Long before the Mhan Empire existed, there was Kai, humanity's first great Imperial Force. Kai predated Mhan by roughly 10,000 years and became the first nation powerful enough to rally the entire Human Race beneath 1 banner. The Devils had not yet emerged during its early years, but humanity still faced major conflicts with several older races. Kai gave the scattered human tribes something they had never possessed before: a united power capable of defending their interests. The empire stood for 5,000 years, building a legacy that later human nations could only hope to match. Its cultivators, armies, craftsmen, and rulers shaped an entire age of human history. Even thousands of years later, no other human empire had managed to completely replace the image Kai left behind as the greatest standard of human civilization.
Kai's final years made that reputation almost sacred. When the Devil Race emerged and threatened creation, Kai willingly took on the heaviest part of the attack against humanity. The empire paid a terrible price, but its sacrifice gave the remaining human tribes a slim yet valuable chance to survive. Because of that history, Kai was remembered across every Human Tribe as the Divine Nation. Its surviving artifacts held incredible value, while Kai Gold Coins were desired for reasons far beyond wealth. Even the ruins left behind by the empire were considered sacred land. Human powers might fight over territory, resources, inheritances, and ancient treasures, but damaging a recognized Kai ruin was something no one would tolerate. Thousands of years had passed since Kai fell, yet its name could still unite humans in ways current nations rarely could.
This was the importance of Kai that Tian had learned through the Green Oak Codex, and it was knowledge he intended to use for their larger goal. Green Oak Sect clearly possessed many treasures connected to the Divine Nation, yet generations of leaders had chosen to leave them untouched inside hidden vaults. Tian believed they had been waiting for the right time to bring those treasures back into the world, and that time appeared to be approaching. Still, revealing everything at once would be foolish. As long as possible, nobody outside Green Oak could learn how many Kai treasures the sect possessed or where they had come from. Thirty Kai Gold Coins were enough to attract attention already. If powerful forces learned Green Oak had even more, Kati could quickly attract visitors Tian was not prepared to deal with yet.
Questions about the coins naturally spread through Fire Crow Auction House before the first one was even sold. Clan representatives wanted to know who possessed such wealth, while visiting officials wondered why 30 rare coins had suddenly appeared at a Jing Event in Kati. Bai Lin had already received instructions on how to answer. Whenever someone asked, he explained that a Great Master nearing the end of his life had approached Fire Crow at the last minute and entrusted the coins to the auction house. No name was given, and Bai Lin claimed the master wished to remain unknown. It was an explanation difficult to prove or challenge, especially since powerful cultivators often behaved in unusual ways near the end of their lives. For now, attention remained on the auction.
By midnight, nearly 12 hours after the auction started, all 30 Kai Gold Coins had finally been sold. Some went for prices near the regional average, while fierce competition pushed others as high as 18,000 Spirit Stones. Even after all that excitement, the 3 Biyu Pills remained untouched, waiting as the final treasures of the Jing Event. Han Zhong, leader of the Han Clan, leaned toward the figure sitting beside him. "Master Overseer." Tian stopped him before he could continue. "You may call me Tian." Zhong hesitated before accepting the invitation. "Tian, I fear the coins have overshadowed the pills." Tian shook his head. From the beginning, the Kai Gold had never been introduced to compete with the Biyu Pills. It had been placed there to make certain people reveal themselves.
"It was my intention. The bigger the opportunity, the more openly one reveals their ambitions." From outside, nobody could see through the curtains surrounding the Highest Honor Balcony, but Tian and Han Zhong could see nearly everyone below. Tian pointed toward the sections occupied by Kati's 4 great clans. Zhong soon noticed something strange. Despite twelve hours of treasures passing across the stage, none of those families had seriously bid on anything. They even ignored the Kai Gold Coins when the first few appeared, despite their incredible value. That changed only after a particular group inside the auction house entered the competition. Once those people began bidding, the Kun, Bo, Yang, and Tingfeng Clans suddenly showed interest as well. Tian watched the group carefully, knowing their reaction had exposed something worth investigating.
Using the Domain Lord Formation, Tian had already learned far more about the strange visitors than they likely expected. They appeared to belong to several different clans, yet their movements and behavior showed they were clearly allied. More importantly, each carried a small tattoo along the neck that had been carefully hidden from normal sight. The formation revealed those markings to Tian, allowing him to identify them as cultivators from the Xin Region. Xin was controlled by an assembly of 8 clans that shared a lifestyle many outsiders considered barbaric, while some went as far as calling them wicked. Their customs were harsh, their methods often caused disputes, and their cultivators rarely cared what neighboring regions thought about them. Seeing several Xin clans gathered together this far from home immediately caught Tian's attention.
Rumors about Xin cultivators had circulated for years. They were said to send people into other regions to purchase valuable treasures, search for rare inheritances, and even recruit talented cultivators who might strengthen their 8 clans. Few people had ever found enough proof to openly accuse them of anything, especially since their representatives usually hid their identities while traveling. Tian pointed toward the visitors and explained what he had discovered to Han Zhong. "They are Xin cultivators." Zhong's expression changed as he studied them again. Tian then directed his attention toward the sections belonging to Kati's 4 great clans. Their behavior suggested they had also recognized the visitors much earlier. If Kun, Bo, Yang, and Tingfeng were willing to compete against Xin together, Tian wanted to understand exactly what history existed between them.
