Chapter 59 - Cultivators Disrupt the Dynasty
At dawn, Li Guanqi bid Ling Daoran farewell and set off for the Xuantian Dynasty. He had already completed his mission along the way, but he decided to gather more intelligence on the dynasty.
Yet in every village and town he passed through, one name surfaced without fail—General Li Ren and his son, Li Shenzhi. At just fourteen years of age, the boy had already displayed extraordinary military talent.
Recently, the Xuantian Dynasty had taken an aggressive stance, actively declaring war and disrupting the balance between itself and the Boulder and Lion Dynasties. For years, the three powers had been locked in a stalemate, yet in the past two years, the Xuantian Dynasty had repeatedly incited border conflicts.
Li Guanqi frowned as he quickened his pace toward the capital. Something felt off. Why would a dynasty that had always prioritized stability suddenly become so ambitious?
He recalled conversations with his grandfather about the dynasties below the mountain. His grandfather had once said that most rulers only sought to defend their land, not expand it—unless they were born with an insatiable ambition.
By nightfall, Li Guanqi finally saw the grand and imposing capital of the Xuantian Dynasty in the distance. As he approached, he noticed an unsettling silence. The city was shrouded in darkness, with barely any lights in sight. A suffocating tension clung to the air.
Li Guanqi stared at the towering, tightly shut gates and sensed danger. He retrieved a shadow-extending stone from his robe and concealed it within his garments. He made his way to another entrance and then scaled the walls.
Swift and silent, he crossed the ten-zhang-high city walls, only to find an unusual number of guards patrolling the city. Fortunately, he had taken precautions and remained hidden from afar.
He took cover behind a watchtower and quickly changed into his night clothing. He used his divine consciousness to evade several patrol squads, moving through the city like a shadow. Finally, he leaped down from the city wall and disappeared into the darkness.
Thick clouds blanketed the sky and helped to obscure the moonlight. As Li Guanqi moved toward the city’s center, distant murmurs gradually became battle cries.
He silently climbed onto the roof of a tavern. From there, he spotted a grand, brightly lit estate along a wide alleyway. There were thousands of soldiers encircling it, their torches flickering in the darkness. Even from a distance, Li Guanqi could smell a thick stench of blood.