Two and a half more years passed.
3rd January, Year 41980 of the Elemental Emperor Era.
The whole kingdom was in uproar, because the King of Golden Crow, Jin Haoran, died in war against the Wu Dynasty.
But why would the King himself enter the battlefield?
There is not just one general in the entire Kingdom. There are multiple generals.
In one of the schemes of Wu Dynasty's Guo Chen, multiple units of Warriors fell for the trap and died—including three generals at three different points.
Jin Haoran was also one of the genius generals in his time. Even now, when he entered the battlefield, he caused a terrible massacre.
But who would have expected that he would be betrayed by his own Warriors?
Yes, he was attacked by outsiders and insiders at the same time.
Jin Wei took it as an opportunity to kill Jin Haoran and get the kingdom for himself.
Golden Crow Kingdom, Main Court.
Jin Wei came here with his own Warriors and casually sat on the throne.
He looked at various ministers and nodded.
The news had already spread.
And as the crown prince of Golden Crow Kingdom, no one could stop him from sitting on the throne right now.
Now the situation was urgent, so it was impossible to hold a coronation. He must stabilize the situation before he could truly ascend as King.
Jin Wei said calmly, "I want to know the detailed report of the battle. They dare to kill honorable father, they must pay the price."
Even though he was already aware, his face still turned grim after hearing the cause and effect. However, Jin Wei was not stupid—he had studied warfare.
One of the minister sighed deeply. "When his majesty acquired his throne, he single handedly engaged in multiple wars and gained victory on them one by one. He was ambitious and focused on the troops more than his own subjects!"
Jin Wei nodded deeply and pledged. "I understand, and I will continue his legacy! I will unify the Northern Continent!"
He continued, "Before everything, we must appoint a Prime Advisor. Due to the absence of Jin Huang for years, the position has been vacant. Now, we must reinstate a new Prime Advisor."
He glanced in a direction and continued. "I declare Zhou Ning to take charge from today onwards."
At the same time, other princes started plotting to get the throne. However, most of them didn't have the capital to compete with third prince Jin Han and crown prince Jin Wei.
The 5th prince, Jin Zhi, called the 4th prince Jin Hong, 9th prince Jin Feng, and 11th prince Jin Rong. He deliberately didn't call 7th prince Jin Bo and 12th prince, Jin Long.
7th prince Jin Bo was born from the same mother as Jin Han, and thus, he supported the 3rd prince Jin Han. Conversely, Jin Long and Jin Huang are quite popular in Golden Crow. They are known for their strength, wisdom and kindness!
Jin Zhi, alongside his advisor, actually came up with a brilliant plan to get rid of other princes in his way. He was ambitious and wanted the throne for himself.
5th prince Jin Zhi and 6th princess Jin Qiao were actually born from the same mother, Consort Chen Yu.
They had some affiliations with various business and trade overlords.
Right now, there were two factions with leading names in this field: House Ning and House Liao.
House Ning also had some connections with the Global Commerce and Trade Chamber, while House Liao rivaled House Ning.
For establishing his own troops and fighting for the throne, the first and foremost requirement was capital!
You need funds before you can do anything.
Besides that, you need connections.
Jin Zhi had connections with businesses and merchants.
The 4th prince, Jin Hong's mother Wang Shu, had certain connections with House Yin in the north. Although it was not to the point they would support him for the throne, he could get some important information or a certain amount of help from them. House Yin had many Warriors with Water and Wind-type masteries.
Similarly, the 9th prince Jin Feng's mother Chen Yu had connections with House Mu. House Mu were known for their beast tamers, herbalists, and so on.
Meanwhile, the 11th prince Jin Rong didn't have much influence. He was here just for numbers. After all, four is better than three. In fact, other princes were unaware that Jin Rong was a scholar and had been exposed to various literary gatherings under a pseudo identity.
Jin Zhi didn't go around in circles and spoke directly of his motives.
"I want to overthrow Jin Wei."
Other princes glanced at Jin Zhi.
Jin Hong, being the eldest among them, questioned first. "That depends on whether you are worthy, and whether you have the capital to overthrow them!"
He added, "Not just Jin Wei—you must eliminate Jin Han as well if you are truly aiming for the throne."
Jin Hong was adding fuel to the fire. He understood the ambition in Jin Zhi's heart. He had no problem joining the battle for the throne, but he knew—the one who takes the lead is the one at a disadvantage. After all, Jin Hong and the others could betray him at any time.
However, he also understood that without joining hands, he had no chance. So, it was important to unite now.
Jin Zhi nodded and explained. "I have connections with House Liao. They are one of the trade overlords of Golden Crow Kingdom."
He continued, "However, they wouldn't waste money on us, especially when it is a matter of the throne and we have low chances."
He paused as he glanced at the princes.
Jin Hong roughly understood. He asked, "So you plan to get some loan from them?"
Jin Zhi nodded. "If there is only one prince, it would be difficult, but if we separately take loans and gather troops, it would definitely be beneficial."
Jin Hong cursed inwardly. He knew it was likely a trap. Once they took the loans, if they failed to pay or failed in the battle for the throne, they would be reduced to mere commoners.
