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As soon as he finished, Chen Shihua shook her head, folding her hands on the table. Her tone carried the caution peculiar to intelligence work. "Xiaoxiao's technical analysis is very astute, but reality is a far cry from a blueprint on paper. We need to weigh carefully how deeply to intervene and what our ultimate goal should be."
"The Empire Central District is roughly divided into three relatively independent regions by the Sunset Forest, a natural 'central buffer': the east-the lands east of the forest and along the coast; the south-the Starfield Great Plain and its surroundings; and the west-the vast region centered on Heaven Dou City."
"Based on our years of sustained infiltration and intelligence gathering in the empire's central and western regions, first, although that area is generally accepted as falling within the Clear Sky Sect's sphere of influence, their headquarters lie north of Heaven Dou City. Lankai Commandery to the southwest is already the farthest point their influence can reliably reach!"
"Second, the makeup of the forces in that area is extraordinarily complicated."
"Several Imperial Branch Families have operated there for a century and are deeply rooted. Several local clans with long histories command the wind and rain there. Even the increasingly active Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has considerable influence in the area. More importantly, the Heavenly Spirit Legion, directly responsible for deterring threats from the direction of the Silves Kingdom, is stationed at Tianling Pass. Its strength carries tremendous weight."
"If we intervene so forcefully in the affairs of the Yellow Emperor Tang Family, we won't merely be directly challenging the heart of the Clear Sky Sect's plans to penetrate that region. They will inevitably see it as an encroachment on their major strategic interests."
"How the other