the heart of the Wang Clan Territory, inside a grand study lined with jade pillars and ancient scrolls, Wang Yu sat cross-legged before a meditation altar. But his thoughts were far from serene.
"Let's see how he responds." Wang Yu mused, his fingers tapping lightly against his knee. "I extended an offer a silent invitation for stalemate. If he mirrors my actions and sends his forces into our lands, then it means his situation is as precarious as mine. He, too, walks the tightrope of internal pressure. But"
His gaze sharpened as his thoughts darkened.
"If he chooses instead to strike, to seize cities it means his footing within his clan is more solid than mine. It means he's not been wholly abandoned. In that case, I will have no choice but to bow to endure the pressure from the Patriarch. Again."
The heavy wooden doors creaked open. Chu Yen stepped inside, his expression taut with urgency. He bowed low.
"Young Master bad news."
Wang Yu raised a hand and cut him off with a tone heavy as iron.
"I know."
His eyes gleamed coldly. "You may leave. Send a contingent to reclaim the territory."
Chu Yen, sensing his master's solemn resolve, nodded silently and departed.
Left alone in the flickering lamplight, Wang Yu sat motionless.
"So it's the second outcome. The worse one."
He closed his eyes, letting the truth settle.
"He struck first. He captured our cities. He made his position known. He wants me to understand he is not beneath me. His clan still backs him, at least to some extent. But he didn't unleash his full strength. Why?"
His fingers curled tightly.
"It's a message. He knows the line he walks. If he were to kill me outright, his clan might offer his head in exchange for peace. So he leaves space. Breathing room. A warning, not a death sentence."
Meanwhile, far away within the residence of Feng Ming, the young cultivator sat atop a stone balcony overlooking a valley bathed in golden sunlight. His eyes, however, remained cold focused not on the scenery, but the shadowy threads of fate unraveling in his mind.
"Now that I've planted the seeds of doubt, there are only two paths left for Wang Yu," Feng Ming reasoned.
"First Wang Clan, seeing his failure, might send someone else to replace him in a few years. Someone more ruthless. Someone with fewer restraints."
"Second Wang Yu manages to endure. He appeases his patriarch, and convinces them he can still complete his mission. But the trust will never fully return. And that distrust is poison. Slow, subtle, but deadly."
He stood and paced slowly, the wind tugging at his robes.
"The biggest mystery remains how did my grandfather convince the Wang Clan to send a direct descendant to kill me?"
He paused, brows furrowed.
"He wouldn't have revealed I'm a reincarnator. That would force him to share my secrets and the treasures. There must be something else. Some benefit powerful enough to move even the Wang Clan."
He clenched his jaw.
"A secret even I don't know. What did he offer? What could be so valuable?"
The mystery gnawed at him, but the answers eluded his grasp.
Feng Ming exhaled slowly, letting the frustration pass.
"I lack the clues for now. There's only one thing I can do grow stronger. Build my power. The deeper this game gets, the more I'll need strength to uncover the truth and survive it."
And in the silence that followed, both young masters separated by land and blood found themselves thinking the same thing.
The game had only just begun.