"Since the provincial capital won't be sending more reinforcements, we'll have to handle this ourselves."
The atmosphere in the City Lord's hall was tense.
After a long moment of silence, the City Lord of Blazecity turned toward the grizzled general beside him.
"Commander Yuan," he said solemnly, "head to the Three Great Clans and the city's major eighth-rank forces. Ask for their cooperation. Be polite and also offer compensation if needed."
Commander Yuan's brows furrowed for a moment, but he quickly understood his lord's intentions.
Right, If Firegrave Prefecture couldn't spare their own men, then borrowing strength from local powers was the next best option. After all, even if it cost them some resources, it was better than offending the Firegrave ruler.
While the City Lord spoke calmly, everyone in the room knew that this wasn't a request.
It was an absolute command given by him.
"Understood," Commander Yuan replied, cupping his fists and leaving immediately.
He first visited the Leonhart Clan, then the Drake Clan, and finally the Storm Clan, delivering the request with generous promises of shared spoils and political goodwill.
But when he moved on to the lesser powers the eighth-rank clans and sects his tone turned cold and commanding.
"This is the will of the City Lord's Office," he declared. "Failure to cooperate will be taken as obstruction."
And just like that, no one dared refuse him.
Though many of the smaller factions were displeased, they knew better than to voice their complaints. After all, the enemy this time was no ordinary bandit but the city lord who had the Empire backing him.
-----------
A tomb raider.
A person reportedly between Blood Stage Seventh Layer and Ninth Layer. A loose cultivator capable of slipping past the defenses of the Firegrave Mausoleum.
The clan and sect people's weren't taking any chances.
The factions began forming temporary alliances, pooling their manpower and strategizing together for mutual cooperation to find the culprit together.
And just like that, Blazecity once again fell into restless turmoil and the short term peace faded away.
Meanwhile, deep within the Leonhart estate…
Leon Leonhart, the clan leader, who had recently recovered from his injuries and even broken through to Core Break Stage Level 2 (Peak), was once again disturbed from his rest.
After hearing the full briefing from Commander Yuan, Leon summoned the elders immediately.
He then proceeded to explain the situation about the grave robber and Commander Yuan's request to all of them.
"I've told you what the City Lord's Office wants," he said, his voice steady. "What do you all think? How many personnel should we send?"
His question was rhetorical as just from his tone alone, everyone understood that refusal wasn't on the table.
Thus, the discussion shifted to logistics.
After some careful deliberation, the final consensus was set:
The Leonhart Clan would dispatch one Core Break elder and ten Blood Stage experts (Level 7 and above) to assist in the hunt for the mysterious grave robber.
Within half an hour, the lineup was selected and assembled.
In the secluded garden of the Leonhart rear courtyard, Leo sat with a warm teacup in hand, enjoying a brief moment of leisure under a shaded pavilion.
But as the spiritual winds stirred, his expression shifted slightly.
"A twenty-something grave thief? With cultivation between Blood Stage Seven to Nine?"
He raised an eyebrow as he swept his spiritual sense outward like a gentle breeze.
In a single breath, he scanned nearly half the city piercing through layers of buildings, formations, and even into the insides of thousands of homes.
"Hah," Leo chuckled. "So even people of a fantasy world can be this… creative."
To most people, robbing a tomb would be a huge scandal.
But to Leo, it was just a funny story
"A royal tomb? That's what you're concerned about? If I wanted to, I could handle whatever the Firegrave Palace throws my way or atleast make it out alive now."
But then—
He paused slightly.
His divine sense caught on something unique and quite intriguing.
A flicker of peculiar aura unlike any other.
Extreme Yin Physique.
"…Now that's interesting."
A girl was radiating a spiritual energy so cold and pure it could freeze the everything.
It wasn't just any rare body type it was an evolving grade special constitution. Something so rare it had its own footnote in the system's archive.
The Evolving special constitution were unique type of body type where they could be evolved to next grade as the cultivation stages increased, they had a very high ceiling but that also meant that to evolve them it required a lot of effort and some unusual conditions.
And if properly guided, it could offer tremendous benefits not just for the wielder, but for their future Dao partner as well.
Leo's gaze narrowed.
"A pity though… for women mostly, the Extreme Yin Physique is more of a curse than blessing."
At the age of thirty, the Extreme Yin physique would awaken in full releasing a torrent of freezing spiritual power capable of dissolving the body and annihilating the soul.
If the cultivator's body and spirit weren't strong enough to bear the transformation, death was inevitable.
"Fleeting brilliance…" Leo murmured. "A flame so bright, it's doomed to burn out."
But he did nothing.
Not because he didn't care, but because—
"I don't have the Fate Points to waste."
Helping her would cost dearly. And she wasn't someone he was close with, She wasn't under his care and he had no reason to intervene.
At least… his situation did not allow him yet.
Elsewhere, within the inner gardens of the City Lord's Manor, a woman sat alone beneath a silver-leafed tree.
Her white robes billowed in the soft breeze. Her hair, like a river of ink, cascaded over slender shoulders. Her skin was smooth like moonlit porcelain. Her gaze.... seemed distant as though he was dazed while looking at the sky
Serena Firegrave.
Daughter of the Firegrave Prince. The Ninth Ranked Genius of the Heavenly Talent List. Known throughout the empire for her beauty and talent.
And also… her curse.
Though she appeared youthful and radiant at twenty-nine, the chill in her meridians had already begun to stir.
"Uncle Wang," she asked softly, her voice barely louder than the wind, "do you think… I'll live past this year?"
The two attendants guarding her the loyal Uncle Wang and Aunt Lan lowered their heads.
Neither answered to her question even when she had already asked this question hundreds of times to them before.
The truth was that, they couldn't.
This question… was taboo in the royal palace. No one dared mention her condition. Even Prince Firegrave had banned the discussion, going so far as to punish his own sons for whispering about it.
But here, far from the royal walls…
Serena wanted the truth.
"Tell me honestly," she said, her voice trembling. "We're not in the palace. Father won't know."
"I just…" She smiled faintly. "I just don't want to die without knowing."
And for the first time in many years, Uncle Wang's eyes moistened.
"You're not dying, my lady," he whispered, forcing strength into his voice. "You're going to live."
But deep down, they all knew—
Time was running out for her.