Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Feng Yan was initially somewhat disappointed.

Qin Beiwang hadn't understood her at first, which didn't mean that the leader of the Azure Dragon Clan was foolish. After all, many smart people cannot break through their own mental models. However, it was clear that the Azure Dragon Clan had no intention of remaining mere spectators.

The alliance of the Dragon Clan and the Feathered Clan in the Southeast to form a third faction for self-protection sounded appealing. But Feng Yan, with her acute political insight, almost immediately spotted the fatal flaw:

The foundation of their alliance was very unstable—far less so than the other two major factions.

There's no need to mention the alliance between the Xuanwu Clan and Prince Qilin, Qi Weihong; their relationship was almost like a mutual binding.

If Qi Weihong lost the support of the Xuanwu Clan, he wouldn't have the power to contend for the throne; and without Qi Weihong, the Xuanwu Clan would no longer have any legal prerogative to interfere with the Central State Royal Court. Therefore, the Xuanwu faction's internal stability and fighting spirit were very strong.

The camp of Qilin and White Tiger was stronger than the Xuanwu Clan, but their internal stability was weaker.

Firstly, there was absolutely no trust between Empress Lü Ya and the Ancestral Qilin and, in fact, they both had strong animosity towards one another.

The only thing that compelled the two clans to ally was the illegitimate Emperor, Qi Qiaosong. His legal rationale and political prestige were too fragile, necessitating the backing of both Empress Lü Ya and the Ancestral Qilin for the two to grudgingly stand together despite their aversion.

Secondly, the diplomatic relations between the Horned Clan and the Mao Clan weren't good to begin with, as could be seen from Lü Ya's undisguised hatred for Qi Weihuan.

Apart from the internal factors solidifying the emperor's rule, another major external factor prompting their cooperation was that neither side could independently oppose the Xuanwu Clan and were thus forced to unite.

These two factions had common interests and a common enemy, so they could be firmly bound together... But the Dragon Clan and the Feathered Clan, if allied, did not have such conditions.

Firstly, their common interests were vague. Who says being an onlooker is the best option? There were surely Cultivators in each clan who thought it better to support Xuanwu/Qilin and actively seek political gains instead. From this perspective, neither the Feathered Clan nor the Dragon Clan had actually formed a unified consensus internally.

Secondly, the two did not have any common enemies. Xuanwu was opposed to Qi Qiaosong, and Qilin-White Tiger was opposed to Qi Weihong; such enemies could unify the consciousness within a clan, but the Feathered Clan and the Dragon Clan lacked this.

In summary, it was evident that even if the Feathered Clan and the Dragon Clan formed an alliance, it would be a very loose one—even considering the worst-case scenario, both sides could potentially exit the alliance at any time (if offered a higher bid by the other two factions) and would need to be on guard against each other doing so.

Of course, this flaw wasn't beyond repair.

As long as the higher-ups of both clans could reach a consensus and then take a very firm stance within their clans, their people would initially follow their leaders like sheep.

Once the two major factions fought to the death, revealing their grievous losses, by then the Feathered Clan and the Dragon Clan would slowly develop a consensus: Oh, thankfully our clan didn't get involved in this mess.

And yet, Qin Beiwang hadn't thought of this at all, leaving Feng Yan with a sense of speechlessness akin to "I've thought through to the fifth level, yet you guys are stuck in the basement."

Fortunately, Long Long on the other side reminded him, and Qin Beiwang immediately understood the implications, lightening Feng Yan's expression slightly.

Her appreciation for Long Long deepened, almost to the point of being hard to contain.

"What Your Highness has said makes sense," said Qin Beiwang, trying to save face by pretending "I had already understood," and continued deliberately, "After all, our Dragon Clan has no member of the Qilin Clan claiming the throne, so why should we fight to the death over the ownership of the Central State Royal Court? To put it plainly, we of the Dragon Clan simply wish to guard the Eastern State inheritance left by our ancestors and have no interest in matters beyond the Eastern State."

This was nonsensical—if the Dragon Clan truly wanted only to defend what they had, they should have kept Long Hu's identity a closely guarded secret, not even allowing it to be spoken of within the clan... What were you covertly promoting the previous princess for?

"Indeed," Feng Yan responded indifferently, "Our Feathered Clan has always preferred peace and is reluctant to step into the political whirlpool of Central State lightly, which is not much different from your Dragon Clan."

That too was a lie—the relation between South State and Central State was contentious partially because the Feathered Clan from north of South State often raided the South Border of Central State with complete plunder... If the Feathered Clan claimed to love peace, then there'd be no Demon Race full of martial virtue in the Eastern Emperor Realm.

The two looked at each other momentarily, silently assuring themselves: Very well, at least the other party has made their stance clear.

As for being shamelessly thick-skinned and audacious, those were trivial matters that did no great harm.

"May I have the honor of meeting the Ancestral Azure Dragon?" Feng Yan further probed.

The subtext was, although you, the clan leader, have agreed, what about the old ancestor?

"The ancestor has recently entered closed-door cultivation; he cannot be disturbed by mundane affairs," Qin Beiwang replied cryptically.

What he meant was that the affairs within the clan didn't concern the ancestor and that his power as clan leader was absolute.

Feng Yan immediately understood and said admiringly,

"That is good to hear."

After she spoke, she turned her head to look at Long Long, sighing uncontrollably. Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

"Your Highness, why is that?" Long Long felt somewhat uneasy under her gaze, and Qin Beiwang also asked.

"It's just a pity," Feng Yan said with a meaningful smile. "Such fine talent and yet my Feathered Clan cannot have him. I truly envy your Dragon Clan."

Qin Beiwang keenly sensed the other party's intentions of seeking a marital alliance and immediately offered a verbal promissory note:

"If our two factions indeed become lifelong allies, then Long Long might find a few good friends among the Feathered Clan cultivators—or even a confidante. To say that Long Long cannot be put to good use by His Highness is quite unfair."

Long Long also understood the underlying message and promptly stood up to excuse himself, saying,

"I am flattered by Your Highness's generous favor and am unworthy of it."

"Hahaha," Feng Yan then covered her mouth and laughed coyly.

What Qin Beiwang appeared to say was, "As long as our two clans form an alliance, Long Long can also find a wife within your Feathered Clan," but a metaphor is just a metaphor. When the time comes to deny any agreement, the Feathered Clan naturally wouldn't have any recourse.

As cunning as Feng Yan was, she wasn't fooled by Qin Beiwang and merely showed a fake smile of "I'm very happy."

"Long Long, you may go now." Seeing that the matter was almost settled, with only the confirmation from the Ancestral Azure Dragon pending, Qin Beiwang politely said.

Long Long took his leave, and just as he exited the hall, he saw a figure rushing away and disappearing behind the porch.

Long Long: ?

Who was that?

On the sandy beach near the seashore, Long Hu was idly building sandcastles when suddenly she saw Qin Ye running over in a hurry.

"Sister Hu!" she called out frantically, "It's terrible! Brother Long Long is going to marry someone else!"

Long Hu: ?

With a flick of her tail, she collapsed the sandcastle and stood up, asking in disbelief,

"What?"

"My father said so himself!" Qin Ye was also on the verge of tears; what happened to her promised fiancé, "He's supposed to find his confidante in the Feathered Clan!"