Chapter 698: Factions Take Sides

Zhu Zhu Qinghuo's first declaration undoubtedly caused the atmosphere within the Great Hall to freeze; the leaders of all factions had shifting expressions. Among the Five Great Prefectures of Great Xia, after Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan departed, the Extreme Flame Prefecture had become the strongest. Zhu Zhu Qinghuo himself had stepped into the Hou Zhijing realm of the fourth grade, placing him a tier above the prefecture lords of the other three prefectures.

His stance now clearly indicated he was aligning with the Prince Regent.

However, this was not entirely strange; after all, during the Liulan Prefecture's ancestral sacrifice ceremony, Zhu Zhu Qinghuo and the Prince Regent's intervention had already revealed some connection between them.

"The three commanderies under my jurisdiction are all in the north, so my choice needs no further explanation," spoke Zhong Zhong Jie at this moment, the Governor of the three commanderies and a staunch supporter of the Prince Regent.

Si Qing, the prefecture lord of House Jinque Prefecture, let his eyes flicker for a moment before speaking: "My House Jinque Prefecture also wishes to retreat to the north."

If, during the Liulan Prefecture's ancestral sacrifice ceremony, he had not intervened out of covetousness for Liulan Prefecture, he likely would have chosen to go south; although the Prince Regent possessed outstanding abilities, Si Qing felt a certain danger from him and did not truly like dealing with such a domineering warlord. But unfortunately, he had now broken with Liulan Prefecture and had to consider the future threat posed by Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan.

Looking across Great Xia, only the Prince Regent's faction possessed the ability to contend with those two.

Of course, most importantly, the Prince Regent had also moved against Liulan Prefecture, so in a sense, regarding the matter of opposing Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan, both sides had a perfect opportunity to join forces.

Precisely because he had considered these factors, Si Qing spoke up to declare his allegiance at this moment.

His declaration indeed caused considerable shock; the leaders of various factions had shifting expressions. With this, two of the Five Great Prefectures had made their stances clear, while among the remaining three, Lanling Prefecture had not even attended, Liulan Prefecture was merely run by two children, leaving only Duze Prefecture yet to declare.

Consequently, after this, some high-ranking officials of the Wang Ting and external factions who had previously held neutral stances all expressed their willingness to follow the Prince Regent north.

In an instant, the momentum of the Prince Regent's faction within the Great Hall surged.

Seeing this scene, the Princess's beautiful face was covered in frost, her graceful, delicate body trembling slightly, revealing the rage within her heart.

"Heh, during our Liulan Prefecture's ancestral sacrifice ceremony, Manager Pei Hao's strength had previously undergone a strange surge. After our investigation, Manager Pei Hao was likely connected to Shen Shen Jinxiao, and the Prince Regent happened to move against Liulan Prefecture at that very time. This forces me to suspect whether the Prince Regent has some connection with Shen Shen Jinxiao."

Just then, a young laugh suddenly rang out in the Great Hall. Dozens of gazes turned toward the source, seeing Li Luo speaking with a smile on his face.

"Shen Shen Jinxiao is clearly with that man with the golden and silver heavy pupils; they are the main culprits behind the sealing of the Dark Cave being broken. If the Prince Regent has a connection with Shen Shen Jinxiao, does that not also warrant suspicion that he is in league with the people of the Guiyi Association?"

Upon hearing these words, the Great Hall instantly fell silent; even Vice Dean Suxin cast a slightly sharp gaze toward the Prince Regent.

However, facing these gazes, the Prince Regent remained calm, speaking lightly: "Prefecture Lord Li Luo is not yet of age, yet your character is quite sinister. Your Liulan Prefecture possesses a supreme treasure, inviting covetousness; this is no one else's fault, but rather your parents' fault for having exposed this object in the past."

"You need not attempt this act of slander simply because this King coveted the treasures of your Liulan Prefecture."

"If you have evidence, then bring it out directly; verbal disputes are meaningless."

Li Luo smiled slightly and said, "I was merely speculating; why is the Prince Regent so quick to anger?"

Then he changed his tone: "However, my Liulan Prefecture will still move south to join the Princess. After all, since the Prince Regent has spoken so plainly, if we continue to follow you, would that not be offering meat to the door?"

The Prince Regent remained expressionless, showing no surprise at Li Luo's choice.

"Our Duze Prefecture rose from the south of Great Xia; if we must leave Great Xia City, then we should return to our roots," Duze Yan of Duze Prefecture slowly spoke at this moment.

Duze Prefecture's choice was not strange; this was all due to the confrontation at the previous ancestral sacrifice ceremony. When Duze Yan blocked Si Qing, it signified that Duze Prefecture had also formed some grudge with the Prince Regent.

However, if the choices of Liulan Prefecture and Duze Prefecture only caused a slight ripple in the gathering, then the declaration of the next person caused many high-ranking officials of the Wang Ting to turn their heads in surprise.

"I am willing to follow Her Highness the Princess south." This was General Qin Zhenjiang; his burly body stood like an iron tower, and the ferocious scars on his bare chest revealed a spirit of iron and blood.

The Prince Regent's eyelids twitched; Qin Zhenjiang held a pivotal position in Great Xia's military forces. If he chose to go south, it would cause many high-ranking military generals to move with him, which would bring considerable momentum shock to the Prince Regent's side.

"The Shengxuan Star Academy will move south; there are some prefecture city academies there suitable for renovation, which will be much more convenient," Vice Dean Suxin calmly stated at this moment.

The Prince Regent's expression finally turned somewhat grim. Although the Shengxuan Star Academy was currently destroyed and some Purple Hui instructors had been contaminated, causing damage to their strength, regardless, the academy was special, and its foundation remained. If they followed the Princess south, it would bring a massive boost to the Princess's future momentum.

