Dawn

At first, no one believed the Emperor and the Prime Minister would truly fall out.

Even the Sect Alliance higher-ups regarded the news of Li Yaoxuan and Xu Yinhe's deaths with deep suspicion. Most believed it was an elaborate performance staged by the two for their benefit. Yet as the civil war erupted in full, as they assessed the shifting tides of battle, and as detail after detail emerged, the Sect Alliance leadership finally confirmed that the previous era had come to an end.

Still, few believed the Emperor and Prime Minister would truly break apart.

Thus, when civil war broke out in Di'an and all contact with the outside world was severed, the Sect Alliance higher-ups merely assumed it was some form of cooperation between the two new powers at court. Only when the Sun Veil canopy dispersed did they discover that war had truly erupted within Di'an City—and that Li Zhaoyuan, the prince soon to ascend the throne, had died on the eve of his coronation.

This development would have an incomparable impact on the balance of power across the realm. To the Sect Alliance, it was undoubtedly an immense and unexpected boon.

Li Zhaoyuan had only gained his chance to ascend the imperial throne by borrowing the Sect Alliance's power, yet the instant his right of succession was secured, he had cut ties with them at lightning speed. The Sect Alliance's hatred for Li Zhaoyuan had seeped into their bones. But no matter how deeply they hated him, out of consideration for their interests, they had always tried to contact their former ally and join hands with him against the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Because the Sect Alliance's core demand had always been simple.

Maintain the status quo.

Indeed, after the civil war fully erupted, quite a few