin broke in and killed Shangguan Jinlong."

"Shangguan Jinlong was assassinated?" Qi Renjie felt somewhat surprised. "I actually thought quite highly of him. He had a good chance of taking another step forward and entering the Sixth Heavenly Realm. At that point, he could have served our Jiang family for several more decades."

"They are just a bunch of slaves. If he is dead, he is dead. Just tell them to pick a new one," Jiang Ruolong said with a wave of his hand, dismissing the matter.

"Daring to kill someone in the imperial capital is no small matter." Jiang Shengtian’s expression turned cold. "Whether it was internal strife among the servants or the reckless act of another power, it must not be tolerated! Renjie, go to the Shangguan family yourself. Investigate this personally and find out who did it. Once you have the answer, no matter who it is, even if they’re from the Snowdragon Empire’s Xie family, arrest them or kill them as needed!"

Having said that, he let out a cold snort. "This is out of control. Daring to come to Zhaixing Mountain to kill people... Such behavior has crossed the line! We must make the world understand our stance; otherwise, they will start to think our Jiang family is an easy target."

Qi Renjie nodded. Jiang Ruolong and the others pondered for a moment and agreed that Jiang Shengtian made sense.

It did not matter if the one who died was Shangguan Jinlong or a common stray; murdering someone in the imperial capital was a provocation against the Crimson Star Empire's imperial family. Such a provocateur, regardless of their status or origin, would be executed without mercy.

"I will go now." Qi Renjie stood up.

However, at that very moment, bells suddenly rang out wildly outside. The alarms were accompanied by bursts of startled and furious shouts. "Assassin!"

Along with the shouting, a massive surge of qi rapidly approached the True Cultivation Palace where they were located. Clearly, the intruder was coming straight for them.

"What audacity! To dare run wild on Zhaixing Mountain!" Jiang Ruolong roared.

Qi Renjie glanced at a device in his hand. "Psychic soul strength 11.21. A newly ascended spirit-will martial paragon."

"Call the commander, or let Lei Ting handle it," Jiang Shengtian suggested.

"I will do it." This time, the man under thirty who had remained largely silent finally spoke. He was Jiang Xuntian.

He was the most outstanding prince of the Jiang family’s younger generation, groomed by the family elders to be the future family head and even a heavenly being. He had become a martial paragon at the age of twenty-one. By now, he had taken another step forward and entered the spirit-will realm.

"There are only so many spirit-will experts. This person might be the murderer who killed Shangguan Jinlong. It would be more appropriate to let Commander Banzi or Lei Ting handle them," Jiang Shengtian said.

"All are spirit-will experts, yet the difference between one spirit-will cultivator and another is sometimes greater than the difference between a human and a dog." Jiang Xuntian’s expression remained calm. "Besides, how could the martial skills practiced by house slaves ever compare to mine?"

Jiang Ruolong listened and nodded with a smile. "Well said."

He glanced at Jiang Shengtian. "Since Xuntian wants to, let him go. Ultimately, it is just a newly ascended spirit-will expert. How strong could he possibly be? Besides, we are right here watching, are we not? Three spirit-will experts and one martial paragon... Such a force could easily flatten the resistance of an entire province’s martial world."

Recalling his nephew’s undefeated record since becoming a martial paragon, Jiang Shengtian found it difficult to argue further. He simply said, "Be careful. Put on your artifact robe and wear your refined artifacts. Remember that a lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit."

"I know what I am doing," Jiang Xuntian replied with a faint nod.

He then pushed open the door and walked out of the meeting room first. Jiang Shengtian and the others followed closely behind. As they pushed the doors open, they saw a figure break through the guard blockade and leap toward them.

1. Daoist Seed is a title given to those with the ultimate talent, who are "seeds" of the Great Dao. ☜