When it became clear that it was not going to be a short conversation, Yoshika invited them all to meet in Kucheon. Not the city proper, mind, but still within the shield formation. More specifically, she brought them to the prison camp where the captured cultivators were being held.

That was an incredible show of good faith, and in Yue’s opinion, a very strong message. While the display of trust indicated that Yoshika’s intentions were genuine, it also told her guests in no uncertain terms that she was not threatened by them. Bringing Sun Quan to the prison camp was also a way to allow the grandmaster to regain some of the faith he’d lost by condemning the prisoners as Yan De’s mouthpiece.

Sometimes it was hard to tell whether Yoshika was completely oblivious or frighteningly canny about what she was doing. She had transformed back from the avatar of living flame she’d appeared as after her return from...wherever she’d gone, but Yue noted that some changes remained. The Sovereign’s Tear had merged with her core and now both were part of her body. Her domain was restrained, but Yue could still sense the incredible power radiating from her.

Ienaga Yumi, Hwang Sung, and Ashikaga Sae joined them at—of all things—the open air mess area within the prison camp. It was, again, a layered move—the meeting would take place within plain view of the captured prisoners, and the lackluster accommodations were both a subtle insult to the grandmasters, and also a presentation of how the prisoners had been treated. Yoshika broke every rule of diplomacy with gleeful disregard for norms and traditions, but it worked.

Yan Ren was a man Yue had known all her life. The more reclusive and far more competent of her father’s two core disciples, she had known him as a man of unwavering focus and dedication to the sect. He did not take any disciples of his own, but it was Yan Ren’s presence—not Yan Hao’s—that allowed her father to feel comfortable leaving his sect to its own devices for so long.

Now, he seemed shaken. She could see him furiously calculating, searching for the best move as Yoshika’s every action shattered his expectations and forced him to start from scratch. It made Yue a little nostalgic—that had been her, once.

Bai Renshu just looked terrified, and he had every right to be. If it was up to Yue, she’d have the man stripped of his sect, his titles, his land, and then his life—once he’d seen it all unraveling before his eyes. Yoshika was more merciful, but also cruel, in her own way. This would not end well for him.

For Sun Quan’s part, the second most powerful grandmaster of the great sects was rapidly reevaluating how vast the gulf had been between himself and Yan De, and trying to figure out where to place Yoshika within it. And there could be no doubt—she was beyond him. A fact which no doubt rattled him to the core.

Thus, the powers of Qin had come to the negotiating table with Yoshika once more—only this time, the balance had reversed. Yoshika was not the meek young lady thrust into an unwanted position as the unsteady bridge between conflicting powers. She was the power, and it was up to these arrogant old men to plead their case.

It began with Yan Ren, predictably challenging Yue’s claim.

“Young Mistress, while I understand that the Ancestral Grandmaster has named you his heir, the transfer of power is not so simple. Even if it were, Yan De’s spiritual jade tablet indicates—”

Yue tuned him out. The law was on her side, but she was happy to let him drone on for a while, as it gave her an opportunity to do something more important.

“Yoshika, what the hell is going on? What happened? Heian told everyone you were still alive, but you just...vanished!”

Once more Yue was thankful that she’d taken the time to learn the spiritual telepathy techniques that Yoshika invented, despite the headaches they gave her. It allowed her to have multiple conversations at once as she politely smiled and nodded at Yan Ren’s obsessive droning about proper processes and ceremony.

“Sorry Yue, I’ll explain everything later, but we need to accelerate—everything. We don’t have time to wait around or entertain whatever games the sects want to play. The apocalypse looming over us is way closer than we thought. I saw it myself.”

“The seal? But we’re nowhere close to being ready to destroy it.”

“It wouldn’t matter if we were. Breaking the seal won’t stop it—if anything, it might just trigger the collapse faster. Damn it, no wonder Shen Yu was willing to give me five years—the bastard.”

Their exchange took place in moments, and neither of their expressions changed. Yan Ren had finally finished his diatribe, so Yue quickly formulated an answer. She wasn’t entirely sure what Yoshika was up to, but she knew how to play along.

“If my father is alive, then let him object to my rule himself. You were here to personally witness his disappearance, and I have no intention of allowing you or—Empress forbid—Yan Hao to consolidate power against me.”

The man met her gaze steadily, as unwavering as he’d ever been.

“You have not been formally inducted as an elder of the sect. Xiantian or not, you remain only a core disciple.”

“A formality, and one which you are well placed to rectify as the acting grandmaster in Yan De’s absence. You need only formally recognize me now and be done with it.”

“There are—”

Yue huffed and rolled her eyes.

“Proper ceremonies, yes. Do you think I’m stupid, Yan Ren? Those ceremonies are not a requirement, merely a tradition. Under the circumstances, it is my desire to forgo such traditions, not the least because I’d rather not give you and that lazy tub of lard you call brother time to hold my mother and Zheng Long’s family hostage against me.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Yan Ren glanced nervously at Sun Quan, who had simply listened without interjecting once.

“We would never dream of such underhanded measures, Young Mistress.”

She stood up and slammed her hands on the table.

“Then recognize me, here and now, or I shall formally accuse you of conspiring to undermine the authority of a great sect.”

“There is no arbiter present to oversee such a challenge.”

Yue smiled, baring her teeth in an unfriendly grin.

