Chapter 349: The Letter From Empire
During these same two weeks, the Imperial Competition in Crimson Iron City came to its official close, with Bai Ruolan securing an absolute, landslide victory in the alchemy division.
Over this fortnight, the Jade Spring Pavilion’s reputation exploded across Thousand Waves City and Southern Frost City, bolstered by explicit Imperial backing.
Meanwhile, Bai Ruolan’s Golden Cauldron Merchant Union forged a strategic alliance with the Cao Clan, merging their economic might to counter the Fan Clan, who had claimed victory in the weapon refining competition, and solidifying an unshakeable stranglehold over Crimson Iron City.
The financial returns were staggering.
In just fourteen days, their combined enterprises generated profits that rivaled a typical two-month yield.
Later that afternoon, as Shen Yu enjoyed a tranquil moment relaxing in the pavilion alongside Lixue and Yilan, a servant approached with a hurried, respectful bow, presenting a sealed scroll to Yilan.
The moment Yilan took the parchment, her sharp, dark blue eyes narrowed.
Stamped upon the wax seal was a striking, unmistakable crest, a crimson lotus.
Yilan broke the crimson wax seal with a swift flick of her finger, unrolling the parchment.
As her blue eyes scanned the dense calligraphy written upon the official scroll, her expression shifted rapidly from cautious tension to sheer disbelief, before settling into a radiant, breathless smile.
Looking at her, both Shen Yu and Lixue exchanged a brief glance.
It was rare for the usually composed Matriarch of the Tang Clan to display such uninhibited joy over an official decree.
"What is it, Sister Yilan?" Lixue asked, her sharp eyes twinkling with curiosity as she leaned forward.
"Did the Imperial Court grant another tax exemption, or did one of our trade routes hit gold?"
Yilan raised her eyes, a brilliant glint shining within them as she met Shen Yu’s calm, golden gaze.
"It is far bigger than trade routes, Yu’er. Read this."
She passed the scroll across the low tea table.
Shen Yu took the parchment, and Lixue immediately scooted closer, resting her chin near his shoulder to read the contents over his arm.
As his golden eyes swept across the formal imperial script, a knowing, amused smile touched Shen Yu’s handsome lips.
He had guessed correctly.
The sudden wave of regional alchemy and weapon-refining competitions held across the southern territory of the Crimson Lotus Empire hadn’t been random, it was all a deliberate preparation for the impending opening of the Desolate Asura Realm in the Mist Cloud Forest.
The scroll itself provided sparse, guarded details regarding the realm’s true origin, merely describing it as an ancient, long-forgotten ruin filled with untold treasures and supreme opportunity.
It noted that the realm had no set cycle, having last opened several centuries ago, and was believed to be a pocket dimension created by a legendary power far above the Nascent Soul Realm, omitting deeper specifics since lower-level cultivators had no need for such high-tier knowledge.
Shen Yu, however, knew the exact truth.
The creator of that realm had reached the coveted Spirit Severing Realm.
He didn’t need a scroll to tell him that.
In his past life as a formidable Nascent Soul cultivator, he had once witnessed the terrifying, world-bending majesty of a Spirit Severing Realm expert, a revered Ancestor who anchored one of the continent’s most powerful supreme sects.
The scroll went on to issue a direct imperial mandate, all the clans that were backed by the empire were instructed to double, and if possible, triple their production of high-grade medicinal pills, recovery elixirs, and defensive armaments immediately.
With the realm’s opening drawing near, countless rogue cultivators, sect disciples, and powerful young lords from neighboring empires would soon flood the Southern Region.
The Crimson Lotus Empire intended to maximize its economic dominance by monopolizing the supply chain.
Then came the final, most crucial paragraph at the bottom of the parchment.
Because the Tang Clan had secured monumental victories in three major regional competitions, dominating both the pill and weapon refining competitions in Thousand Waves City, alongside absolute victories in the alchemy showcases of Southern Frost City, they had been officially granted three entry slots into the Desolate Asura Realm.
"Three slots..., Four if we included the one from Crimson Iron City," Lixue murmured, her eyes widening slightly as she processed the magnitude of the reward.
"Normally, clans like ours are lucky to receive a single pass, if any at all. Most are hoarded by the main clans around the Imperial city"
"Four guaranteed slots," Yilan confirmed, her voice filled with immense pride as she looked at Shen Yu.
"This means four of our people can enter the ancient trial directly under the imperial seal, without having to fight through the chaotic competitions that happen."
Shen Yu smoothly rolled the scroll back up, his golden eyes gleaming with dark, sovereign ambition as he turned his gaze toward Yilan.
"Double our forge and alchemy furnace outputs starting tomorrow," Shen Yu commanded softly, his voice calm yet carrying absolute authority.
"Let Master Lu Chen lead the weapon division, while you oversee the pill production. We will milk these incoming foreign cultivators of every last spirit stone they possess."
He set the scroll down upon the stone table, a dark, handsome smirk gracing his lips as he looked out toward the distant horizon.
"As for those three slots... thirty days are more than enough time for us to prepare."
And so, identical crimson-sealed scrolls were dispatched across the remaining cities of the Southern Region, sounding the call for the impending trial.
As news of the grand opening leaked beyond the borders, major clans across the entire Crimson Lotus Empire burst into action, though unlike the Tang Clan’s guaranteed entries, these rival factions would be forced to spill blood in fierce, brutal qualifiers just to secure a single slot.
Farther beyond, neighboring empires began their own covert preparations, rallying their strongest geniuses and ancient elders for the bloodbath awaiting them within the Desolate Asura Realm.
-x-
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