Chapter 189: Changing Course Invites a Killing Blow

At the very first instant of the time reset, Li Shun's attention first shifted toward the Martial Dao World.

"The Martial Dao World was unaffected. Everything remains as normal. A new day has already begun."

"As expected, the resetting divine ability of Threefold Self-Reflection only affects a single world."

"But..."

Li Shun frowned slightly.

"The flow of time in the Martial Dao World and the Great Qian World is identical. Through Threefold Self-Reflection, I reset one day in the Great Qian World."

"Yet the corresponding day in the Martial Dao World was not affected. Time there continued to move forward normally."

"If that is the case, doesn't it mean that within the vast river of time, one day of history in the Great Qian World has simply vanished into thin air?"

"If there is some great master in this world who is proficient in calendrical calculations, and who can communicate between the two worlds as I can, wouldn't they be able to deduce from this discrepancy in time that someone secretly employed a heaven-defying method to alter this world?"

The thought that his every action might potentially be noticed caused a trace of unease to rise within Li Shun's heart.

But he quickly relaxed.

"At most, they could only detect traces of the world's reset. Unless they are a Confucian Sage, they cannot retain their memories through the reset. They won't be able to trace it back to me."

Li Shun shook his head slightly and temporarily buried this concern deep within his heart.

His thoughts returned to Great Qian, focusing on the mystery surrounding the Kong Family.

"If I want to protect myself wisely, it wouldn't be difficult."

"I only need to find an excuse to distance myself from the Kong Clan today."

"But..."

"I previously spent more than a year cultivating in seclusion within the Kong Clan's Grotto Heaven. If the Kong Family is convicted of treason, I'm afraid I won't be able to escape being caught in the crossfire."

"Moreover, this matter is extremely suspicious. Perhaps the target isn't merely the Kong Family, but the entire lineage of the Confucian Spring and Autumn Brush. All three Grand Chancellor's residences were attacked, yet only Dong Chunqiu suffered severe injuries?"

"How can something like this happen in the heart of Great Qian, the Sacred Capital itself?"

Li Shun found the entire situation almost inconceivable.

Across the entirety of Great Qian, what force could possibly possess the means to accomplish something like this?

The remnants of the Six Nations?

Those surviving remnants had long since been swept into the dustbin of history.

After carefully considering the matter, Li Shun finally reached a conclusion.

"There is a sixty percent chance this is still an internal struggle within the imperial court. It's just that the methods used this time are far more brutal and ruthless than before."

"Perhaps it's because the Left Chancellor's lifespan is nearing its end."

Li Shun naturally had no interest in becoming involved in the struggles among the upper echelons.

But now that this conflict had spread to him, he had no choice but to struggle to navigate his way through it.

"Threefold Self-Reflection can only rewind one day. Its limitations are still too great."

"The situation is still in its early stages, shrouded in layers of fog. It's impossible to see the whole picture."

"If only I had more time..."

"Perhaps the Xuanhuang Qi I acquire later can first be used to accelerate the erosion of the Threefold Self-Reflection stone statue."

On this day, Li Shun maintained his usual expression and quietly sat within the Grotto Heaven, waiting for Kong Zhao to come and escort him.

At nine in the morning, Kong Zhao arrived as scheduled.

With such a grand gathering approaching, his face was flushed with excitement.

The moment they met, just as in the previous iteration, he urged Li Shun enthusiastically.

"Let's get moving! Quite a few distinguished guests have already arrived at the ancestral residence."

Clearly, he remained completely unaware of the calamity that was about to descend upon his clan.

Li Shun suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Kong, has anything unusual happened in the imperial court recently?"

Kong Zhao was caught off guard by the sudden question.

"Unusual? Why are you asking about that out of nowhere?"

"I simply had a sudden feeling of unease."

Kong Zhao pondered for a moment before suddenly remembering something.

"Right. Didn't I tell you before? There have been rumors among the people that the Left Chancellor..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

Li Shun naturally understood what he meant and immediately gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"The rumors outside haven't died down these past few days. If anything, they've only grown more intense."

"In the past, all major military and state affairs handled by the imperial court were always jointly reviewed and deliberated upon by the Left and Right Chancellors, with both affixing their seals."

