Crane and Luan walked around the market, mostly because Crane had a few things on his list to get.
After all, he was originally sent to Donglin to purchase some things for the clan.
Luan only tagged along. He had nothing better to do.
As they went from one place to another, Luan observed the people.
There were many cultivators in this place, most of them gave off the aura of a Foundation Building cultivator, while a few hid their auras.
And this was only a part of the market area.
Luan couldn't help but wonder why there were many qualified fighters in the market when the Empire is at war with a few of the Myriad Races.
Compared to the number of fighters his family contributed.
"Crane," Luan called out from atop his horse. "How much do you know about our family's condition?"
"A fair bit, I guess. Why do you ask, elder?"
"Is there any reason why the number of men in our family is dwindling?"
"Oh, this has to do with Donglin's noble families… well," Crane paused and brought his horse closer to Luan's.
He looked around suspiciously and then finally, he whispered. "It also has to do with His Majesty preparing to break through in his cultivation."
"How so?" Luan wondered why Crane was being secretive.
If a simple untitled man like him was aware that the Emperor was preparing to breakthrough, this meant that the entire world knew.
Why the need to be secretive?
Crane thought Luan was testing his knowledge and grasp of things. Most people in the Darke Empire was aware of what he was about to say.
"His Majesty increased the tax of the nobles, demanding that they relinquish more than eighty percent of their wealth until he breaks through."
Luan frowned. That's quite extreme, isn't it? His subjects might decide to rebel against the crown if he pushes them too much.
"And what does that have to do with the war?" He questioned.
"Well, elder. Some of the treasures required to assist and facilitate His Majesty's success is in the lands of three of the Myriad Races. The Red Stone Dolphin race, the Golden Roc, and the Iron Bull race."
Upon hearing the Iron Bull race, Luan wondered is this still had anything to do with his mother. His desire to exterminate the race hadn't subsided though.
He didn't think Liana lied about the Iron Bull race hurting his mother.
From this explanation alone, Luan could figure a few things out. Just like most of the Khan clan's youths, Luan had long completed his formal education and was aware of a few things.
This world wasn't a world on its own, in the sense that there were several hundreds of worlds clustered in a massive expanse of a void.
These worlds were tied to one another, each housing a single race from the myriads, or even multiple.
It was dubbed the Sylvan Weave.
And out of the hundreds of worlds, humanity occupied only one. The Human Realm.
Because of the nature of Sylvan Weave, there are a lot of powerful races with intensions to spread and conquer, wanting to occupy other worlds for themselves.
Hence the Void Battlefield. But even the Void was a place with its own complications.
Nonetheless, in the Human Realm, there were thirteen major powers that controlled a larger portion of the realm.
There were 7 Sects, 3 Empires, 2 Bloodlines, and 1 Ancient, each with a long history of its own and powers that stand above the majority within the Human Realm.
Because of this power dynamic, humanity hasn't particularly been a unified fort, only showing a tad bit of unity when faced against a powerful race hungry for conquest.
Otherwise, they would fight amongst themselves for control over the Human Realm.
The Darke Empire was indeed one of the 3 Empires. And now that the Emperor was planning to make a breakthrough, Luan figured that other powers wouldn't interfere.
In the sense that they weren't going to assist the Emperor in achieving his success. If he made it, then humanity as a whole would have another powerhouse that'll make the Myriad Races think twice before acting against them.
And if he fails, his Empire and wealth was for the taking.
From this, it was also evident that the only ones at war with these races were the people of the Darke Empire.
A war on only our front? There must have been an agreement between the powerhouses of those races and His Majesty.
Luan could almost guess what the agreement was like.
Is it worth it to fight for the progress of another man that cares for nothing apart from himself?
He reasoned.
From his younger days, since when he became capable of simple thoughts, Luan had always despised the Emperor.
The man lived a carefree life while his subjects worked their backs off to live.
Though this was the notion of a younger Luan, the present Luan understood that things weren't as simple as they seemed.
But that didn't stop him from disliking the emperor.
He had seen a fair share of intricate betrayals and conspiracies in Sorja.
