Before Jun Beiyue had left the Longyuan continent, a peace summit had already reshaped the balance of power across the realm!

Though Da Zhou couldn’t yet truly be called a contender for supremacy over the entire realm, the beginnings of that ambition were already taking shape!

With every nation on the Longyuan continent too fearful to voice their anger, let alone act on it, shaking Da Zhou’s position of dominance was no easy feat—in truth, it was exceedingly difficult!

Rumor had it that the Emperor of West Liang had fallen gravely ill, with the crown prince already beginning to handle state affairs in his stead;

Rumor had it that the Princess of West Jing had married with tremendous fanfare, a wedding procession stretching ten li, the entire city turning out to watch. The Emperor of West Liang had invited crown princes and heirs from every nation—except, notably, the Crown Prince of West Chu. Princess Qianqian had not taken in a consort but had married out in grand style instead, and after the wedding, rather than remaining in West Jing, she had departed southward together with her husband, leaving the West Jing royal family embroiled in open and covert power struggles among its many illegitimate sons vying for the throne;

Rumor had it that the Emperor of West Chu, having returned home in a fury after the peace summit hosted by Da Zhou, had fallen gravely ill, with Chu Tiange soon to ascend the throne;

Rumor had it that the Xiongnu had withdrawn their troops, leaving a full three hundred li of empty land along the border with East Qin’s northern highlands.

Of course, these rumors—some true, some false—had all faded along with the memory of the peace summit itself. These days, the story spreading most widely concerned East Qin’s new emperor.

The Empress of East Qin, a woman whose fame had echoed across the Longyuan continent for quite some time, had finally succumbed to grave illness and stepped down from East Qin’s historical stage. Just when everyone assumed the new ruler would be that legendary crown prince who had appeared before the public eye like something out of myth—Xuanyuan Lige—it turned out, to everyone’s surprise, that the new emperor was instead a minor princess from a collateral branch of the East Qin royal family.

As for the whereabouts of that legendary crown prince, no one knew.

The northern highlands were East Qin’s northernmost territory, bordering the Xiongnu, and also East Qin’s highest elevation.

At that moment, Xuanyuan Lige stood on the northern highlands, on a cliff at its western edge where the land connected to Wuxie Ravine, gazing out into the distance toward the lands of West Chu.

Beside him stood not only the Beast Clan’s second young master, but also a nanny—Nanny Qin.

This Nanny Qin, who had once had her life spared under Ziqing’s hands, had finally returned to her young master’s side.

Seeing her young master finally returned, finally taking up the dream of East Qin once more, Nanny Qin felt a deep sense of comfort, whatever the current circumstances might be.

This, at last, was what her young master—as East Qin’s crown prince, as a man—ought to be doing.

Still, she had to admit the present situation was far from promising. A flicker of hesitation crossed Nanny Qin’s eyes, but eventually she spoke up. “Young Master, the Xiongnu side… continues to refuse.”

Ever since Xuanyuan Lige had returned to East Qin, he had repeatedly sought a meeting with Minhan Mude’er, but that Xiongnu crown prince kept putting on airs, offering all manner of excuses about being too busy—clearly just pretexts, simply unwilling to meet with the young master.

Before Xuanyuan Lige could even respond to Nanny Qin’s words, the Beast Clan’s second young master burst out in irritation, “Damn it, Xuanyuan Lige, must you keep pursuing him? There’s also West Jing along the border with West Chu! And with West Jing’s succession struggle growing more intense by the day, this is the perfect opportunity for us!”

No one knew quite how vast Xuanyuan Lige’s ambitions truly were, but West Chu was certainly his first step.

Hearing this, Nanny Qin let out a cold laugh. “West Chu? However fierce West Jing’s succession struggle grows, Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan are both watching closely!”

Indeed—West Chu was simply not an option.

“Then what do we do? Keep going like this… and we’ll all grow old waiting!” the Beast Clan’s second young master retorted coldly.

At this point, Xuanyuan Lige, who had remained silent all this while, finally turned his head. Amid his flowing silver hair, his face, no longer as pale as before, had grown ever colder and more austere. He said, “Nanny Qin, go tell Minhan Mude’er—either he meets with me, or he meets Minhan Guxin’s corpse instead. Whatever this prince says he’ll do, he will absolutely deliver.”

