"Wu Zhaode has changed, too."
That was Shen Tang's only thought after reading the intelligence from the underground network.
Luan Xin said coolly, "Sovereign Wu is not a man of great resolve. His change is both reasonable and expected."
He did not think highly of Wu Xian. In his view, outstanding men fell into three ranks: the finest could shape the times, those in the middle were shaped by the times, and those at the bottom merely drifted with them. Wu Zhaode belonged to the third kind.
Back then, the Kang Country Royal Court of Xin Country had grown rotten and corrupt, and forces across the land had risen in the wake of its decline. At the time, Wu Xian had also emerged victorious from infighting within his Lineage. He made friends among the Tianhai Noble Family and the wandering knights, and his heroic spirit won him widespread praise. After years of careful cultivation, he made a name for himself across the land as the alliance leader during the Battle of Xiaocheng, and his influence expanded once more until he stood alone at the top. Even Shen Tang, his current Sovereign, had to treat him with caution.
But what came after that?
His fortunes began to take a winding path.
When the situation was tense, he kept his nerves taut at all times.
When things settled down, he let his edge wear away with them.
Thinking back to the victory banquet at Chaoli Pass, Qin Li had led his people in switching sides, while Wu Xian had been left looking thoroughly humiliated by the overbearing Tianhai Noble Family. At the time, he had shown a rare burst of resolve, single-handedly suppressing the Tianhai Noble Family's opposition. Over the years, he had also kept striking at and weakening the influence and