Chapter 118: Rising Tensions

Located just under 1300km away from the Capital City of Owari-Shuto was the Ancestral Capital of the Nianese Archipelago, Kyoto.

Founded approximately fourteen thousand years after the Age of Gods, Kyoto was among the most ancient and populous cities in all of Nian. It served as the seat of power for the Imperial Family, and, thanks to the protection of the Four Heavenly Guardians, it was considered the safest region in the Nianese Archipelago.

While most major cities struggled to maintain a population in the hundreds of thousands, Kyoto's median population generally hovered around 4.5 million people. With the second-largest city being the nearby port of Osaka, population 2.5 million, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Kyoto and its surrounding cities represented the very heart of Nianese society.

Unfortunately, despite having the largest population, the economy of Kyoto had been in shambles ever since the previous war between the people of Nian and the Onigashima in the North. The city had nearly been destroyed during the conflict, and, after exhausting the majority of their resources, the Imperial Family had little choice but to sell the surrounding land and divvy up the Archipelago to their most loyal vassal in order to avoid a civil war. This was the start of Kyoto's expansion, and, as a result of their mismanagement, the precursor to the Imperial Family's decline.

By establishing a system where individuals could be awarded merits and titles based on monetary contributions, the Imperial Family had hoped to recoup some of their losses. This worked in their favor at the beginning, but, after selling countless court ranks to anyone who could afford them, the titles began to lose their meaning as anything more than trade permits.

With the Imperial Court possessing more opportunistic merchants than statesmen and scholars, it wasn't long before Kyoto became a veritable cesspool of corruption. It was a place filled to the brim with individuals whose singular focus was increasing their wealth while the Imperial Family suffered due to limited resources, a distinct lack of competent personnel, and an ever-increasing population.

Due to the current Emperor's inability to produce a male heir, tensions within Kyoto were at an all-time high as everyone was biding their time in anticipation of the power struggle that would follow his death. The Emperor, fully aware of this, had spent the last sixty years closing off the country and restricting trade between Provinces. This had earned him an enormous amount of criticism, but, as a result of his controversial decision, most of the weaker merchant groups had fallen into ruin while the various Daimyos focused on consolidating their power.

Though many thought the Emperor had gone mad, those with greater foresight understood what he was trying to do. He didn't want Nian to fall into the hands of opportunistic individuals who had taken advantage of the Imperial Family's waning strength to accrue wealth at the country's expense. By pitting the Noble Clans against one another, he could reduce their strength while simultaneously weakening the various merchant groups and associations.

Every time war broke out, trespassing the borders between Provinces became nigh-impossible. No Daimyo was foolish enough to let foreign merchants freely traverse their lands. Instead, they relied on their own caravans to move resources around their territory while forcing merchants to part with their goods at heavily discounted prices.

Since most merchant caravans relied on transporting goods between Provinces to turn a profit, war was their worst nightmare. It didn't help that most Warriors viewed merchants as opportunists and despots without a conscience, so, the moment conflict broke out, any group unwilling to cooperate with the Provincial Army was quickly put to death or imprisoned.

The only problem with Emperor Go-Nara's plan was that it didn't change the fact he still lacked an heir. He could weaken the nation and reduce the authority of the merchants all he wanted, but, the moment he died, someone was bound to take advantage of the situation to seize power. The only question was whether or not it would be one of the families that had backed the Imperial Family for generations or one of the merchant families that had risen to power in the wake of their decline.

In preparation for this inevitable conflict, Emperor Go-Nara had done something even his closest advisors couldn't help criticizing. He invested a tremendous amount of resources into empowering his daughters, Princesses Shihori, Shimako, and Utahime.

Though a number of powerful women had appeared throughout the history of Nian, Emperor Go-Nara's actions all but assured that the resulting power struggle would be bloody. Even the weakest among them, Utahime, was currently sitting at Rank 9 Platinum Hero. As for the eldest, Shihori, she had managed to reach Rank 6 Mithril Lord at the relatively young age of 57. This was comparable to Senken, who, at the age of 61, had managed to ascend to Rank 7 of the same Realm.

The traditions of Nian mandated that the suitors of Imperial Princesses be of a higher cultivation Rank. By helping his daughters reach the Realm of Mithril Lord, Emperor Go-Nara had effectively guaranteed that no one outside the Noble Clans would have the chance to pursue his daughters. To make matters exponentially worse, at least for those coveting the position of Emperor, he had given his daughters complete autonomy regarding the matter of their marriage. The only restriction was that the Second and Third Princesses would need to wait until Shihori had produced an heir before selecting suitors of their own...

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Standing at 165cm, Princess Shihori was considered tall for a Nianese woman. This wasn't the trait that made her truly outstanding, however. Rather, it was her supple yet curvaceous figure, dazzling golden eyes, and reddish-brown hair that garnered her the attention of countless would-be suitors.

Though tradition dictated she wear conservative clothing to conceal her face and figure from view, Princess Shihori elected to wear clothing more befitting of a warrior. Her favorite outfit consisted of a sleeveless white gown that was heavily adorned with accessories crafted from gold and obsidian-black jade. This included an enchanted golden pauldron, a matching bracer, and several talon-like accessories that made her right hand resemble a dragon's claw.

Were it not for her ceremonial headwear and the cloak only members of the Imperial Family were allowed to wear, Princess Shihori could have been mistaken for a powerful female warrior visiting from across the seas. This was due to the fact that, long ago, the first peoples of Nian had migrated over from the relatively nearby Heavenly Kingdom. The Imperial Family had reestablished ties with a few of the more prodigious Clans several thousand years prior, so, while the appearances of most Nianese had changed drastically with the passage of time, the features of the Emperor, Shihori, and her sisters more closely resembled their Ancestors.

