Yuming sighed, not sure if there was any way he could deal with this situation. Forty threads, forty problems. Unknowingly, he found himself looking at his dagger.
Forget it.
He stood up, stretched his arms, and cracked his knuckles one by one.
At least this helps me better understand karma. What do I know about karma?
For one, karmic relationships are formed when one party alters the destiny of another. Secondly, one's karma changes as they condense themselves in the Sea of Suffering.
The Sea of Suffering…
Yuming's eyes widened, and he looked at the Yang Family seal on the mat below him. Previously, he'd been investigating the matter of Yang's decline, assuming it was due to external manipulation. But maybe… maybe it was something that began and ended with the Sea.
The Sea is omnipresent. Even karma is probably just connections in the Sea…
Yuming clenched his jaw, his gaze hardening. He needed to learn more about the Sea.
Right now I don't even know what the Zhan Branch is plotting—why they want me in karmic debt. I don't know why the Xu Branch is letting them do it.
He clenched his fist.
With this information asymmetry, I'm not even qualified to know what the game is—let alone play it.
Thinking this, he stood up and left his chamber, wondering if Yiling was having difficulties with her cultivation. He paced through the hallway and opened the door to Yiling's room—but she wasn't there.
Confused, he continued further down the hall, where he heard muffled voices through a door.
He stood still, listening. Yang Qinru's voice—overly polite. Yang Guowei's—nervous. And a third, probably Yang Mingsheng.
They weren't speaking to him.
"...understand the Young Miss must be tired, but if she could simply convey our situation to the Liu Family..."
Yuming's eyes narrowed. They'd gone to Yiling first.
Of course they had. She was softer and more sympathetic. She had jumped into floodwater to save strangers. Anyone watching yesterday would know which of them had a heart worth appealing to.
He rose quietly, straightening his robes. His reflection in the bronze mirror looked pale, dark circles under his eyes from the interrupted cultivation.
They think she's the easier target.
He slid open the door.
The conversation in the courtyard stopped immediately. Yang Qinru turned, her expression flickering between loss and resignation, before settling into careful neutrality.
Yiling stood across from them, arms crossed, looking uncomfortable.
"Family Head Yang," Yuming said pleasantly. "I hope you weren't planning to discuss Liu Family matters without me present."
Yang Guowei couldn't hold back and started stammering before Yang Qinru could open her mouth. "Esteemed Young Master, p-please do not misunderstand. W-we were planning on consulting both of you, but Esteemed Young Master was deep in his cultivation. W-we were going to grab you after."
Yang Qinru, hearing this explanation, felt her heart sink and didn't dare meet Yuming's gaze. Only Yang Mingsheng appeared unperturbed.
The group was sitting at a table with only four chairs. Yuming found a chair in the corner, grabbed it, and pulled it towards them with a long, grinding scrape. He sat down and smoothed his robes.
"Noble Elder, you jest," Yuming responded with a smile. "I encountered some difficulties in my earlier cultivation—how could it have been a problem to interrupt me?"
Yang Qinru's fingers tightened in her sleeves. The words she had prepared disappeared, leaving only a dry tightness in her throat. Yang Guowei let out a misplaced laugh, then immediately swallowed it.
Yuming drummed his fingers across the table. "It appears that your noble Family is truly in a desperate situation with the Shen Family, and you hope my Liu Family can mediate?"
The question was rhetorical—no one answered him. Even Yang Guowei managed to stay silent. Yiling turned to Yuming and nodded her head slightly.
"And instead of asking up front and righteously, you instead separated my partner and I, took her into this chamber alone, and coerced her—a child—with three adults. This is how you intend to win the favor of my Liu Family?"
Yang Qinru's face went ashen. "Young Master, Esteemed Young Master, we—"
Yuming held up his hand. "Family Head Yang," he looked her in the eye, "I am not finished speaking."
She fell silent.
"Do you know why my Liu Family sent two children to collect tribute from your Yang Family?"
This question was also rhetorical.
"Because your family is not important. We use your family for training."
Yang Guowei flinched. Even Yang Mingsheng's composure flickered. Yiling's face turned red as she bit her lip.
Yuming then turned to Yiling. "You should rest, the last day has been exhausting."
Yiling clenched her fists. "But I'm not—"
"You're tired."
Yiling stared at him, looking hurt and confused. Then she turned her head away angrily. She gave a stiff bow towards the Yang Family elders and left the room.
Yuming continued his finger drumming. "Be honest with me, and we can discuss cooperation."
Yang Qinru hurriedly bowed her head and spoke softly. "Esteemed Young Master, what do you want us to do?"
"When you mentioned your recent struggles, and Yang Chengjun, it caught my attention, so I read through your family archives. I first noticed that eighty years ago, your family's talent began declining—a decline that has lasted until today."
Yuming's smile widened.
"But looking further back, I noticed a fifteen year stretch where talent also dropped somewhat considerably, nearly one hundred and fifty years ago."
Hearing this, Yang Guowei let out an audible gulp.
"I was interested in what happened, so I read your family's history. It discussed hundreds of years of history in Reed Harbor, with no mention of prominent events eighty or one hundred and fifty years ago."
"But your calendar is strange—Year One represents the founding of the 'Jade Spring Kingdom.' But you barely mention this 'Jade Spring Kingdom' in your history. I didn't have many ideas, but then Shen Yuanheng called you usurpers."
