Chapter 554: Dragon Soaring, Sharpening Weapons and Feeding Horses

Of course, Qi Suian was unaware of the decision the three Taoist Lords had made regarding him.

Not that it would have mattered even if he did.

Right now, he was completely focused on breaking through to the Fifth Realm.

Ever since Master Miaoxin routed the Imperial Army, the armies of the Xiliang Kingdom had begun to expand without restraint.

With the aid of the Buddhist Family’s Daoist Lineage, their pace hadn’t slowed in the slightest.

It was only natural, then, for Qi Suian to choose this moment to break through.

The process took nearly three days. It shouldn’t have taken so long, but the sheer volume and magnitude of the momentum he had accumulated was staggering.

It completely surpassed the quantity and quality a normal Fourth Realm practitioner should possess, which was why consolidating it took time.

The Fifth Realm was named “Dragon’s Gallop,” and its Divine Technique was “Prepare for War.”

Its effect was to use his momentum to coalesce the fallen soldiers and generals of his domain into Heroic Spirits.

Qi Suian could summon them to fight for him, and they would possess their own Divine Techniques.

The generals would be one realm lower than him, while the soldiers would be two realms lower. They would be equipped with fine gear and horses and possess vast battlefield experience.

There was a drawback, however: the Heroic Spirits could only exist within his own territory. They couldn’t leave it to conquer new lands for him.

‘How long has it been? How have I already accumulated so many Heroic Spirit Soldiers…’ Qi Suian observed the momentum gathering around him, a phenomenon representing the Heroic Spirit Soldiers, and their numbers were still growing.

‘Then again, few of the people under my command are what you’d call good.’

‘As the saying goes, the fish rots from the head.’ Qi Suian wasn’t disgusted by this, as he was much the same himself.

‘Using the power of the collective to forge individual might—that was indeed the foundation I laid, and I did intervene to guide it.’

‘But it’s more likely the world itself is leaning this way. Especially with all the recent assassination attempts, it’s probably afraid of losing me, its one variable.’

Qi Suian was certain that the world had suffered under the three great Daoist Lineages for far too long. Now that a single promising sprout had finally emerged, it needed to be carefully nurtured.

‘As for the Sixth Realm… it requires half the continent. Reasonable.’

After half the continent comes the unification of all under heaven, but achieving that this time would likely not be so easy.

Because conquering half the continent was merely one of the prerequisites.

Compared to the Sixth Realm of the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist families’ Daoist Lineages, the path to the Sixth Realm of Qi Suian’s own Daoist Lineage was much less difficult.

There were several reasons for this, the simplest being lifespan.

He had already reached the Fifth Realm, yet his lifespan hadn’t increased at all. Moreover, his Divine Techniques were geared toward strengthening his faction, making his personal combat prowess far inferior to that of the other three Daoist Lineages.

But if he wielded the power of his faction effectively, it would be a different story entirely. He could directly use the Power of the Daoist Lineage to contend with the other three.

After all, his path was one of grand momentum; he would naturally fall short in smaller-scale confrontations.

‘It’s a good thing the people under me are such a wicked bunch. That’s the only reason they’ve sent me so many Heroic Spirits.’

‘But I probably need some generals to die. Without Heroic Spirit Generals, I can’t unleash the full potential of “Prepare for War” with only Heroic Spirit Soldiers.’

They were two parts of a whole. Heroic Spirit Generals not only possessed greater strength but could also enhance the Heroic Spirit Soldiers.

Conversely, the Heroic Spirit Soldiers could also strengthen the Heroic Spirit Generals.

Essentially, Heroic Spirit Generals could grant additional attributes to the Heroic Spirit Soldiers, while the soldiers, in turn, could activate special talents for the generals.

They were an inseparable, symbiotic unit.

‘It’s just that good people die young, while scourges last for a millennium.’ Qi Suian mused on the difficulty. ‘And all the people under my command are scourges and villains.’

‘Getting them killed will be truly difficult.’

‘Besides, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to kill them now.’

‘Even if you’re going to kill the donkey after it’s done its work, you at least wait until the grinding is finished. If I kill them now, who’s going to turn the millstone for me?’

‘I can’t be expected to do it myself.’

‘My only choice is to provoke the Confucians and Daoists and let them do the killing.’ Qi Suian considered this. He couldn’t just execute his own men, but if they fell in battle, their deaths would have value.

After muttering to himself, Qi Suian began to scheme about how to make the three Daoist Lineages of the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist families break their unspoken rules and consensus to escalate the war to a higher level.

‘With the current Fifth Realm strength of my Survivor Avatar, I’ve not only gained access to about twenty percent of the world’s data, but also stronger powers of concealment and interference.’

‘As long as I handle it properly, there should be no major issues.’

‘But there are quite a few restrictions. For instance, I can’t use it within the Xiliang Kingdom.’

‘And the cost increases with distance.’

‘Unless the Confucians and Daoists either join forces with one family or follow the Xiliang Kingdom’s example and start their own enterprise. The restrictions would be greater, but there would be more room to maneuver.’ Qi Suian began to use his accumulated momentum to plan and scheme.

The process went smoothly, and he quickly identified several pairs of unlucky souls, who had turned from friends to mortal enemies, to serve as his pawns.

His targets weren’t limited to the Confucian and Daoist families; the Buddhist Family was naturally part of his machinations as well.

The more chaos, the better for Qi Suian.

Ideally, a Fifth Realm practitioner from one of the Daoist Lineages would die.

In truth, the death of a Sixth Realm National Hero, Bodhisattva, or Celestial Master would be even better, but these high-level figures rarely made a move.

