The chamber was silent.
A place where even breathing felt like an intrusion.
The Li Clan and the Zhao Clan sat gathered within a sealed hall, layers of formations isolating the room from the outside world.
Flickering lamps cast long shadows across stone walls carved with clan insignias—symbols that once represented unquestioned authority.
Now, they felt… dim.
The war with the Demonic Forces was, for all intents and purposes, over.
The Beast Tide had been crushed.
The Demonic Cultivators had withdrawn.
The Desolate Heaven Empire was already preparing proclamations of victory.
Yet inside this room, there was not a trace of celebration.
No relief.
No pride.
No sense of victory.
Only gloom and unease.
For the Li and Zhao Clans, this war had taken far more than it had given.
Their losses were staggering.
The Li Clan had even lost one of their Grand Elders in the Earth Immortal Realm—a true loss for them.
Their foundations had been shaken to the core.
