The Holy Maiden Decree was meant to select women with phoenix aura for Great Qin. Every region had to offer up at least ten. Of course, Great Qin could not reveal its plan to gather phoenix aura, so the qualifications for a Holy Maiden could not explicitly mention phoenix aura.
Great Qin's requirements were that they be between twelve and forty-five years old. The age range was rather broad. Zhao Fu had originally wanted to set it between eighteen and thirty, preferably virgins, so they would better fit the status of Great Qin Holy Maidens.
But after Xian Ru's persuasion, Zhao Fu realized that, like ordinary people, he was bound by certain worldly morals. Adults should speak only of profit; only children argued over right and wrong. That was how the world worked. As a king, he had to place Great Qin's interests first.
What Great Qin needed was phoenix aura. As long as they could provide it, nothing else mattered. And what did it matter how history would judge him afterward? History was written by the successful.
Besides the age range, there was another requirement: they had to be beautiful—exquisitely beautiful. Ordinary beauty was not wanted, because the more beautiful a woman was, the more phoenix aura she might possess.
Furthermore, every great clan had to offer up one woman of its direct bloodline. As great clans, they possessed inherited destiny, and direct-line women had an extremely high chance of possessing phoenix aura.
At the same time, there was also the thought of holding them hostage. Great clans were far stronger than ordinary people; a little more restraint was always better.
Whoever became a Holy Maiden would bring enormous benefits to both her relatives and her family faction. Not only would they directly belong to Great Qin and receive