Chapter 71: The Struggle for Quotas

  The provincial capital of Lancang, outside the city gate, lanterns and streamers were hung, a large red carpet was laid out for hundreds of feet, and on both sides of the city gate, hundreds of people with majestic demeanor and luxurious clothing stood in a neat line. In the center, five elderly men with strong aura stood upright.

  These five old men, in Lancang Province, anyone with a bit of status and insight would certainly recognize them. The central figure is none other than the master of Lancang Prefecture, and the four old men by his side are also famous, being the leaders of the four major martial arts factions in Lancang Province!

  Even those who stand on both sides have a prominent position in Lincang Prefecture.

  It was clear that they were waiting for a distinguished guest, and they had been keeping it up for nearly four hours. Those with slightly poorer cultivation had stiff legs, and the forced smiles on their faces had gone numb...

  But the distinguished guest they were expecting had yet to arrive.

  "Thud thud thud..."

  The sound of horse hooves, neither fast nor slow, came from afar with the rising red sun. At this moment, five elderly men in the middle exchanged glances one after another, their timing almost simultaneous.

  "Should be Huang Qi's brother?"

  "It should be, Huang Qi Xiong has this hobby, it is said that no matter where he goes, he always wants to drive a horse carriage..."

  "It's later than we thought by more than two hours, Li Ran of Yunzhou shouldn't be stingy with a few good horses, right? This dogshit luck is so strong, yet he still can't bear to spend money, it's really too miserly... Brother Zhuge, could it be that your reward hasn't arrived yet? Making us wait for so long..."

  The old man known as Brother Zhuge, who was standing in the middle, was actually the master of the mansion, Zhuge Chongfeng. He smiled and shook his head slightly, neither confirming nor denying what the other old man had said. His gaze slowly swept across the people on both sides before finally falling on the thirteen young men and women who looked like they were only sixteen or seventeen years old and were standing closest to them. In a soft voice, he said: "All of you should be more spirited, especially you thirteen!"

  "Yes!"

  ……

  These thirteen young men and women are the top four powers in Lanchang Province after layers of selection, and they have the qualifications to stand here. Each one's breath is very strong, especially the boy standing in the middle, who is not tall but straight as a pine tree, with a floating aura all over his body, rich and handsome, sword-shaped eyebrows, red lips and white teeth, and bright eyes shining everywhere, regardless of cultivation, just this appearance and temperament makes the top genius in Lanchang Province feel ashamed...

  "Thud thud thud..."

  The sound of horseshoes grew louder, and a luxurious carriage appeared in the morning sunlight, bathed in its radiance. The five elderly men at the front saw the "coachman" and immediately, Lord Zhuge Chengfeng cupped his fists and said loudly: "Huang Qi brother, I have been waiting for your arrival for a long time. You have finally arrived..."

  "Sorry, sorry, I was delayed on the road by a fart, haha... *sigh*..." The emperor, facing such a grand welcome, seemed to take it for granted and directly said something that almost made everyone spit out their food.

  "These are the disciples selected this year?" Huang Qi pulled on the reins, jumped off the carriage, and looked directly at the thirteen young men and women with a hint of scrutiny.

  "It's true! The lowest cultivation of these thirteen people is First-Rank Martial Emperor, the highest is Ninth-Rank Martial Emperor, and they are all seventeen years old!" Zhuge Chengfeng hastily said.

  "The conditions have been met, but it seems like there are a bit too many of you. Counting the three little ones in the car, you're sixteen people from Lancang Province, which is really too many. Thirteen would be just about right..." Huang Qi said, stroking his beard as he slowly released a strand of spiritual energy to scan the thirteen young men and women.

  "This...Huang Qi's brothers, the three of them shouldn't be counted as part of our Lancang Province's quota, right?" An elderly man's face suddenly turned a bit awkward, but he still spoke resolutely. The reason was simple: as long as Huang Qi said to eliminate three people, then two of the eliminated ones would definitely be his disciples.

  "How can it not be counted? Isn't Yunzhou County part of your Lancang Province?"

  "Huang Qi brother..." Just then, another old man looked at one of the young men and couldn't help but speak up in debate: "They are indeed from Lanchang Province, but they were personally chosen by Fang Hui... I'm not saying that Fang Hui's choices aren't good, it's just... I fear they really don't have anyone among these thirteen who is as excellent as any one of us. This, I dare guarantee!"

  "Alright, alright, let's not talk about that for now. Brother Huangqi has had a long and tiring journey, so let's first welcome him with a drink to wash away the dust... Brother Huangqi, I've prepared your favorite Jade Dew wine!" Zhuge Chengfeng hastily changed the subject, warmly grasping Huangqi's arm as he saw his expression change slightly.

  "Oh? Jade Dew wine? I like it... Haha... However, let me make one thing clear, if I say more, that's all there is to it. Sixteen spots, my imperial quota may be large, but it can't cover the difference, a total of only three hundred spots. You Lan Cang take up sixteen, what about other provinces? Unless other provinces have fewer people who meet the basic conditions, otherwise we can only cut three people! So, I can only temporarily accept all of you, and when the final results come out, if there are eliminations, don't blame me, or else this wine won't be drunk..." Huang Qi said succinctly.

  This time he was sent to Lancang Province, how could Huang Qi not know that this matter is thorny?

  Apart from him, no one else can make it work.

