The Willow Residence Realm was also in chaos. Wang Linchi did not linger at the borders of the two realms but instead moved into the central area of the Willow Residence Realm. It was slightly better here, not as chaotic.

Along the way, he gleaned quite a bit of information, such as how the Seven Southern Realms had fallen into disarray. It had to be the Shadow Covenant. If not for them, the Seven Southern Realms wouldn't necessarily have ended up in this state. Precisely because of this, the Dajing Court had forcefully eradicated them. Yes, even the Shadow Realm itself was shattered.

They had Demonic Inheritance Successors, but did the Court lack them? The Court even had stronger ones. However, after the Shadow Realm was shattered, the Court's Demonic Inheritance Successor was ambushed and killed, his power then divided among other Demonic Inheritance Successors.

The Great Families and Sects had initiated the attack, aiming to weaken the Court. This led to three realms transforming into a Demon Realm, a battleground for Demonic Inheritance Successors. As for the fact that this move allowed the Daylight Level beings from the secret realms to catch their breath and subsequently caused chaos across the entire Seven Southern Realms, this was simply not a concern for the Great Families and Sects. They only cared about their own interests.

Even if the Daylight Level entities from the secret realms were to overthrow the Court, it wouldn't matter to them. They could simply submit a declaration of surrender, as long as their own interests were met. Besides, they didn't take those Daylight Level beings seriously anyway. There were only about ten of them. The Great Families had already decided to concede the Court's interests and had secretly begun to curry favor with these beings. After all, it was the Court's interests being lost, while they reaped their own benefits. Ceding a quarter of the territory was, to them, no great loss.

Naturally, the Court possessed sufficient strength to suppress these threats. However, the constant entanglements and obstructions from the Great Families and Sects meant the Court simply couldn't free up the resources to deal with the Daylight Level entities. Moreover, numerous Rebel Armies, propped up by various factions, had emerged in the Seven Southern Realms. Each carved out its own territory, effectively severing the entire south from the other three major regions of the Dajing Dynasty.

Of course, it wasn't the high and mighty who suffered. Just like in times of famine, the Great Families and gentry were the ones who profited immensely. However, in Wang Linchi's eyes, these people had made a colossal mistake. Their reckless actions had completely shattered the foundational economy of the Dajing Dynasty.

The Dajing Dynasty had two economic systems. One involved Soul Kind, which was monopolized, controlled, and circulated only among Awakeners. This system remained largely unaffected, even with the chaos in the Seven Southern Realms. However, the currency used by ordinary people—affecting the food, clothing, shelter, and transportation of countless commoners across Dajing—was a different matter. If the currency in a quarter of the nation's territory became worthless paper, losing all credibility, could the remaining three-quarters of the land truly remain unscathed? Surely not, that's wishful thinking.

This demonstrated that while the Great Families, Sects, and even the Court were adept at internal power struggles and heavy-handed tactics, they seemed to lack any understanding of economics. The current situation in the Seven Southern Realms was dire. Approximately ten million units of currency could only buy a single pound of rice. To buy a bag of rice, one would need to carry several bags of money. It was cheaper to burn money for cooking than to burn firewood.

The currency had completely collapsed. Previously, ten million could buy a Good Level Soul Kind, but now even one hundred billion couldn't purchase a regular-grade Soul Kind. The entire economic system of the Dajing Dynasty was originally designed to maintain class monopolies, relying on public trust. This was precisely why there were so many Rebel Armies in the Seven Southern Realms. When a pound of rice costs ten million, should I starve to death, or should I join them in robbing the rich to help the poor?

As for the eastern, western, and northern realms, the situation was likely no more optimistic. Beset by internal strife and external threats, simply maintaining stability in these three regions was already a considerable achievement. Wang Linchi felt that the Dajing Dynasty was on the verge of sudden and complete collapse.

Of course, the Seven Southern Realms faced an even more severe problem: the lack of secret realms. It was common knowledge that the Dajing Dynasty's productivity stemmed from these secret realms. Now that they had all been shattered, the Seven Southern Realms were not only cut off from Natural Treasures, Soul Kinds, and other cultivation resources but also from various daily necessities. The ensuing chain reaction led not only to economic collapse but also to a systemic weakening. When people couldn't even get enough to eat, how could they have the energy or inclination for anything else?

He didn't linger in any city for long, intending to leave the Seven Southern Realms as soon as possible. This place was a powder keg. Although the Willow Residence Realm had Yan Ming King holding things down, Wang Linchi could see that even Yan Ming King might not be able to handle a crisis of this magnitude. Even if he could hold on, recovery was impossible. What was needed wasn't martial prowess, but rather skills in administration, economics, politics, and the like. Fighting was useless in this situation. Threatening a starving crowd with death, telling them to wait quietly for their demise? Why wouldn't they fight back for a chance to live?

