The Pros and Cons of Building a Faction

Xiao Changge's room.

At this moment, Xiao Changge had already begun considering building his own faction.

Xiao Changge felt that building a faction offered many benefits, and developing his own power was also extremely important.

Just like Xiao Yan.

In the original Battle Through the Heavens, Xiao Yan never built factions merely to enjoy being a leader. He converted his personal strength into sustainable resources, intelligence, connections, and defenses. From Xiao Gate and the Flame Alliance to Starfall Pavilion, where he inherited Yao Lao's legacy, and then the Sky Mansion Alliance, every layer addressed what he lacked most at that stage.

(1) Early stage: Xiao Gate/Flame Alliance—solving the problems of "trouble at home" and "resource self-sufficiency":

Protecting family and territory: After the Misty Cloud Sect fell, the Jia Ma Empire was left vulnerable. The Chu Yun Empire, Golden Goose Sect, and the Lion Nether Sect backed by Soul Hall all came looking to take a bite. Binding the Xiao Clan, the three great clans, the Alchemist Association, and the Snake-People Tribe into the Flame Alliance was equivalent to installing an automatic defense system around his northwestern homeland, allowing him to head to the Central Plains without worry.

Pills exchanged for combat strength: The Flame Alliance established its own Pill Hall. Xiao Yan and Yao Lao's high-tier pills attracted Dou Wangs and Dou Emperors to serve as guardians, while ordinary members could also accelerate their cultivation with pills. The stronger the faction became, the more pill customers it gained, and its resources snowballed.

Military deployment for taking revenge on the Misty Cloud Sect: When attacking Yun Shan, Xiao Gate brought people from the Black-Corner Region to restrain the Dou Wangs and Dou Emperors, allowing Xiao Yan to fight Yun Shan one-on-one. A lone cultivator could never assemble such a force alone.

(2) Central Plains stage: Starfall Pavilion—obtaining an "entry ticket into the top circle":

Starfall Pavilion had originally been Yao Lao's foundation. After Xiao Yan took over as its Young Pavilion Master, the master and disciple's reputation for pill refinement, combined with Xiao Yan's talent for Heavenly Flames, gathered Feng Venerable, Tian Huo Venerable, Zi Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin under its banner. It was elevated directly from one of the Four Pavilions into the front ranks of the Central Plains.

A fixed sect headquarters meant an intelligence network, pill-production capacity, and a place to receive favors from the Gu Clan and Pill Tower. Rescuing Yao Lao, entering the Soul Mountain Range, and taking Mu Qingluan as a disciple all relied on Starfall Pavilion as a logistical base.

(3) Late stage: Sky Mansion Alliance—turning "fighting Soul Hall" from a suicidal act into something feasible:

With only Starfall Pavilion and Xiao Yan alone, they had to calculate their odds even against Soul Hall's Earth Fiend Hall. After bringing in the Pill Tower, Flower Sect, and Burning Flame Valley, their number of Dou Shengs, Half-Saints, and influence in pill refinement were all supplemented. Soul Hall had to ask the Hun Clan to send Dou Shengs before it dared confront them head-on.

Sharing cultivation benefits: The Bodhisattva Pill drew in lone cultivators, while top-tier opportunities such as the Yellow Spring Demon Saint's Blood Essence, slots in the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame's space, and the Void Lightning Pool, opened after the alliance with the Ancient Void Dragon, could only be obtained through the status of "alliance member." Lone cultivators would not even know which way the door opened.

The later entry of the Gu Clan, Lei Clan, Yan Clan, Ancient Void Dragon, and Nine Serene Deep Ground Python into the alliance was fundamentally the appeal created by three stacked layers: Xiao Yan's personal credibility, Starfall Pavilion's foundation, and the Flame Alliance's base. Only then did he possess the capital to face Hun Tiandi in the battle of two Dou Dis.

(4) Xiao Yan's hidden personal gains:

Turning connections into value: The Miter Family, Jia Nan Academy, Pill Tower, and Gu Clan were all connections formed through factional ties. As a mere passerby, he could never have stood before Xun'er's clan.

The hands-off management model: He left the Flame Alliance to Cai Lin and Hai Bodong, and Starfall Pavilion to Yao Lao. He only needed to enter seclusion and advance toward Dou Sheng and Dou Di, while his factions preserved time for him.

Laying the groundwork for the Great Thousand World: The Dou Qi Continent model of "building alliances—sharing benefits—climbing to higher levels" was copied wholesale into The Great Ruler, where he established the Endless Fire Territory, standing alongside the Martial Realm and Mu Estate as one of the Great Thousand World's top three powers.

To sum up Xiao Yan's faction-building: Xiao Yan building factions meant upgrading "I am strong" into "our side as a whole is strong." Through organizational structures, he leveraged Heavenly Flames, pills, favors, and territory. The further he went, the less it was him protecting his factions and the more they nurtured him in breaking through.

When Xiao Yan first built his factions, some of them needed his help, while for others, he needed to borrow their strength. But gradually, after he became stronger, he was able to protect those factions and the people he wanted to protect. His friends could also gradually grow stronger and help him.

Therefore, the benefits of building a faction were immense.

But! Everything had exceptions!

Building factions benefited Xiao Yan, but it also had drawbacks.

It did, and the drawbacks were the reverse side of the same mechanism as the benefits—the larger the faction, the more tightly Xiao Yan became bound to it. His freedom, risks, and karmic entanglements all increased proportionally.

