After Xue Ye returned to Heaven Dou City, his vigor seemed completely drained. He fell gravely ill and never rose again, so he passed the throne to Xue Qinghe and ordered her to invite the Red Assembly to jointly resist the Star Luo Empire's invasion.
That was the real reason Zhou Qing had let Xue Ye return.
Legitimacy!
In truth, the Red Assembly needed no reason at all, but the major Soul Master clans and sects within Heaven Dou valued the legitimacy of "Heaven's Law, Earth's Reason."
Although Zhou Qing could crush them all by himself, it would be even better if he could win over some of those clans and sects.
What the Red Assembly lacked most right now was people!
People were also the most precious resource!
Therefore, if they could make the disciples of those clans and sects obey the Red Assembly's arrangements while shedding less blood, the Red Assembly would try everything possible.
But Xue Qinghe was beginning to question her life.
After painstakingly maintaining her disguise for so many years, she had finally obtained the throne, yet she was nowhere near as excited as she had imagined.
The Red Assembly had rightfully gained more than half of Heaven Dou's territory—
making the years of planning by her and Spirit Hall seem like a joke.
Ning Fengzhi had also read the document Xue Ye brought back. Recalling how the Red Assembly's ten thousand-plus men had crossed the Shuangchi River back and forth four times, he immediately realized that the Red Assembly had only ever had one objective:
Northern Province.
The reason was simple. The Red Assembly valued stability. Northern Province stretched ten thousand li all the way to the western sea. With the Red Assembly's current numbers, if its territory grew any larger, it would become