Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Ji Feiyu nodded, "The internal strife within the Wuliang Royal Court is our opportunity; this time we can gain even more!"

The two discussed how to harvest more "blood food" from the current chaos of the Wuliang Royal Court, burying their hatred for Yang Zhenshan deep in their hearts.

The hatred wouldn't fade away; instead, it would only amplify infinitely with the passage of time, until it devoured their hearts, enslaving them completely to the hatred.

The Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill is a demonic technique not only because its cultivation process is exceedingly perverse but also due to the many flaws and side-effects it holds.

The most apparent flaw is that among cultivators of the same realm, those who cultivate the Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill are not as powerful as those who cultivate through steadfast training.

Furthermore, their lifespans are shorter; Innate Martial Artists who practice the Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill live significantly shorter lives than other Innate Martial Artists. They rarely live past the age of one hundred and twenty.

The most severe side-effect of the Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill is the impact on the psyche. It invokes the most intense evil desires within the cultivator's heart—lust, hatred, bloodthirst, greed, etc.—until they completely fall as slaves to these wicked thoughts.

For a regular Martial Artist, the process of cultivating the Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill is unbearably painful, and for a Martial Artist with a kind heart, the pain after cultivation is even worse.

The Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill holds a great allure for many Martial Artists because it allows for rapid advancement in cultivation; however, many Martial Artists don't practice it after obtaining it, for the kind-hearted need significant courage to undertake its cultivation.

But for those harboring evil thoughts, it is as addictive as the datura flower.

...

The Wuliang Royal Court was continuously troubled from within, and the Da Rong Court was likewise rife with undercurrents.

As the Wuliang armies pressed south, Beiyuan Town faced successive defeats; Northern barbarian cavalry invaded Longyuan, Linyuan City was breached. Successive urgent reports crashed into the already murky waters of the court like boulders, raising bigger and more abundant waves.

Although Emperor Yanping still managed to remain as composed as an angler, many court officials were left in a ragged state by the tumultuous waves.

During the continuous defeats at Beiyuan Town, the first to bear the brunt was Left Governor Anhuai Ren of the Left Army Commander's Mansion, as Beiyuan Town falls under the jurisdiction of the Left Army Commander's Mansion; naturally, Left Governor Anhuai Ren was held accountable.

The second to suffer was Minister of War Wang Lu, the veteran official who had served as Minister of War for ten years and ultimately faced a dismal end amidst the impeachments of countless officials.

Wang Lu's downfall was not only due to the unfavourable military engagements at Beiyuan Town, but also because he was a representative of the Shu School at the court.

The factors involved were complex, encompassing factional struggles within the court and disputes among academic factions within the scholarly world.

The Shu School faction is not a small faction within the Da Rong scholar circuits; for instance, Shanyue Academy of Bashu is a representative of the Shu School, and Wang Lu was also a prominent representative of the Shu School.

The scholars in Da Rong were divided into many factions, for example, the Northern School spearheaded by the Imperial College and Grand Academy, the Shu School led by Shanyue Academy, the Southern School led by Nanshan Academy of Jiangnan, and so on.

Each faction held different ideologies, and these ideologies not only influenced the court but also the worldly society.

The disputes among the academic factions at the court were usually not intense, but recently, under the incitement of some ambitious individuals, these disputes began to escalate.

Wang Lu became the first victim of the academic faction struggles.

And this was only the beginning.

After the urgent report of the Northern barbarian invasion into Longyuan reached the Capital City, the once flourishing Duke Rong Mansion also saw its curtains fall.

Duan Rui faced impeachment by numerous officials from Longyuan Province and was removed from his position as Vice Left Governor of the Rear Army Commander's Mansion. Had it not been for Duan Qifeng's continued defense in Linyuan City, Duan Rui would not only have been stripped of his post but might also have been demoted.

After Linyuan City was breached, countless impeachments against Duan Qifeng floated into the Imperial Study Room. Duan Qifeng managed to avoid demotion, being reduced from a First-class Duke to a First-class Marquis.

The Longyuan Faction took down Duan Rui, but soon they too faced an onslaught of attacks from numerous officials.

As a large number of Northern barbarian cavalry infiltrated Longyuan, many officials from Longyuan Province lost cities, and many local magnates from Longyuan were forced to submit under the barbarians' blades.

