[The pillar of fire vanished.]
[You walked out of a large crater.]
[This crater wasn't caused by the Feiyu Sect's attacks just now. It was carved out by your heels as you braced yourself against the recoil of the Divine Mirror.]
[You looked up at Kurdong, a playful smile curling on your lips.]
["Sect Master Ku, wouldn't you say the balance of power between our two sects is now even?"]
[The Profound Flame Divine Mirror itself couldn't launch attacks on its own.]
[That towering pillar of fire just now came from the attacks of the Feiyu Sect members.]
[The Profound Flame Divine Mirror could absorb energy, then release it in the form of flames, amplified dozens or even hundreds of times over (depending on the user's cultivation level).]
[In other words, the stronger the enemy, the more devastating the mirror's counterattack.]
[There were drawbacks too.]
[These relics weren't creations of the Immortal Dao, so it was impossible for them to birth Artifact Spirits.]
[Thus, they lacked intelligence. Whether their power could be unleashed depended entirely on how the user wielded them.]
[If you hadn't absorbed enough attacks just now, the counterattack wouldn't have been this fierce.]
[Even so, taking out hundreds of High-Grade cultivators in a single strike meant this item truly deserved the title of "Supreme Treasure."]
[Thinking about it carefully, this thing was just a mirror the Celestial Empress used for everyday grooming, not her actual weapon.]
[Merely from prolonged contact with the Celestial Emperor, it had absorbed traces of the Emperor's power and gained such might.]
[Just how terrifying of an existence was the Celestial Emperor?]
["Si Duoduo! Do you think you're invincible just because you're holding a broken mirror?! Take this Divine Art of mine!"]
[The eight wings behind Kurdong snapped open simultaneously, and eight raging storms swept forth, shaking heaven and earth with overwhelming momentum.]
[You stood unmoved, raising the Profound Flame Divine Mirror, ready to catch his attack and then fire back a doubled, enhanced reflected pillar of flame, making him choke on his own medicine.]
[Unexpectedly, though the commotion on the other side was massive, when the dust settled, Kurdong was nowhere to be seen.]
[The Grand Elder of the Tiansha Sect kindly reminded you.]
["Sect Master, they ran."]
[You calmly put away the Profound Flame Divine Mirror.]
["I know."]
[But inside, you were anything but calm.]
[Son of a biscuit! How did I fall for this trick again!]
[This style of retreat was something the Dragon-Man expeditionary forces in previous simulations excelled at.]
["The monk can run away, but the temple can't."]
["Sect Master, are you planning to attack the Feiyu Sect?"]
["Of course! They killed our ski team—"]
["Blood Flower Team."]
["Blood Flower Team! They cost us our elite warriors! There's no way we can let this slide!"]
["Indeed, if we don't seek justice for the brothers of the Blood Flower Team, there may be dissension within the sect. But both sides have suffered heavy losses this time. If we go to]
[war now, the Qingqiu Sect might reap the benefits as the fisherman who catches the crane and the clam..."]
[The Tiansha Sect, the Feiyu Sect, and the Qingqiu Sect were the Three Major Sects that controlled the most territory and resources on Blazing Star.]
[The relationship between these three sects was like the Three Kingdoms of old—each held the others in check.]
[Now that the Tiansha Sect and the Feiyu Sect had battered each other bloody, while the Qingqiu Sect bided its time in the shadows, on paper it truly seemed like the two weakened sides shouldn't keep fighting.]
[But the problem was, your existence could never be measured by paper strength.]
[Not to mention, you never played by the rules.]
["The Grand Elder is right. If we attack the Feiyu Sect now, the Qingqiu Sect is bound to profit from it. By the time we've worn each other down, we'll have made the perfect wedding dress for the Qingqiu Sect!"]
["The Sect Master is wise!"]
["So we attack the Qingqiu Sect directly!"]
[The Grand Elder stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face.]
["But Sect Master, we're already struggling against the Feiyu Sect as it is. Attacking the Qingqiu Sect, which is completely unharmed, wouldn't that be courting certain defeat?"]
["Old Dong... Grand Elder! You need to have faith in our Tiansha Sect! Our Dragon-Man tribe is incredibly powerful in the Void Realm. We're ranked number one on the world war leaderboard! Even the Holy Dragon Clan has to kneel and sing our praises!"]
["Sect Master, where did you hear that? Besides, news from the Void Realm can't be taken seriously. Those are just legends..."]
["I still have some personal matters to handle. You all return to the sect immediately, consolidate our resources, muster our forces, and prepare for battle!"]
["Sect Master, think twice!"]
["I've already thought it over! I'm not just taking the Qingqiu Sect and the Feiyu Sect—I'm swallowing the entire Blazing Star! Unifying the whole world!"]
[With that, black clouds surged beneath your feet, lifting you into the sky as you vanished from sight.]
[The ten elders of the Tiansha Sect remained where they stood, exchanging bewildered glances.]
["Has the Sect Master gone mad?"]
["Could that mirror be some kind of evil object that's corrupted his mind?"]
["Sigh, since the Sect Master has given his orders, how can we disobey? Let's prepare as he instructed."]
[Year 25, age 51.]
[Over the past year, you had done only one thing.]
[Shadowing Shen Yifeng, the Founding Ancestor of the Firewood Sect.]
[Everyone should still remember the Firewood Sect, right?]
[There were indeed human sects on Blazing Star, but their overall strength was about as impressive as roadside weeds.]
[The Firewood Sect, with just two Core Formation cultivators, was already considered the top tier among human sects worldwide.]
[From the previous simulation, you knew that both Shen Yifeng, the Founding Ancestor of the Firewood Sect, and Ma Bang, its Sect Master, were members of the Torch Society on Blazing Star.]
[You wanted to turn Blazing Star into human territory. That couldn't be achieved solely by stealing a nest and using the Tiansha Sect as your spear.]
[You also needed to leverage the power of the Torch Society.]
[Your ultimate goal was to make the Tiansha Sect a puppet ruler on the surface, the Torch Society the power behind the throne, and yourself the true hand at the helm.]
[So now, you needed to first find where the Torch Society was, make contact with this mysterious underground organization, and thereby mobilize all the human forces on Blazing Star.]
[After a year of trailing him, you realized you had underestimated the human race's forbearance and true strength.]
[The Firewood Sect had connections with many hidden human factions.]
[These human forces that appeared mediocre on the surface actually included no small number of Core Formation cultivators, and even some at the Extreme Terrain Realm.]
[But they hid their strength remarkably well. Even when oppressed by the Alien Races, they refused to reveal their true power.]
[On this day, you finally managed to meet his superior, Mr. Xun, by following Shen Yifeng.]
[In the previous simulation, Mr. Xun had died a heroic sacrifice protecting the three-year-old Ah Dou.]
[At that time, nearly all the Torch Society members on Blazing Star had given their lives to get Ah Dou off the planet.]
[This time, you wouldn't let that tragic scene repeat itself.]
[Mr. Xun's cover identity was a teacher at a village school, which was why everyone called him "Mr."]
[This school only accepted humans, never the Alien Races.]
[The Alien Races had no interest in this rundown, rickety building that looked like it might collapse at any moment.]
[It became the perfect place for Mr. Xun to conceal his identity, as well as a secret meeting point between him and his contacts both up and down the chain.]
[The moment Shen Yifeng stepped through the schoolhouse door, Mr. Xun warily closed the old, worn book in his hands, his gaze fixed on the area outside the school.]
["Brother Shen, you've been followed."]

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