Chapter 42: Using a Clan to Counter a Sect (Please follow, bookmark, and invest)

Hou Mingyu walked in slowly, and the crowd rose once again to offer their salutations with clasped hands.

Although the influence of the East Heaven King's Mansion was not as great as that of the Lingwu Sect, the newcomer was the Young Prince of the East Heaven King's Mansion. Compared to him, the Silver-Robed Elder of the Lingwu Sect carried even more weight!

Seeing Hou Mingyu steal his spotlight, Ba Li's expression turned sour, but he could only swallow his fury and endure it.

As a Silver-Robed Elder of the Lingwu Sect, he truly was no match for this Young Prince of the East Heaven King's Mansion.

After all, there were hundreds of Silver-Robed Elders in the Lingwu Sect, but there were only a few Young Princes in the East Heaven King's Mansion.

As for the youths behind Ba Li, they also looked at Hou Mingyu with eyes full of jealousy.

'What's there to be so smug about? If you weren't born into the East Heaven King's Mansion, you'd be nothing!'

"The Young Prince's grand arrival is truly a blessing for our Huaqing Prefecture!"

The one who stood up to speak was Xia Yi.

The East Heaven King's Mansion was a titled nobility personally appointed by the Great Desolation Imperial Family, making them official representatives of the empire.

Since the Lord of Huaqing Prefecture also belonged to the imperial forces, he naturally had to treat the Young Prince with utmost respect.

With the Lord standing up to speak, the other families immediately rose to offer their welcomes as well.

Hou Mingyu merely waved his hand with extreme casualness.

"This young master is merely here to enjoy the scenery. I happened to learn that the Huaqing Prefecture Family Gathering has begun, so I came to take a look. I wonder if you all will welcome me?"

"Of course we welcome you!"

"The Young Prince's visit to our Huaqing Prefecture is our greatest honor!"

"Young Prince, please take the seat of honor!"

"Quickly, prepare a table for the Young Prince!"

Cui Yongzhou also lost his temper and immediately began flattering him.

Hou Mingyu's gaze swept across the field, eventually landing on Lin Xuan and his group, but he withdrew his eyes after only a single glance.

"Haha, this young master will just sit anywhere."

Despite his words, Hou Mingyu walked straight to the high seat and sat in the position Cui Yongzhou had arranged for him, while Da Biao stood by his side.

A powerhouse of the Tongxing Realm serving as a guard—this was the foundation of the East Heaven King's Mansion!

Countless families looked at Hou Mingyu with admiration, while many young ladies from various families looked on with flirtatious eyes, feigning bashfulness in an attempt to attract his attention.

However, Hou Mingyu had seen plenty of beauties in Dongzhou; he naturally had no interest in such superficial charms.

"Hahaha! Today, not only has Elder Ba of the Lingwu Sect arrived at our Huaqing Prefecture, but even the Young Prince of the East Heaven King's Mansion has come. This is truly a great fortune for Huaqing!"

The Family Gathering officially began, but the one to stand and speak was not Cui Yongzhou, but rather the Lord, Xia Yi.

This was because the Family Gathering was intrinsically linked to the Huaqing Prefecture itself.

After warmly welcoming Ba Li and Hou Mingyu, Xia Yi's expression shifted to one that was somewhat heavy.

"As you all know, the performance of our Huaqing Prefecture in the prefectural examinations has been lackluster for these past few decades."

"In the Great Competition of the Eighteen Prefectures, we have ranked at the bottom for twenty-five consecutive years!"

This single sentence caused silence to fall over all the families present; many even began to sigh in dismay.

"Father, what does that mean? What is the Great Competition of the Eighteen Prefectures, and why have we been at the bottom for twenty-five years?"

Sitting beside Lin Xuan, Lin Fan seemed somewhat confused.

The other three generations were also extremely curious.

Since this was their first time participating in the Family Gathering, they knew nothing of its history; they didn't even know what the purpose of the gathering was.