"But recently, the Left Chancellor's residence has behaved completely out of character. It seems to have quietly transferred virtually all authority over the Imperial Secretariat to the faction of the Right Chancellor."

"Even more strangely, there are rumors that the Left Chancellor himself hasn't appeared before the public for quite some time."

"The Left Chancellor is the leader of our Confucian lineage. Although he isn't part of the Spring and Autumn Brush lineage, he has shown considerable care toward Confucian disciples throughout the years."

"If something truly has happened to him, I'm afraid the situation of the Confucian school will become considerably more difficult in the future."

"That is precisely why several renowned elders from different branches of the Confucian school have gathered in the Sacred Capital today."

"The first purpose is to determine the Left Chancellor's true condition. The second is to make preparations in advance, so that we can respond to whatever changes the future may bring."

"That is also why Grandmaster Dong was unable to personally attend today's banquet."

As the two walked side by side out of the grotto-heaven, Kong Zhao slowly explained the various undercurrents currently surging through the capital.

"A gathering of the Confucian school?"

Li Shun's gaze flickered.

When he recalled what he had heard during the first iteration about Dong Chunqiu suffering severe injuries, the pieces of his speculation gradually began to fall into place.

"But there is still one thing that doesn't make sense."

After a moment of thought, Li Shun transmitted his voice again.

"May I ask, Senior Brother, has there been any subtle change recently in the Kong Family's attitude toward the various Hundred Schools of Thought?"

Kong Zhao's footsteps abruptly stopped.

He turned around and scrutinized Li Shun from head to toe, his gaze filled with suspicion.

"How did you know about this? Could it be that Junior Brother has noticed something recently?"

Li Shun merely smiled.

"Why don't you answer my question first, Senior Brother Kong?"

Hearing this, Kong Zhao finally nodded solemnly.

"In the past, whenever conflicts arose between the various schools of thought over their respective Dao lineages, our Kong Family always adhered to a neutral policy of distributing favor evenly."

"We neither excessively supported one school nor suppressed another without cause."

"Any disciple of our clan was free to follow their own heart and choose whichever of the Hundred Schools they wished to enter for cultivation."

"The clan would even deliberately intervene when necessary, in order to maintain a balance in the number of Kong Clan disciples belonging to each school."

"However..."

"For some reason, the stance of our Ancestor has undergone a subtle change recently."

"It seems... he intends to tilt toward the Confucian school."

"But this matter is still only at the stage of sounding out opinions. Nothing has actually been decided."

"The Ancestor merely mentioned a few things to me in private when we were alone."

"Junior Brother Li, you're an outsider. How did you come to know about this?"

Kong Zhao's face was filled with doubt, and he pressed Li Shun again with a solemn expression.

Li Shun still did not answer. Instead, he asked another question.

"The Kong Family's principle of neutrality has remained unchanged for several centuries. Why would it suddenly change now?"

Kong Zhao narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Li Shun.

Seeing that Li Shun's expression remained calm and open, Kong Zhao's expression finally relaxed somewhat.

After pondering for a moment, he transmitted his voice secretly.

"This matter isn't exactly a great secret, but it ultimately concerns the Ancestor. It's enough for you to know about it yourself. Don't spread it around."

"Although our Ancestor has always governed the clan with an even hand, never favoring one side over another, deep down, he is actually a proper disciple of the orthodox Confucian tradition."

"He was even one of the disciples of a Sage back in his younger years!"

"Over the past few years, the Ancestor has repeatedly entered strange dreams."

"In those dreams, he has witnessed magnificent visions of a Confucian Sage returning to the mortal world."

"And these dreams have become increasingly frequent in recent years."

"Moreover, as he has grown older, it is only natural that he would often reminisce about the many events from his years of cultivating the Dao."

"Because of these various knots in his heart, the Ancestor's state of mind has gradually undergone a subtle transformation."

"He has already developed the intention to have more of the disciples under our Kong Family enter the Confucian Dao lineage in the future."

"The Ancestor once privately declared..."

"In this struggle over the Great Dao, the final victor will undoubtedly be the Confucian school!"