The Martial Emperor had been entirely correct about one thing: the most troublesome monsters of the Li Clan were right here in the Northern Frontier.
Granny Guo was the Qiu Clan's absolute final trump card.
Without her bizarre abilities to suppress Li Wei, the battlefield had rapidly degenerated into a completely one-sided massacre.
He commanded half-step Body Integration, manipulated spatial rules, and possessed various Earth-grade techniques cultivated to absolute mastery, not to mention heaven-bestowed Spirit Soul techniques.
The remaining trio of the Qiu Clan lacked Granny Guo's unpredictable rules, let alone anything comparable to the unkillable Domain of Fear wielded by Elder Yuanliang.
With a single thought and a single spear, fueled by his half-step Body Integration Spiritual power, Li Wei was already a practically peerless existence against anyone beneath the true Body Integration realm.
Qiu Xunfa's "Shadow" rule had previously allowed him to seamlessly shift forms and swap places among any shadows cast upon the ice.
Yet, having already been heavily crippled by the Martial Emperor's cunning trap, even while cowering directly between Qiu Naihe and Qiu Xundao, he was sent hurtling through the air by a mere thought.
A phantom kick from Li Wei, surging with "Heart-Slaying" Spiritual power, ruthlessly smashed him down onto the frozen surface.
Operating at the peak of the Void Refining realm, Qiu Naihe controlled the deadly "ice flowers."
In truth, woven deep within the ice and snow rules of these seemingly delicate blooms lay the volatile power of the Five Elements, forming techniques born from a complex aggregation of natural laws.
The instant they were touched, they would detonate within a hyper-condensed area, triggering a localized explosion of rules so rapid the naked eye couldn't even process it.
It was a method with astonishing lethal potential. Coupled with the array of hidden Dharma Treasures he kept concealed within his body, Qiu Naihe easily ranked as a top-tier threat.
However, when Li Wei's "Mirror" Void Refining technique descended upon the battlefield, these volatile ice flowers simply passed through the ethereal glass, reflecting their destructive force right back onto Qiu Naihe.
Boom!
As the faintly cracked mirrors enveloped Qiu Naihe, the violent backlash transmitted through the glass left Qiu Xundao—the undisputed strongest of the Qiu Clan trio—staring in absolute horror.
The entire exchange happened in less time than it takes to snap a finger; he didn't even have a fraction of a second to shout a warning.
His mind was consumed by a single, desperate thought: We are both at half-step Body Integration, so how... how can the Li Clan's old ancestor be this impossibly heaven-defying?
Right before his widening eyes.
The suffocating black mist swirling around the Li Clan's old ancestor drifted directly onto his face, carried by an unnatural wind.
Piercing through that abyssal mist, he met the old ancestor's glaringly dissatisfied gaze.
Instinct took over, instantly prompting Qiu Xundao to summon the immense Spiritual power he so proudly wielded as a Commander of the Asura Army.
He unleashed the ultimate blizzard—the Snow-to-Beast Transformation Art, a technique ruthlessly deduced over ten thousand years of apocalyptic warfare between the Asura Army and the Demon Race.
But it was all too hopelessly late.
The Li Clan's old ancestor merely raised his hand a fraction, and Qiu Xundao suddenly felt the entire world blur into nothingness.
It was just a casual, singular point of the old ancestor's finger.
Behind Li Wei, towering phantoms erupted into existence, manifesting the awe-inspiring Gate of the Great Dao.
Across the ancient Yin-Yang Fish carved into the gate, various manifestations of rule-based Spiritual power rapidly took shape, creeping like living vines up the monumental Dao Gate.
And rushing up from behind that very Dao Gate came the undying Seven Ironclads, the Mad Blood Demon Lord, the Martial Emperor, Li Zhiheng, and Fairy Hongxiu.
They charged like rabid wolves, terrified of missing out on the kill by even a single step.
"On what grounds... on what grounds did I ever covet the Li Clan? On what grounds..."
As a boundless, crushing Spiritual power slammed down on him like a descending mountain peak, Qiu Xundao was left with nothing but the bitter taste of regret, instantly followed by an utterly despairing sense of powerlessness.
.......
Half a day later.
[Special Event: Crusade Against the Qiu Clan, Completed.]
[Under the "Ten Deadly Sins" framed by the Northern Frontier's Qiu Clan, your clan used the corpse of Crown Prince Fei Heng to masterfully shift the blame back onto them.
Leading the unified clansmen of the major Cave Heavens, you successfully crusaded against the Qiu Clan, temporarily averting the Dynasty's covetous gaze from your rapidly ascending family.]
[Acquired Clan Will: 80,000]
High above the ruins of the Qiu Clan's immortal mountain, Li Wei floated silently in the cloudy sky, casting his gaze out over the vast expanse of the Northern Frontier.
With a Spirit Soul that had reached the Void Refining realm, his senses wandered the heavens and earth.
He knew perfectly well that all around the mountain today, countless streaks of divine sense had been covertly spying on the slaughter.
Following the complete collapse of the Qiu Clan, some of those divine senses had withdrawn in quiet disappointment, yet others lingered, unwilling to peel their prying eyes away just yet.
"The Northern Frontier, huh?"
Li Wei muttered softly to himself.
The stronger he became, the more tangled and complex he realized the Dynasty's political landscape truly was.
The Human Race used the overarching Azure Dynasty as a unified foundation to repel the major foreign races, but internally, a fractured system of divided local warlords was rapidly taking shape.
In the Eastern Frontier, Fourth Prince Yu reigned supreme; here in the Northern Frontier, it was Grand Tutor Lin Jiu.
At the core of the Dynasty sat the Human Emperor, Empress Wenren Xianyi, and the major central factions, while out in the fringes, deeply reclusive forces were slowly but surely carving up the prefectures.
As the Human Emperor's grip weakened, these wolves grew increasingly emboldened.
If Chang'an hadn't executed such a brilliant political maneuver, seamlessly planting Fei Heng's corpse onto the Qiu Clan, this massive gathering of Li clansmen would never have been allowed to proceed without heavy outside interference.
They had perfectly exploited the Imperial Family's desperate need to maintain public face in order to break a deadly deadlock.
It wasn't necessarily that Grand Tutor Lin Jiu actively wanted to rebel, and Granny Guo hadn't necessarily been deployed on the Grand Tutor's direct orders.
Li Wei faintly deduced that the Grand Tutor simply wanted the Northern Frontier to protect his own interests amidst the Dynasty's shifting tides.
However, that passive stance did nothing to stop his ambitious subordinates from trying to seize power in these troubled times.
The obliterated Qiu Clan down below was the perfect example.
"Old Ancestor!"
The reverent calls from below abruptly pulled Li Wei from his deep thoughts.
He cast his gaze toward the ground, where his blood-soaked clansmen were kneeling in deep bows of respect.
Li Wei offered a slight, approving nod.
His descendants had fought with exceptional, awe-inspiring bravery in this grueling battle.
Li Zhiheng's monstrous combat prowess naturally went without saying.
Li Wei had actively utilized the boy's technique, "Heart-Slaying."
Without the direct pairing of Li Zhiheng's "Sacred Heart Domain" space, Li Wei could only draw out roughly thirty percent of the technique's true power.
Yet even heavily diluted, it was more than enough to completely shatter an opponent's mind by invoking a devastating cascade of negative rules like "Greed."