Tian could see that Xin wanted nation-building power. Collecting enough Kai Coins could provide the wealth and influence needed to support such ambitions, and Kai Gold Coins were especially useful because of their value beyond the region. Han Zhong then revealed that Xin's connection to Kati went much deeper than Tian expected. Long before Green Oak turned Kati into an outpost, the 8 clans that now controlled the Xin Region had once lived within Kati itself. Their lifestyle created constant friction with the Kun, Bo, Yang, and Tingfeng Clans. The four families believed Xin's practices insulted the legacy left behind by the Mhan Empire, while the Xin clans refused to change their customs just to satisfy families they considered no better than themselves.
Eventually, that conflict became impossible to contain. The 4 great clans joined together and pushed the 8 Xin clans out of Kati, receiving support from the Han Clan leader of that generation. Zhong suspected the resentment was much older than the expulsion itself. Even before the Mhan Empire fell 4,000 years ago, the ancestors of the four clans may have disliked the Xin clans and their way of life. Back then, however, humanity was fighting the Devils, leaving little room for internal conflicts that could weaken Kati and Mhan. Survival forced people who hated each other to stand on the same side. Once those desperate years passed, old disagreements returned and eventually divided them for good. Now the descendants of those 8 expelled clans had returned seeking Kai Gold, and Tian doubted their ambitions ended with a few coins.
The auction for the 3 Biyu Pills came and went much faster than expected. By then, many guests were more interested in leaving Fire Crow and arranging private deals among themselves. Tian understood why. The introduction of Kai Gold Coins had changed how everyone measured value inside Kati. Once the Jing Event ended, the Biyu Pills would be compared against those coins, and cultivators who failed to win one might offer treasures or resources directly to those who had. The same could happen with nearly every valuable item sold during the past 12 hours. Something purchased early in the day might change hands again before sunrise. Tian had wanted to stir Kati's powers into action, and now clans, merchants, wandering cultivators, and foreign visitors all had reasons to approach one another.
Tian had stirred nearly every important figure in Kati, and now the Xin Region had entered his plans as well. Yet Bai Lin, Bai War, and Han Zhong noticed that he did not seem bothered by the situation. Tian remained seated behind the curtain, watching guests leave as if everything were developing exactly as expected. His confidence made the 3 men wonder what Green Oak Sect had prepared before sending him here. If Tian could release 30 Kai Gold Coins without concern, what else remained hidden inside Green Oak's vaults? More importantly, how much had the sect grown while the outside world stopped paying attention to it? None of them knew that Tian was still learning how far his own authority reached. For now, everyone could only watch as his first moves began reshaping Kati.
Back at Green Oak Manor, Ān Fù received a message from Master Li Tong, the younger brother of Sect Leader Li Chun and 1 of Green Oak's 12 Guardians. Beneath the Sect Leader, Li Tong was responsible for managing the sect's personnel and labor, giving him authority over where many disciples were assigned. His message revealed that Green Oak had secretly dispatched 30 Biyu Realm disciples to Kati. None had entered the village openly. Instead, they were hidden throughout the surrounding area and prepared to act if Tian required their assistance. Li Tong also gave Ān Fù permission to command them as Deputy Overseer whenever he needed to carry out a mission. The news gave Ān Fù a better understanding of just how much support Green Oak had placed behind Tian's work in Kati.
Li Tong's message was not the only action taken by Green Oak's leadership. Sect Leader Li Chun had personally sent a letter to the Tingfeng Clan. The exact contents remained private, and even Ān Fù had no idea what had been written inside. Still, the reaction was difficult to hide. The Tingfeng Clan's 5 Ziyan Realm masters had changed greatly after reading it, and fear could be seen in how carefully their clansmen acted afterward. This was especially surprising for a family possessing 3 Boji-level artifacts and enough strength to stand above Kati's other great clans. Whatever Li Chun had written was enough to remind them that Green Oak Sect was not a power they could judge by its recent decline. While Tian moved openly through Kati, his Sect Leader was making moves of his own.
The next morning, Tian arrived at the doorstep of Kati's Minister of Works. The position was an old part of the government left behind after the fall of Mhan, kept alive by the Han Clan in case the day came when a proper government mattered again. These days, the minister had little authority beyond handling repairs, roads, farmland projects, and whatever public work the Han Clan could still support. Tian saw something more useful. If Kati was going to become a State, it needed functioning offices before anyone could take that declaration seriously. The Minister of Works was a good place to start. Since nobody outside a small circle knew Tian was the Overseer, he could walk through Kati without drawing much attention, allowing him to see how people acted when they believed no powerful figure was watching.
For now, Tian planned to present himself as an ordinary Core Disciple of Green Oak Sect assigned to assist Kati. That identity gave him enough status to open doors without revealing how much authority he actually possessed. His first goal was to help the Minister of Works regain influence and begin handling projects that had been ignored for years. Better roads, restored public buildings, stronger farmland, and new construction could give ordinary residents a reason to trust the government again. Once that happened, the Han Clan would benefit naturally as the family that had preserved those offices for generations. Tian had no interest in handing them authority without giving people a reason to accept it. If Han Zhong was going to become Kati's future State Lord, Tian intended to build a proper government to serve beneath him first.