Even if Qi Suian wanted to act, there was no suitable opportunity unless he were to do it himself.

Of course, along with a better outcome came greater risk. The death of a Sixth Realm practitioner would certainly attract the attention of the three Taoist Lords.

They wouldn’t be able to trace it back to him, true, but it would plunge the situation into uncertainty.

Qi Suian wasn’t one for taking on unnecessary challenges; he certainly wouldn’t create needless difficulties for himself.

He would play it safe if he could.

He pushed the door open and stepped out. Miaoyu, who had been meditating at the entrance, rose to his feet. He had no inkling that Qi Suian was now a figure of the very same realm as himself.

“My King, you’ve emerged from your cultivation. Did you have a great breakthrough?” Miaoyu asked.

Qi Suian had fabricated an excuse about his Survivor Avatar, which naturally puzzled Miaoyu. However, Qi Suian was the Sovereign of Xiliang; what could he possibly say?

So he simply fulfilled his duty to protect him.

Thankfully, the “Hidden Dragon, Do Not Act” ability of his Golden Scale was incredibly effective and had never failed to conceal him.

And with his own growth, now not even a Bodhisattva could see through his disguise.

This was another benefit of his realm advancing: his Divine Techniques grew stronger with it.

But he had a premonition that he, this “hidden dragon,” wouldn’t be able to stay hidden for much longer. Once he reached the Sixth Realm, he would become a “soaring dragon in the heavens,” and the concealment effect would shatter.

That would be the time for him to eradicate the other Daoist Lineages and unify all under heaven.

But that was a matter to consider only after he had conquered half the continent.

“Somewhat,” Qi Suian said. “And as I expected, the advance of the Xiliang Kingdom’s army has slowed over the past three days, has it not?”

“Yes, My King,” Miaoyu said hurriedly. “The Confucian and Daoist families have propped up the Sovereign of Dongyin and the Sovereign of Beihan, respectively, while the Jade Dragon Dynasty lies to the south.”

“The realm is now divided into four. The Jade Dragon Dynasty is cornered in the south, being slowly devoured by the other three kingdoms. Unable to resist, its destruction is only a matter of time.”

“The Dongyin Kingdom and the Beihan Kingdom, on the other hand, have become formidable enemies for our Xiliang Kingdom.”

Qi Suian was slightly taken aback. He had been in seclusion for three days, not thirty.

How had the realm been split into four so quickly?

“So fast? I recall the situation wasn’t like this three days ago,” Qi Suian asked.

He didn’t pay close attention to the outside world, relying on his Survivor Avatar for information. After all, it was like an overstuffed world, still secretly siphoning power and remaining hidden.

As such, he wouldn’t do anything to stir up unnecessary trouble, which meant his intelligence gathering was somewhat lacking.

“It seems the National Heroes and Heavenly Lords of the Confucian and Daoist families made the decision simultaneously. Once the order was given, it was executed with extreme efficiency.”

“As a result, weaker factions were either wiped out or absorbed. A few small powers are still struggling to survive, but their days are numbered.”

“My King, you must prepare. Once the Jade Dragon Dynasty falls, the Dongyin Kingdom and the Beihan Kingdom will inevitably join forces against the Xiliang Kingdom,” Miaoyu reminded him.

“I know. Send word to Master Miaoxin. He must be the first to breach the capital of the Jade Dragon Dynasty. It would be best to capture Emperor Jade Dragon alive.”

“But if he’s dead, that’s fine too. Just bring me his head,” Qi Suian said.

This, of course, was in preparation for his own breakthrough to the Sixth Realm. It was another of the prerequisites.

“Yes, My King.” Miaoyu relayed Qi Suian’s message to the front lines—it would take far too long to rely on a conventional messenger. He then added, “But the enemy has the same idea. I fear it won’t be easy.”

“I know. As long as we’re fast enough. If necessary, we can burn the Jade Dragon Dynasty’s capital to the ground. Not only will that prevent our rivals from reaping the rewards, but it will also inflict heavy casualties,” Qi Suian said coldly.

This made Miaoyu open his mouth to protest, but in the end, he said nothing.

Such an act would inevitably lead to catastrophic casualties within the capital of the Jade Dragon Dynasty.

“I know you find it heartless, but do you really think the Dongyin and Beihan Kingdoms pacified the east and north in just three days?”

“It’s nothing more than the Confucians and Daoists seeing the great momentum of our Buddhist Family and feeling resentful. How could there not be some foul play involved?”

“If those two kingdoms truly had such capabilities, why are they only rising now? They would have long since divided the realm equally with my Xiliang Kingdom.” Qi Suian’s tone made it clear: ‘The enemy forced my hand.’

Miaoyu sighed. It was true that the Confucians and Daoists had not played fair.

Master Miaoxin had reported the matter up the chain of command but received no clear response, leaving them baffled.

By comparison, Qi Suian’s ruthless methods seemed almost acceptable.

The other side had broken the rules first, so what was wrong with retaliating?

“What you say is true, My King. I will go and relate this to Master Miaoxin.” Miaoyu was convinced.

His own vital interests were at stake. If the other side’s unfair tactics prevented him from attaining his Bodhisattva-hood, it would become an irreconcilable feud for obstructing his path.

Qi Suian watched him leave, a smile touching the corners of his lips.

He had thought it would take at least several months to execute his plan to “lure them into the trap,” but he hadn’t expected the Confucians and Daoists to be even more impatient than he was.

The next part would be easy. As soon as someone fired the first shot, the so-called unwritten rules and consensus would instantly evaporate.

The game of “emperor-making” would once again revert to a raw struggle between the Daoist Lineages.