Ashen Bones, Corrupting Power Through Nine Heavens

Long Yun was the son of a general stationed along the northern frontier. After distinguishing himself in battle, he was specially promoted and sent to the capital. But when the new emperor ascended the throne, Long Yun was falsely accused of colluding with the enemy. His entire family was executed, and only he managed to escape. He spent three years surviving in death row, clinging to life with his last breath and a tattered military treatise. Eventually, he made his way to the Jianghu's secretive organization, the Ashen Hall, and became a shadow assassin codenamed “Ash.” For five years, he infiltrated various factions, carrying out assassinations, turning people against one another, framing his enemies, and laying plans that rocked the capital's political scene. When he finally rose to the position of chief minister, he discovered that his true enemy was not any one minister, but the entire rotten bureaucracy. It had long since formed a closed loop of vested interests, one even the emperor could barely shake. Long Yun stopped pursuing justice and began sowing chaos, making the various factions tear into one another until the emperor was forced to reform the civil service and eliminate redundant officials. His journey takes him from extreme revenge to becoming a coldly rational political operator. No longer fixated on repaying blood with blood, he chooses a more ruthless way to reshape the order. What makes this story unique is that its protagonist is no conventional “righteous hero,” but a clear-eyed destroyer. His inner struggle and the hardships of his era combine to create a gripping tale of political intrigue.