Tribulation of Myriad Races

Xia Longwu said, “Nine ancient city mayors had assisted me during my dao affirmation. Prior to that, I promised to sever their death qi connections after my advancement. But that is no simple task. I will also not be able to enter the Allheaven Battlefield in the near future. You shall visit them as my envoy and inform them that I require more time. It can be as short as one month or as long as multiple years. If you can survive the wrath of the mayors and return alive, the throne will be yours.”

The expressions of many in the crowd changed upon hearing that. Xia Huyou asked awkwardly, “That’s…unlikely, right? What’s the point of killing me?”

Xia Longwu nonchalantly replied, “Because in a way, I have broken my promise to them. The task appears to be much harder than my initial expectation. Almost all the mayors were converted by death sovereigns. I originally intended to sever the connection during my breakthrough before their death sovereigns could appear. There were complications. Some of them are at their limits. That was why they had agreed to work with me. This delay might kill them. It won’t be surprising if some decide to take their anger on you.”

Xia Longwu added, “You claimed that you’re close to Su Yu. But there is no guarantee that he will be able to become the leader of this alliance he’s proposing. His cultivation is still too weak. Thus, you have two tasks. First, you need to inform the nine mayors about the delay. Next, attend their assembly as an envoy of Great Xia.”

Xia Huyou asked with hesitation, “We’re attending the assembly?”

Xia Longwu nodded, “Yes. I believe a lot of factions will be there for various reasons. Some might want to ruin it. Some might want to benefit from it. Some might want to see the alliance happen…but without Su Yu at the helm.”

Xia Huyou asked, “Father, do you mean that I’ll need to help Su Yu become the leader as an envoy of Great Xia?”

Xia Longwu said, “Help? What can you do to help? I only want you to voice Great Xia’s support for him. If he fails to become the leader, remind him to be careful. Things are quite peaceful in Great Xia now. We can provide him shelter if he requires it.”

Xia Huyou nodded, “I understand.”

“So are you willing to go?”

Xia Huyou grinned, “Yes. I have never gone further than the Eastrift Valley. I have never seen places like Sea of Stars or Plain of Desires. This will be exciting.”

Xia Longwu said, “You can get Huang Teng to go with you.”

Xia Huyou suggested, “Huang Teng…sure. Maybe I should pick our candidates for the Luminous Domain Mansion as well. We can set off together…”

Xia Longwu said, “Put that aside for now. Finish this mission first.”

After a slight hesitation, Xia Huyou nodded, “Fine. This isn’t hard. Su Yu won’t even need my help.”

He looked at the others and laughed, “Seniors, I look forward to working with all of you. Thanks, mayors, Administrator Hu, and Principal Zheng for your support.”

The mayors were left quite speechless. Support his ass. That fellow had visited them one by one. First, he asked for their support. Those refusing to support him would be suggested for training in Great Qin. It almost felt like Great Qin was Xia Huyou’s personal land of exile.

Then again, he was the sole son of Xia Longwu. Nobody was really opposed to him. They only felt that he wasn’t strong enough for the position. Nobody had anything to say. With a cheerful smile on his face, Xia Huyou left.

Looking at his departing son, Xia Longwu shook his head. This son was too different from him. Then again, he had secured the throne by beating his second uncle into submission. Meanwhile, the kid had…sigh. So be it.

In truth, the actual choice was between Xia Huyou and Xia Chan. As for Xia Yuwen…things had been complicated by Xia Changqing’s death. In any case, it wouldn’t be easy for Xia Yuwen to forget that Xia Huyou was the one who had killed Xia Changqing. Xia Longwu might be fair, but he wasn’t so fair that he would hand the throne to someone with a personal enmity toward his son.

Xia Longwu moved on to the next topic, “The principals of the three cultural research academies have all perished in battle.”

Wan Tiansheng wasn’t dead, but he was acting as though Wan Tiansheng was dead as well.

“The three academies had also lost more than half their elders. I propose fusing the three academies into one.”

With a sigh, Xia Longwu continued, “From now on, there will only be one cultural research academy in Great Xia. As for the principal, Ji Hong will be the acting principal since Yuan Qingdong and Zhou Mingren are both dead…”

He hesitated slightly and said, “Wu Yuehua will be appointed as the vice principal, in charge of managing the day-to-day operations of the academy.”

The eyes of many people in the hall flickered thoughtfully, but nobody said anything.

Liu Wenyan and his people had left, but Wu Yuehua was still around. After all, she was the head of the Pillmaking Faculty and a member of the Wu Family. As her family had also suffered considerably during the recent conflict, she had to remain and take care of them.

“As for the Single Character Faculty…from now on, there will only be a Character Faculty.”

