Two More Fiancées

"Your Highness, they've all finished absorbing their Soul Rings."

Inside the Mobile Palace, Dai Xuan was reporting to Dai Xuanyu on the dead guards' progress in absorbing their Soul Rings.

Dai Xuanyu nodded slightly. "Then take us back to the estate."

He had already absorbed his First Soul Ring, and the show they had put on for those spies was over.

There was no reason to remain in the Tiger Might Mountain Range.

His schedule from here on was packed.

"As you command, Your Highness." Dai Xuan bowed and slowly withdrew from the Mobile Palace.

Dai Xuanyu enjoyed the attendants' care as he sank into thought.

Once back at his estate, he would claim he was going into secluded cultivation, then take a group of people and leave the palace in disguise.

They might be away for some time and would need to travel through several cities.

Besides obtaining the Second Soul Ring he needed, Dai Xuanyu intended to use the opportunity to bring several factions under his command as soon as possible.

For instance, some of the Four Single-Attribute Clans that the Clear Sky Sect had abandoned as pawns in the original story, only for Tang San to win them over later.

And perhaps some of the sects Spirit Hall would later select as the new Upper Three Sects and Lower Four Sects...

Of the Four Single-Attribute Clans, all but the Strength Clan moved to the Star Luo Empire because of what happened back then.

Several of the sects Spirit Hall later picked for the new Upper Three Sects and Lower Four Sects—such as the Black Tiger Sect, Fire Leopard Sect, Wind Sword Sect, and Rock Antelope Sect—were based in the Star Luo Empire, too.

Dai Xuanyu had been thinking about bringing those factions under his command for a long time.

Before now, though, his age, his lack of bargaining chips, and the absence of any chance to approach them had stood in his way.

All Dai Xuanyu could do was covet them from afar. He could not make any major moves.

Now the skies were wide enough for birds to fly, and the seas were vast enough for fish to leap.

At last, Dai Xuanyu had a chance to bring those factions under his command.

Of course, he knew he could not win them all over in a single trip.

Nor would Dai Xuanyu accept just any faction.

He would have his subordinates screen them rigorously. Better to have none than settle for the unworthy.

And if certain factions could not be absolutely loyal to him, Dai Xuanyu would neither accept nor use them.

As the saying went, loyalty that was not absolute was absolute disloyalty!

Whew.

Looking at it now, there are quite a few major factions in the Star Luo Empire.

As he thought over the factions he would soon approach, Dai Xuanyu gradually realized something.

The Star Luo Empire had very few top-tier sects comparable to the Clear Sky Sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

There was only one, and it had remained hidden from the world.

But when it came to mid-tier and high-ranking factions, the empire lacked for nothing.

Why, then, were the Star Luo Empire's high-ranking factions so little known across the continent?

There were two reasons.

First, the Star Luo Imperial Family held power tightly and was strong, unlike the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, whose authority was scattered and limited.

That naturally constrained local Star Luo sects and families seeking to expand their influence and territory.

After all, anyone who thrust themselves too far into the spotlight risked drawing the Star Luo Imperial Family's attention.

So they kept a much lower profile.

Among the few that were well known were probably the Black Tiger Sect, Wind Sword Sect, and Fire Leopard Sect, which had once been selected as three of the Seven Great Sects.

As for families? Apart from the Zhu Family, which was allied with the Star Luo Imperial Family, he could not think of a single famous one.

Second, some of the Star Luo Empire's high-ranking factions had "fled" from the Heaven Dou Empire. Naturally, they wanted to keep their heads down and recover.

The clearest examples were the Defense, Speed, and Breaking Clans of the Four Single-Attribute Clans.

The strength of the Star Luo Imperial Family provided them with a natural refuge.

After all, once they entered the Star Luo Empire, it became far harder for either the sects and families of the Heaven Dou Empire or Spirit Hall to continue hunting them down.

The Heaven Dou Empire, by contrast, was a lesson in what not to do.

Its imperial power was scattered and weak, allowing its sects and families to grow so powerful.

But that was no way for a sovereign to rule.

Power that was not gathered into one's own hands was useless.

Those who held it would be quick to trim their sails to the wind and follow the tide. They would never fight to the bitter end for Heaven Dou.

So it came back to the same point: if Spirit Hall had not barged in, the Star Luo Empire would have dealt with Heaven Dou long ago.

I'll have to slowly work my way into the factions over in Heaven Dou, too. Dai Xuanyu turned toward the window and gazed north.

Winning over a few major factions within the Star Luo Empire would not be enough. His ambitions reached far beyond that.

He meant to bring the powerful sects and families of the Heaven Dou Empire under his command as well!

That, without question, would be far harder.

But Dai Xuanyu had patience enough for it.

It was not until that night that Dai Xuanyu returned to his estate.

"Finally back. I'd better get some sleep."

With his attendants' help, Dai Xuanyu washed up and went straight to bed.

He had returned so late because, after coming back from the Tiger Might Mountain Range that afternoon, his father had summoned him to the imperial palace.

And his father had called him in to discuss his fiancée.

The Dai Family's White Tiger Martial Soul could produce a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with the Zhu Family's Nether Civet Martial Soul.

That made the two families natural allies. They had arranged marriages between their children for generations, and the alliance had held firm in practice.

Under the imperial family's influence, the Zhu Family had even adopted a cruel family rule of its own: the heirs had to compete against one another.

The losers faced the same fate as those of the Star Luo Imperial Family: either death, or having their Soul Power abolished and being kept in captivity until they died.

Well, two foul ponds had found kindred spirits.

And the Zhu Family did not apply this rule only to its men.

Its women had to compete too, and their struggle was even more brutal.

The Zhu Family's direct-line daughters were often betrothed to princes from childhood.

Once grown, they would join their fiancés in the struggle for the throne.

This generation had three female heirs of the Zhu Family.

They were the sisters Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing from the family head's line, and Zhu Piaopiao from the first elder's line.

But Zhu Piaopiao had been betrothed to the second prince, and both were now dead.

That left only the sisters Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing.

They had been betrothed to the eldest prince, Dai Weisi, and the third prince, Dai Mubai, respectively.

Yes, that left Dai Xuanyu, the fourth prince, in an awkward position. The Zhu Family had no suitable direct-line daughter left for him to marry.

Choosing someone from a branch line would put him at a disadvantage in every respect.

So the matter of Dai Xuanyu's fiancée had been put on hold.

Dai Xuanyu himself was in no hurry, but he still had to consider the reality of his position.

Without a fiancée, those who might support him would lose confidence.

Lacking a weapon as formidable as a Martial Soul Fusion Skill would plainly hurt his chances in the struggle for the throne.

As someone who had crossed into this world, Dai Xuanyu had initially planned to slowly steal Dai Mubai's fiancée away.

He felt no guilt about it. Dai Mubai was a coward, after all.

But after awakening the Evil Eyes Saint King Martial Soul, Dai Xuanyu had lost much of his interest in finding a fiancée from the Zhu Family.

Even so, the decision his father made today had startled him.

Zhu Zhuyun's and Zhu Zhuqing's original engagements were canceled. Both were betrothed to Dai Xuanyu instead.

Well, now he had gained two fiancées without lifting a finger.