The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace-Chapter 443 - 561: A Dignified Ending

Chapter 561: A Dignified Ending

When Seven Kings City and the Cangqiong Chamber of Commerce went to war, the smaller factions were terrified, fearing they would be dragged down as collateral damage.

However, other hegemon-level forces reacted very differently. Not only were they unconcerned, they were delighted—some even wished the two sides would fight harder, preferably to the point where Emperor-level experts were forced to intervene.

The ideal outcome, in their eyes, was mutual destruction: both sides crippled, their overall strength regressing, allowing others to reap the benefits as the proverbial fisherman.

Because of this, no one stepped forward to mediate the conflict. Even if someone had tried, they would have been "coincidentally" intercepted halfway.

Moreover, ordinary factions did not dare to interfere at all. This was a clash between two of the top three forces in the Tianyuan Realm. Attempting to mediate recklessly might result not in peace—but in one’s own annihilation.

At the beginning, the Cangqiong Chamber of Commerce held a clear advantage. Their numbers were greater, and their mobilization faster.

But once Seven Kings City reacted and launched a full counteroffensive, the situation quickly became deadlocked.

The two sides exchanged blows relentlessly. One day, Seven Kings City would hijack a trade convoy and slaughter several Gongfengs. The next day, the Chamber would ambush a group of bandits and carry out a ruthless counter-raid.

Both sides operated under the same principle: kill on sight, leave no survivors.

This caused the intensity of the conflict to far exceed initial expectations.

In just one month, the number of Saint-realm casualties on both sides exceeded one hundred. Roughly seventy percent were seriously injured, while nearly twenty percent had fallen outright.

Even seeing these numbers, the high-level leadership of both factions clenched their teeth and continued to endure. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

By the second month, the casualties grew even worse. Several Saint King–level experts were either gravely wounded or killed.

If this continued, it was only a matter of time before both sides exhausted nearly all of their Saint-realm combatants.

Once they realized this, the leadership on both sides instantly sobered up.

Within the Cangqiong Chamber of Commerce, the quasi-Emperor experts gathered once more, their expressions heavy and grim.

After a long silence, someone finally spoke.

"This kind of battle, where no clear victor can be decided, cannot continue. If we go on, it will only lead to mutual destruction—and benefit other factions."

"More importantly," another added, "even if we win, there’s nothing to gain."

Someone immediately retorted, "Then what do you suggest? That we admit defeat?"

"Impossible! Seven Kings City started this in the first place. And we haven’t lost—why should we concede?"

"But we can’t keep fighting like this forever, either."

The room fell silent once more.

At this point, they all realized the same truth: both the Cangqiong Chamber of Commerce and Seven Kings City had been backed into a corner.

If they continued fighting, their losses would only grow. But if they stopped, neither side could easily swallow the blow to their pride.

If one side stopped first, the other would likely follow—but because neither was willing to yield, neither wanted to take that first step.

If someone had stepped forward to mediate, both sides would gladly have taken the opportunity to disengage.

Unfortunately, no one dared to do so—and many actually hoped the war would continue until both sides were completely drained.

After a moment, the one who had originally convened the meeting, Master Wang, finally spoke in a low voice.

"At this point, Seven Kings City is probably in the same situation as us—wanting to stop, but unable to."

"The people actually fighting on the front lines understand this as well. All we need to do is issue orders telling them not to fight with a life-or-death mentality. Gradually, things will calm down on their own."

Upon careful consideration, this seemed highly likely.

Reluctantly, the orders were issued.

The Gongfengs of the Cangqiong Chamber were informed that the upper echelons intended to halt the conflict, and that they no longer needed to fight so desperately.

When the bandits of Seven Kings City noticed that the enemy’s aggression had noticeably decreased, they immediately understood the message and did not press the advantage.

Thus, the conflict quietly transformed—from life-and-death slaughter, to sparring and exchanges of techniques; from sparring, to mere formal gestures.

Eventually, even the formalities were abandoned. Both sides withdrew their forces and returned home.

The war ended—respectably.

Both factions had believed themselves stronger. After fighting, they discovered that their strengths were roughly equal, and both had suffered heavy losses.

More importantly, even victory would not have brought tangible benefits. There was simply no reason to continue.

And so, a war between the strongest forces in the Tianyuan Realm ended without fanfare.

It began with thunderous momentum and earth-shaking force, but ended in near silence—a classic case of great noise, little result.

This naturally led to mockery behind closed doors.

"So much for a decisive battle. Two months, and that’s it?"

"They’re supposed to be the strongest forces in the Tianyuan Realm? Hardly impressive."

"Big factions really do care too much about appearances. Just a bit of damage, and they’re already afraid to continue."

"What a shame. If only they’d kept fighting."

Besides these hegemon-level forces, there was one other individual who shared this sense of disappointment.

That person was Fang Hao—the very instigator behind the entire affair.

For the past two months, Fang Hao had been resting in the residence provided by the Chamber of Commerce for its Gongfengs, recovering from his injuries while keeping a close watch on the battlefield’s developments.

When he learned that both sides had withdrawn, he could not help but sigh inwardly.

"I spent years laying the groundwork for this," he thought. "I never expected them to stop after only two months. What a pity."

"Still, both sides deployed Saint-realm experts, and at the beginning, they were all fighting with the intent to kill. The casualties must be significant."

"As long as the overall strength of both factions has been weakened, my efforts were not in vain."

Moreover, throughout the entire scheme, Fang Hao had only expended financial resources. He had not wasted much time at all. His cultivation had not been delayed in the slightest.

After becoming an Earth-tier Gongfeng of the Cangqiong Chamber of Commerce, the generous compensation and stipends had allowed his cultivation speed to remain astonishingly fast.

"After this incident, it will be impossible to provoke the Chamber into another external war anytime soon," Fang Hao mused. "But perhaps I can plan something else—internal strife, maybe—to continue draining their strength."

The Cangqiong Chamber of Commerce could never have imagined that the one who had orchestrated their devastating conflict with Seven Kings City was one of their own Gongfengs.

Much less could they imagine that, at this very moment, that same Gongfeng was calmly considering how to make the Chamber tear itself apart from within.