Minister Wan nodded with a smile.
"It does mean that!"
Jiang Fan hesitated before saying,
"Minister Wan, I don't mean anything by it. I just have a question, but I don't know..."
Jiang Fan had only spoken halfway when Minister Wan cut in.
"You want to ask why I chose you, right?"
Jiang Fan inclined his head slightly.
"That's right. As far as I know, Jing City is not only where the Martial Arts Association Headquarters is located, but also has the Jing City branch of the Martial Arts Association. There shouldn't be any shortage of suitable talent..."
"So how did you...think of me?"
Minister Wan shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"That's a long story!"
As he refilled Jiang Fan's tea, he continued,
"To the outside world, our Martial Arts Association is spread throughout the country, with branches in dozens of cities. And with an eighth-level Martial Saint like the chairman overseeing the headquarters, we seem incredibly powerful!"
"But very few people know that all of this is merely a facade. Strong on the outside, hollow within!"
Jiang Fan was startled.
"How so?"
Minister Wan sighed.
"In the past, because the martial arts system was chaotic and there were problems with the talent-selection system, the Martial Arts Association played a significant role in the development of martial arts!"
"But now, the martial arts system has matured and the martial arts landscape has been settled. Commoner students can enter Martial Arts Universities to cultivate, ultimately being sent into the military or society. Children from great lineages have their family inheritances and can also forge their own paths..."
"The Martial Arts Association has thus become an organization dedicated purely to selection and grassroots services, providing basic-stage support for commoner students or certification services for low-level martial artists outside the student population..."