"Prince Tian, the final preparations have been made," a man said. The vicious-looking man had a hooked nose and short black hair. He wore the black cloak and black medallion of the Obsidian Syndicate. "When will you be requiring our services?"

"In one hour," Prince Tian said. "Be at your positions by the appointed time. And be sure not to miss."

The man grunted and disappeared into the shadows. A superior cultivator like him wasn't cheap—it was fortunate that someone else was footing the bill.

Prince Tian carefully ran his thumb along the black-and-gold medallion around his chest. The system had notified him that his petition to appoint a marshal had been rejected by Marshal Feng. Seeing as he had killed the original Marshal Feng, there was only one possibility—his son had somehow become the second marshal, one who could veto all his commands.

Seeing as it was now impossible to play a safe game, today was the day he would put all his cards on the table. While the new marshal was busy fighting fires in the south, he would consolidate the capital in one fell swoop.

A soft knocking sound roused him from his thoughts. "Come in," Prince Tian said. Three men wearing red-and-gold cloaks walked in and saluted him. "Has everything been arranged?"

"Yes," General Zhang said hesitantly. "However, there have been murmurs among the troops. General Tang, Marshal Feng's second-in-command, has been especially vocal. He claims that his brother was promoted to deputy marshal, and that Marshal Feng was assassinated by none other than yourself. A fifth of our troops have defected and holed themselves up in the north of the city."

Prince Tian sighed. "Why is the capital filled with traitors and madmen? It's good that he defected—it saves me the trouble of uprooting him later. The truth of the matter is that I sent Marshal Feng to the southern wall to shore up our defenses. General Tang has simply inverted black and white and hidden his lies in a grain of truth."

As he spoke, the three generals' eyes reddened slightly, and they became especially docile and obedient.

"I knew it was preposterous that General Feng could get promoted to marshal so quickly," General Dong said. "The boy might be good, but not that good."

"It won't be long," General Si said. "Thank you for alleviating our concerns, Prince Tian. We'll disseminate the news momentarily and quell the rumors."

"Thank you for your hard work, generals," Prince Tian said.

The generals soon left, leaving Prince Tian to his brooding. The next step was the most important in his quest to conquer the Song Kingdom. It was a gamble that would either make or break his efforts over the past two decades.

***

"Prince Lei, urgent news to report!" a soldier said as he rushed through the battlefield. "Following Marshal Feng's disappearance, a rumor has spread that his son was promoted to marshal in the south. Furthermore, Marshal Yong's disappearance was confirmed. In a more recent announcement, the crown prince has declared that he sent Marshal Feng to the south to defend the border, thus the confusion."

Prince Lei was covered in soot and grime. "What of the recent troop movements?" he said as they repelled the last of an enemy invasion.

"They are going as planned," the soldier said. "Unfortunately, our movements have become increasingly difficult. Prince Tian has consolidated his power over the military in the city. There is no longer the indecision that was there back when Marshal Feng was in Songjing or Marshal Yong was in the south. Only General Tang's small group of military troops to the north remain undecided."

As Prince Lei overlooked the battlefield from above, he noticed large troop movements near Central Square. "Double back!" he yelled.

Their troops abandoned their pursuit of enemy stragglers and narrowly avoided enemy troop movements, which tried to cut them off from their headquarters. However, this interception was also part of a much larger movement—their enemies had bypassed their patrols and completely surrounded the Jade Bamboo Auction House.

"How is this possible?" Prince Lei exclaimed. "Our royal father and his protectors are here. Attacking the auction house is tantamount to treason." He rushed into the auction house and summoned his generals. "Rally the troops, mercenaries, and nobles," Prince Lei ordered. "Even if this is a false alarm, we can't risk it. My brother wouldn't act like this unless he has a plan." He then entered the war room, where Wang Jun sat nursing a cup of hot tea.

"What are your thoughts?" Prince Lei said to Wang Jun.

