Disputed Seats
According to the previous schedule, the city lord's birthday banquet was to be held for seven days.
Only the first two days are attended by important figures from various factions. These two days are extremely important for the younger generation, as they are a stage for them to showcase themselves.
The prodigies from various powerful factions are all proud and arrogant; how could they not display their strength when they gathered together?
Typically, the displays at birthday banquets are brief and to the point, and they don't necessarily involve actual fighting in the ring. Instead, they showcase a particular skill or specialty, serving as a performance to add to the festivities.
Originally, many of the younger generation had prepared performances, sparring, sword dancing, and other such activities, eager to shine at the banquet and win some rewards. However, to their surprise, the important figures entered the council hall on the first day and three hours have passed since then, and they still haven't come out.
What's going on?
Many of the younger generation were dumbfounded; they waited until the food got cold, but no one showed up.
The side hall door wasn't opened until evening.
The important figures from various powerful forces then filed out of the side hall.
Leading the group was the Lord of Tai'a Divine City, dressed in a blue robe, with a calm demeanor and a faint smile on his face.
However, some astute individuals sensed something amiss; there seemed to be a tension between these important figures.
Distinguished figures from various factions took their seats in order of their status and position, and the air seemed to freeze.
The middle-aged Scholar stood up, raised his wine cup, and said, "I am deeply honored that you all have come to my birthday banquet. Today, due to the suddenness of the situation, I have neglected you all. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality. As the sun is setting, please enjoy yourselves. Tomorrow's banquet is postponed and will be held again in seven days. This Jinxiu Pavilion is a bit too small; let's move the venue to the arena in seven days! It's spacious there!"
The Lord of Tai'a Divine City's casual opening remarks seemed to be just polite talk, but the young talents from various forces were somewhat bewildered.
The birthday banquet is scheduled for Empress? Can the banquet really be postponed any longer?
Furthermore, what do you mean the Brocade Pavilion is cramped...? This Brocade Pavilion is several tens of feet in circumference, enough to comfortably seat a thousand people. How could it be cramped? And what the middle-aged Scholar said about moving to the arena made the younger generation present feel a sharp edge.
The elders of the various powerful factions remained silent, clearly acknowledging this, and the birthday banquet was tinged with a somber atmosphere, with the younger generation feeling a sense of oppression.
A young prodigy from a minor power meticulously prepared a sword dance performance. After everyone had been eating in silence for a quarter of an hour, he finally couldn't contain himself and jumped out to say that he wanted to add some fun to the birthday banquet.
As a result, the renowned figures from various factions showed little interest. Seeing the elders' tense faces, the younger generation lost their enthusiasm for cheering and did not step forward to spar with the young man.
As a result, the young man couldn't continue his sword dance because the atmosphere became too awkward.
In this way, no younger person would dare to step forward and make a fool of themselves.
The first day of the birthday banquet ended in such a depressing atmosphere.
As soon as the birthday banquet ended, an elders' meeting was held inside the Tai'a Divine City.
Jian Ge, Cang Yan, Master Yuehua, and the other elders of the Divine City all looked at the Lord of Tai'a Divine City.
"How is the situation?"
The other elders did not follow into the side hall for the meeting and did not know what the outcome had been. However, judging from the somber atmosphere of the birthday banquet, they guessed that the result was probably not optimistic.
"The main reason for the inability to reach an agreement lies in the issue of command..."
The middle-aged Scholar shook his head slightly. So many nations in an alliance do indeed need a unified command. Otherwise, if they are scattered and fight their own battles, the situation will likely be dire. You must remember that the Beast Tide was under the unified command of the Shepherd Boy, and they were fearless in the face of death.
A timid and disunited army facing a monolithic Beast Tide —the outcome is predictable.
On the battlefield, it is sometimes unavoidable to encounter battles where one has a slim chance of survival, or even one chance. In such situations, whoever has command can, to a certain extent, preserve their own strength.
Nobody wants to be cannon fodder.
"The Lord of Seven Stars Tower wanted to become the Alliance Leader, but I refused. The Southern Ten Kingdoms also wanted more benefits, so naturally they wouldn't agree either. The Lord of Seven Stars Tower gave the final condition: to form a wartime elders' council, to compete for command through seats, and the specific number of seats each faction would receive would be determined by the strength of each country."
"Strength?" Jian Ge raised an eyebrow. In the world of martial arts, strength is paramount; the bigger the fist, the more power one has—that's undeniable. But how do you compare strength?
"Our strength is roughly equal to that of the Cloud Dragon Divine Kingdom!" Cang Yan said.
