The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

The Jiuli Divine Emperor's once gloomy heart was instantly lifted by the news. His entire outlook on Jiuli's future shifted.

"The rise of the Fang family is an unstoppable tide. No one can stand in its way. I truly was too stubborn before. Thank you for reminding me," he said.

Yao Zitong blinked in surprise and confusion.

"Father… are you saying you agree to hand over the Jiuli Dynasty to Da Qian?"

The Jiuli Divine Emperor nodded without hesitation.

"Of course. It's for the best—for everyone."

Yao Zitong couldn't quite react in time. Just moments ago, this old man had been dead set on dying with the dynasty. Now he was casually agreeing to surrender it?

Could it really be because the man she liked was Qu Wubing? And Qu Wubing was from the Fang family?

She didn't press the question. But in truth, it was exactly that.

Qu Wubing might not bear the Fang surname, but he was a core member of the Fang family. The Fang family valued him enough to entrust him with governing the Holy City.

Now that his daughter was with Qu Wubing, the Jiuli Divine Emperor was essentially Fang family's in-law. Handing the Jiuli Dynasty over to one's own in-laws didn't seem so bad.

Previously, his reluctance stemmed not only from pride but concern for the Yao family's future. If the dynasty fell, where could his people thrive?

But now that his daughter was with the Holy City's lord, the entire Yao clan could move there.

That eliminated his last concern. Naturally, he approved of Yao Zitong's proposal.

As for Qu Wubing, the Divine Emperor couldn't be more satisfied.

He had status, background, and talent—everything a parent could hope for in a son-in-law.

So the once-solemn and anxious Jiuli Divine Emperor now beamed with joy.

"My daughter, since you've already been to Ascension City, why not make another trip—discuss the Jiuli merger with Da Qian?"

Yao Zitong paused, then nodded.

"Yes, I'll go right away."

The sooner this was done, the sooner Jiuli's citizens could come under Da Qian's protection and live better lives.

Not long after returning home from Ascension City, Yao Zitong set off again—heading straight back.

She went directly to the Eastern Palace. After presenting her identity and purpose, she was received by Da Qian's Crown Prince, Fang Kong.

They'd met once already—when Fang Kong had visited while Qu Wubing was recovering—so things went smoothly.

Yao Zitong and Fang Kong held a thorough conversation and finalized many key points.

Soon after, a bombshell announcement spread across all of Cang Continent.

The Jiuli Dynasty would be merged into the Da Qian Empire.

From now on, there would be no Jiuli royal family—only the Yao Clan.

The world was stunned.

"What the hell? No warning at all—Jiuli just surrendered like that?"

"Totally expected."

"Da Qian already absorbed the Eight Ancient Nations, Da Xia, and the entire Southern Domain. Jiuli was only a matter of time."

"Da Qian's clearly aiming to unify all of Cang Continent. The strongest empire is coming."

"No one can stop them now."

"The people who regret the most? The ones who didn't buy property in Ascension City earlier."

Fang Kong dispatched envoys, led by Yao Zitong, to oversee the integration of Jiuli into Da Qian.

With prior experience absorbing Da Xia and twenty southern kingdoms, Da Qian was already adept at this process.

Everything progressed quickly and efficiently.

In just a few months, the army was reorganized, officials were appointed, and territories were reassigned.

Thus—The Jiuli Dynasty, which had existed since the ancient era, officially stepped off the stage of history.

Compared to Da Zhou and Da Xia, Jiuli had it easy.

Those dynasties lost their royal families. Jiuli lost only the name. The royal members remained—it was just that they could no longer call themselves emperors or royals. They were now simply the Yao family.

More importantly, now that Yao Zitong was with Qu Wubing, the Yao clan had become in-laws to the Fang family.

That connection was more prestigious, powerful, and useful than any imperial title.

As long as they, like the Yóu clan before them, stayed loyal to the Fang family, they'd never be mistreated—and their future would be brighter than anything the Jiuli Dynasty could offer.

This was also the main reason why the Jiuli Divine Emperor had smiled so brightly after hearing his daughter's choice.

After absorbing Jiuli's military, Fang Kong transferred their troops to Da Xia's former territory and moved Da Xia's troops into Jiuli territory. A cross-deployment.

That way, if any incident broke out, they would be the first to respond.

Da Qian was still young. Its core army had only existed since Fang Kong formed it in the Eight Ancient Nations—just a few decades ago.

In terms of both size and strength, it still lagged behind Jiuli and Da Xia's established militaries.

But now, with a vast empire and a large population, Da Qian would certainly cultivate a mighty and loyal army in time.

Meanwhile, in the East

Both the Southern and Northern Cang Continent were fully under Fang family control.

In the East, they now held nearly 90%.

Only two hegemonic forces remained: the Xiao Clan, an ancient aristocratic family, and Broken Mountain City.

But Broken Mountain's City Lord, Tu Jiuming, owed the Fang family his life. Their alliance had long been firm.

So the ones panicking now were the Xiao Clan.

As soon as news broke of Jiuli merging with Da Qian, the Xiao Clan leadership called an emergency meeting.

The patriarch wore a grim face as he addressed the clan elders and ancestors.

"Everyone, only two major powers remain in the East—Broken Mountain City and our Xiao Clan. But Tu Jiuming is a known Fang family ally. That leaves us in an awkward position."

"What we must now consider is—will the Fang family turn on us next? And what should we do if they do?"

The elders looked at each other with heavy hearts.

No one had expected that their ancient, hegemonic clan would one day have to worry about this.

After a long silence, someone finally spoke.

"The Jiuli royals handed their dynasty over. Now they're just the Yao clan. Isn't our situation the same?"

"No, it's different. From what I know, Jiuli's second princess is now with Qu Wubing. That connection is why their integration went so smoothly."

If only they had ties to the Fang family...

"So we run?"

By "run," he meant flee to the Western Continent—or leave Cang Continent altogether.

But the barriers between continents could only be crossed by Nascent Soul realm cultivators or above. If they fled, most of the Xiao clan would have to be left behind.

And if they moved to the West, they'd have to contend with the entrenched Buddhist sects. Those old powers would never allow them room to grow.

Every path led to ruin.

And so, the Xiao clan sank into deep, bitter uncertainty.