Not to mention the Longyuan Faction; even Marquis Jianchang Zhang Luan, the Minister of the Martial Arts Temple, was impeached by many.

The Martial Arts Department was also a military institution; Longyuan Military Department's poor performance in battle put it in the crosshairs.

In addition, Yang Zhenshan, the newly appointed General of Chongshan Town, also faced impeachment from numerous officials.

Yang Zhenshan's plan, naturally no one on the Da Rong Court was aware; the ministers only knew that the army at Chongshan Town, stationed at Menghe Mountain Pass, dreaded the enemy and dared not advance.

Zhang Luan, having come under impeachment along with Yang Zhenshan, caused more turmoil among the nobility group.

Although the nobility group was also divided into many factions, they had always stuck together for mutual support.

Duan Rui and Duan Qifeng were impeached; the nobility group could tolerate it, because the unfavorable outcome of the battle at Beiyuan Town was an undeniable fact, and with the Wuliang Hu Clan invading Longyuan, Duan Qifeng bore an inescapable responsibility as the General of Beiyuan Town.

Even if the nobility group was dissatisfied, they could not easily refute those civil servants.

But the impeachment of Zhang Luan and Yang Zhenshan involved not just them; many nobles were implicated as well, given that quite a number of them held positions at Beiyuan Town—a single border town was entangled with over a dozen noble families.

And with so many nobles coming under impeachment, a natural counterattack ensued from the nobility group.

Initially, conflicts on the Da Rong Court stemmed from factional disputes among civil servants, which later evolved into a struggle between civil and military officials.

But what was of utmost importance at this time?

It wasn't the struggle, but rather the assembly and deployment of troops to support Longyuan.

However, the gathered gentry of the court were only concerned with their self-preservation and attack each other, thus delaying again and again the mobilization of troops to aid Longyuan.

On the tenth day after the Northern barbarians invaded Longyuan, just as Yang Zhenshan broke through Yemi City, the court had still not come up with a plan for troop deployment.

And when Linyuan City fell, the disputes on the court became even more intense, leading to a situation where no one paid attention anymore to the Northern barbarians rampaging through Longyuan.

Time passed by day by day, until mid-June, the chaotic court finally remembered Longyuan and began pulling troops from various garrisons to send support to Longyuan.

But by then, Yang Zhenshan had already entered the snowfields, and the armies of the Wuliang various tribes were already retreating slowly, nearly having withdrawn from Beiyuan Town.

Yang Zhenshan's surprise attack on Yemi City caused heavy losses to the Wuliang Tribe, but he could not make up for the losses of Beiyuan Town and the Longyuan region.

After this battle, Beiyuan Town was completely abandoned, and the Longyuan region was ravaged by tens of thousands of Northern barbarians beyond recognition.

In late June, Yang Zhenshan bypassed Menghe Mountain, returning to the main camp of Chongshan Town at Menghe Mountain Pass.

Sitting in his tent, he looked at the stack of documents from the court, his eyebrows furrowed with irreconcilable concern.

A total of seven documents.

The earliest one was from mid-May, sent by the Ministry of War, at that time Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze had already ventured deep into the heartland of King Wuliang's Royal Court.

The latest one, from ten days ago, was a questioning from the Cabinet, asking why he had not gone to support Linyuan City.

Among them were also two inquiries from Emperor Yanping.

"How did you all respond?" Yang Zhenshan asked Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang.

Tang Feihu sighed deeply, "When the first combat command from the Ministry of War came, we reported the Marquis's plan to the court!"

Yang Zhenshan fell silent.

Since his plan had already been reported, why then did the court issue so many official documents?

Beiyuan Town failed to hold off the Wuliang Hu Clan's army, Linyuan City was breached by Wu Tuo, and the Longyuan region was terrorized by Wuliang's Northern barbarian cavalry; these were all outcomes Yang Zhenshan had not anticipated.

He never thought Beiyuan Town would prove to be so incapable, unable to hold even for three months!

Did Da Rong win or lose this battle?

The Wuliang Hu Clan retreated; their Royal Court at King Wuliang's Royal Court was burned down by him, and the Wuliang Tribe suffered heavy losses. It seemed like Da Rong had won.

But the losses suffered by Beiyuan Town and the Longyuan region from the Wuliang Hu Clan army's devastation were much greater than those of the Wuliang Hu Clan!