"I'm not sure," Wang Jun said. "It's better to be safe than sorry, and I have a bad feeling about this. It might be prudent to alert the royal uncles. Unfortunately, I have something to take care of that requires my undivided attention. You may use my forces as you see fit, save for Protector Ren, Elder Bai, Hei Ling, and Li Ming."

Prince Lei shook his head. "What could possibly be more important than defending our headquarters?"

"You know me," Wang Jun said, smiling grimly. "If I'm preoccupied, it definitely involves a large amount of money."

***

Core-formation cultivators from both forces met in midair just outside the Jade Bamboo Auction House. The slaughtering formations were fully active, ready to strike at any moment. Meanwhile, the mercenaries and Prince Lei's allies stood guard just outside the large building.

"You have a lot of nerve attacking this place when our royal father is sleeping inside," Prince Lei said to his somber-looking brother. "Have you decided to accelerate your succession by killing him as well? Do you think the war to the south is a sufficient justification?"

"You've always had a way with words, brother," Prince Tian said. "Times are turbulent, and we need firm leadership. Your treacherous behavior undermines the stability of the kingdom, and for that, you must die."

"Attack if you will," Prince Tian shrugged. "I'm sure the royal uncles will make their stances clear once you make your move."

"As you wish," Prince Tian said. "Soldiers, assemble the formations!"

"Sir!" the troops replied.

Several groups of nine hundred men joined together under the guidance of several core-formation generals. Massive red flood dragons appeared above them, ready to strike at Prince Lei's forces at any moment.

"Activate the formations!" Prince Lei yelled. The six slaughtering formations in the Jade Bamboo Auction House activated. "Ready your weapons!" he shouted.

The mercenaries, nobles, and private forces readied their combat techniques.

"Attack!" Prince Tian yelled. The red flood dragons rushed, crashing into Prince Lei's forces. Core-formation cultivators defended with the support of hundreds of unorganized foundation-establishment cultivators. Tiny elemental phantoms and weapon projections clashed against the dragons and repelled them.

"Again!" Prince Tian shouted.

"Hold your fire," a voice boomed. Three red-cloaked figures appeared in the skies above them. Their peak-core-formation cultivation thoroughly supressed the entire crowd. "We didn't act against you personally as you are the king's son, but that doesn't mean we'll stand by as you attack the very building he rests in. I suggest you retreat immediately. Once the king passes away, we'll not care about this petty struggle for power."

"I'm sorry, uncles, but I can only press onward for the sake of the kingdom," Prince Tian said. "Men, direct your attacks to the royal uncles. Since they choose to interfere, we will fight against them for the sake of the kingdom."

Many murmurs of dissent ran through the troops. The generals, seeing their morale plummeting, grasped their wild qi and subdued it like a wild horse.

The three red-cloaked men's eyes narrowed. "Now that you've revealed your true colors, we'll teach you a lesson you won't forget," their leader said. Boundless qi surged forth from the three apex cultivators. As Prince Tian's nine flood dragons joined together into the Nine Dragons Battle Formation, which could only be controlled by a marshal, the three uncles summoned three bloody spears. The spears and dragons collided, throwing clouds of dust into the air in the process. The dust slowly settled, revealing thousands of men kneeling with blood trickling from their mouths.

"You're still too young to face off against these uncles," their leader said. "It's time to teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

Suddenly, three clicks sounded from different directions. The three men simultaneously threw up barriers to deflect three ominous black crossbow bolts. To their surprise, however, they continued unimpeded. "Core-breaking crossbows?" The three men gasped.

The three bolts pierced into each of the men. If one observed closely, they would have seen that the bolts were covered in a purple sheen. The three men fell like flies and were rescued by Prince Lei's men just moments before they hit the ground.

"Men," Prince Tian yelled. "Today is our moment of triumph. To victory!"

***

Just outside Songjing, four men were fighting intensely. Two of them were poisoned while a fourth man was bleeding. The bleeding man had a young face and black and white hair.