More importantly, how did all of this connect with the nobles and why did it affect his family?
Both the increase in tax and fight for resources meant that, not only was the emperor weakening the pockets of the wealthy families in his empire, he was also using this as a chance to reduce their influence as a whole.
Most noble families had to conscript a high percentage of their fighting power, and it was limited within a certain age group.
Orders from the emperor himself.
When the promising members of these families die in battle, it would leave the overall power and future of these families lacking.
And with little funds in their pockets, it will be harder to raise even more powerful members.
It is in straits like this that noble families fall. And it is also in perils like this that promising families rise in rank.
And because the Khan clan was considered a family sure to rise if not handled properly, the noble clans of Donglin were not about to let it happen.
They had pulled some strings and forced the Khans to conscript more than 80% of their clan's fighting force.
Luan listened to Crane explain a few more things.
I'll have to find out which of the clans were actively involved in conspiring against us.
Unbeknownst to these clans, Luan had put them on his list of people to exterminate. But all of that would have to wait until his cultivation can support the consequences.
He didn't fear that it would be long, rather, Luan feared that he would his patience before then.
"Hey, come on guys. Let's go place bets on the fight against the Khan clan's members. I heard that they've already lost a spot before the competition even began. The arena is about to be filled up." A man shouted in the market, drawing the attention of many opportunists.
Some shop owners quickly packed their stuff and ran towards the square.
As for Luan, he looked to Crane for answers.
"Elder, you didn't know? Elder Baldeen had brought a few promising members out to come compete for slots." Crane began.
He too felt anxious.
"Slots to what?"
"The famous Secret Grotto, Aethelgard. It's already been three years since the last time the grotto opened up, and every region of the empire has limited spots."
Luan could recall what Aethelgard was.
An artificial Secret Grotto created by a powerful sect eons ago. Back then, he was only twelve years old when he heard of it, and it was said that the majority of this grotto was still unexplored.
Aethelgard is something that the other powers in the Human Realm coveted.
It remained one of the greatest assets within the Darke Empire for thousands of years.
And only Qi Condensation cultivators up to the Purple Mansion cultivators were allowed to enter the grotto. Courtesy of the grotto's limits.
What better way to ensure equality amongst everyone than have them earn the right to enter the grotto?
Every three years, this competition is held in different regions of empire, and only five people from each region would get a spot.
The empire would allow anyone to keep whatever they find within the grotto as their own. This is how many families have grown powerful over the years.
So this is why there's a lot cultivators around. People came to fight for a spot to enter Aethelgard Secret Grotto.
"If we don't get a slot this time, we might not be able to get the ingredients needed to completely treat the Fourth Madame." Crane muttered.
But it was loud enough for Luan to hear.
That was his mother.
The fourth wife of his father.
"Let's go and see what going on." Luan said as he got off his horse.
After a few minutes of pushing, Luan and Crane pushed through the crowd and arrived close to the front of the arena.
In front of them were people who were to participate and fight for their spot.
One would have to pay to participate, but that portal had closed a while back.
Each clan in this region was restricted to 5 spots for this competition. The first spot bought is sold at a normal price, and if any clan chooses to buy more, they would have to pay 10 times the normal price.
And this would multiply for the third spot, up to the fifth.
There were 360 participants in total.
Luan soon saw Elder Baldeen, bent over an injured young man. Standing next to him was a furious youth that was glaring at a group not so far away from them.
We quickly sold a lot of resources from the grotto Luan found just to be able to afford two spots. But these guys won't just give us a break!
Baldeen's heart was filled with rage, but he quickly suppressed it.
The nobles of Donglin weren't expecting the Khans to be able afford a spot for this competition, and when they found out that they could, they conspired again.
It didn't take much for Luan to figure out what had happened. Without wasting time, he found his way to where Baldeen was.
"Grand Uncle, what's the problem?" Luan said, bringing Baldeen's attention to his presence.
"Luan?" Baldeen frowned. "What are you doing here? Who allowed you to leave the manor!?" The man sounded pissed.