He spoke these words with utter calm, as if simply stating some ordinary fact.

Yet this left both the Beast Clan’s second young master and Nanny Qin gasping in shock—neither had expected Xuanyuan Lige to actually threaten with the Gu Nanny’s life!

Even though breaking into Da Zhou’s palace dungeon wouldn’t be easy, if he’d said it, he would surely see it through.

This kind of threat felt more like something out of the martial world’s underground dealings than diplomacy between two nations.

“Yes!” Nanny Qin didn’t dare say anything further and left at once, only vaguely sensing that her young master had changed—perhaps into the man she and the late Empress had always hoped he’d become. And yet, something also felt not quite right. Exactly how he had changed, Nanny Qin couldn’t quite put into words—she only felt he had become someone unfamiliar to her.

The Beast Clan’s second young master, for his part, rather admired Xuanyuan Lige’s ruthlessness and cunning, though he couldn’t help but voice a concern. “Xuanyuan Lige, cooperating with the Xiongnu is no different from asking a tiger for its own hide—your mother learned that lesson the hard way, didn’t she!”

“Who said anything about cooperating with them?” Xuanyuan Lige asked with a cold smile, turning the question back on him.

The Beast Clan’s second young master grew even more confused, then let out a cold laugh. “If not cooperation, then what—are you planning to serve them instead?”

Given East Qin’s current strength, if the Xiongnu even agreed to cooperate, that alone would be cause for celebration.

Unexpectedly, Xuanyuan Lige merely smiled and answered plainly, “Mm. Serve them.”

“What!” the Beast Clan’s second young master exclaimed in shock. “Have you lost your mind?”

Xuanyuan Lige remained perfectly calm. “Back then, Da Zhou’s Seventh Prince, Jun Beiyao, served Minhan Mude’er and was appointed as his tutor. Unfortunately, Jun Beiyao didn’t live long enough to see Minhan Mude’er ascend the throne.”

“What exactly are you getting at?” the Beast Clan’s second young master asked, thoroughly baffled.

Yet Xuanyuan Lige merely smiled again, that cold, breathtakingly handsome face of his blooming into an expression that could only be described as demonic—even the Beast Clan’s second young master couldn’t help feeling a chill of fear looking at him.

“Within two months, by whatever means necessary, I want the Xiongnu Emperor dead. Can it be done?” he asked softly.

The Beast Clan’s second young master was thoroughly shocked, growing even more confused about what exactly Xuanyuan Lige intended.

He only felt that this man seemed to have truly changed—ruthless, cunning, and cruel. Aside from Han Ziqing, it seemed there were no principles left in him at all when it came to how he treated others.

“With Minhan Mude’er on the throne, he’ll be even less likely to cooperate with us,” the Beast Clan’s second young master pointed out.

“I never intended to cooperate. All I want is the Xiongnu itself…” Xuanyuan Lige said calmly. Everyone had guessed wrong—his first step wasn’t West Chu at all, but the Xiongnu!

Not cooperation—he intended to swallow the Xiongnu whole!

Such staggering ambition!

The Beast Clan’s second young master stared at the cold, composed man before him in utter disbelief, unable to accept what he’d just heard. But Xuanyuan Lige’s expression told him this was no joke, no empty boast…

“Within two months… go.”

Xuanyuan Lige’s tone was light, so very light, as he gazed off toward the west—though it wasn’t really West Chu he was looking toward, but rather a particular cliff somewhere in the distant Wuxie Ravine.

That was where he had once taught Ziqing to play the zither.

Ziqing, far away in Nanzhao, are you well?

Ziqing, have you found your family yet?

Ziqing was indeed far away in Nanzhao, but they had already begun preparing to set out for Wuxie Ravine. There remained just one issue holding them back: would Meng Wanyue travel with them, or stay behind?

Meng Wanyue had violated the Meng Clan’s laws, stealing away the Flowing Light Dagger without permission—by rights, she should face punishment. But on the other hand, she had acted upon the founding ancestor’s legacy instructions. Though that reason couldn’t be made public, it did mean she couldn’t truly be punished either…