The Winds and Clouds Shift, Waiting for the Right Moment!
Ba City -- Muxuan Mountain -- Qin Palace Side Hall
Qin Xiao held his teacup, blew on the tea leaves to unfurl them, and savored the sweetness. The aroma filled the air, leaving a lingering fragrance in his mouth, and his brow unconsciously relaxed...
"Unbeknownst to us, three years have passed..."
"Since three years ago, Wan'er seems to have become a completely different person. At first, I thought the child had suddenly changed her personality..."
"But his cultivation level also improved by leaps and bounds."
"A change in personality might be understandable; after all, people often grow up in an instant..."
"But talent is something that's incredibly difficult to change, and yet fortuitous opportunity keep coming your way, which is truly baffling..."
"Second brother, do you think there really is such a thing as luck in this world?"
Upon hearing this—
Qin Hui, whose body was half-decomposed into decaying wood, watched the tea leaves floating in the cup, her expression shifting, seemingly moved...
Everyone knows that the current ruler of the Qin Clan is both a scholar and a warrior, and has an iron fist!
However, Qin Hui, this Alchemist, is the most intelligent among the second generation of the Qin Clan. She just doesn't usually show off, but when something truly important happens...
Qin Xiao usually only consults with Qin Hui.
"The concept of destiny absolutely exists, but it's not a so-called theory of the Heavenly Dao. Rather, it depends on a person's weight in the world..."
"Like our father..."
"Isn't that a perfect example? Or take that Hanbang..."
"Back then, Liu Ji was just a minor official under my clan, merely a subordinate force, but now he has risen to prominence!"
"Having become the overlord of Western Plain Commandery in Di Province, with seven members of his family at the Qi Condensation, their strength is by no means weak..."
"Their rise has taken only a little over ten years, much faster than our clan's rise. Isn't this talk of destiny unfolding right before our eyes?"
"But..."
Qin Hui paused, her eyes narrowing slightly, as if she had discerned some hidden secret...
"Mingwan is definitely not that kind of person; she was never born with such a destiny..."
"Back when Elder Meng Yu was still alive, I secretly sought him out to be a member of my clan and had his fate calculated, but as the saying goes, heavenly secrets cannot be revealed..."
"The information available was extremely vague."
"But Mingwan's destiny is the most detailed..."
"According to the art of divination, the more detailed and easily understood one's destiny is, the less significant its influence on the world..."
"In other words, Mingwan was destined to be ordinary."
"He calculated two short sentences: 'A life of great wealth and honor, but also of great sorrow and joy, destined for the Northern Qin.' The first half of this sentence is easy to understand..."
"But the second half of that statement... I don't know how to reconcile it."
"Mr. Mengyu solved the problem back then, but he dared not speak of it. Not long ago, I sought out Mr. Ghost Valley again, but it caused him some backlash..."
"Or perhaps, Ghost Valley also figured it out, but he couldn't reveal the secrets of heaven."
"If we interpret it simply, great joy or great sorrow can be interpreted as good or bad things, while 'falling in the Northern Qin ' means that this matter may fall on our clan."
"But the specifics, including how it happened and when, are impossible to ascertain..."
"But considering the current situation..."
"Mingwan's sudden rise to prominence could be an fortuitous opportunity for the Qin Clan, or it could be a disaster. Let things develop as they will..."
"Perhaps that's the most appropriate way."
"But I can't let my guard down. Perhaps it's because my body has transformed into that of Wood Demon, but I still feel uneasy..."
"There's definitely something seriously wrong with Mingwan!"
"Although we couldn't find out anything, her behavior and the various opportunities she encountered all seemed to have been pre-planned..."
If things cannot be done...
"Then eliminate them, cut off any possibility of harming the Lineage. Even if it's her own niece, she should die at the hands of her own family..."
"As for my fourth brother, I will handle it."
"If the situation truly cannot be reversed, brother, you must not hold back..."
The words were concise and to the point.
Qin Xiao now had a better understanding, and the two then began discussing other matters...
After all, three years is not a long time, but it is not short either. Cultivators can easily go into seclusion for a few days or weeks, or even several months or half a year.
But for the True Martial Realm Warrior, three years is not a short time for an ordinary person...
Especially now that the Qin Clan is prosperous and powerful, spanning three prefectures, with hundreds or even thousands of smaller forces under its command, managing them is naturally a laborious and time-consuming task.
If the entire clan's strength is mobilized...
The Qin Clan could even mobilize tens of thousands of Warrior to form a considerable armed force!
The number of ordinary people is in the tens of millions, and they wield considerable power in their respective regions, influencing everything from job promotions and transfers to basic livelihood issues...
Even the conflicts among Warrior arts factions, and the state of cooperation among various parties.
They all need to be directly controlled and managed by the Qin Clan!
Now, the Qin Clan can produce and sell its own magical Law Artifact, elixirs, and Spirit Wine, forming a self-sufficient internal system that no longer relies on external sources...
After three years of honing his skills, Qin Mingzheng has gained a basic understanding of weapon crafting!
And officially became Rank-1 Artifact Refiner--
Over the course of several years, Qin Xiao even managed to persuade Gongsun Zhe's bloodline, exchanging a Qi Condensation Pill for the Gongsun Clan...
A century-old legacy of weapon crafting expertise!
After all, without the protection of a Qi Condensation cultivator, they couldn't hold out. If it weren't for Qin Lu's sentimentality and his protection of his descendants...
I'm afraid it might be the descendants of Gongsun Zhe.
It had long been devoured, leaving not even a bone fragment. After all, it was the remains of a Rank-2 Artifact Refiner, and just thinking about it makes one's mouth water!
Later--
In addition to receiving Gongsun Zhe's insights into weapon crafting and a Second-Tier weapon crafting inheritance, the Qin Clan also obtained a considerable number of Image-Recording Stone...
It includes alchemy techniques, as well as images of weapon crafting, talisman making, and array engraving—these are genuine inheritances!
This greatly enriched the Qin Clan's collection, and they even obtained a puppetry technique...
Qin Lu's puppet body was forged from the flesh and blood of corpses, controlled by poison and insects, making it a special type of puppet...
This puppetry tradition is the most authentic type!
It contained records of humanoid puppets, as well as various animal-shaped puppets. Thanks to this, Qin Mingzheng had already crafted his first puppet...
Despite his young age, his combat prowess is quite remarkable!
With only the cultivation level of the third or fourth realm of True Martial, one can simultaneously control two or three puppets, using numerical superiority to forcefully subdue the opponent...
besides--
In recent years, the Qin Clan has been extensively raising various low-level spirit beasts, such as the Six-Teat Coconut Goat and the Jade Cloud Chicken, and their numbers have long since reached hundreds...
The spirit goat's milk, combined with spirit medicine, is made into a special spirit liquid for the Qin Clan's army to consume, while the eggs of the Jade Cloud Chicken are regularly distributed to mid-level Warrior officers.
The new policy immediately attracted countless Warrior eager to enlist...
However, due to the Qin Clan's policies, they only recruited those who were already registered, resided in Ba City, and became subjects of the Qin Clan dynasty.
Over time, more Rogue Cultivator will join the Qin Clan, constantly replenishing its ranks with fresh blood, thus enabling better control and unification...