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Qin Manor.

In the main library of the manor, Qin Yun was draped in robes of dark gold. He wore a silver circlet on his crown, and a pencil mustache above his lips. It seemed as though he had calmed down.

Incense of premium quality burned on in the room. The rich scent of ambergris permeated the air.

All was silent, except for the steady rattle of an abacus. Qin Qing was present too, and his skillful hands danced on the abacus as if he was playing a musical instrument. Before him lay a huge pile of account books.

As the figurehead of the Qin clan, Qin Yun had not managed to find any reliable underlings. Other than his own sister, there was no one that he trusted.

After a while, the clacking sounds of the abacus beads ceased. Qin Qing scribbled some notes on paper before settling himself down on a chair. He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead vigorously.

"What is the situation?"

Qin Yun served up a cup of spiritual tea and asked his question casually.

"Last year...the various holdings of our clan, including the group at Soul Mountain, raked in a total of 108,500 elemental crystals. Of course, they are of poor quality...less the amount distributed to the different branches of the family, there would be 50,000 elemental crystals left over!"

Qin Qing displayed no hint of happiness but gave off vibes of depression.

"But other than the usual expenses, we have to manage the Vast Sea Army as well. This year, we are projected to spend at least 20,000 elemental crystals, and we’ll have to pay a tribute of 40,000 of elemental crystals to the Elders’ Hall. We still have to pander to the various requests of the elders and source for valuable spiritual herbs and spices. All of these require a large amount of time and effort..."

*Hiss*

Qin Yun sucked in a breath of cold air.

"So, this means that the Qin clan is barely making ends meet?"

"Having looked through the accounts, this seems to be the case. In the past few years, Lady Xu has been tapping on the Qin clan’s reserves...regardless of how much wealth our predecessors had hoarded, we’ll go broke if we continue to spend at this rate, unless...we cut down on other overheads!"

Qin Qing shook his head.

"The running costs of the Qin clan are already as lean as they can be. They can be reduced no further. The only things we can potentially cut down on are the tributes to the Elders’ Hall and the Vast Sea Army... and yet, these are untouchable!"

Qin Yun shook his head vigorously in reply.

The Vast Sea Army was the personal guard of the Vast Sea Viscount. After assuming his title, he came into possession of the magical commanding weapon of the Vast Sea Army. He now had the loyalty of 500 men at his immediate disposal. There was no reason for him to restrain his own power.

The tribute to the Elders’ Hall was a large one, but there was no other choice. If the tribute was compromised in any way, the elders could penalise him under the family laws, or even cast him out of the clan!

"If we cannot stem these numerous outflows, we will have to create additional sources of income..."

As Qin Yun spoke, a peculiar change came over his facial expression, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

The imprint of a black datura had appeared on his skin, and the flower petals were spreading as if they were alive.

"Our lord is summoning us..."

Qin Yun murmured.

With regards to His Lordship, Qin Yun was both in awe and grateful.

What was the Xu Clan to them? Even with the backing of a Spiritual Array Master, they suffered great losses anyway and had already dropped out from the list of Dongyi County elite families. The remnants of their clan continue to be on the run from their enemies and were leading wretched lives. The Qin siblings had played a part in damning the Xu clansmen and considered it their revenge.

Also, with Fang Yuan’s help, the Qin clan was now larger than the Xu clan in size, had gotten rid of Lady Xu, and Qin Yun was even raised to the position of clan leader. How powerful was he exactly?

Thus, Qin Yun had nothing but respect and gratitude for Fang Yuan.

"This method...actually managed to fool the clan elders, we should quickly go pay our respects!"

Qin Qing nodded his head, passed down some instructions, and followed Qin Yun out of the manor.

_________________

There was a famous place in Dongyi County called Sha Zhou Leng, and it was always crowded with people.

At this point, a horse carriage parked in the shadows discreetly, with the Qin siblings seated cross-legged within. Both of them had looks of unease on their faces.

"Why isn’t His Lordship here yet? Did something serious crop up?"

"Or perhaps...we’ve been tailed?"

Qin Qing, with her ice-cold intelligence, knew that being the head of the Qin clan did not come with complete control over the clan.

At the very least, behind the clan leader, the Elders’ Hall loomed and was influential in every management aspect of the Qin clan.

Qin Yun, even as the clan leader, continued to face severe limitations in his work.

"Will His Lordship...be afraid of the Qin Elders’ Hall?"

As Qin Qing shook her head, a wave of fatigue swept over her without warning. She suddenly felt drowsy and her eyelids were getting heavier by the second. She then fell asleep, head leaning against the carriage walls.

"Ehh? Sister!"

Qin Yun exclaimed in surprise and began to channel his elemental force for self defence.

Qin Yun had already reached the Wu Zong level of martial arts cultivation, having broken through the 12 Gates!

However, following the infiltration of a stream of gas into the carriage, Qin Yun fell unconscious to the floor anyway.

__________

"Where...what is this place?"

Qin Yun experienced a strong feeling of weightlessness, and he sprang to his feet forcefully, only to find that he was in the middle of a foggy wasteland. A wispy figure in the vicinity caught his eye.

