As a formal visit representing an entire nation, it naturally could not be handled too casually, with everything settled in private. Thus, after warping back, Leng Xiyue did not discuss much with them. She merely agreed to hold a diplomatic conference at nine in the morning three days later, then slipped away.
This was not actually discourteous. As the saying went, guests followed their host's arrangements, so of course they would follow Leng Xiyue's.
Three days later, Ning Fengzhi and Qian Renxue arrived in formal attire, leading a convoy of over a dozen carriages laden with gifts, with Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo as bodyguards. Yet they found Spirit Hall's delegation arriving almost simultaneously, the two parties approaching from opposite ends of the road.
Naturally, Spirit Hall's delegation was led by those two tools, Old Chrysanthemum and Old Ghost. Accompanying them were four Red-Robed Bishops whose ranks were all no lower than An Xing's, along with the minister of rites, one of the six Platinum Bishops of the Martial Soul General Hall. All had come as members of the delegation, showing the utmost importance attached to this visit.
Besides diplomacy, the Ministry of Rites also had the authority to recognize-or refuse to recognize-the legitimacy of the continent's various kingdoms, with a corresponding system for doing so. In this respect, it was somewhat like the Pope State.
If the Ministry of Rites, or rather the Pope, did not wish to recognize a kingdom's legitimacy, it could refuse to send a delegation and conduct an enthronement ceremony. A nation unrecognized by Spirit Hall could not establish a Spirit Hall within its borders in the first place. It would also face diplomatic isolation: Spirit Hall would offer it no diplomatic protection, and kingdoms that had accepted Spirit Hall's investiture could not have dealings