Lin Fengxi's Mysterious Move, the Rise of the Zichuan Clan, and a Century of Change on the Continent
The next day, Zichuan Mingyue went to see Lin Fengxi, who had been settled in Snow Moon Residence.
They spoke for a long time before Zichuan Mingyue left the estate.
No one knew what they had discussed.
But after that conversation, everyone felt that Princess Lin Fengxi had changed.
She began following Lin Feng, learning all kinds of military and administrative knowledge, while gathering her scattered clansmen from every corner of the land.
Seeing the orphan of the Empire devote herself wholeheartedly to governing the clan, Lin Feng was delighted.
As the princess matured, the burden on his shoulders eased considerably.
The war had ended, but the many wounds it left behind gave Lin Feng a terrible headache.
Livelihoods had withered, cities needed to be rebuilt, and the nation lay in ruins awaiting revival.
Fortunately, in the early days, he sought help from Brother Lin.
Brother Lin had no idea what price he paid.
He directly made the proprietress of Snow Moon Tower contribute a massive sum to help him rebuild the Lin Clan.
With that initial funding, Lin Feng's days became much easier.
Outside, Zuo Chuan Mingwang's military might intimidated the noble clans in every direction, leaving them afraid to make any rash moves.
Within, Lin Feng assisted Princess Lin Fengxi in establishing a series of systems for clan rule.
Many surviving members of the Lin Clan, scattered throughout the former Empire,
heard that Princess Feng Xi was in River Hill and came one after another to join her.
This directly made up for Lin Feng's shortage of talent to govern the region and restored the strength of the entire Lin Clan.
But it also weakened Lin Feng's authority. Rule over the River Hill region was no longer his alone.
However, having been nourished by love, he took it in stride.
In the Year 558 of the Radiant Calendar, a major event occurred beyond their borders.
Ming Lin, former commander of the Empire's Southwestern Military District, announced that he would submit to the rule of the Zichuan Clan. The Ming Family swore eternal loyalty to the Zichuan Clan.
When Lin Feng heard the news, he sighed inwardly and understood why Ming Lin had done it.
Ming Lin of the Ming Family was undoubtedly a formidable figure, but the entire Ming Family had produced only one Ming Lin.
The rest were useless drunkards, using the Ming Family's name to commit every sort of vile deed within its territory.
Abducting women, massacring entire families—those rotten descendants of the Ming Family did such things regularly.
Without a strong successor, and with the clan so thoroughly corrupted,
Ming Lin watched as only a few years passed and other clans steadily grew stronger.
Meanwhile, the region under his own clan's rule was a festering mess, with resentment everywhere.
To prevent his clan from being condemned for all eternity, Ming Lin pondered for a long time and decided, while the clan still had some value,
to decisively pledge allegiance to the Zichuan Clan. This would not only secure the Zichuan Clan's protection, but also allow his family to pass on in peace.
Naturally, Ming Lin's decision ignited the fury of everyone in the Ming Family. They had been local tyrants just fine, so why should they become someone else's dogs?
Thus, they rebelled against Ming Lin's rule, and the Ming Family's civil war erupted.
After that civil war, ninety percent of the Ming Family's descendants had perished, and Ming Lin himself suffered incurable injuries.
The once-glorious Ming Family completely declined at that moment.
After declaring his submission to the Zichuan Clan, Ming Lin could not understand why his clansmen failed to appreciate his painstaking intentions and instead rebelled against him, bringing the family to total ruin.
Filled with fury and confusion, he passed away.
The Zichuan Clan easily acquired the vast army and extensive lands formerly controlled by the Ming Family.
When the Zichuan Clan's soldiers entered the cities across those lands, the people lined the streets to welcome them, celebrating the end of Ming Family rule.
After swallowing the Ming Family's power, the Zichuan Clan's influence soared like the midday sun, and it leapt to become humanity's foremost power.
Thus, in that same year, Zichuan Yun, leader of the Zichuan Clan, established Zichuan Clan rule at Jiashan Fortress and officially renamed Jiashan Fortress Imperial Capital City.
