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At this very moment, Wang Jian was in the middle of a meeting with the highly influential Sect Master of the Sacred Crane Sect, Zhi Huan.

With his peak stage King Realm cultivation, Zhi Huan was widely respected throughout the sect for his wisdom and strength.

Meanwhile, Luo Ying\'s father held the position of sixth elder in the sect, with a mid-stage King Realm cultivation.

Although his status wasn\'t very high among the elders, he had enough clout to arrange a meeting between Wang Jian and the esteemed Sect Master Zhu Huan.

Wang Jian and Zhu Huan sat on comfortable cushions on the ground, with a low table separating them. As they spoke, a young disciple entered the room, holding a tray with two cups of steaming tea.

Zhu Huan gestured towards the cups and said, "Please try our tea. It\'s one of the specialities of our sect, made from the finest tea leaves we cultivate ourselves."

Wang Jian picked up his cup and took a sip, his face breaking into a pleased smile. "This is truly remarkable. The tea is smooth and refreshing."

Zhu Huan chuckled modestly. "Our sect may have some skill in tea-making, but that is not why you are here, is it?"

Wang Jian smiled. "Indeed not. I come to discuss a matter of mutual interest, Sect Master Zhu."

"Does this matter relate to the matters regarding your faction, seventh prince?" Zhu Huan asked rather politely.

With a nod, Wang Jian confirmed his suspicions, "That\'s correct. I come here, bringing you with a proposition. Join my faction."

Zhu Huan\'s expression turned sour. "Join forces? Or should I say, surrender to your faction? Your true intentions are transparent, Seventh Prince."

Wang Jian shrugged nonchalantly. "I understand why you might think that, but I assure you that I have no plans to interfere with how you govern your sect. However, I do hope to have your sect on my side if a conflict arises."

Zhu Huan remained unconvinced. "And what guarantee do I have that you won\'t meddle in the affairs of my sect?" he asked.

Wang Jian leaned back in his cushion, his expression serious. "I give you my word that I won\'t interfere in your sect\'s governance. I know the value of having allies in times of need, and your sect\'s strength and expertise would be invaluable to me."

The Sect Master pondered Wang Jian\'s proposal for a moment. "What would you offer in return for our support?" he asked.

Wang Jian\'s eyes gleamed with ambition. "The resources and protection of my faction," he replied confidently. "And I assure you that if you choose to join us, your sect will have a prominent position in my kingdom."

Zhu Huan studied Wang Jian for a moment before replying, "...Your offer is indeed enticing, Seventh Prince. However, I must decline. You see, I have a strict policy of keeping my sect untainted by imperial factions."

Wang Jian rolled his eyes and retorted, "I am aware of your reasons. Your brother was killed thirty years ago when both of you joined my uncle\'s faction in the fight for the throne. Not only did you suffer the loss of your brother, but the future of the Sacred Crane Sect was also jeopardized."

Zhu Huan replied sarcastically, "I am honored that the Seventh Prince has taken the time to thoroughly investigate me." His annoyance was evident as soon as Wang Jian brought up the topic of his deceased brother.

Wang Jian asked him, "Are you sure you won\'t change your mind?"

Zhu Huan spoke rather resolutely, "Yes. I have spent the past decades trying to rebuild this sect. I don\'t want to destroy it because of another battle for the throne."

Taking another sip of the tea, Wang Jian spoke, "…Do you know why the Sacred Crane Sect never became one of the great sects of the Empire? Do you know what you lack?"

"…Resources," Zhu Huan responded calmly.

"No. You lack resources and reach. And I am the only man who can provide it to you," Wang Jian spoke confidently.

Zhu Huan rolled his eyes in disdain as he responded, "If I must go against my principles to grow this sect, why should I join your faction? I believe it would be better for my sect to join the Crown Prince\'s faction. He has a much higher chance of winning the throne than all others."

"Did my uncle\'s defeat at my father\'s hands teach you nothing, Zhu Huan? My father was originally the fourth prince of the Empire, yet he is the one whom you refer to as the Emperor now. So, don\'t judge too quickly," Wang Jian spoke.

Zhu Huan sneered, "You think you can fool me with that? The current situation is much different than that. You have no idea just how far ahead Wang Hao is ahead of you. He has the strongest sects, clans, and even the top associations working for him. There is no way he will lose in this battle for the throne."

"Never be so sure about this. But enough about that, I can\'t convince you to change your mind today," Wang Jian spoke calmly.