Xia Longwu said, “There will no longer be any separation between the single and multiple character factions. In truth, the multiple character faction no longer has any inheritance to share. The Character Technique Stele is gone. Sure, the steles of Nine Heavens and Daoseeking Academies are still around, but those steles are very lacking. We will not train any new multiple character cultivators for now. Jia Dequan will be managing the faculty temporarily. Zhao Li will take over Xia Changqing’s position for now.”

In short, Wu Yuehua and Zhao Li would become the vice principals while Jia Dequan would become the head of Character Faculty. These new appointees were considerably weaker than the previous holders of those positions.

With a sigh, Xia Longwu stood up and said, “That is all. Senior White will serve as Xia Huyou’s dao protector during his mission. The assembly is being held at the Sea of Stars. Senior White might have joined Great Xia, but he is still a dragon. His familiarity with the place and some people there will be helpful during the mission.”

The old white dragon accepted his task with a nod. But inwardly, he was sighing. This wouldn’t be an easy mission.

Xia Huyou was too weak, which was more disappointing than it should have been because he was Xia Longwu’s son. But as someone from Xia Family’s direct line, most people wouldn’t be bothered to target him. Killing him wouldn’t hurt the Xia Family much yet it would invite the wrath of the family.

However, the old dragon was still worried since the Xia Family had quite a lot of enemies. That was especially true for Xia Longwu, who had recently killed an Invincible. The descendants of that dead Invincible wouldn’t hesitate to take their revenge on Xia Huyou.

***

That day, the political landscape of Great Xia started changing. The various factions and the academies were reorganized while Xia Huyou prepared for his attendance at the coming assembly of ancient cities.

Apart from Great Xia, the various human prefectures and powers among the myriad races, including the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion, were preparing to attend the assembly. The assembly would be held in Grandstar City.

Nobody knew if the ancient cities would be able to reach an agreement and form an alliance. Even with the formation of the alliance, there was no promise that Su Yu would be the leader.

***

Grandstar City had the attention of the Myriad Realms.

Mysterious guests started appearing in the various ancient cities.

Eternal Serenity Ancient City.

Mayor’s residence.

A few mysterious individuals had arrived in secret. Noticing that they were stealing glances at the inner hall, the mayor laughed and said, “Don’t bother. It’s fine. Lord Eternal Serenity does not involve himself in these matters.”

The mayor explained, “As long as you don’t go against the laws, Lord Eternal Serenity will remain a protector. A protector of Eternal Serenity City, not Grandstar City.”

The mysterious guests nodded. One of them laughed, “That’s good to hear. You understand why we’re here. Su Yu wishes to unite the ancient cities with him at the helm. However…he is still too young to be worthy of that position.” “The young would always dream of a beautiful future, even if the future might be unrealistic. Even if he has the strength to contend against Sunmoons, the various mayors are either ninth-stage Sunmoons or Pseudo Invincibles. Why must everyone obey him?”

The mayor smiled, “Just be frank with me. There is no need to beat around the bush. You are neglecting the fact that Su Yu has the backing of the guardians…”

“Each city has its own guardian. And Grandstar only has power over Grandstar City.”

One of the guests said, “If Su Yu is capable of bringing everyone together, the other mayors can do the same. The guardians don’t care about these mundane affairs. They care more about the laws. Their concern lies in the Death Realm. I don’t deny that Su Yu has created a great opportunity for everyone. There is indeed a need for the ancient cities to come together. This new faction will be one of considerable power. The one with control over this faction will have sufficient power to contend against the myriad races.”

“Lord Mayor, Su Yu is not strong enough to lead such a faction. He won’t be able to force all the mayors to accept his leadership. At that time, the various mayors may pick a leader through whatever means they prefer. Perhaps you want to elect the leader. Or perhaps you want to pick one through combat. No matter what, Su Yu is unqualified to make the decision on behalf of everyone.”

The mayor nodded, “That’s a reasonable argument. But…I’m afraid Su Yu will have his supporters. After all, he is the sole mayor who has gained the favor of the guardians. Without him, the alliance will not have much bite to it.”

“We understand that.”

One of the mysterious guests said, “Thus, we’re not suggesting that you kill him or do anything against him. We are only suggesting that you prevent him from gaining the leadership of the alliance. Perhaps you can suggest a different system, such as a council of elders used by the humans or a voting system similar to what the divines and devils are using. Having an alliance is a good thing for all of us, but Su Yu should not have a monopoly of power. He can have some power, but the power must be shared.”

The mayor nodded, “I will consider your proposal. But I’m not sure Su Yu will find it acceptable.”

“It doesn’t matter. He is still a mayor. He will have to abide unless he has a way of breaking free from the city. However, that will turn him into a lone exceptional genius, not the overlord that he currently is.”

The mayor nodded in agreement. He said, “In that case, I will require your help to generate some pressure on the ancient cities and Su Yu in particular. Otherwise, it won’t be easy to make him submit.”

“That is only natural.”

Similar conversations were happening in almost all the ancient cities.