Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 752: Chapter 86: The Struggle for Succession is Never Without Ruthlessness

The war at Iron City Mountain between Kunlun and the Asura Path had almost captured the entire attention of the Cultivation Realm.

The Nether Ghost Path, Heavenly Demon Path, and Eastern Emperor Path quickly organized support forces, joining the Mortal Life Path and heading west from the Qinling Mountains, rushing over a thousand miles to aid Iron City Mountain.

Penglai’s response was also swift, organizing a batch of supplies for supporting Kunlun… It wasn’t that they were unwilling to send manpower; it was mainly that Kunlun didn’t advise Penglai Cultivators to participate in the war, and those who understood knew why.

Qiu Changtian still went to the foot of Iron City Mountain every day to provoke battles, beating the Asura monks who came to fight halfway to death, then sending them back to their sect to spread terror.

Xu Yinglian, filled with envy, volunteered to fight to the Ziwei Master.

So, the people who had been fighting regularly in the barren lands increased from one to two… This was terrible news for the Asura Path because it meant the consumption of their resources had also doubled; now they needed to send out two people to respond to the challenges.

...

Fortunately, a few days later, allies from the Intercepting Cult finally came to the aid, giving the monks of the Asura Path a much-needed breath of relief, and they quickly ushered them into Iron City Mountain and started entertaining them.

What happened inside Iron City Mountain remained unknown, but on the Kunlun side, they quickly convened a high-level meeting to discuss how to deal with the Demon Cult’s reinforcements.

“First of all, the arrival of the Demon Cult was something we had anticipated,” Qiu Changtian said calmly, “If we had not besieged Iron City Mountain, the Demon Cult would have sent a large army north by now, severing our connection with Guanzhong.”

“Now, as long as we stay at the foot of Iron City Mountain, the Asura Path will not allow their allies to leave Iron City Mountain. In this way, Guanzhong will be safe, and this is a method of turning passivity into initiative.”

All the Kunlun Elders nodded in agreement.

Indeed, the reason Kunlun pressed against Iron City Mountain was not to uproot the Asura Path entirely but to restrain the subsequent actions of the Demon Cult.

As long as the Demon Cult’s forces were tied up in Iron City Mountain, then the strategic objective would be achieved… Changgeng True Person spoke wisely indeed!

“So, what should we do next?” Elder Yuan Shou asked with a smirk, “Changgeng True Person, the two sides are currently at a standoff at Iron City Mountain, a slight misstep could lead to significant casualties!”

“This matter is quite simple, elder, please listen to me,” Qiu Changtian said with a slight smile, “Now that both armies are concentrated at Iron City Mountain, neither side dares to act rashly. We worry about rashly starting a battle and incurring casualties, but isn’t the Demon Cult equally concerned?”

“More importantly, the Demon Cult is not a united front but divided into five factions. If any faction suffers a significant loss, they will become discontent with that Wei Demon Head. Therefore, I imagine he’s probably even more troubled than I am right now.”

Ha ha ha ha! The Kunlun Elders then laughed in agreement.

Indeed, we Kunlun are highly united, whereas the Demon Cult is made up of five sects, only temporarily allied due to shared interests.

When considering battle losses, their internal strife is much more severe than ours!

“However, the key does not lie in Iron City Mountain right now,” Qiu Changtian continued after everyone had finished laughing, “but in Guanzhong.”

“If Guanzhong is lost, even if we win at Iron City Mountain, the overall situation is still a loss. If Guanzhong is secured, even if we achieve nothing on the Iron City Mountain front, we eventually win. The elders here should understand this principle.”

“Exactly,” the Ziwei Master agreed, “Our Kunlun engagement in this war is to protect the resources of the Guanzhong area from being tainted by the Demon Cult, not to defeat the Asura Path for some empty fame.”

“Recently I’ve heard some Cultivators claim that Changgeng True Person always leaves his opponent alive after fights, calling it an unnecessary womanly compassion, which is really absurd.”

“If we were to kill indiscriminately, pushing Iron City Mountain to a desperate state, prompting a last stand, what benefit would that bring to Kunlun? Why exactly are we fighting this battle? Please, elders, go back and explain to your disciples. I do not wish to hear such rumors again. Otherwise, under the charge of causing chaos within the sect, we will pursue the matter to the end!”

The last remark, however, was directed at Elder Yuan Shou.

The identity of those who spread rumors to defame Qiu Changtian was crystal clear to the elders present.

Fairly speaking, most third-party neutral elders actually wished for the four major families of Kunlun to fight amongst themselves… What they feared the most was the families being united, a solid front, monopolizing all the resources and leaving none for others.