Yang Qinru's eyes darkened upon hearing that word.
"Tell me the history of your family. Honestly. If you cooperate, perhaps my Liu Family will save you."
Yang Qinru sat in silence for a long moment. Then she spoke.
"The Jade Spring Kingdom was founded over four hundred years ago by the Linhua Clan. At its height, it governed five major cities. Jade Spring City was the capital."
She paused.
"My Yang family served as the kingdom's guardians. We held Reed Harbor—the eastern border. Our techniques, our foundations, everything was designed around protection."
"And the Chen family?" Yuming prompted.
Yang Qinru's jaw tightened. "The Chen were administrators. They took care of trade and tax collection. The Shen served under them."
"What happened one hundred and fifty years ago?"
Yang Guowei shifted uncomfortably. Yang Mingsheng's expression remained unreadable.
"The Chen... grew ambitious," Yang Qinru said carefully. "They didn't seek to overthrow Linhua. They sought to rebalance the kingdom. They believed the Linhua main family held too much power, that the vassal families deserved greater authority."
"And the Shen joined them?"
"Yes."
"And your Yang family?"
Yang Qinru met his eyes. "We remained loyal. We marched on the rebels and crushed them. The Chen were annihilated. The Shen were scattered."
She continued. "We thought it necessary, we did it to secure the kingdom."
"But it didn't." Yuming added.
Silence.
"The war weakened everyone," Yang Qinru explained, her voice lower now. "Linhua survived, but they never fully recovered. Twenty years later, the capital moved from Jade Spring City to Reed Harbor. The Linhua Clan claimed it was for 'security.' In truth, they could no longer hold Jade Spring."
If the Linhua Clan was really in charge at that time, the Yang Family should have moved to Jade Spring, instead of the Linhua moving to Reed Harbor. The Yang Family was likely the dominant power already.
"And eighty years ago?"
Yang Qinru's hands folded tightly in her lap.
"Eighty years ago, the last Linhua heir died without issue. There was no succession. My Yang Family... inherited."
"Inherited," Yuming repeated. "Or took?"
"There was no one left to take from." She defended. "We were all that remained."
Yuming leaned back, processing.
Yuming had known about the existence of numerous kingdoms and dynasties within Xia Prefecture—he just never understood why cultivators would go through the trouble of establishing them. Would they risk getting entangled with mortal karma just for a bit of secular glory? Yuming didn't believe these cultivators were so vain.
So he asked directly. "Why did the Linhua Clan decide to establish a kingdom? It seemed like it was quite troublesome to manage."
"This…" Yang Qinru shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "With my insufficient cultivation, I don't know all of the details. I swear, Young Master."
Yuming raised an eyebrow. "Surely the Family Head knows something."
"All I know is that multiple Linhua Clan cultivators established the immortal foundation 'Leyline Throne Domain.' I assume that forming a kingdom could be beneficial to cultivating with that foundation."
Immortal foundation… Yuming had a rudimentary understanding of immortal foundations. All Foundation Establishment cultivators—depending on their cultivation technique—formed a certain immortal foundation upon reaching that cultivation stage. He had once witnessed the scene where Liu Wanxiu established her immortal foundation—Harvest Vault Art.
"Do you cultivate that technique today?" Yuming questioned.
All three Yang Family cultivators showed expressions of embarrassment. "When the last Linhua heir failed to break through and died, he… he took the cultivation technique with him."
Yuming sighed. So the two families almost certainly weren't on good terms near the end.
They destroyed the Chen Family completely, and their spirit roots declined for fifteen years. But they recovered, because they still served Linhua.
Then Linhua fell. And they stopped being guardians, but became rulers instead. And they've been declining ever since.
I've seen their records—their Foundation Establishments of the past had the immortal foundation 'Sanctuary Ward Domain.' That should be defensive, about guardianship, not about rulership. Their identity conflicts with their cultivation practice.
If this theory is true, it implies that groups of people—families, clans—have some form of shared classification in the Sea of Suffering. And that classification has an associated identity.
I just don't know how those groups are formed, or by what mechanism it affects breakthroughs and spirit roots.
But there's another layer: the Chen Family. When they destroyed the Chen Family, they acted as guardians of Linhua, but their spirit roots still declined for fifteen years. I don't have enough information to start making guesses about the cause.
Yuming took a deep look at the three Yang Family cultivators, causing their heart rates to accelerate. He scratched his temple.
Ideally, I'd ask them about karma and the Sea of Suffering. They should know something—everything I've deduced, they probably know to some extent.
He sighed inwardly. But for all I know, there could be a powerful Zhan Branch cultivator in the room with us right now. I can't go around raising suspicions. Right now, they wouldn't suspect too much.
Yuming stood, smoothing his robes.
"I will send word to the Liu Family regarding your situation with the Shen. I make no promises."
Yang Qinru's shoulders sagged with relief. "Esteemed Young Master, we are deeply grateful—"
"Don't thank me yet." He turned toward the door. "If my Liu Family decides your conflict isn't worth their attention, there's nothing I can do."
He stepped outside into the morning light. The courtyard was quiet, filled with broken tiles and shattered glass from yesterday's chaos.
He looked around, not finding Yiling anywhere, and felt a twinge of pain in his heart.
I'm sorry, Yiling, I just have to look after myself first.