"Yun?"

"Sister!"

Qin Yun ran forward and grasped the cold palm of Qin Qing.

"Where are we?"

"If I’m not wrong, we are in our dream world!"

Qin Qing was certain of it.

"Good! Clearly intelligent. It’s a good thing that I have promoted you two!"

The mists converged into the figure of a youth wearing white robes. It was Fang Yuan.

"Oh, I see that His Lordship is a Dream Master. It’s our fault for not realising it earlier!"

Qin Qing pulled Qin Yun along and hurriedly bowed to Fang Yuan respectfully.

Her heart, however, was pounding hard in alarm.

His Lordship had previously proved himself to be a Wu Zong and well versed in spiritual spells. The Qin siblings understood that he was a master of both martial arts and magic, and that was that. They had no idea that he was a Dream Master too!

In the Da Quan world, the status of a Dream Master was much higher than that of a spiritual knight.

To put it brusquely, even the lowest leveled Dream Master could be on an equal footing as Qin Yun, Lord of the Qin clan and Vast Sea Viscount!

"You may rise! Qin Yun, you have done well to assume the leadership of the Qin clan...you’ve even become a Wu Zong?

Fang Yuan exuded indifference as he spoke.

The changes within Qin Yun’s body was obvious to Fang Yuan.

Besides, this was a low levelled Wu Zong. He had killed too many of them to care.

"His Lordship has astounding eyesight!"

Although he had entered the realm of elemental force himself, in front of Fang Yuan, Qin Yuan spoke as though he was a cowering youth. Even his voice was quivering.

Qin Yun finally understood why the Elders were unable to detect Fang Yuan’s Restriction.

The ways of a Dream Master were indeed unpredictable.

Of course, Fang Yuan had the intention to conceal too.

Otherwise, if the truth was out, the Elders would not have agreed to let a Restricted individual assume leadership of the clan.

Qin Yun’s eyes darted about quickly, and his thoughts ran wild.

Fang Yuan’s display of power must have been meant to intimidate the Qin siblings and to remind them that having received his help, they were bound to him.

Thus, Qin Yun exclaimed, "His Lordship has aided us in our revenge, and we will forever be grateful to you. From now on, the Qin siblings are at your service!"

"Hey, you are too serious!"

Fang Yuan waved his hand, and the Qin siblings got to their feet quickly.

"Now...all I need you two to do is to find out two things for me. First, the rise and fall of a certain clan, and everything else about it. Second, I want the map of the Da Qian empire, palace layouts, clan territories, the various factions and how they are organised. Give me everything you can find out!"

"You have been careless today, and people are watching. From now on, we shall communicate in the dream world..."

"What?"

The Qin siblings were stunned, and as they looked at each other, they thought of the Elders’ Hall.

"Yes my Lord!"

"Very well, you two may go!"

As Fang Yuan nodded, the dream world dissipated.

_____

In the horse carriage, Qin Yun awoke with a start and looked at Qin Qing. As they made eye contact, they understood that everything that had happened was real.

"Let’s go back!"

Qin Qing pressed Qin Yun’s palm knowingly.

"I understand!"

Qin Yun nodded vigorously. Fan Yuan was the most powerful person in the equation and had to be obeyed. Also, Qin Qing seemed to have the intention of challenging the Elders’ Hall with Fang Yuan’s backing.

Although the Qin siblings knew that they were playing with fire, they had no choice because they were Restricted.

"But anyway...these people dared to tail me, they must be wiped out!"

Qin Yun pulled the curtains aside and noticed a few shadows darting out of his view. A cold determination settled over him.

At this point, falling out with the Elders’ Hall was unwise. But he had to send them a message.

As the newly appointed leader of the Qin clan, how could he not demonstrate his power?

_______

A short distance away, Fang Yuan wore a farmer’s hat and blended in with the tourists, looking as though he was enjoying the sights of Sha Zhou Leng. His lips curled up into a slight smile.

’The ways of a Dream Master are mysterious and profound. Only a casual usage of the relevant skills yielded such great effects!’

So what if someone was tailing us?

Even if he had been giving instructions to the Qin siblings right in front of them, they would be powerless to do anything.

Only another Dream Master could challenge a Dream Master!

"Now I believe that the Dream Master is definitely not a native role of the Da Qian world. It is much more complex than the other techniques and defies logic..."

The more Fang Yuan practised, the more he believed the contents of the journals within the ’Dream Creek Records’ to be true.

"Absolute martial force would give absolute power and influence!"

He stared at the desert in front of him with a serious look on his face.

"A Dream Master not only wields great power, he also provides vital resources. He is totally self sufficient and can even supply the outside world...with these abilities, is it possible to not crave for power?"

Fang Yuan knew the answer. There was no way he could resist.

"Although I have no idea how the Da Qian royalty continues to stand to this day, it must be a precarious balance. Perhaps, all it will take is just a little push to break them, and when that happens..."

He sniffed and seemed to catch the smell of blood and fire. This was the smell of the war to come!