Yet Li Yuan’s own ancestral seal didn’t sit in his heart; he had no idea how his fourth rank would come, except that it too had to be forged in war. The battle would need the right moment and the right ground, preferably one that left no troublesome aftermath.1

For now, the lure of weaving his forces together interested him far more since it promised an immediate, tangible rise in strength. His ambitions had outgrown the cultivation of shadow blood; he was actively pursuing the power granted by the Yang itself. In his eyes, Yang energy was an entirely separate power system, another pillar of force, much as a ghost was its own domain.0

Thoughts flashed past. He flicked the blade, stretched, drew three...0