Chapter 48: A New Spiritual Tool
Translator: 549690339
[Next, you successfully joined the Sword Spirit Sect. Yuan Xia stayed with you for half a month, and after you remained unmoved, she could only leave helplessly. However, she also lost interest in continuing her training and decided to return to the Imperial Palace.]
[Because of Yuan Xia’s sensitive identity, the Sword Spirit Sect assigned one of the Supreme Elders to secretly escort her away to prevent any accidents along the way.]
[On the way back to the palace, Yuan Xia was attacked. Fortunately, the Supreme Elder appeared and together with the Old Woman, they defeated the enemy, allowing Yuan Xia to escape alive.]
[At that moment, Yuan Xia recalled your words and was grateful for her decision to join the Sword Spirit Sect with you. Otherwise, she might have died at the hands of the enemies. She secretly vowed to bring the mastermind behind the attacks to justice.]
[You heard about Yuan Xia’s attack, but it was surprising that she managed to survive due to the intervention of the Supreme Elder. You realized that the butterfly effect was at play and were unsure if it was a blessing or a curse.]
[However, you ultimately believed that as long as you stayed in the Sword Spirit Sect, and Bai Tianhong didn’t meet an early end, there wouldn’t be any big problems.]
[In the following years, Xia Yuan wrote to you, not giving up on trying to win you over.]
[In the year 486 of the Daya Calendar, the Xia Kingdom was in turmoil. The Third Prince was killed by the Ninth Princess Xia Yuan in the capital, shocking everyone with her strength and resolute style.]
[The actions of Ninth Princess Xia Yuan made the other princes and princesses shiver in fear. They jointly petitioned for the Old Emperor to punish the Ninth Princess, as they believed that her ruthless behavior, including killing her own brother without reason, made her too cruel.]
[Faced with the joint petition from the princes and princesses, the Ninth Princess stood strong. She directly presented evidence of the Third Prince’s multiple assassination attempts on her, silencing everyone in the court. The Old Emperor eventually sided with the Ninth Princess, making it clear to all the ministers who the rightful heir was. They started to choose sides, no longer wavering in their loyalties.]
[You heard about the Ninth Princess Xia Yuan and shook your head, not expecting her to be so domineering. People couldn’t be judged by their appearances.]
[In the year 487 of the Daya Calendar, you and Bai Tianhong appeared in the Black Wind Forest, killed the Tier-7 Demon Beast Silver Moon Wolf, and prevented a Beast Tide from erupting.]
[By the end of the year 492 of the Daya Calendar, the Old Emperor abdicated, and Ninth Princess Xia Yuan ascended the throne, becoming the Empress Xia Yuan, whose reputation shook the entire Xia Kingdom. In the same year, your cultivation reached the second tier of the Spiritual Origin Realm.]
[In the early part of the 493rd year of the Daya Calendar, Chu State was in chaos, with bandits running rampant and widespread uprisings causing misery among the people. Empress Xia Yuan was furious and quickly sent a large army to suppress the chaos.]
[In the same year, she initiated reforms and issued a series of policies benefiting both the kingdom and its people, executing countless corrupt officials. The situation in Xia Country improved, and people started to praise Empress Xia Yuan, as she gradually gained popular support.]
[However, her dominant style also caused discontent among many officials and vassals of aristocratic families, who began plotting together in secret.]
[Despite this, Empress Xia Yuan showed no signs of backing down. Instead, she became more and more dominant, even enlisting the help of the invincible ancestor of the Xia Royal Family to suppress various small forces. She knew very well that the current Xia Dynasty was approaching its end, and it could collapse at any time. For this reason, decisive measures were needed to govern the country, and there was no room for hesitation.]
[Her actions were both shocking and infuriating to many vassals. However, faced with the might of the invincible ancestor, they had no choice but to lie low and restrain themselves, for fear of giving the Empress an opportunity to eliminate them.]
[By the end of 494th year of the Daya Calendar, the Empress began to reform the imperial examination system and select talents nationwide in order to inject fresh blood into the Xia Kingdom and break the barriers of social stratification. Talented individuals were encouraged by the prospect of becoming officials.]
[However, this action once again angered a group of officials who lost out in the process and became extremely displeased with the Empress. However, due to her domineering style, they could only cooperate, suppressing their dissatisfaction.]
[By the end of the 494th year of the Daya Calendar, Empress Xia Yuan’s effective governance enabled the seamless transition of old and new officials, allowing fresh blood to emerge and revitalize the Xia Kingdom. The lives of its people gradually improved.]
[Although you were in the Sword Spirit Sect, you were aware of the situation in the Xia Kingdom. Nonetheless, you knew that the Empress’s bold reforms and her ability to suppress various forces were backed by the invincible ancestor of the Xia Royal Family. His cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of the Spiritual Essence Realm, and he was unrivaled. Should he die, chaos would be inevitable, and Xia Yuan’s confidence would crumble. After all, it was a world where strength determined everything.]
[At the end of the 495th year of the Daya Calendar, the invincible ancestor of the Xia Royal Family passed away. With the loss of the supreme figure, the many forces that had been suppressing themselves could no longer contain themselves and united in rebellion, attacking and seizing cities, plunging the world into chaos.]
[At the same time, the second Supreme Elder of the Sword Spirit Sect discovered the trace of the Fire Spirit Flower and wanted to join forces with the other Supreme Elders to collect it. You appeared at the right time and told them that you also saw the Fire Spirit Flower, explaining the terrifying power of the Fire-patterned Demon Tiger and the existence of another Tier-7 Demon Beast, the Double-tailed Snake Tiger. Bai Tianhong and the other Supreme Elders were all surprised.]
[In the end, they believed your words, and more Supreme Elders took action.
To be on the safe side, they even brought along the sect’s spiritual tool—the Green Spirit Sword.]
[Thanks to the thorough preparations, the hunting process went smoothly. The Supreme Elders effortlessly killed the two demon beasts and took the Fire Spirit Flower.]
[Seeing Bai Tianhong and the others return safely, you couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.]
[By the end of the 496th year of the Daya Calendar, the imperial troops clashed fiercely with the vassals, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. However, because of Xia Yuan’s good governance, the imperial army remained strong, and there was no signs of decline for the time being.]
[Nevertheless, as more and more forces unsatisfied with Empress Xia Yuan’s policies and looking out for their own interests joined the vassals, the pressure on the imperial army increased considerably.]
[At the end of the 496th year of the Daya Calendar, in order to snatch victory in a desperate move, Empress Xia Yuan entered the secret forbidden area hidden within the Xia Royal Family and successfully passed the trial there amidst life-threatening danger. She obtained the spiritual tool Ice Condensation Mirror and successfully made it recognize her as its master.]
[With the assistance of the Ice Condensation Mirror, Empress Xia Yuan’s personal crusade made even the ninth-tier Spiritual Realm powerhouses extremely cautious, not daring to confront her. This placed the vassals under tremendous pressure, and their morale began to falter.]
[You heard about the news and were surprised that the Xia Royal Family also had a spiritual tool. No wonder Xia Yuan had the courage to carry out extensive reforms. However, you were also puzzled, as you didn’t remember any information about the Xia Royal Family possessing a spiritual tool.]
[Under duress, the many vassals went mad and united with the Chu Kingdom, inviting invincible individuals from Chu who possessed Quasi-spiritual Artifacts to join the battle…. ]