(1) The most direct drawback: a tall tree catches the wind, and hatred skyrockets exponentially

The moment the Flame Alliance was established, the Lion Nether Sect and Soul Hall's branch hall immediately set their sights on the Jia Ma Empire. The remnants of the Misty Cloud Sect, the Chu Yun Empire, and old grudges involving the Desert Metal Mercenary Group were all stirred up. After he took over Starfall Pavilion, Soul Hall directly upgraded "capture Xiao Yan" into a mission on the level of "destroy Starfall Pavilion."

When he was a lone cultivator, his enemies were merely one or two Dou Zongs. After gaining a faction, his enemies became forces on the level of Soul Hall and the Hun Clan. If they could not defeat him, they slaughtered his elders, destroyed his branch halls, and seized his allies' families. Yao Lao's capture had originally happened because Soul Hall had targeted him, and after Xiao Yan took over Starfall Pavilion, Starfall Pavilion became Soul Hall's public target.

During the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame arc and before the battle of two Dou Dis, the Hun Clan dared to directly massacre the outskirts of the Sky Tomb and wipe out multiple hidden Starfall Pavilion outposts. This was the price of having a foundation—having a foundation meant having weaknesses.

(2) Responsibility as shackles: he could no longer leave whenever he wished

During the Xiao Gate period, he had to return to Jia Ma to suppress the Lion Nether Sect, or the Xiao Clan would have been destroyed. When he was in seclusion in the Central Plains, striving to become a Dou Sheng, Starfall Pavilion was being battered by Soul Hall. Feng Venerable sent messages urging him to wake, and he had no choice but to emerge early and clean up the mess.

He left the Flame Alliance to Cai Lin and Hai Bodong, and Starfall Pavilion to Yao Lao, but the final authority and responsibility for covering everything always remained his. Internal alliance conflicts, such as the friction between the Pill Tower and Flower Sect in the Sky Mansion Alliance's early days, juniors recklessly angering collateral branches of the Gu Clan, or allies being surrounded and requesting aid—all required him to appear and stabilize the situation. Otherwise, the faction would fall apart in an instant.

Compared to wandering alone in the early Black-Corner Region, he could simply seize the Flame Mantra and run. Later, when the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame's space opened, he first had to arrange the Flame Alliance's border defenses and leave contingencies for Starfall Pavilion before he could depart.

(3) Internal friction and compromise: individual will diluted by the collective

The Flame Alliance had to balance the interests of the Xiao Clan, Snake-People Tribe, Alchemist Association, and three great clans. When Cai Lin favored war, he had to persuade her; when Hai Bodong was conservative, he had to push him forward; when Pill Hall profit-sharing provoked public outrage, he had to mediate.

It was even more obvious in the Sky Mansion Alliance: the Pill Tower wished to remain neutral, the Flower Sect sought private vengeance, and Burning Flame Valley wanted to seize the Yellow Spring Demon Saint's Blood Essence. Even if Xiao Yan wanted to strike directly at Soul Hall, he first had to hold an alliance conference and argue things out. It was not like fighting Yun Shan alone, when he could make every decision himself.

Bringing the Ancient Void Dragon and Nine Serene Deep Ground Python into the alliance was equivalent to bringing racial blood feuds into the decision-making circle. When deploying troops later, he had to consider both Zi Yan's and Qing Lin's positions.

(4) Chain of karma: faction members were his "second fatal weakness"

Yao Lao was captured → Starfall Pavilion was left leaderless → Xiao Yan had to rescue him, or its foundation would collapse;

Xiao Yi Xian's poison body went out of control → the Chu Yun Empire suffered along with it → the Flame Alliance's borders fell into crisis;

If Xiao Li and Xiao Ding died, the Xiao Clan's line would be broken, and the Flame Alliance's legitimacy would be shaken.

Before the battle of two Dou Dis, Hun Tiandi captured Cai Lin as a threat. In essence, it meant, "You built the Flame Alliance and married the Snake-People Tribe's queen, so now you have a weakness." A pure lone cultivator, by contrast, would not provide such leverage for hostage-taking.

(5) Misallocated resources: maintaining a faction itself consumed time

Providing pill formulas for the Flame Alliance, helping Starfall Pavilion alter its mountain-protecting formation, and mediating territorial disputes for the Sky Mansion Alliance—none of these things directly produced combat strength, but if they were not handled, the factions would decay.

He spent three years in seclusion advancing toward Dou Sheng, while Starfall Pavilion outside was sustained by Yao Lao and Feng Venerable. A smaller faction would have long since been swallowed. The hidden cost of maintaining an organization all came out of his cultivation time.

(6) But the drawbacks were controllable because Xiao Yan met three conditions

His core team was absolutely loyal: Yao Lao, Cai Lin, Zi Yan, and Xiao Yi Xian would never betray him, avoiding most risks of internal alliance collapse;

His personal strength always stayed half a step ahead: every time the faction faced danger, he happened to break through—returning to Jia Ma as a Dou Emperor, rescuing Starfall Pavilion as a Dou Zun, and suppressing the Sky Mansion Alliance as a Dou Sheng—using hard power to cover his management shortcomings;

The faction was a "tool," not an "end": he never proclaimed himself emperor or established a dynasty. The Flame Alliance and Sky Mansion Alliance were both transitional shells. Even when they ultimately evolved into the Endless Fire Territory, it continued serving as a spearhead in the Great Thousand World rather than dragging him down through the burden of leadership.

Thus, the drawbacks truly existed, but for Xiao Yan, it was "trading trouble for leverage." The cost was more weaknesses, more trivial matters, and more enemies; the gain was using those costs to pry loose pill-refining connections, Demon Flame opportunities, and a ticket into the battle of two Dou Dis—things personal strength alone could never obtain. If the protagonist had slightly worse talent, building a faction would probably have gotten him farmed by Soul Hall as experience points first.

So those were also the benefits and drawbacks of building a faction.