186: Chapter 185 The Storm Is Brewing

Today's newspaper was twice as thick as usual.

When Yun Ming pulled it through the crack in the door, he felt something was off.

Usually, the delivered paper was the city gazette, just a few thin pages; today's thickness suggested at least the provincial gazette.

He glanced at the masthead—Fengyin Province Gazette》.

Today was the day the provincial gazette was issued.

He had almost forgotten; over the years, he had subscribed to too many types of newspapers.

A city gazette every day, a provincial gazette every seven days, a national gazette every month,

and various other miscellaneous categories,

things like 《Immortal Dynasty Finance》, 《Cultivation World Observer》, Secret Realm Exploration》, and Spirit Beast Weekly》,

adding up to nearly ten types.

The prices varied; the city gazette was the cheapest, the provincial gazette was a bit more expensive, and adding those weeklies and various miscellaneous costs, it totaled nearly a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones every month, which meant over ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones in ten years.

In all of Qingyao City, only a few people subscribed to such a complete collection, and Yun Ming was one of them. The young man who delivered the papers called him a "Big Client" and was always extra attentive whenever he delivered them.

Yun Ming unfolded the provincial gazette. The front-page headline was a line of large, bold characters, the ink heavy, occupying an entire column.

"Second Prince and Third Prince Clash Over Xuantian Saintess, Tianyuan Province Shaken!"

He paused, stunned.

Second Prince? Third Prince?

He had seen these two names in official gazettes before and knew they were sons of the Zifu Immortal Dynasty Emperor,

both possessing Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, each with their own forces, making them figures of significant weight within the Immortal Dynasty.

However, he didn't know the specifics of their grudge, nor did he care.

But this headline was too eye-catching; he couldn't help but read on.

The report was written at great length, taking up several pages.

The gist was that the Xuantian Saintess was the apple of Xuantian Sect's eye,

not only possessing peerless beauty but also extremely high cultivation,

having already reached the Early Nascent Soul Stage at a young age,

and was hailed as the "Number One Beauty of the Eastern Region."

Both the Second Prince and the Third Prince were interested in her,

and the two had been locked in a rivalry for years, neither willing to yield.

A few days ago, the Xuantian Saintess was ordered to come to Tianyuan Province to attend the Immortal Dynasty celebration,

and the Second Prince and Third Prince took the opportunity to confess their feelings,

resulting in the two arguing on the spot, and in the heat of the argument, they resorted to violence.

When Cultivators at the Late Nascent Soul Stage fight, the scene is unimaginable.

The two fought from outside Tianyuan Province city to inside, and from inside to the gates of the imperial palace,

exchanging Spells and clashing with Magic Treasures, the aftershocks spreading for hundreds of miles.

It was said that dozens of buildings were destroyed, hundreds of Cultivators and Mortals died, and the number of injured was countless.

The Emperor was furious, personally suppressed them on the spot, applied a Seal to their cultivation, and threw them into the celestial prison.

Yun Ming frowned as he read.

Two Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, fighting over a woman in the capital, causing so many deaths?

In a Mortal Dynasty, this would be a case of princes brawling in the street and killing commoners, which would be punishable by death.

In the Zifu Immortal Dynasty, while it wouldn't lead to execution, applying a Seal to their cultivation and locking them in the celestial prison was considered a severe punishment.

That Emperor's methods were fairly impartial.

He put down the newspaper, picked up his teacup for a sip, and felt a vague sense of unease.

He couldn't say why, it was just a feeling, as if a storm was coming.

The next day, the city gazette arrived.

Yun Ming picked it up and saw that the front-page headline had changed, the ink even heavier than yesterday's, the characters even larger.

"Second Prince and Third Prince Raise Armies to Rebel! Each Occupies Several Provinces, Declaring Themselves Kings!"

Yun Ming's hand paused.

He put down his teacup, unfolded the newspaper, and read it from beginning to end.

The report stated that after the Second Prince and Third Prince had their cultivation placed under a Seal, their respective supporters were dissatisfied, secretly communicated, and took advantage of the Emperor's seclusion to launch a mutiny.

The Second Prince's forces captured several provinces in the east, while the Third Prince's forces captured several in the west; both declared themselves kings and openly opposed the imperial court.

The report also included a map, marking the areas controlled by the Second Prince and Third Prince in different colors.

Yun Ming found Fengyin Province on the map.

Fengyin Province was in the west and was marked with the Third Prince's color.

That is to say, Fengyin Province, where Qingyao City was located, was now the Third Prince's territory.

He put down the newspaper, leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling, and remained silent for a long time.

It wasn't because he was afraid, but because he felt this matter was wrong.

Not just a little wrong, but wrong in every aspect.

