The land of Izumo.
Ancestral Spirit Mountain.
In the faint light of dawn, amid swirling mist.
A complex built of gray-white stone and stout cypress timbers loomed in and out of sight among the mountains, while clear chimes occasionally rang out into the distance.
This was the sacred ground revered alike by Izumo's nobles, warriors, and common people.
The Divine Radiance Palace.
Although Great Xuan had stationed troops in Izumo for over a decade, established a Governor-General's Office, cultivated its own forces, and to some extent supplanted the original Izumo Imperial House, the Divine Radiance Palace still retained considerable independence.
It hardly mattered if the imperial house was reduced to a vassal or overthrown. But laying hands on the Divine Radiance Palace might truly drive Izumo's many factions into desperate retaliation, like cornered dogs leaping over a wall.
For this was a matter of faith.
Great Xuan's might was formidable, but it was fighting on every front and sending troops into numerous countries. It could not commit too much strength to Izumo, especially with the powers of Western Luo watching like hungry tigers.
Over the past two years in particular, Great Xuan's armies had suffered setbacks on multiple fronts and fallen into decline. Undercurrents surged through Izumo, and the factions that had been suppressed could finally no longer contain themselves. Thus came the assassination of Governor-General Zhang Yunting.
Naturally, the shadow of the Divine Radiance Palace lurked behind it.
Inside the main hall of the divine palace, polished smooth as white jade.
A middle-aged man with a pale, effeminate face and narrow eyes, dressed in a black priestly robe patterned with silver, bowed to the man seated above him. "High Priest, they've sent someone to pressure us again, demanding an explanation concerning Governor-General Zhang."
A trace of a smile curled