Dragon Chen stared at the flickering flames within the furnace, his eyes hollow, as though all his strength had been drained away. His entire being exuded the despondence of someone who had given up resisting.
Now, only by earning merit on the battlefield and raising the Dragon Family's reputation and influence could they make the Lan Clan Royal Family wary enough not to move against the Dragon Family lightly.
But this was ultimately only a stopgap measure.
Once the war ended and the restraints of battlefield rules were gone, those people entrenched in high positions would sooner or later find all kinds of excuses to wipe out the Dragon Family completely.
The Dragon Family's only hope lay in Lan Shi'er gathering enough families and powerful cultivators before the war ended, forming a force of her own to contend against them.
But that hope was far too slim. Lan Shi'er's cultivation was still shallow, and her influence within the alliance, where powerful cultivators gathered like clouds, was negligible.
Trying to achieve that goal was simply harder than ascending to heaven.
It could even be said that it was an almost impossible task.
Jiang Ping An looked at Dragon Chen's despair-shrouded appearance. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Since there is no way back, we can only steel ourselves and keep moving forward."
He paused, his tone firm. "I will place my identity and the battle merits I have accumulated under the Dragon Family's name. That should at least add somewhat to the Dragon Family's influence."
Hearing this, the old God King who had lived through countless years and long seen the rise and fall of the world could not help but feel his eyes sting, even growing slightly moist.
He shook his head, his voice carrying a trace of hoarseness.