"Yes, in terms of national strength, we are indeed about the same, and in fact, there is no comparison. We cannot possibly gather all the sages and powerful rulers of various countries together to fight this battle with all our might. Therefore, what they are competing on is the strength of their juniors. Their Seventy-Two Towers of Cloud Dragon are similar to our Tai'a Divine City, and they have also gathered the most outstanding juniors of the Cloud Dragon Divine Kingdom."
"If we compare the Seventy-Two Towers of Cloud Dragon with my Tai'a Divine City, we can indeed see the difference in the abilities of the younger generation. The younger generation is the future of the divine kingdom, so this comparison is not without reason."
"Comparing the Seventy-Two Towers of Cloud Dragon to the Tai'a Divine City? Has the city lord agreed?"
"Hmm!" the middle-aged Scholar nodded.
"This..." Cang Yan was anxious. "The situation of the geniuses in Tai'a Divine City is different every year. The class that just left Tai'a Divine City was full of experts. Qin Haotian, Li Xiao, and the Qiao Brothers, any one of them could take on ten people. But now that they are gone, there is a lack of successors. Who will take their place?"
This rule is clearly disadvantageous to the Tai'a Divine Kingdom. Cang Yan knows that the Cloud Dragon Divine Kingdom came prepared this time, and this year's Seventy-Two Towers of Cloud Dragon are probably much stronger than in previous years.
The outcome was predictable: their Tai'a Divine City, in its weak period, was poised to clash with the Seventy-Two Towers of Cloud Dragon in its strong period.
The middle-aged Scholar said, "You're right. The Lord of Seven Stars Tower made this request precisely because he saw this point. He clearly has a lot of confidence in this generation of the Cloud Dragon Divine Kingdom."
"The Southern Ten Kingdoms also agreed, with the additional condition that they wanted three extra seats in the council of elders. They also seemed to have a lot of confidence in their country's younger generation."
The middle-aged Scholar's words cast a shadow over the hearts of all the elders.
They knew that the middle-aged Scholar's agreement to this condition was actually a concession he had no other choice but to make.
Because the Shepherd Boy appeared on the border of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, while the Southern Ten Kingdoms and the Cloud Dragon Divine Kingdom were still far away, the Tai'a Divine Kingdom would be the first to suffer when the Beast Tide truly broke out.
They remained on the sidelines, watching as the Tai'a Divine Kingdom and the Beast Tide fought first.
While it's true that the saying "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" applies, the Southern Ten Kingdoms and the Cloud Dragon Divine Kingdom are only "cold," while their Tai'a Divine Kingdom is "destroyed." The difference in severity is enormous.
"What are the specific rules? We're not going to end up with nothing, are we?" an elder dressed in purple asked worriedly.
"No, younger contestants can also win seats if they perform well, just in smaller numbers."
"Furthermore, to ensure fairness, if there is an age gap, the older person's cultivation will be slightly suppressed. However, even so, the older person still has the advantage because the suppression of cultivation is very limited, just a token amount. Moreover, things like comprehension of laws and Dharma Aspect Totem will not be suppressed."
"The final number of seats will be determined based on overall performance; simply being number one in the end can secure ten seats."
The middle-aged Scholar briefly explained the rules, which greatly displeased Cang Yan, as these rules were also beneficial to the Cloud Dragon Divine Kingdom.
The current weakness of Tai'a Divine City is its lack of powerful young trial participants.
They have no shortage of young powerhouses.
However, under these rules, it is virtually impossible for a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy to beat a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth.
Therefore, we still have to give up the biggest prize in the end.
"Jian Ge, you've been in charge of Tai'a Divine City these past few days. Compile a list of participants," the middle-aged Scholar instructed. "You should know who is best suited to participate."
The list of participants will consider not only their ranking on the Earth Ranking but also their age. Those who have been trial participants for six years, even if they are ranked in the top 30 on the Earth Ranking, will not have a chance to participate; they are too weak.
Newcomers like Wen Yu and Lu Jie, despite ranking around three or four thousand on the Earth Ranking, are still capable of taking to the field.
Jian Ge said, "Yi Yun, Chu Xiaoran, and Qiu Niu are all top-notch experts. With them around the age of fourteen, we should have an advantage. However, we are short of people among those who have completed five or six years of trials. There is only one girl named Luo Huo'er. Her background is mysterious, and she has never participated in the competition for the Earth Ranking or the Heaven Ranking. We don't know how strong she is."
Luo Huo'er, who ranks first on the Human Ranking, has always had a mysterious strength. At this moment, Jian Ge can only hope that Luo Huo'er will bring a surprise.
...(To be continued~^~)