Chapter 9: Marquis of Anchan

Ji Yichuan turned to his wife: "Xue'er, Ji Ning's strength is already among the very best below the Zifu level. The land of Yanshan cannot bind him."

Yuchi Xue nodded as well, understanding what her husband was about to say.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning looked at his parents, somewhat puzzled.

Ji Yichuan said, "Ji Ning, do you know the six powers on the land of Yanshan?"

"I do," Ji Ning nodded. "The six overlords of Yanshan are my Ji clan, the Bianhe clan, the Kou clan, the Blackfire Cult, the Tiemu clan, and the Snowdragon Mountain. Among them, my Ji clan, the Bianhe clan, the Kou clan, and the Blackfire Cult stand on one side, while the Tiemu clan and Snowdragon Mountain are allied with each other."

The six overlords of Yanshan were divided into two camps, locked in fierce conflict, with Xiantian lifeforms often dying.

Ji Yichuan then said, "Do you also know why the alliance of the Tiemu clan and Snowdragon Mountain can force the other four powers to form a coalition?"

"I don't know," Ji Ning shook his head.

These secrets were not found in books.

"All six powers have Zifu cultivators as their pillars," Ji Yichuan looked at his son. "Your strength now is such that below the Zifu level, there's probably no one who can do anything to you. In a few years, you might become a Zifu cultivator. So I must tell you all this."

"The Tiemu clan is not worth mentioning!" Ji Yichuan grew serious, a hint of killing intent in his eyes. "But Snowdragon Mountain is a truly fearsome opponent, truly fearsome. The Snowdragon Mountain on our land of Yanshan is merely a branch of the true Snowdragon Mountain sect."

"A branch?" Ji Ning was shocked.

Among the six overlords, Snowdragon Mountain was the strongest. And this Snowdragon Mountain was just a branch?

Ji Yichuan looked at his son, speaking solemnly: "The main sect of Snowdragon Mountain is a thousand, ten thousand times stronger than the Yanshan branch, and a thousand, ten thousand times stronger than our Ji clan! It is a top-tier power on par with your mother's tribe, the Yuchi clan!"

Yuchi Xue also looked at her son: "The 'Windwing Evasion' technique also contains the origins of my Yuchi clan. My Yuchi clan is a very ancient, top-tier tribe. A clan of the Ji clan's level... is far from comparable to my Yuchi clan. Of course, that is in the past."

...

Listening to his parents, Ji Ning's desire to understand this vast land grew even stronger. The Yuchi clan, Snowdragon Mountain, and some legendary distant top-tier tribes—all were far from Yanshan.

"Ning'er, do you know how large the Grand Xia Dynasty truly is?" Yuchi Xue looked at her son.

"I don't know," Ji Ning shook his head.

The Grand Xia Dynasty had stood since the age of gods and demons, overthrowing other ancient dynasties to unify this endless land, its history spanning eons! The description of the Grand Xia Dynasty's territory in books was only one word: boundless!

Such a dynasty—how powerful was it? How deep were its foundations?

"When the Grand Xia Dynasty unified the world, it divided it into three thousand six hundred commanderies and enfeoffed eight hundred marquises!" Yuchi Xue spoke eloquently. "Because the world was too vast, even immortals and demons could not easily govern it, so it was divided into three thousand six hundred commanderies, some large and some small, but even the smallest were vast and boundless."

"Yanshan is under the jurisdiction of 'Anchan Commandery,' and Anchan Commandery is the fief of the Marquis of Anchan," Yuchi Xue said. "The city of Anchan Commandery is about a million li from here."

"The city of Anchan Commandery? A million li from here?" Ji Ning could fully imagine a distant, ancient, and immensely prosperous city, where immortals and demons gathered, influencing an endless expanse of land.

Yuchi Xue continued: "The city of Anchan Commandery is the power center of the entire Anchan Commandery, a gathering place for immortals and demons. But Anchan Commandery is too large; places like Yanshan number in the tens of thousands... Top-tier tribes, sects, and cults are scattered across the land."

"So big?" Ji Ning held his breath.

"The emperor is far away, and the world is divided into three thousand six hundred commanderies. The marquises who control each region wield immense power," Yuchi Xue sighed. "The capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty is too distant, and even in history, some marquises have rebelled. That was truly a slaughter of immortals and demons, with countless powerful beings falling—truly terrifying."

Ji Ning nodded.

The drawback of such a vast territory was weak control. Even the lofty Marquis of Anchan ruled his vast lands by non-action, allowing tribes to fight and struggle among themselves.

"After some marquis rebellions, the Grand Xia Dynasty, to better govern this land, began frantically building cities across it. Even within Yanshan, there are ten such cities," Yuchi Xue looked at her son. "Each city has a corresponding Minister's Token!"