However, anyone could clearly see now that Changgeng True Person, whether in terms of cultivation talent, realm strength, or strategic decision-making, had no rivals in all of Kunlun.

With the stubborn resistance of the Guyuan Zhao Family, stopping at nothing, even starting baseless rumors: stating that despite obvious advantages and successive victories at Iron City Mountain, we are showing womanly compassion—it was somewhat too exaggerated.

If it were not for the upright character of Changgeng True Person and the Ziwei Master considering the bigger picture, not holding grudges against your Guyuan Zhao Family, what if you still push your luck? Do you truly want to engage in a life-or-death struggle with the Xu Family, forcibly tearing Kunlun apart?

Sensing the unfriendly gazes of the Kunlun Elders, Elder Yuan Shou also felt somewhat unable to step down from the situation, but he did not speak, merely scoffing coldly.

After the high-level meeting concluded, Qiu Changtian was called over by the Ziwei Master.

“Changgeng, you need not concern yourself with the affairs of the Zhao Family; the Luo Family has already come to me to discuss this matter a few days ago,” the Ziwei Master said with the wisdom of a sage, calmly stating, “A little ripple ultimately cannot stir up a storm.”

“You shall go to Guanzhong to preside over the grand scheme of things, and I will have Qiong Ying take charge of Iron City Mountain.”

Qiu Changtian nodded, thinking to himself, could it be that the Luo Family has switched sides directly?

It was indeed so. There was no irreconcilable conflict of interest between the Luo Family and me; now that I possess a significant advantage in terms of prestige within the sect, if the Luo Family could not see the situation for what it was, that indeed would be rather odd.

In this case, no matter how stubborn the Zhao Family might be, they would not be able to shake the overall situation.

Alas, I truly did not wish to be the Head of the Kunlun Sect!

Once the fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone is snatched away, and Chi Song Immortal immediately turns hostile, being forced to defect from the sect as the heir to the sect leader would be a colossal joke for Kunlun, wouldn’t it? The more they value me now, I fear the more pain they will experience in the future!

However, upon reflection, considering Shushan and Penglai must also go through a similar ordeal, and even Wei Dongliu from our side turned out to be the Six Paths Alliance Hierarch defecting from the Six Paths, the embarrassment seems not too bad, given everyone is losing face together, right?

Lost in thought, Qiu Changtian was about to leave when he saw Zhao Jinghong waiting outside and said:

“True Person Changgeng, may I have a moment of your time for a chat?”

“Brother Yun Hong, what guidance do you have?” Qiu Changtian certainly would not be foolish enough to go with him.

What if I were brought to some place and then several Zhao Family Elders emerged, ambushing and abruptly attacking me? Now that it was clear that the Zhao Family had lost its momentum, I had to be wary of them making a desperate move.

Seeing that Qiu Changtian had no intention of leaving, Zhao Jinghong sighed and then checked that there was no one else around before lowering his voice and saying:

“Elder Yuan Shou plans to set up an ambush on your way to Guanzhong to kill you, and then frame it as the work of the Demon Cult.”

Qiu Changtian: ???

Could it be, they’re going to such extremes?!

“Brother Yun Hong, why tell me this?” he asked leisurely.

“If this plot fails, the Guyuan Zhao Family will have no reasoning to survive,” Zhao Jinghong said with a sorrowful expression. “Even if it succeeds, how would we deceive the Xu Family, the Ge Family?”

“If Kunlun were to split over this, how then could we confront the Demon Cult’s forces?”

“True Person Changgeng, please inform the Ziwei Master of this matter, so he may call upon the Chi Song Immortal to take action. The Immortal after all is wise and sagacious, with mana that reaches the heavens; he will surely only punish the ringleader, safeguarding my Zhao Family from this calamity and ensuring Kunlun does not suffer too heavily… Actually, there are also some elders within our family who do not agree with Elder Yuan Shou’s aggressive approach; they have now been placed under house arrest by him.”

Hearing that some Zhao Family elders had been put under house arrest by Yuan Shou, Qiu Changtian immediately realized that the matter was very likely true and quickly said:

“Come with me to see the Sect Leader…”

But then he saw Zhao Jinghong suddenly step back, shaking his head as he said:

“If I am detained by the Sect Leader, Elder Yuan Shou will naturally become suspicious. This matter is of great importance; we cannot afford any mishaps.”

“Just take my Flying Sword with you; my master… he recognizes my Flying Sword, and will know at a glance.”

Having said that, Zhao Jinghong tossed down the Flying Sword he carried and then took out another sword, quickly transformed into a beam of light with Sword Control, and flew away.

After scanning the sword and surroundings briefly to ensure there were no problems, Qiu Changtian picked up the Flying Sword and turned to enter the Sect Leader’s chamber.