Had Nobu been present, he would have described Shihori as half-Korean/half-European. She didn't really resemble the Chinese the Heavenly Kingdom was clearly inspired from. Her face wasn't nearly as flat, and, despite possessing distinctly Asian features, her skin was creamy and smooth. With the right clothes, she could have easily passed as a K-Pop Idol or an Actress in a Korean Drama. Instead, the talons on her right hand, combined with her largely expressionless face, gave off the impression of a ruthless, ice-cold beauty that wouldn't hesitate to gut you with her bare hands.

Demonstrating how accurate this description was, Princess Shihori was currently in the process of beating down a bear-like Aura Beast using nothing but her Aura. The fact it was more than six times her size didn't intimidate her in the slightest. Rather, after receiving a number of painful blows from its comparably small opponent, the massive, four-armed bear was backpedaling as it attempted to intimidate her with a roar.

Without so much as a single change within her expression, Princess Shihori's figure left behind a peculiar blue aura tinged with gold before manifesting near the four-armed bear's left flank. It did its best to try and sweep its paws at her, but, with a casual sidestep, Princess Shihori managed to evade the attack before tracing her right hand in a graceful, sweeping arc from her hip to her left shoulder.

Emanating from the talons covering her index, middle, and ring fingers, three glistening blue blades of Aura cut into the Aura Beast's remarkably durable body. Unlike a traditional attack, however, the blades of energy did not immediately dissipate. Instead, the bluish Aura continued to bore into the wailing creature as if it had the properties of an extremely corrosive acid.

"Weak..."

Speaking for the first time since the start of the battle, Princess Shihori's golden eyes glistened with an indiscernible glow as she deflected the inordinately large bear's frantic charge with a backhand to the snout. This sent its head smashing into the ground, but, due to its forward momentum, it was able to force Princess Shihori back in order to avoid a direct collision.

Furrowing her brows ever so slightly, Princess Shihori stepped forward before the creature could recover. This time, however, she didn't attack using her Mithril Aura or claws. Instead, the visage of a majestic golden dragon manifested behind her as she swept her right hand forward in a thrusting motion. In response, the golden dragon opened its maw, a silent roar emanating from its throat as it charged forward to sink its teeth into the bear's neck. The unfortunate beast attempted to break free, but, due to the serpentine nature of the dragon's body, it was able to coil around the frantic creature like a snake that had captured its prey.

Watching the final struggles of the massive creature, Princess Shihori's cold expression gradually softened until she telepathically commanded the dragon to finish it off. In response, a loud crunch could be heard echoing through the training space as the giant, four-armed bear broke down into a mass of blue and purple light. In its wake, a small totem resembling said bear could be seen on the ground, as, rather than an authentic Aura Beast, the creature was what people colloquially referred to as a Beast Spirit Token.

Though they were quite a bit weaker than the beasts they were inspired from, Beast Spirit Tokens were extremely useful for training. The number of Aura Beasts inhabiting Nian had decreased with the passage of time so it was difficult to find any outside the various Spirit Lands managed by the Great Noble Clans. The Imperial Family had one of its own but it was primarily used to cultivate a number of rare and valuable herbs. Any formidable Aura Beasts were quickly disposed of, so if she wanted to train against powerful opponents, Princess Shihori's only options were sparring with her sisters or battling against Beast Spirit Tokens.

"At this rate, my strength is bound to stagnate..."

Understanding better than most how precarious her situation was, Princess Shihori was desperate to increase her power. Unfortunately, her cultivation speed had decreased sharply the moment she ascended to Rank 5 Mithril Lord. Reaching Rank 6 had taken her several years more than she would have liked, and, despite her best efforts, it was highly likely that Rank 7 would be her absolute limit.

Since fewer than 1% of Nianese cultivators managed to reach the Realm of Platinum Hero, it could be argued that Rank 7 Mithril Lord was remarkable. Even the current Emperor had stagnated at the pinnacle of Rank 9. In that regard, Princess Shihori was among the top one-hundred cultivators in the nation. Unfortunately, even if she was able to exceed her father and somehow enter the Realm of Adamantine, she would still fall short of the undisputed top 10.

While some would consider her desire for even greater power nonsensical, Princess Shihori carried the burden of twenty-six thousand years of history on her shoulders. With eight of the top 10 being male, several of which were actively antagonistic towards the Imperial Family, Shihori was genuinely afraid that one of them would make a move the moment her father perished. She knew how much of a draw her cultivation base was, so, the moment she let her guard down, someone was bound to try and take advantage of her.

Princess Shihori's goal, ever since she had learned of her father's plans, was to surpass the most powerful female warrior in Nianese history, Miyamoto Musashi. The latter, using a method no one had been able to ascertain, managed to reach the Realm of Orichalcum Emperor at the remarkably young age of 44. Now, at the age of 79, she was the third most powerful cultivator in all of Nian at the heaven-defying level of Rank 7 Orichalcum Emperor. The only cultivators even stronger than her were the Ancestor of the Orochi Sect and the Demon Lord of Onigashima, both situated at Rank 9.

When you considered that the Ancestor of the Orochi Sect and the Demon Lord of Onigashima were both several thousand years old, it was easy to regard Musashi as a monster. She had even been given the designation of a humanoid natural disaster due to the power she possessed, yet, in spite of this, she was the role model for every female cultivator in Nian. Everyone aspired to be like her, yet, even with all the resources of the Imperial Family, Princess Shihori lagged far behind the legendary woman known as the Red Dragon of the East...

"I must try harder..."

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(A/N: I was feeling a little constipated so I decided to release a big old lore dump. Also, sorry about the lack of a chapter yesterday. I was moving all my furniture and stuff to my new apartment.)