NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 377 Chess player, A contest?_2
However, this time...
the situation seems a bit different.
Neither the Da Feng Dynasty's Imperial Feng Family nor the Luo Family from Qingshi City were willing to engage in outright conflict.
Instead, the Da Feng Dynasty's Imperial Feng Family
took the lead in setting an example by striking at their own subordinate Great Millennium Families.
Under such circumstances, even the remaining two Great Millennium Families, reluctant as they were,
likely had no choice but to comply with the wishes of the Da Feng Dynasty's Imperial Feng Family.
They could only silently follow the Imperial Feng Family's commands,
and launched attacks on the Luo Family of Qingshi City as they were told,
in order to secure their own means of survival.
As for the Yan Family, a concealed clan located on the borderlands between the Da Feng Dynasty's Imperial Feng Family and Qingshi City Luo Family,
this secluded Yan Family was purely compelled by the Da Feng Dynasty's Imperial Feng Family.
After all, this concealed clan of the Yan Family had openly declared their support for the Luo Family of Qingshi City from the outset.
Although, at that time, most of the Yan Family were simply going through the motions,
hardly ever making any real move.
But following the Imperial Feng Family's destruction of the Chen Family, the leading family among the three Great Millennium Families,
the Yan Family, who had always chosen seclusion and remained unknown to the world,
this time, had no choice but to be forced into this struggle.
After all, no one knew
whether the Da Feng Dynasty's Imperial Feng Family would carry out a purge against their secluded Yan Family, should they emerge as the ultimate victors.
The people of the Yan Family dared not bet on it.
...
Before long, three days had passed.
Qingshi City, Inner City.
In a room within the Luo Family Ancestral Land, where the Luo Family Patriarch resided,
Luo Ping, the current Patriarch of the Luo Family, was seated in quiet repose on a prominent seat.
He flipped through the affairs of state at hand,
while silently sipping the hot tea in his cup.
He was enjoying his days quite contentedly,
except for that incident yesterday
which caught his attention a little.
It happened yesterday morning,
when the Elders from the only two remaining Great Millennium Families within the Imperial Feng Family's territory, both in the Mortal Transcendence Realm, had an encounter with the Elder of the secluded Yan Family on the borderlands.
Two against one,
the advantage naturally went to the Imperial Feng Family side.
Henceforth,
the Elder of the concealed Yan Family sought support from the Luo Family.
Though both sides were only at the Initial Stage of Mortal Transcendence,
the Yan Family's Elder could hold his own for a time.
But as time passed, and the clashes between the two sides intensified,
it became inevitable that the Yan Family's Elder would falter and be defeated, and there was even the possibility of his falling on the spot.
Therefore, at this moment,
Luo Ping, the current Patriarch of the Luo Family in Qingshi City, was still pondering how to assist the Yan Family.
Should he discuss the matter with his own Elder Changfeng,
or should he ask Patriarch Changfeng for some sort of leverage against the enemy?
Then pass that leverage on to the Yan Family's Mortal Transcendence Realm Elder,
and have the Yan Family's Elder play that card.
"Forget it..."
After thinking for a while,
Luo Ping shook his head on his own accord.
He decided to leave the decision-making to Elder Changfeng of his own family.
He would see how Elder Changfeng viewed the situation.
As the Luo Family Patriarch, it was natural for him to stay within the clan grounds, tending to the myriad affairs of the family.
...
In the blink of an eye,
another day had passed.
In the early morning, when the sky was not yet fully bright,
upon the borderlands between Qingshi City Luo Family and the Da Feng Dynasty's Imperial Feng Family,
one could see,
the scars of war riddling the land.
Endless chaos, endless slaughter, unfolded daily on this battlefield.
An increasingly suffocating feeling was gradually surfacing in people's hearts.
In Tianyin City, atop the city walls,
there were numerous cultivators, clad in spiritual armor,
holding spiritual artifact blades in their hands.
They were stationed on top of the walls of this fortified city.
If one were to observe closely, one could see that although these armored individuals were cultivators,
each having more or less Qi-Blood Force within them,
their faces still wore deep shades of exhaustion.
Because, in this war,
not only had Qingshi City Luo Family side dispatched a great number of cultivators to join,
the Da Feng Dynasty's Imperial Feng Family had done much the same.
Even more so, given that the Imperial Feng Family had deeper foundations and greater influence,
this resulted in the number of middle and lower tier cultivators being definitely greater on the Imperial Feng Family's side.
The Qingshi City Luo Family side, on the other hand, faced a significant disadvantage in numbers.
It was because the Luo Family would occasionally produce some miraculous talismans and mysterious formation disks,
otherwise, the Qingshi City Luo Family would have already found itself at a disadvantage,
unable to mount any effective counterattack.
...
"Elder Ancestor,"
"do you think we can win?"
In Tianyin City, atop the city walls,
stood Yan Yin, the young family head of the Yan Family there.
At this moment, his face bore a touch of bewilderment.
"Can we win?"
The elderly man in grey robes standing next to Yan Yin, who looked a bit hunched and whose face bore a trace of weariness, couldn't help but chuckle after hearing the question.
Then, he spoke softly, "Whether we can win or not isn't up to us at this time, but up to the Qingshi City Luo Family..."
Yan Yin silently observed his own elder ancestor, murmuring softly, "It depends on the Qingshi City Luo Family?"
The elder ancestor of the Yan Family nodded silently, then whispered, "The current situation is no longer something our Yan Family can decide. Whether it's our Yan Family or the two Great Millennium Families under the Imperial Feng Family, their clashes are but a prelude. The true key to determining the outcome of this power struggle lies in the confrontation between the elder patriarch of Qingshi City Luo Family and that hidden fourth elder from the Mortal Transcendence Realm of the Imperial Feng Family.
"Whoever wins this showdown will emerge as the final victor.
"Those who lose will see their powers crumble and vanish into nothingness."
As he spoke,
the elder ancestor of the Yan Family couldn't help but sigh softly.
Then, he simply shook his head,
his expression seeming rather helpless.
"Elder Ancestor, if the key to victory lies in the clash between those of the Mortal Transcendence Realm, then why..."
Yan Yin could hardly suppress the doubts in his heart.
He addressed his elder ancestor with a question,
but before he could finish,
the elder ancestor of the Yan Family cut him off.
"Are you asking why we, the cultivating families, need to get involved if the key to victory lies in the clash between the two sides at the Mortal Transcendence Realm?"
Yan Yin instinctively nodded.
After a moment of silence, the elder ancestor of the Yan Family spoke, "I suppose that both sides in the Mortal Transcendence are waiting for the other to make the first move. In such a clash between families, neither side wants to lose. And since they don't want to lose, families like ours, which are somewhat lesser in power, become pawns in the hands of those two sides."
"Next, it's a matter of seeing who will be unable to hold back and act first.
"The one who acts first will surely be at a disadvantage,
"while the one who acts later will have a slightly improved chance of winning,
"even if that increase in the chance of victory is not substantial..."