His destination was Yuling Sky, located in the Territory Mansion of the Willow Residence Realm. To reach the eastern, western, and northern realms, there were three routes. The first was to walk on his own two feet. That's out of the question. He had taken a fire wheel carriage just to reach the Territory Mansion of the Willow Residence Realm; he couldn't even cross half a realm on foot, let alone multiple realms. The second option was to have a powerful figure transport him, much like the Daylight Level Tree of Immortality had instantly sent him to the border of the Jing Room Domain and the Willow Residence Realm. That was even more unlikely. The Willow Residence Realm had no Daylight Level experts, and even if it did, why would they help him? The last method was through official channels, similar to taking a fire wheel carriage, but it involved using a teleportation array. However, these teleportation arrays were only available at the Territory Mansion and required a formal application.

Wang Linchi planned to use this last option. Yan Ming King now controlled the entire Willow Residence Realm. When the time came, Wang Linchi would offer him the ultimate generation of Soul Seed Boiling techniques and the hundreds of derivative Soul Skills developed through a 'nesting doll' (matryoshka) approach, in exchange for help leaving. As for staying and trying to make a living with Yan Ming King? He had never even considered it. Ever since Yan Ming King had made his debut, he had brought calamity from Qinghe City all the way to the entire South. Look at the other three regions that didn't have Yan Ming King. Although they were in dire straits, at least people could survive. Apart from the Willow Residence Realm, the other six realms could be described as desolate, with no signs of life. The Willow Residence Realm wasn't faring well either; ordinary people could barely afford food, and Awakeners had lost their sources of income and resources.

"Kid, lend me some Soul Kind," a voice called out just as Wang Linchi disembarked from the fire wheel carriage and was looking for a place to rest. He had been targeted. This wasn't the first time. The one who accosted him was a middle-aged man at the Mountain Copper Level. These robbers had their methods; they knew that anyone getting off a fire wheel carriage must have money, or rather, Soul Kind, as money could no longer buy a ticket—only Soul Kind could.

"I don't need much, just three Good Level Soul Kind. Consider it making a friend," the man said in a gloomy tone.

Wang Linchi shook his head. The form of his Stand-in, Saint Master, slowly materialized. Its massive claw instantly crushed the man's skull before it faded away. Witnessing this, the others who had been eager to try their luck immediately abandoned any thought of moving against Wang Linchi.

Wherever he went, various criminal activities were rampant. The Officials who once maintained order for the Court had long since changed their allegiances. They, along with the larger Great Families and Sects, were among the first to learn of the resource cutoff. They had gathered what resources they could and fled the Seven Southern Realms early on, becoming like hunted dogs, fleeing their homes.

It was rather amusing, actually. According to the intelligence he had gathered, when the Shadow Covenant and the Shadow Realm deliberately shattered the secret realms of the Seven Southern Realms, it was the Great Families and Sects that had provided assistance and guidance. Their reasoning was simple: eliminate the Court's secret realms, and then only their own secret realms would remain within the territories. At that point, the Court would be at their mercy. The potential profits were enormous, enough to sway them. The process unfolded exactly as they had imagined, but the outcome was slightly different. After annihilating the secret realms not belonging to the Great Families or Sects in the Seven Southern Realms, the Shadow Covenant turned around and backstabbed them, shattering all the secret realms of the Great Families and Sects as well. Resistance? Ha, what a beautiful dream. With the Shadow Realm backing them, possessing Shadow entities comparable to Daylight Level existences, how could the Domain Masters of the Seven Southern Realms, who were merely at the Bright Moon Level, possibly resist? Not all Great Families and Sects were complicit, of course, but under the prevailing tide, they too were inevitably crushed. It was precisely because of the cooperation from these local powers that the Shadow Covenant was able to destroy the secret realms so swiftly, instead of being thwarted midway.

"Killed someone? Pay one Excellent Level Soul Kind as a cleaning fee." Wang Linchi had only taken a few steps when another voice interjected.

He glanced at the speaker, who appeared to be from some minor Clan.

"What? Does your Clan have a Morning Star Level Awakener?" Wang Linchi retorted.

The man was stunned, clearly not expecting such a response. He then tried to assert his authority: "This is—"

Before he could finish, Saint Master crushed his head as well.

"Daring to extort me without even having a Morning Star Level backer in your Clan? You're courting death more recklessly than anyone I've seen." Do I really look like such an easy target? Wang Linchi couldn't care less about these local Clans. As long as his Stand-in, Saint Master, didn't encounter a Morning Star Level expert, it could ensure his escape even if it couldn't defeat them. Why should he act timidly in these chaotic lands? Doing so wouldn't prevent trouble; it would only make others think he was an easy mark, causing them to swarm him like flies.

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