But this was Vice Dean Suxin's choice.

In fact, the Prince Regent knew clearly in his heart that this was because Suxin also held some wariness toward him. Previously, the academy still had Pang Pang Qianyuan as an ace card, so they were not too wary of him, but now that Pang Pang Qianyuan had entered self-sealing and the academy had suffered major losses, if they remained with the Prince Regent in this state, he might employ some methods to suppress them, and he... indeed thought so.

This woman was cunning, giving him no opportunity at all.

However, the Shengxuan Star Academy moving south was not entirely a bad thing, because in the coming years, his connection with the Guiyi Association would gradually deepen; having the Shengxuan Star Academy by his side would, if they noticed anything, bring some trouble.

Separating them now also gave him time to completely control the north.

By then, once his strength improved and he stepped into the Shang Pin Hou realm, even if his connection with the "Guiyi Association" was exposed, he would have sufficient confidence and strength to suppress the situation.

With countless thoughts flashing through his mind in a split second, the Prince Regent kept a slightly gloomy expression and spoke coldly: "Since this is Vice Dean Suxin's decision, although I am unwilling, I will show respect."

He then looked at Yu Yu Hongxi and said, "Guild Leader Yu, what about the Golden Dragon Treasure Hall?"

Yu Yu Hongxi smiled and said, "For our Golden Dragon Treasure Hall, both north and south are places for business. Our headquarters will move south, but we will not abandon the north and will do our best to maintain numerous branches there."

The Prince Regent's expression did not change; obviously, Yu Yu Hongxi also leaned slightly toward the Princess. However, the Golden Dragon Treasure Hall was in the business of trade and had a strong neutral attribute; unless it was an extreme situation, there would not be much conflict with him.

Within the Great Hall, as the Shengxuan Star Academy and the Golden Dragon Treasure Hall also made their choices, other factions spoke up one by one. What was slightly surprising was that many of them were still willing to follow the Prince Regent north; apart from the reason that they themselves originated from the north, the greater reason was the prestige left behind by the Prince Regent's control of the Wang Ting over these years.

Although the influence of these factions was not as great as the former two and the Five Great Prefectures, gathered together, they still formed a considerable force.

Thus, the representatives of Great Xia's most top-tier power strata within the Great Hall were now split, forming two major factions, one south and one north.

If the neutral Shengxuan Star Academy and Golden Dragon Treasure Hall were excluded, in terms of momentum and strength, the Prince Regent's side would be stronger.

Regarding the current result, the Prince Regent was quite satisfied. He no longer concealed anything, merely looking at the Princess with a cold gaze and saying: "Luan Yu, since choices have been made, I hope you will manage the south well. In the future, Great Xia will still need to be unified."

The Princess spoke coldly: "Gong Yuan, Father truly misjudged you. Father perhaps did not expect that the Prince Regent he selected before his death would split Great Xia."

"This King has said, he was too greedy."

"The rules of the Gong ancestors were the first to be broken by him."

The Prince Regent spoke indifferently, then ceased speaking further with the Princess and turned to leave directly.

With his departure, the many factions willing to follow him north immediately looked to him as their leader and began to exit.

In a short while, the previously packed Great Hall was half empty.

The Princess's bright and elegant face was unstable, with killing intent surging in her phoenix eyes. At that moment, she truly almost ordered her subordinates to act, but ultimately reason made her calm down, because the force on her side might not be able to defeat Gong Yuan.

Indeed, if it were not for Vice Dean Suxin and Yu Yu Hongxi being present, she even suspected that Gong Yuan might strike first, directly eliminating her in the most barbaric way, and then completely controlling the Wang Ting.

Such methods might be crude and unreasonable, but in the current chaotic situation, they were actually very effective.

Hoo.

The Princess took a few deep breaths; her magnificent palace dress, radiating a noble aura, could not conceal the heaving of her chest. She struggled to quell the anger in her heart, then looked at Li Luo, Jiang Jiang Qinge, and others beside her, offering them a bright smile full of gratitude.

"Everyone, since the decision has been made, let us begin preparations for the great retreat."

"Although Great Xia City is gone, our Great Xia still has hope. I believe that in the future... we will definitely return."

Amidst the Princess's self-encouragement, the various factions hurriedly exited, as the upcoming great retreat required too many preparations.

After bidding farewell to the Princess, Li Luo caught up with Vice Dean Suxin.

"Vice Principal, now that the Holy Profound Star Academy is heading south, have you found a place to rebuild?" Li Luo asked softly.

Vice Principal Suxin glanced at Li Luo, forced a smile, and said, "There are a few candidates, actually. Why? Do you have a good suggestion?"

Li Luo smiled and said, "I recommend South Wind Academy in Tianshu Prefecture."

"South Wind Academy? Actually, that's one of the candidates." Vice Principal Suxin nodded slightly; she also knew that both Li Luo and Jiang Qing had come from South Wind Academy.

"I'll discuss it properly with the other Purple-Glow Mentors over the next couple of days. A place that could produce students like you and Jiang Qing — I think it must be a spot with very good fortune."

Li Luo smiled and nodded. He looked at the haggard expression on Vice Principal Suxin's face, and finally offered some words of comfort.

"Vice Principal, you don't need to be too sorrowful. Even though the academy was destroyed, that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't a trial by fire and rebirth. Who knows — in the future, our Holy Profound Star Academy might produce a super powerhouse, and at that point a mere Holy Academy won't be worthy of us. At the very least, it should be an 'Ancient Academy,' right?"

Listening to Li Luo's comfort, Vice Principal Suxin couldn't help but smile, then her gaze softened as she reached out and ruffled the hair of the boy before her.

"Then perhaps it'll have to rely on you and Jiang Qing."