  "Huang Qi brother is indeed a straightforward person! Being able to do so is enough, we can only pray that other provinces are not as prosperous as our Lancang, haha... Huang Qi brother, please!" Zhuge Chengfeng made eye contact with the two old men and said enthusiastically while pulling Huang Qi.

  ……

  "The lowest of the martial emperors..."

  When Huang Qi and the big shots of Lancang Province were arguing, Chen Huan, who was hiding in the carriage, especially Mo Yu Yi and He Lian Wu Zi, looked at Chen Huan with some surprise. Although they had only been in contact for a short day, even Mo Yu Yi and He Lian Wu Zi themselves did not realize that they had already taken Chen Huan as their core.

  Chen Haohang was also entangled in his heart. Fortunately, Huang Qi did not let them get off the bus, otherwise, I'm afraid that at this moment, the three of them would have been killed by the eyes of the crowd. Isn't this obviously offending people in a subtle way?

  Fang Yuan personally chose, then don't occupy Langcang's quota. Others also went through layers of selection, and it was not easy to be promoted to this level, only to have three people suddenly become the unexpected killer...

  No one would be happy if they were in his shoes...

  "You three little rascals, what are you still hiding inside for? Come out and let them see if you're worthy of being their relatives!" Just as Chen Hao furrowed his brow, Huang Qi suddenly said.

  Mo Yu Yi and He Lian Wu Zi suddenly looked at Chen Huan again.

  "Get your spirits up, don't let them look down on us. Yeah, be a bit more arrogant! After all, they can't do anything to us..." Chen Hao lowered his voice and glared at Mo Yu Yi and He Lian Wu Zi as he said this. As soon as he finished speaking, the entire atmosphere around him seemed to change magically, instantly emitting an aura of pride that came from deep within his bones. With a flicker of movement, he pushed open the side door of the carriage and jumped out first.

  Mo Yu Yi saw Chen Hao like this, and suddenly took a deep breath, tightly grasping his "lover", and jumped down with him. He Lian Wu Zi's mouth corners slightly curled up, and the whole person's aura suddenly turned into a bitterly cold winter...

  "Yunzhou Chen Hao, greetings to all seniors!"

  Chen Hao clasped his fists and bowed to the five elderly men, who were staring at him with piercing eyes. He was neither humble nor arrogant, his breathing calm and composed, his expression serene. His pride was evident, but not overbearing. Instead, it made the five elderly men pause slightly, and their gazes at Chen Hao also changed subtly.

  "Moyu Yi, greetings to all the seniors!" Seemingly influenced by Chen Huan, Moyu Yi, who had jumped down, also restored his cold demeanor. With both hands grasping his small companion, he bowed to the crowd, and even when bowing, his upper body remained straight as a pen, just like the large sword in his hand.

  "He Lian Wu Zi, greetings to all seniors!"

  The last one to jump out was He Lian Wu Zi, and in an instant, everyone, regardless of gender, felt a bright light before their eyes, especially the young men with spring in their hearts whose eyes shone brightly. Especially when her ethereal voice like the tinkling of a spring sounded, although it was cold, it also cleansed the hearts of the crowd.

  Even among the thirteen boys, the boy with an ethereal aura and a handsome face couldn't help but have his eyes gleam with a hint of sharpness.

  "Haha......" Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Huang's old face flashed a self-satisfied smile and said: "Chen Huan, under 13 years old, with a 5th rank martial artist cultivation, is very low... But he possesses the strength of a 9th rank martial artist. I ask you, when you were 5th rank martial artists, who could achieve this? Or to say... at 13 years old, who among you had entered the realm of 5th rank martial artist? This isn't anything special, but he has the rare body constitution of dual intent and martial cultivation. Of course, he also has many other advantages, I won't say more..."

  Huang Qi's gaze, intentionally or unintentionally, fell on the old man who had just said that Chen Huan and the other three were not as good as any of their thirteen people. He continued, "Mo Yu Yi, his talent is a bit inferior, but your vision should be able to see that he has already contained a sword intent in him, right? Regardless of whether he can awaken as a swordsman or not, what do you think his cultivation value is like? If he were your disciple, I believe you would treat him as a treasure, wouldn't you?"

  "This..."

  "As for Helian Wanzhi, do I need to say more?" Huang Qi glanced at Helian Wanzhi, who was emitting a cold aura, and smiled slightly.

  "This..." Zhuge Chengfeng, as the master of Lan Cang Prefecture, was somewhat embarrassed at this time. He had already opened his mouth twice to speak, but didn't know what to say. He had heard that Fang Yuan had personally selected three qualified disciples in Yunzhou. Although Yunzhou also belonged to his Lan Cang, he didn't feel any joy about this matter. Not only did he have to give a large reward to Yunzhou, but now he also had to take up the quota allocated to the four major powers of Lan Cang. He didn't show it, but in his heart, he was dissatisfied with Li Ran. Many people felt that Li Ran's actions were somewhat like using his identity to bypass levels and make small moves.

  Thank you to the four friends "承帆破浪", "导弹发射点", "熱戀^^" and "墨ヅ逸" for their support yesterday.

  Also, I've been uploading for a month now, and only one person, 幽幽, has been helping with the secondary version. However, 幽幽 is quite busy and can't keep up. So, after discussing with 乌山, we're thinking of recruiting another helper. The requirements are: must be a true fan of 乌山, willing to spend time and effort on our 傲天, have basic experience in managing the book review section, have plenty of time, and be interested. If you're interested, please reply to 幽幽's post or join the VIP group 密夏幽幽. Thank you!