This drew back the curtain on the story of the Zichuan Clan across the West River Continent.
That same year, perhaps sensing that one age had ended and another was about to begin,
Lin Feng, only twenty-eight years old, the former Imperial Navy Marshal and one of the founders of the River Hill Lin Family,
announced that he would resign from all his posts and return all authority to Lin Fengxi.
He himself planned to take his wife and see more of the continent's scenery.
Lin Feng's retirement allowed Lin Fengxi to completely take control of the Lin Clan.
Everyone was guessing what her first move after taking power would be.
Would she suppress the old subordinates of Marshal Lin Feng? Or would she crack down on those who had always opposed her?
Just when everyone believed she would purge her political enemies on a grand scale to consolidate her rule,
she did something that stunned every minister and general.
She mobilized River Hill's army, but not to arrest Marshal Lin Feng's old subordinates.
Instead, she ordered the army to surround Snow Moon Tower, the most popular restaurant in River Hill.
They dragged a man out of the restaurant and took him back to the estate.
Everyone in the city who witnessed it was stunned. Had the iron tree finally blossomed?
The queen who sat in the grand hall of deliberation, always cold as frost and imposing over her ministers,
had actually mobilized such forces for a man.
After that man entered the estate, an edict was even issued.
Princess Feng Xi announced that she would not interfere with the current distribution of clan power, and all officials would retain their original positions.
No one knew what had happened, but this was wonderful news for them.
Throughout history, what transfer of power had not shed blood? Everyone was more than willing to accept such a peaceful transition.
Everyone knew it had to be because of that man, and they were filled with gratitude and curiosity toward him.
Meanwhile, the man who had become the talk of the entire city was preparing to flee with a bucket in hand.
He muttered that women were too terrifying.
He wanted to return to his mountain cabin, where no one could disturb his research.
Only research could drive me mad!
More than forty years after humanity's various powers agreed to a truce and recuperated, the Demons indeed launched a massive invasion of humanity.
Golden Khan, the new leader of the Demons, was wise, valiant, and immensely powerful. Unlike the previous Divine Emperor, he harbored no fear of the two people who had suddenly appeared.
In the year 602, he personally led a great army to the walls of Valen City.
However, he met powerful resistance from the Zichuan Clan, which had grown formidable over more than forty years.
The Demons' army suffered grievous losses. Before Valen City's rock-solid walls, they failed to advance even a single step and had no choice but to retreat!
In 698, Kara XIII of the Demons inherited the ambitions of the Divine Emperors before him and announced a full-scale invasion of humanity.
But he encountered the Zichuan Clan at the height of its power.
Under the leadership of Zichuan Yaoxing, the new Clan Chief of the Zichuan Clan,
the Zichuan Clan led armies from every direction in a massive counterattack against the invading Demons, routing them beneath the walls of Valen City.
Kara XIII, Divine Emperor of the Demons, died on the battlefield.
This was the first Divine Emperor of the Demons killed by humanity. Cheers of triumphant victory resounded throughout the Valen Battlefield.
Everyone shouted, "Long live the Zichuan Clan!" The Zichuan Clan's prestige reached its peak!
Afterward, one renowned general after another emerged from the Zichuan Clan, blocking the Demons' frenzied assaults.
They protected the human lands behind the Ancient Strange Mountain Range.
In the year 754, after two hundred years of development, the Imperial Capital that had transformed from Jiashan Fortress
had become the continent's foremost city, renowned throughout the world.
Its streets were brightly lit, public order was stable, and patrol officers appointed by the clan roamed the roads to maintain order.
The people's faces were filled with pride, because they were citizens of the Zichuan Clan.
Outside the Imperial Capital's majestic gates, a handsome young man riding a donkey
raised his head to gaze at the magnificent gates, glittering with gold and carved with giant eagle statues on either side, then sighed.
"Four hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. I never expected this place to have changed so much!"
After sighing, the young man followed the endless stream of people around him
into this majestic human city, where the lights had just begun to shine and every street blazed with brilliance.