Chapter 2601: Chapter 2601
Ye Liuyun chose not to assist the rebels in restoring the Jin Clan because he believed a unified front was more effective against the foreign invaders than endless internal strife.
Though the annihilation of the Jin Clan was unjust, he saw no point in dismantling the existing unity. Of course, Ling Xiao and his allies would never accept this reasoning.
So Ye Liuyun remained neutral, refusing to intervene in the conflict between the two clans, leaving them to negotiate on their own. He was certain that when the foreign forces attacked again, they would naturally unite.
To Ling Xiao, he explained that their priority was to cut off the enemy’s strongholds to prevent further reinforcements. After all, resisting the invaders was paramount—they couldn’t afford to let them breach their homeland again.
And Ye Liuyun wasn’t lying. His doppelgänger and the demonic vines were already closing in on the enemy’s outpost. The final battle was approaching, and he needed to prepare.
Since the invaders were gearing up for a decisive fight, they wouldn’t easily abandon their last crucial stronghold. Ye Liuyun had to strike fast, destroying their teleportation arrays to cut off their reinforcements.
Meanwhile, he used this time to strengthen his own abilities. His advance energy and Worldly Energy were still no match for a Dominator-realm expert wielding the power of a spatial realm.
Even without spatial realm abilities, his offensive strength fell short.
His soul force also needed further refinement. Zhou Ning’s soul power, though inferior to his own, still posed a challenge, pushing Ye Liuyun to improve.
Thus, he dedicated this period to preparing for the ultimate confrontation.
But what he didn’t anticipate was that he—and Zhou Ning—had overestimated Zhou Qiang. As the clan leader, they assumed he would govern the Zhou Clan competently.
However, Zhou Qiang had been a puppet under the invaders’ control, propped up by them. In truth, he had no real leadership experience.
Had the old clan leader or his brothers been alive, they would never have passed the title to him.
Yet Zhou Qiang lacked self-awareness. Once the invaders were purged, he abandoned his duties—first indulging in women, then forming factions.
He favored sycophants who flattered him and offered gifts, while suppressing those who spoke the truth. The rebels? He refused to even negotiate, sending troops to crush them outright.
Instead of being wiped out, the rebel forces continued to infiltrate deeper into the tribe.
Under Zhou Qiang’s rule, the entire tribe descended into chaos. Previously insignificant factions, bolstered by his support, rapidly rose to power and began oppressing the weak, seizing resources, and committing all manner of atrocities. Discontent spread not only among the original Jin Clan members but also within Zhou Qiang’s own Zhou Clan.
Zhou Qiang even began silencing dissent. Two honorable elders who opposed him were exiled from the tribe and, left with no choice, eventually joined the rebels. Meanwhile, a few petty schemers with grudges against the Jin Clan egged Zhou Qiang on, using the pretext of rooting out rebels to launch harsh crackdowns on the former Jin Clan members.
In the process, these opportunists framed and persecuted the Jin people, forcing many to flee the tribe and seek refuge with the rebels. Once they left, their resources and businesses naturally fell into the hands of these conniving figures.
Emboldened by their gains, these villains grew even bolder. Gradually, they turned their malice not just on the Jin Clan but also on the Zhou Clan, accusing them of colluding with the rebels.
Half a year passed without a single rebel captured—only countless innocent lives ruined. Public sentiment soured, and resentment toward the Zhou Clan festered.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qiang drowned himself in wine and revelry, utterly oblivious to the turmoil outside. The reports he received painted a picture of peace and prosperity.
The rebel ranks swelled rapidly, and they launched a major offensive. However, thanks to Zhou Ning’s intervention and their own lack of elite fighters, they ultimately failed.
Though the rebellion was crushed, it opened the eyes of many to an alternative. Those who saw no future under Zhou Qiang’s rule began defecting to the rebel cause in droves.
Zhou Ning, assuming the rebels merely sought to restore the Jin Clan, paid little heed. Moreover, whenever he appeared, Zhou Qiang would feign restraint, and those around him sang his praises. Convinced, Zhou Ning helped repel the rebels before retreating once more to secluded cultivation.
But the moment he left, Zhou Qiang and his cronies reverted to their old ways—plundering the people’s resources with even greater ferocity and driving away more factions than ever before.
Several factions that had expanded through various means soon found themselves at odds, employing every trick in the book to undermine and exclude one another. Those pushed out had no choice but to seek refuge with the rebel forces.
Even factions that managed to stay within the fold secretly established ties with the rebels. They all knew the Zhou tribe was on borrowed time, and these backchannel connections were their insurance policies.
Ling Xiao, leader of the rebellion, never anticipated his movement would grow so rapidly.
Impatient for change, Ling Xiao once again rallied his forces and launched a counteroffensive.
Zhou Qiang, left with no alternatives, had no choice but to summon Zhou Ning from seclusion.
This time, Zhou Ning sensed something amiss—the rebels’ explosive growth was undeniable. Even he wasn’t confident he could quell the conflict easily if he intervened now.
If full-scale war broke out, the devastation could surpass even the bloodshed of the tribal wars from years past.
So he began investigating and soon traced the root of the problem back to Zhou Qiang himself.
Playing both sides, Zhou Ning negotiated with Ling Xiao, offering temporary concessions—including allowing the Jin tribe to secede once more—to buy time. Meanwhile, he tightened the reins on Zhou Qiang, imposing strict new rules to curb his recklessness.
With their immediate goals met, Ling Xiao’s rebels established their own independent tribe, standing as equals against the Zhou.
But Zhou Qiang seethed with resentment toward Zhou Ning. Worse, opportunistic sycophants around him fanned the flames, whispering poison until Zhou Qiang became convinced that Zhou Ning was a traitor to their tribe.
From then on, Zhou Qiang plotted Zhou Ning’s downfall.
Unbeknownst to him, Zhou Ning was still trying to guide Zhou Qiang, urging him to take responsibility for their people. He even humbled himself, pleading with exiled elders of the Zhou tribe for their support in reforming the reckless leader.
Yet his efforts were repaid with betrayal. During what Zhou Qiang framed as a "critical meeting," he poisoned Zhou Ning.
By the time Zhou Ning realized what had happened, the toxin had already spread through his body, crippling his ability to wield his profound energy. Then, the same scheming lackeys seized the moment to launch a spiritual assault, forcing him into a master-servant pact.
Just like that, Zhou Ning was reduced to nothing more than Zhou Qiang’s enslaved enforcer.
With no one left to restrain him—and now armed with an unstoppable weapon—Zhou Qiang grew even more tyrannical, ruling with absolute impunity.