At the same time, it was such a great temptation. The battle for the throne would surely be brutal. Once they failed, they were bound to lose their heads.
In pursuit of a crown, men gamble with life itself. What is gold compared to the weight of survival?
In the next two-three months, they gathered many troops silently. They took some help from House Yin and House Mu as well, but only minor help.
(13th April, Year 41980 of the Elemental Emperor Era.)
Despite that, they couldn't go for an all-out frontal war. It was not only treason, it was also an impossible victory.
They silently replaced some of the maidservants of the third prince, Jin Han, to keep an eye on him. Their first plan was to get rid of Jin Han.
However, unknown to them, Jin Han was already aware of all this. He deliberately exposed a flaw, by bringing in a few new maidservants during these chaotic times. He knew someone would definitely sneak in spies at any given opportunity.
The battle for the throne was brutal. Jin Han was also aware. Thus, he carefully planned to escape from the limelight first.
He exposed another flaw by revealing his fake "plan" to meet with someone in order to deal with the first prince. This meeting had to be done alone, with no protector!
How could these princes not take this precious opportunity?
They silently followed him, and called their top Warriors to assassinate Jin Han.
But the secret meeting was held on top of a cliff. Jin Han had specially chosen this spot.
The moment they attacked, his "partner" would be killed, and he would fall from the cliff mid-battle, faking his death.
In this world, would falling from a cliff cause death?
Of course not!
With sufficient preparation, it could be easily avoided. Thus, the princes would never believe he survived!
To completely deceive them, he had already asked his protector to destroy his Soul Talisman in the Golden Crow Kingdom.
Every major faction, whether sect, clan, or dynasty, kept a Soul Card or Talisman of their important members. Life is unpredictable. The moment these Soul Cards were destroyed, it proved their death.
Once the news of the third prince's death came out, even Jin Wei, the crown prince, would let down his guard, as his only competitor was eliminated!
But of course, he would still be vigilant regarding who was involved in killing him and why. He wouldn't rule out the possibility of other princes.
Almost everything went as Jin Han planned.
He succeeded in getting himself out of the limelight. He succeeded in deceiving all the princes. He even made crown prince Jin Wei to watch out of the "unknown" enemy, while suspecting other princes, ultimately leading him to be on cold war against other princes.
However, there was one variable.
He had planned everything just to step out of the limelight and become an oriole! He intended to watch the battle for the throne from the sidelines and strike when both sides were at their weakest or when he gets the best opportunity. Never had he imagined that someone would see through his plan!
He glanced at the young girl sitting in front of him, as if waiting for him.
"It's been a while, third brother!"
Jin Huang smiled.
During this three year period
Jin Huang ventured into the depths of the Forbidden Land. It resided near the borders of Wei, Shu, and Wu Dynasties.
Wei was in the southern part of the continent, while Wu and Shu were in the western and eastern parts respectively.
Jin Huang finally found the Heavenly Lotus.
It wasn't the only harvest she had in this land. She also obtained an egg of a Mystral Gryphon. She believed it could be a good partner and took it with her.
There were other miscellaneous harvests, but let's not mention them. They were not important.
She immediately took the Heavenly Lotus and absorbed its effect. It was a Rank 9 Heavenly Lotus.
It should be noted that the Heavenly Lotus also had a major drawback. It could only help you sense your soul until your Soul Cultivation qualitatively surpassed the rank of the Heavenly Lotus itself.
Thus, she must complete her ritual during her ascension to Rank 7. Only when she obtained the "fake Spiritual Imprint" could she get rid of this issue once and for all.
For Jin Huang, her soul at Advanced Rank 7 would qualitatively surpass the rank of the Heavenly Lotus itself. You could say this was the problem with her Absolute Talent—Overlap! She needs more resources than others. She bears more pain while breaking through as compared to others. And, she is targeted more than others!
Every blessing carries its shadow. To receive more than others is to bear weights they will never know.
There is no such thing as absolute benefit. Everything will present a drawback to you, one way or another.
She had been suppressing her Cultivation at Rank 3 peak until now. In fact, if she wished, she could have reached Rank 5 by now.
She consumed the Heavenly Lotus, and started refining it.
The energy within her kept increasing. She formed her Heavenly Core slowly and then absorbed Spiritual Essence.
Her cultivation kept improving.
Rank 3 peak.Rank 4 early stage.Rank 4 mid stage.
That's it!
But on the surface, it kept going on and on. It reached Rank 4 peak and then directly entered Rank 5 early stage.
Rank 5 mid stage.Rank 5 late stage.
Finally, it stopped.
She glanced around and then started suppressing the aura of her cultivation. She used a Secret Technique to completely disguise her Fake Cultivation as Rank 4 peak stage!
Does that make sense?
It does. No one wants to reveal their whole card before others. She didn't want to leave a single clue. If she didn't suppress her cultivation, given her abilities, then that would be truly suspicious.
She was, right now, a Rank 4 cultivator on the surface. However, for those immortals, this surface was a mere deception, and she was Rank 5! Meanwhile, in reality, Rank 5 was the false deception—she was truly Rank 4!
The highest form of deception is to hide the truth within the lie, and the lie within the truth. To see such layers requires wisdom beyond imagination.