"Hehe, our current Family Gathering is actually primarily held to select families from Huaqing Prefecture to participate in the Great Competition of the Eighteen Prefectures," Lin Wen explained with a smile, stroking his beard.

"What is the Great Competition of the Eighteen Prefectures?" Lin Chang'an asked curiously.

"There are eighteen prefectures in our Dongzhou. Every five years, the Governor of Dongzhou, in conjunction with the East Heaven King's Mansion, holds the Great Competition of the Eighteen Prefectures. It is used not only to determine the resource allocation for each prefecture but also to select talents for the Imperial Family. Our Huaqing Prefecture has ranked at the bottom in the previous five sessions—sometimes sixteenth, sometimes seventeenth, and once we even came in last place," Lin Yang explained to the group with a hint of helplessness.

The youths and young women all gasped. They had thought Huaqing Prefecture was already quite large, but they hadn't expected it to be so mediocre when sent out to compete!

"I see," Lin Fan nodded slightly, his thoughts unreadable.

"Haha, there is still more than half a year before the Great Competition of the Eighteen Prefectures. If you all work hard now, perhaps you can make a brilliant showing there," Lin Xuan said with a calm smile.

The Great Competition of the Eighteen Prefectures was no simple competition; it was a major strategic move by the Great Desolation Imperial Family.

Lin Xuan had learned at the Jixia Academy that since the passing of the previous True Martial God Realm Emperor a hundred years ago, the Great Desolation Imperial Family had been on a downward trend.

Furthermore, a sect known as the Divine Cult was rising powerfully in the capital, showing an unstoppable momentum that even seemed to threaten the Imperial Family!

The Divine Cult was an extremely mysterious sect. Not only was it the head of the five great sects of the Great Desolation, but it was also the leader of many other sects. In the thirteen provinces of the Great Desolation, many sects followed the Divine Cult blindly!

To counter the Divine Cult, the Imperial Family had specifically instructed the Governor's Mansions of each province to hold prefectural examinations to cultivate talent for the empire and to select powerful families to contend with the sects!

This was the Imperial Family's plan: to use families to counter the sects!

As the Imperial Family's power waned and they became unable to control the Divine Cult, they could only hope to nurture an equally powerful force to oppose it.

As for the other four great sects, the Leiyin Temple of Xizhou claimed to be detached from worldly affairs, and the Ice and Snow Great Sect of Beizhou did not venture outside of Beizhou. That left only the Feiyun Palace of Nanzhou and the Lingwu Sect of Dongzhou.

However, the Feiyun Palace was currently wavering, and as for the Lingwu Sect, they had actually grown quite close to the Divine Cult!

This led the Imperial Family to abandon the idea of nurturing sects and instead choose the opposite path: integrating the strength of the families.

Lin Xuan knew these things, but he only knew them superficially. Some things were better left unsaid.

Lin Xuan's words caused Lin Ao, Lin Chang'an, and the others to feel a surge of blood and passion. If they could truly go to the lands of Dongzhou to show their capabilities, it would be a magnificent thing indeed.

Looking at Lin Chang'an and the others rubbing their hands in anticipation, Lin Xuan smiled faintly.

With their current strength, going to compete would be nothing more than seeking a beating!

The Dongzhou Eighteen Prefectures Great Competition was a place where even super-geniuses from the Dragon and Phoenix Prodigy Rankings would appear!

But fortunately, the competition was divided into several categories.

There were competitions for both the younger generation and the older generation.

The youth category was primarily for those under twenty-two, while the older generation had no age limit and relied entirely on strength to win!

The final rankings were determined by the total score.

Furthermore, the older generation accounted for half of the total score. Lin Xuan remembered that the few people Huaqing Prefecture had sent last time were beaten like dogs—it seemed Cui Yongzhou and Bai Lao... were among them.

(End of Chapter)