“No? Then we’ll just have to settle the matter in a duel. Would you like that?”

She probably couldn’t beat Yan Ren if he called her bluff, but she saw the way his eyes flickered towards Yoshika. Yan Ren was a man who took a steady, unwavering, and cautious approach to both cultivation and life. He did not take undue risks.

“No, Ancestral Grandmistress. The Great Awakening Dragon sect recognizes Elder Yan Yue as its rightful heir and ruler.”

Sun Quan’s lips formed a thin line.

“As a fellow grandmaster of one of the great sects of the Heavenly Empire of Qin, I have borne witness to this occasion. I recognize Grandmistress Yan Yue of the Great Awakening Dragon sect, and acknowledge her declaration of partnership with the Great Spiritual Flowing Purewater.”

Bai Renshu’s eyes practically bulged out of his head as he sputtered indignantly.

“Wh—I refuse! I reject both claims! The Flowing Purewater are not a great sect, and after treasonously siding with enemies of the state, I contend that they are no sect at all, and their lands rightfully default to the rule of the Great Labyrinthine Forest of Unbreakable Threads!”

Sun Quan pinched the bridge of his nose, but Yue’s eyes flashed with triumph. The idiot had pushed too far without Yan De’s protection.

“Yoshika, I need to know right now. How much are we taking from Qin? I assume you know what you’re doing, but I have to warn you that this, more than anything we’ve ever done, may spur the God-Emperor into action. Are you prepared for that?”

Yue was nervous, but excited. Were they really doing this? This was beyond anything she’d imagined, but she was all in. Yoshika’s answer was typical, in her way. Audacious and greedy beyond measure, utterly lacking in common sense, yet exactly what Yue wanted to hear.

“Everything. As much as you can. I know it will mean war with Qin himself, but we need everything we can get and we need it right now. We’ll deal with the consequences later.”

“Very well. I trust you.”

It was insane. Maybe suicidal, but Yoshika had seen something bigger than all of them and decided it was worth the risk. Yue saw the path forward in an instant.

“Bai Renshu, I remind you that the Flowing Purewater lost its status as a result of an informal censure. Under imperial law, your land still belongs to them. Furthermore, your ‘Great’ Labyrinthine Forest sect is formally a branch of the Awakening Dragon.”

The Bai grandmaster went pale.

“How did you know—?”

Yue cocked her head and smirked.

“Did you really think my father cared for you as an ally? You were a tool—his foothold into the south. One of the many angles from which he hoped to expand his power. Another was Jiaguo. He saw my involvement was a way to take control, and for even a chance at that, he was more than willing to send an agent who was intimately familiar with your dealings.”

“No...Zheng Long?!”

“He was betrothed to Bai Lin, but that partnership was contingent on another, was it not?”

Bai Renshi went red in the face.

“How dare you?! That marriage was never honored after your empress murdered my daughter in cold blood!”

“Yet, the deal remained. It was your own fault for not being more shrewd. All you saw was a partnership with the most powerful great sect, and all my father saw was a useful—well, somewhat useful puppet. Zheng Long told me everything.”

“That worthless traitor!”

Sun Quan sighed and shook his head.

“What is the purpose of all this, Yan Yue? Your claims are valid, and I recognize your alliance with the Flowing Purewater, but I cannot allow you to turn two great sects against the empire itself.”

“It was not the God-Emperor who declared Jiaguo and Yoshika his enemies. Awakening Dragon rescinds its claim, and I petition you and the other grandmasters to do the same.”

“It’s not so easily rescinded. The northern sects are still marching south, and even you cannot stop them now that they rise to war.”

He was right, of course. Yoshika had forced the alliance of the southern great sects to retreat, but they had not surrendered. The great sects were still in a state of war.

“Perhaps not. Then I request that you take your army north and secure a corridor through Silver Orchard’s land, so that the Awakening Dragon may establish lines of contact with its branches and allies. We shall unify all of it—the Awakening Dragon, Flowing Purewater, Labyrinthine Forest, Goryeo, Yamato, and Jiaguo—as a single province of the Heavenly Empire, under the administration of my sect. That should end this war quite neatly, don’t you think?”

All three of the Qin elders choked at that, and even Yoshika was looking askance at Yue. She didn’t second guess her, though—their trust ran both ways. Lin Xiulan coughed politely into the stunned silence.

“Yue, dear, I uh, do not have the authority to accept such a proposal without conferring with my husband and Guan Yu.”

Sun Quan was less diplomatic.

“Impossible. Even if this were anything short of an obvious ploy to cede vast swathes of imperial territory to Jiaguo, the Great Silver Orchard cannot support it. That is far too much power for a single sect to hold.”

At last, Yoshika stepped in for the finishing blow.

“Then we invite you to share it as our friends and allies. One way or another, this war must end. And if that means surrendering the Jiaguo empire to the Great Awakening Dragon sect, then I will personally see it done. Our quarrel is not with you, Sun Quan, and our time is running out.”

Even Yue was surprised by that, but it fit perfectly within her plans. Predictably, Bai Renshu was adamantly opposed, and kicking up a fuss, but Yan Ren was looking at Yue with something approaching respect, and Sun Quan just frowned in deep contemplation before he finally gave them an answer.

“I must confer with the other grandmasters of the southern provinces. Lin Xiulan, by your grace, I request a summit to be held at Purewater Peak to discuss this...surrender.”