[To my brother, Dalong. This morning, no Songbirds sang as a breath of cold air slipped through my window. I wrapped my fur cloak tighter and made my way to the Imperial Court. In the prosperous city of the past, carriages flowed like a river, so crowded that a common peddler might take a wrong step and find himself before the vermilion gates of a noble house. Now, only cultivators on flying swords remain. On the road, I passed a young child who spoke with blunt innocence, asking, "My lord, is our nation about to fall?"]
[How can I bear this? In the east, we have the scourge of sea demons; the Grand Tutor holds the line on the northern campaign, preventing our imperial lands from collapse; yet in the south, the Wu Clans harass us. It seems the heavens show no pity for our Great Azure...]
In the Li family's main hall, many clansmen were gathered.
Li Wei sat cross-legged amongst them.
Li Dalong and Xu Cuihua sat in the main seats, with Li Yaozu and Li Yaoqing at their side. Li Yunbing, Li Kuangren, and Li Changyao were also present.
The letter from Min Youguo was passed from hand to hand among the clansmen, and a silence fell over the hall.
The world was in great chaos. Eternal Sun Prefecture was already turbulent enough, and the Duravia Trade Prefecture's attempted rebellion had been suppressed by the Li family.
It seemed the Li family was already facing enough trouble of its own. A million of Azure Cloud's old guard had marched into Duravia, and only ten thousand returned, but... other parts of the Azure Dynasty were in a situation far more dire than their own.
"Who could have imagined it?" Li Wei sighed. "Back then, we were the only ones in the entire Azure Dynasty being invaded by the Wu Clan, and now we've become one of its most stable regions." He felt as if he had witnessed the history of this world unfold.
"What goes around, comes around. Heaven's justice spares no one!" Li Changyao, who had grown increasingly short-tempered since taking charge of the Hall of Heavenly Principle, snapped.
"Back when the Wu Clan was slaughtering its way through Azure Cloud, what did the Azure Dynasty do? What did Min Youguo do? And now they decide to remember we exist!"
"Nonsense."
Li Kuangren rebuked Li Changyao. It was a surprising move, as he, of all people, should have been the one who most detested the Azure Dynasty and Min Youguo.
Back in the day, he had shown no regard for the Human Emperor in court and had treated the officials like pigs and dogs.
He said in a deep voice, "The Imperial Dynasty is corrupt, but when the nest is overturned, can any egg remain unbroken?"
Li Changyao could only pout.
"I asked the Old Ancestor," Li Dalong said, "and the Old Ancestor said the same thing."
At these words, a look of joy flashed across Li Kuangren's face.
Li Dalong then glanced over at Li Yunbing. His grandson had been silently stroking his teacup, lost in thought.
"Yunbing," he asked, "you are about to take up the post of Prefecture Lord of the Duravia Trade Prefecture. What are your views on this matter?"
"Kuangren is actually right," Li Yunbing said. "The Azure Dynasty is one thing, and the Human Race is another. But Grandfather, have you considered this: even if we wanted to help, how could we possibly do it?"
Li Yunbing continued, "In the battle for the Duravia Trade Prefecture, we in Azure Cloud suffered grievous losses. The great powers of Eternal Sun are locked in endless internal strife, and even our own family is being watched at all times. After fifty years as Prefecture Lord, our foundation here is still unstable. Outside of the people from Azure Cloud, who truly submit to us? Do you remember the previous Prefecture Lord, Shang Mi? He ruled for two thousand years, and still, he died just like that."
"And then there's the Duravia Trade Prefecture."
Li Yunbing gave a wry smile. "I've already gone to the Duravia Trade Prefecture to take up my post ahead of schedule. The great clans there all acknowledge me as their head, and on the surface, they are so respectful that I can't find a single fault. Many of our people from Azure Cloud died at their hands, and members of their clans died at ours. It is only the presence of our Li family that keeps the conflict between the two sides suppressed."
"If we were to send troops, or even just our people..."
A gloom fell over Li Dalong's face.
The years had passed, and just as Li Yunbing had said, the great powers of the Duravia Trade Prefecture were exceptionally respectful toward the Li family on the surface.
But now, all of these great clans had the Aeternus Sect at their back, with Grand Elder Puci as their most steadfast supporter.
The great war, contrary to the Li family's expectations, had not thrown the prefecture into chaos; instead, it had made them more united than ever.
The hearts of people were not so easily fathomed. The Li family's power was immense, but no matter how great that power was, at times like this, it seemed incredibly fragile.
If the Li family were to rashly weaken themselves to send aid to the border, it would only give their hidden enemies an opportunity to take advantage.
Seeing his grandfather's displeased expression, Li Yunbing smiled.
"But we still have to send people. As long as we are fair about it, the great clans of the Duravia Trade Prefecture will have no grounds for complaint. They are all old foxes; they will understand what we mean. Three Divinity Transformation experts from each prefecture, one Nascent Soul cultivator from each major power, plus ten additional cultivators. This should resolve the matter."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
[Special Event—Supporting the Azure Dynasty]
[With the Imperial Dynasty in peril, your family has decided to dispatch forces to the border to fight against the Wu Clan.]