River Hill Lin Family, Lin Feng's residence.
"What? You brought Princess Feng Xi here? Where is she?"
Lin Feng had been handling military reports from the front lines and administrative affairs from various regions. He had never expected Zuo Chuan Mingwang to come, much less bring him such explosive news.
"Lin Junyu told me to leave her at Snow Moon Tower!"
"Snow Moon Tower? What does my elder brother have to do with Snow Moon Tower? Why leave Her Highness there?"
Lin Feng asked curiously, unable to make sense of it. Wouldn't it have been fine to bring her directly to his residence?
"I don't know!"
Zuo Chuan Mingwang answered calmly. He did not concern himself with such matters. He simply did whatever Lin Junyu told him to do.
"Forget it. Asking you is pointless anyway. When will my elder brother return?"
"He said he would come once he finished handling his affairs over there. About a year from now."
"Before that, however, we need to end this war as quickly as possible. I will gather the major families from every region and mediate your conflict!"
Zuo Chuan Mingwang spoke calmly and rationally.
"Hmph! This war can end only when they surrender and admit their mistakes, acknowledge that they are rebels who betrayed the empire!"
Lin Feng was clearly furious with those family factions. They had openly rebelled the moment the imperial house showed weakness.
"The Luminous Empire has already fallen. That is an irreversible fact. If you insist on continuing, you will only bring greater harm to humanity."
"If you insist on fighting, both sides will suffer. Human strength will decline in the war—how will humanity deal with the demon armies in the Far East that we have only temporarily driven back?"
"Therefore, the best solution now is to stop the war and prevent humanity's remaining defensive forces from being completely exhausted, giving the Demons an opportunity to invade."
Zuo Chuan Mingwang's words were like a thunderclap, instantly jolting Lin Feng awake from his hatred and obsession with restoring the empire.
If he fought the other human families to the bitter end, the ones who benefited in the end would still be those races in the Far East. Humanity's position would become precarious.
"The seeds of the Luminous Empire's destruction had already been sown after the eleventh emperor. You need not blame yourself or grieve. This was the inevitable course of events."
"As long as you raise Lin Fengxi, the empire's surviving orphan, until she grows up, you will not have failed the empire!"
Lin Feng pondered for a moment before finally lowering his head and speaking weakly.
"Then go. Proceed according to the ceasefire agreement drafted by the Flowing Wind Clan!"
"Humanity will never forget Marshal Lin's righteousness!"
Seeing that he had persuaded Lin Feng, Zuo Chuan Mingwang turned and left. He still had to find the Anti-Lin Alliance.
When dealing with the Anti-Lin Alliance, he was far less gentle than he had been with Lin Feng.
He fought his way through their camps, seized Liu Fengheng, Zichuan Yun, Ming Lin, Hu Guiyang, and the other leaders, and dragged them into a single tent.
He used his fists to make them obediently shut up.
The four men sat in the main camp with bruised and swollen faces, staring fearfully at the figure standing guard at the entrance to the tent.
Looking at the culprits who had thrown humanity into chaos, it was impossible for him not to be angry.
But all of this had been inevitable. The various powers across the empire had already become regional warlords.
Even if they had not split away in this generation, they would have done so in the next.
Killing them would accomplish nothing. Without a powerful figure swiftly unifying the land, humanity would only descend further into chaos.
Lin Feng did not possess that ability. Holding his own against them with fewer than a hundred thousand River Hill Army soldiers had already been his limit.
Lin Junyu, on the other hand, possessed the ability to end this chaotic age. Yet he seemed uninterested in such matters, devoting himself entirely to seclusion and becoming engrossed in his various researches.
If he ever attained sudden enlightenment and decided to end this troubled era, then with the accumulation and research of a hundred years, he could swiftly unite the entire continent and establish a new civilization.
That was the conclusion Zuo Chuan Mingwang had reached through rational analysis.
The four former imperial generals, now powerful rulers controlling their own territories, behaved like obedient children before Zuo Chuan Mingwang.
After all, this man had slaughtered his way through their entire military camp and brought them here. His martial strength was extraordinary—he was undoubtedly the greatest expert in human history.
After an unknown amount of time, a young and handsome general entered.
"Gentlemen, it has been a while!"
At the sight of the newcomer, everyone rose to their feet and became wary, because it was Lin Feng.
Lin Feng, who had stubbornly held off the assault of their allied army with fewer than a hundred thousand men.
"Hmph! You all enjoyed the empire's favor, yet you forgot its grace and became rebels!"
"What do you know? You little brat, when I was fighting on the front lines, you hadn't even been born yet!"
"Our achievements today all came from the protection of our ancestral families. For all these years, what emperor of the imperial house did not wish to wipe us out?"
"Favor? The empire probably wanted all of us dead!"
The hot-tempered Zichuan Yun immediately stood up. The Zichuan Clan had suffered the worst persecution from the imperial house.
Anyone from the Zichuan Clan who bore the mark of the family was never entrusted with important positions by the empire.
Moreover, whenever the Demons invaded, the empire always sent the Southeast Legion to lead the charge, constantly draining the family's strength.
There had once been a time when the Southeast Legion, commanded by the family, had been surrounded by a demon army several times its size.
They had sent people to break out and request reinforcements, but not a single imperial army came to assist them. They could only watch helplessly as their legion was devoured by the demon army.
Had they not invited their ancestor out of seclusion at the critical moment, their entire family power would have been utterly destroyed after that battle.
Once the legion was wiped out, the Zichuan Clan would have faced nothing but the empire's endless suppression and destruction.
So from that time onward, no member of the Zichuan Clan entered imperial service again. They steadily developed their own power instead.
They went their own way while the empire did the same. Whenever an imperial decree arrived, they tossed it aside without even bothering to glance at it.
"This meeting is a ceasefire conference. You are all outstanding talents of humanity. If you keep fighting, the only ones to benefit in the end will be the Demons!"
Zuo Chuan Mingwang had everyone sit down, soothed their emotions, and then stated the conference's purpose.
"I have no objection. As long as Marshal Lin no longer insists on restoring that Luminous Empire which should have perished long ago, we can all withdraw our troops!"
"That's right. During the reign of the eleventh emperor, my ancestor left behind an ancestral injunction. The Luminous Empire had existed in name only after the death of the Third Prince. We were to build up our family strength to prevent being purged, and if an opportunity arose to leave the empire, we were to leave without fail!"
Liu Fengheng recalled the ancestral injunction left behind by his ancestor, Liu Fengchuan. It was precisely because of that injunction that the Flowing Wind Clan had always acted with great caution.
Otherwise, if they had caused trouble beneath the Far Capital emperor's very nose, their family would have been destroyed long ago.
For the past several centuries, the Flowing Wind Clan had lived in humiliation and caution. In outsiders' eyes, they were merely an obedient dog loyal to the imperial house.
"I agree!"
Before coming here, Lin Feng had already prepared himself mentally for every possibility.
"Then both sides will cease hostilities from this point forward. As the witness to this agreement, I will also serve as its overseer. If any of you violate it, I will make you pay the price. Believe in my strength!"
Zuo Chuan Mingwang put away the agreement signed by both sides. After issuing his warning, he rose and left.
The others were likewise unwilling to remain beneath Lin Feng's murderous gaze, and they hurriedly got up and departed.
Afterward, both armies withdrew.
The Flowing Wind Clan occupied Far Capital and the northwestern territories of the former Luminous Empire.
The Ming Family occupied the central territories of the former Luminous Empire.
The Zichuan Clan occupied the eastern territories of the former Luminous Empire.
The Lin Clan occupied the River Hill region and the southern territories of the former Luminous Empire.
Before you continue