Two princes, fighting over a Xuantian Sect Saintess?

What was the scale of the Zifu Immortal Dynasty? Seventy-two provinces, a territory spanning hundreds of thousands of miles, with a Void Refinement Divine Lord presiding, Nascent Souls everywhere, and Golden Cores as common as dogs.

And what about the Xuantian Sect? He rummaged through his memory; he had read about this Sect in the chronicles of the xuanhuang continent.

The Xuantian Sect was considered a first-rate Sect in the Eastern Region, with a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor presiding and tens of thousands of Disciples; in ordinary places, it would be a behemoth.

But compared to the Zifu Immortal Dynasty, it was nothing.

To put it bluntly, any prince of the Zifu Immortal Dynasty could mobilize forces stronger than the entire Xuantian Sect.

Even if those two princes really were interested in the Xuantian Saintess and just took her away, would the Xuantian Sect dare to say a single word of objection?

Was it worth fighting in the capital and causing deaths?

And then there was that Emperor.

A Void Refinement Divine Lord, the most powerful existence in the entire Zifu Immortal Dynasty.

His Divine Sense could cover the entire Tianyuan Province; could he not know about two Late Nascent Soul Stage princes fighting under his nose? And if he knew, would he not intervene?

Even if he didn't notice at first, with so many people dead and so many commoners injured, could he still not intervene?

But what was the result after he intervened? A Seal on their cultivation and imprisonment in the celestial prison.

And then what? Then the two princes rebelled.

A prince with a Seal on his cultivation can still rebel? Were those supporters blind? How could a prince with sealed cultivation mobilize troops to capture several provinces?

The more Yun Ming thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was not as simple as it appeared on the surface from start to finish.

He couldn't even help but speculate—was that Emperor doing it on purpose? Deliberately letting the two princes cause trouble, deliberately letting them rebel, deliberately giving them the opportunity.

Why? To eliminate dissent? To pave the way for the Crown Prince? Or for something else?

And the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was the legitimate eldest son, the rightful heir.

With his two younger brothers fighting to the death, what about him? What was he doing? The newspaper hadn't mentioned a single word about the Crown Prince from start to finish.

No mobilizing troops to suppress the rebellion, no coming forward to appease, no issuing any statement.

Doing nothing. Was this normal?

With his two younger brothers rebelling, the Crown Prince doing nothing—didn't that just tell the world that he was incompetent? Or was he waiting? Waiting for his two younger brothers to suffer mutual destruction, waiting for His Majesty to speak, waiting for the most suitable moment to strike?

Yun Ming sighed.

He could only think about these things.

He was not an official in the court, not a general, not an advisor to any prince.

He was just a commoner, a Loose Cultivator who had bought a small building in Qingyao City and spent his days Cultivating, reading the newspaper, and cracking melon seeds.

These matters were not for him to worry about, nor were they for him to get involved in.

If the sky fell, there were taller people to hold it up; the Zifu Immortal Dynasty had Void Refinement Divine Lords, so many Nascent Soul True Lords, and a million-strong army.

As a Loose Cultivator at the Golden Core Middle Stage, what could he do? He could do nothing.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The tea had gone cold and was a bit bitter.

He got up to refill it with hot water in the kitchen, brought it back, and continued drinking.

The wind is blowing through the building, signaling the coming storm.

But this time, he only needed to stay at home, close the doors and windows, and wait for the storm to pass on its own.

In the following days, the atmosphere in Qingyao City indeed had some subtle changes.

There were more soldiers patrolling the streets; previously it was a team of two, now it had become a team of four.

Checks at the city gates were also stricter; people entering and leaving had to show their tokens and explain their destination.

In the market, some people were whispering that the Third Prince had already established a Prince's Mansion in the capital of Fengyin Province and had begun recruiting troops.

Others said that the imperial court's army had already assembled at the border and could attack at any time.

But these discussions were all very quiet, quiet enough that only those nearby could hear.

Most people continued doing what they were supposed to do.

Vegetable sellers were still selling vegetables, shopkeepers were still running their shops, and those working were still working.

Life had to go on, meals had to be eaten, and Spirit Stones had to be earned.

Yun Ming was the same.

Every day he still got up early to Cultivate, then went to the courtyard to tend to his Spirit Medicine and mystic pattern jade seed sunflower, then read the newspaper, cracked melon seeds, and slept.

Just like before, nothing had changed.

He even considered whether to subscribe to an additional 《Immortal Dynasty Military Weekly》 to understand the battle situation on the front lines.

Later he thought, never mind; reading those things would only add to his troubles, better not to look.

He thought he could always be like this, staying quietly at home, waiting for this storm to pass.

But facts proved that he was overthinking.

Some things, you cannot hide from even if you want to.