"Minister's Token?" Ji Ning listened attentively.

"Yes, the Minister's Token!" Yuchi Xue continued. "Refining a Minister's Token means gaining ownership of a city! In name, you become a minister of the Grand Xia Dynasty. However, the Minister's Token is a graded magic treasure, and at least a Zifu cultivator is needed to refine it."

"Within Yanshan, there are ten such cities," Ji Yichuan also spoke.

"Among these ten cities, one is Yanshan City, where the Grand Xia Dynasty has stationed troops! The other nine cities: our Ji clan occupies one, which is the Wanjian City where the clan headquarters of the five prefectures is located," Ji Yichuan explained. "The Bianhe clan, the Kou clan, and the Tiemu clan each occupy one city."

"The Blackfire Cult occupies two cities, and Snowdragon Mountain occupies three."

"In fact, long ago, the Ji clan, Bianhe clan, Kou clan, Blackfire Cult, and Tiemu clan were all native tribes of Yanshan," Ji Yichuan sighed. "Later, Snowdragon Mountain obtained the Minister's Token for one of the cities in Yanshan and infiltrated. The Tiemu clan was the weakest and soon defected to Snowdragon Mountain's side. But the other four powers have been resisting."

"We are all ministers of the Grand Xia. Within our own cities, cultivators are forbidden to fight. Violators are challenging the Grand Xia Dynasty and face the death penalty."

Listening to his parents, Ji Ning frowned and said, "Father, Mother, according to what you say, cultivators are forbidden to fight within cities, or else it's a capital offense. In that case, wouldn't it be hard for a tribe to be destroyed?"

"Hard?"

Yuchi Xue sneered, "Simple! For example, when a Zifu cultivator's lifespan ends and dies, the Minister's Token becomes ownerless. Naturally, that tribe quickly declines."

"Also, some Zifu cultivators can't stay in the city all day. Once they come out and are killed, the Minister's Token is taken, and the tribe soon falls."

"And there are even more lawless major tribes and powers!" Yuchi Xue said. "They directly send strong experts to secretly assassinate your tribe's Zifu cultivator within the city and take the Minister's Token. What can you do?"

Ji Ning was taken aback: "This..."

"Without evidence, what can you do?" Yuchi Xue smiled. "Of course, the greater the power, the more cautious they are. Challenging the Grand Xia Dynasty is a capital offense; they won't do it lightly. Even if they do, they'll use covert means. I'm just telling you that there are many ways a tribe can be destroyed. You may not provoke others, but they may provoke you. The most fundamental thing is to be strong yourself."

...

"The Marquis of Anchan controls this endless land, but besides the stationed troops, the Grand Xia Dynasty also has a force of cultivators called the 'Yinglong Guard.' It is said that one must be at least a Wanxiang Adept to become a member of the Yinglong Guard! With the Yinglong Guard, the Grand Xia Dynasty can better control its boundless territory. Remember, do not provoke the Yinglong Guard."

...

"Ning'er, with your talent and insight, it would be easy to become a disciple of a great power. After you go out and explore, it's best to become a disciple of a great power as soon as possible."

...

Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Xue spoke at length with their son. They both understood that Ji Ning would eventually step onto that vast stage and might even become a major figure in Anchan Commandery... So they carefully reminded him, telling him everything they knew.

Only then did Ji Ning truly broaden his horizons.

He learned how vast the outside world was: the Grand Xia Dynasty's Yinglong Guard, composed entirely of cultivators; the Marquis of Anchan commanding a great army; and countless top-tier tribes, major sects, and cults... Of course, there were also many local tribes that, relying on Minister's Tokens, could endure for a long time. At the very bottom were the countless tribes.

"Whoosh." Ji Ning's heart surged with immense ambition.

"Ji Ning, I'll take the Winged Serpent's corpse away. I'll claim I killed it," Ji Yichuan said. "After all, you're young. If it becomes public, it will only bring endless trouble."

"Leave it to you, Father," Ji Ning quickly said. "By the way, Father, I want to build a residence here by Serpentwing Lake, and I plan to stay here often in the future."

"Stay here?"

Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Xue looked around. The surroundings were misty and tranquil.

"Yes, it's a good place," Ji Yichuan nodded. "I'll send people to help you build a dwelling. Your mother and I will head back now. When you're out exploring, you should come back often."

"I will. I'll return to West Prefecture City in a few days," Ji Ning nodded. He needed to go to the Blacktooth Tribe to bring Chuncao's younger brother to West Prefecture City—that was his promise to Chuncao.

"Come back soon," Yuchi Xue gently stroked her son's head.

"Mm," Ji Ning nodded. He also understood that his mother had been very worried during his visit to the water manor.

...

That same day, Ji Ning, along with Qiuye and Mowu, mounted the Darkstar Beast and headed toward the Blacktooth Tribe.