Lin'an.
Some ten days had passed since the demonic disaster.
Conditions in the city had improved considerably.
Even the major factions of Eastwater Prefecture had been forcibly stopped from infiltrating Lin'an.
This was because numerous local factions, led by Jiang Jingnian, Daoist Master of the Mountain Cloud School, had united into a temporary alliance, barely managing to hold the outside factions back.
Yet even so.
With the realm buffeted by wind and rain, war erupting everywhere, the foreigners' stance unclear, and the Eastern Wu Kingdom watching like a tiger eyeing its prey, the situation in the Two-East Region had likewise plunged into uncertainty.
Silver Leaf Studio, Central Bridge District.
Since February, this place had suffered first the demonic disaster, then the ravages of the East Water factions. Most of its buildings had collapsed. The rubble had gradually been cleared, and after some simple repairs, all that remained of the once-sprawling complex were two buildings, one large and one small, and the Training Room off to the side.
Everywhere else stood empty.
Even at the fastest pace, a complete reconstruction would take more than half a year.
The small building here had originally housed the disciples.
Now it had become a temporary office.
The meeting room on the second floor.
It was called a meeting room, but in reality, the walls between five dormitory rooms had all been knocked down to create one spacious hall.
Still, this was a Regional Domain-level Faction of Lin'an, a local power with years of established influence.
Even the temporary interior decorations and furnishings could be considered luxurious.
Afternoon sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting dappled light and shadow across the mahogany floor.
Several Western Ocean oil paintings hung on the walls, while a phonograph played a somewhat refreshing Western Ocean melody in the corner.