Jiang Ding moved to another hiding place.
He was still in Demonstone Minor World, this time among the Skullblood Vine Demon Race.
The Skullblood Vine Demon Race ranked sixth in the Horned Demon Imperial Clan's nine-tier system for subject races. They were permitted to reach the peak of Nascent Soul strength—the peak of their general rank.
Horned Demon Imperial Clan cultivators could advance as they pleased, their strength determining their status. Subject races could not.
Any subject-race cultivator who wished to advance beyond Foundation Establishment had to report to the local lord, obtain permission, and register before advancing.
Otherwise, it was an illegal advancement.
Illegal advancement was a capital crime in the Horned Demon Imperial Clan. Any Horned Demon Imperial Clan cultivator or subject-race cultivator could kill someone who had advanced illegally—and was required to do so. It was a mandatory duty that earned merit.
Of course, the merit awarded to a Horned Demon Imperial Clan cultivator and a subject-race cultivator for the same deed differed as heaven did from earth.
That was only natural. It went without saying.
Jiang Ding hid within the Skullblood Vine Demon chieftain's soul, silently watching events unfold.
By now, the nine Dao Children had also gone into hiding. They would take on the identities of various kings and enter the struggle for the imperial crown, subtly shifting the course of the war toward the Nine Spirits Domain's strategic goals.
As for what identities they had taken, Jiang Ding had not asked. He did not—
The Flame Stone Starfield was now swept up in rising winds and surging clouds. Every faction was making its entrance, and many Great Emperors had turned covetous eyes toward the imperial crown.
This was, in fact, a tradition of the Horned Demon Imperial Clan.
Since ancient times, the imperial crown