"Your poison has improved, Zhou Bei," the unwounded man said. "It's a pity you betrayed the family. You would have been a great asset."

"And sell out my country to the southern devils?" Zhou Bei spat. "Not a hope in hell. You and your cronies chose poorly, and you'll get what's coming to you in the end."

"It's your life." The man shrugged before continuing their intense struggle.

***

Hong Chen let out a puff of smoke as he faced off against his fellow guards. "What's gotten into you all?" he asked.

"We've had enough of your bullshit," one of the guards said. "You're too by-the-book, and it's time for a change. We need a new guard captain."

They rushed toward him with pathetic qi techniques. Hong Chen summoned smoke around him as he struck one man after another with a thin wooden stick. They slumped to the floor, unconscious. He tied them up and locked them inside the guard shack.

What in the world is going on? he thought as he made his way back home. The entire city was going mad—the only thing he could do now was keep his family safe as best he could.

***

In Green Leaf City, the normally peaceful academy was abuzz with activity. Elder Chen, one of Green Leaf Academy's teachers, was rapidly being overwhelmed by a crowd of angry students. They had lost their sanity after a student was accidentally killed in a teaching match. He wasn't the only one in such a pitiful situation.

A few hundred feet away, a similar situation was occurring. A student had killed a teacher in a fit of rage, causing a half dozen teachers to band together to pacify the students. A female teacher unleashed an icy prison to restrain the students. Unfortunately, their response defied all common sense. They rushed toward their teachers with utter disregard for their lives. Dozens of students perished as the teachers watched on mournfully.

"What's come over them?" a young female teacher asked.

In Green Leaf City, cultivators fought with cultivators in the streets while mortals fought mortals. Even domesticated animals fought each other as Green Leaf City descended into madness. Unbeknownst to them, this resentment was rapidly being syphoned away and fed to a crimson formation out in the distance. In turn, it intensified their irrational behavior.

***

"What the hell is going on?" the owner of the auction house mumbled as he surveyed Fairweather from his balcony. The modicum of peace that had returned to their daily lives had disappeared, and people were now fighting in the streets.

He could only sigh and send out his flying sword to incapacitate a random civilian who was inches away from ending another's life. As a foundation-establishment cultivator, he could only do so much. It wouldn't be long before blood filled the city's streets.

***

"What a disaster," Deputy Marshal Qin muttered as he reviewed the battle reports. Despite his external appearance, he was far more intelligent than he let on. He always reviewed briefings and incorporated them into his brave but reasonable actions.

"Deputy Marshal, something's happened," a soldier suddenly said. "The whole fortress is rioting. Something about pensions and salaries being insufficient. At first they were just arguing, but now they've taken out their swords!"

Deputy Marshal Qin frowned. "Order everyone to stand down. And get me the biggest piece of soft wood you can find.

"What for?" the soldier asked.

"Well, I can't be out clubbing people with my greatsword, can I?" Deputy Marshal Qin said.

If brute force wasn't solving all your problems, you just weren't using enough of it.

***

Wang Jun calmly noted the thousands of alerts as they appeared on his core-transmission jade. Chaos had erupted throughout the kingdom for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, he couldn't pay attention to such things. He had a deal to secure.

He paced about the chamber nervously, inspecting every nook and cranny to ensure that the necessary precautions were in place.

"Elder Bai?" Wang Jun said. "Bring me Li Ming. I'd like to have a word with him."

***

Feng Ming flew as quickly as he could. His spear cut through the air but not as much as he'd have liked—his lucky spear was never recovered from the battlefield. He was now using a shabby magic-grade substitute. As for the black spear, the enemy troops had taken it with them when they'd left. It was a shame, really—the spear would get to have fun in the south without him.

"Those guys are crazy if they think my spear will cooperate with them," he muttered.

Songjing was growing in the distance, and above it, a gray cloud was forming. Smoke, Feng Ming realized.

Songjing was burning.