A sly smirk appeared on his face as he added, "I have another proposal that will definitely get you thinking about our cooperation. As you know, my faction is small and there are no sects allied to me. This means that if you join my faction, you will receive a much greater share than you will from any other faction."

"Let\'s hear it," Zhu Huan seemed interested as he spoke those words.

Wang Jian nodded and began speaking, "Since you will be the first sect that will join my faction, I will give you the spot of the One of the Four Great Sects if I do win the throne. But I guess that\'s for later and you might want something more direct. So, I will provide you with land, tax concessions, resources, and even the support of the local authorities."

"Oh really? Where?" Zhu Huan asked sarcastically.

"The Silvercrest Dominion and the Windhaven Kingdom," Wang Jian responded instantly.

Zhu Huan raised his brows in wonder as he heard those names. He instantly recalled that the Silvercrest Dominion was indeed assigned to Wang Jian\'s faction. It was Concubine Bai who was managing this region until now.

Meanwhile, the Windhaven Kingdom was under the Ninth Prince Wang Lan. However, Zhu Huan had heard information of how Wang Jian had once seized control of this Kingdom from his brother.

"…I will tell you after a discussion with my elders," Zhu Huan responded after contemplating the offer for some time.

"Send the answer to my palace," Wang Jian spoke as he stood up and prepared to leave. There was no longer any reason for him to stay here.

From the start, Wang Jian knew that Zhu Huan was actually merely pretending to be disinterested in the offer.

He knew that since Zhu Huan had joined up a faction belonging to the royal family once, he could do it again as well.

Wang Jian just had to give him enough incentive.

Right now, Zhu Huan had a pretty good deal, and no other faction could provide it.

It was all because each one had already promised a lucrative deal to the other powerful sects.

Wang Jian chose the Sacred Crane Sect not because of its influence or techniques, but because he had someone on the inside he could trust to run the things in the sect. That was Liu Yu.

It wouldn\'t take long before Liu Yu could start to actively recruit sect disciples and even elders for his faction.

Well, this was just one fish done, though. There were a lot more sects that he had to target.

While he was on his way back, Wang Jian\'s palace received more information from those merchants stating that Ye Chen was sighted in the Jinhua City two weeks earlier. It appeared that he headed to the Jin Clan.

This information interested him a little. After all, he had asked Jin Meixiang to inform him if Ye Chen came to visit her clan, yet she sent him no message.

"…Did something happen between them?" Wang Jian wondered as a sly smirk appeared on his face.

For the following two days, Wang Jian journeyed towards Jinhua City. When he arrived, he landed his griffin a safe distance away from the city to avoid arousing any suspicion. He then proceeded to enter the city by making use of his Moonshadow Step technique, moving with stealth and agility.

The Jin Clan\'s security measures were quite formidable, but Wang Jian was able to overcome them by utilizing his Shadow Manipulation skills to create a Shadow Clone.

The clone blended seamlessly with the shadows and quietly infiltrated the Jin Clan\'s opulent mansion, which was a hub of activity with guards patrolling the premises.

Considering that Wang Jian had been inside the mansion before, it didn\'t take his clone much time to find Jin Meixiang.

At this moment, Jin Meixiang was in her chambers, cultivating at this moment.

"…Miss Meixiang. I feel distressed that you didn\'t inform me about Ye Chen\'s visit to your mansion. I thought we were friends," Wang Jian\'s voice resounded in the room.

Jin Meixiang was startled to hear Wang Jian\'s voice so suddenly.

"Y-Your Highness?!" Jin Meixiang spoke aloud as her voice trembled in fear.

The shadow on the ground suddenly turned into a corporal being with Wang Jian\'s physique. He spoke, "Don\'t worry. I am just a clone sent by the master to ask you a couple of questions."

Jin Meixiang wasn\'t unfamiliar with the clone techniques, but it was the first time she had seen one appear from shadows like that. She whispered, "I see. It\'s not that I couldn\'t inform you, but my father came to inform me that the second princess\'s men are watching me. They will intercept all my messages to you."

"My second sister, huh? Why was Ye Chen here? Was it something to do with her?" Wang Jian\'s clone asked.

Jin Meixiang nodded, "That\'s correct. She wanted his help to deal a huge damage to your faction, Your Highness."

After asking a couple more questions, the clone dispelled itself.

Wang Jian received those memories soon enough. A sly smirk appeared on his face as he felt that things were becoming really interesting.