Chapter 920: High-Level Deliberations

Dragon Tooth Mountain, Council Hall.

When Li Luo arrived here with Li Li Jingzhe, he saw the spacious hall filled with people, every single one of them high-ranking officials of the Dragon Tooth Pulse who held immense power; if they stepped out of the Dragon Tooth Mountain Range and went to any city within the Dragon Tooth Domain, they would be received with utmost respect.

It can be said that any order issued from here would cause the entire Dragon Tooth Domain to move.

Simply put, the Dragon Tooth Domain is equivalent to an empire, and a super-empire far surpassing Great Xia in scale; within the Dragon Tooth Domain, there are twelve realms, and the territory of each realm is several times more vast than Great Xia—how enormous is this? How many living beings and forces does it involve?

Therefore, calling this place the nerve center of the Dragon Tooth Domain is no exaggeration at all.

Inside the Council Hall, upon seeing Li Li Jingzhe arrive, the many high-ranking officials immediately stood up to pay their respects.

Li Li Jingzhe waved his hand, went straight to the head seat, and Li Luo stood behind him.

At the same time, Li Luo surveyed the hall: on the left side were the direct descendants of the Pulse Heads, led by Li Li Qingpeng and Li Li Jinpan, while on the right side was Zhao Zhao Xuanming, the Great Hall Master of the Jin Guang Court. Having been in the Dragon Tooth Pulse for over half a year now, Li Luo already knew that the Jin Guang Court led by Zhao Zhao Xuanming was at the height of its power; whether in influence or internal strength, it surpassed the other courts.

As for the Jin Guang Banner, it was merely a young force subordinate to the Jin Guang Court; although it had potential, its weight class was still insufficient. Even so, before Li Luo arrived at the Qing Ming Banner, the Jin Guang Banner was still stronger than the other three banners; seeing a leopard through a tube, one could infer how powerful the Jin Guang Court's influence truly was.

It was said that Li Li Qingpeng and Li Li Jinpan, these two direct descendants of the Pulse Heads, had engaged in numerous competitions with the Jin Guang Court over the years, but often ended up on the losing side.

Regarding this situation, Li Li Jingzhe, as the Pulse Head, not only did not suppress the Jin Guang Court but treated everyone equally: whoever was stronger would hold more speaking power. His behavior undoubtedly further boosted the Jin Guang Court's influence, showing clear signs of firmly establishing itself as the leading court of the Dragon Tooth Pulse.

However, some direct descendants were quite puzzled by Li Li Jingzhe's approach, because Zhao Zhao Xuanming was not promoted by Li Li Jingzhe himself; on the contrary, behind Zhao Zhao Xuanming stood the shadow of the Dragon Blood Pulse.

Back then, it was Li Li Tianji, the Pulse Head of the Dragon Blood Pulse, who, in his capacity as the Mountain-Controlling Pulse Head, recommended Zhao Zhao Xuanming to the Jin Guang Court. This was not targeted specifically at the Dragon Tooth Pulse, as the other four pulses would do the same, because this was the Mountain-Controlling Pulse Head's right of supervision.

Therefore, in the strictest sense, Zhao Zhao Xuanming was a person of the Dragon Blood Pulse.

This was also the main reason why Li Li Jinpan, who hated evil as much as he loved justice, targeted Zhao Zhao Xuanming the most.

Yet, Li Li Jinpan's repeated attempts to target him failed to achieve any effect; instead, they only bolstered Zhao Zhao Xuanming's influence, allowing him, once an outsider, to gradually establish a firm foothold within the Dragon Tooth Pulse.

Nowadays, within the twelve realms of the Dragon Tooth Domain, the Jin Guang Court controlled jurisdiction over four realms, the Purple Qi Court and the Red Cloud Court each controlled three realms, while the Qing Ming Court was left with only two realms.

Do not underestimate this so-called jurisdiction, because it represents power; within the territories under its control, all resources, tributes, force allocations, and countless other matters ultimately needed to be reported to the respective courts. How many billions of living beings were involved in this?

In the past, each court controlled three realms, so the Jin Guang Court's four realms of jurisdiction meant that the extra realm was actually stripped from the declining Qing Ming Court.

While Li Luo was thinking these thoughts, Li Li Jingzhe had already scanned the room and went straight to the point: "Today I have summoned you all primarily to discuss one matter: the Qing Ming Court will add one more Hall Master."

As his words fell, faint murmurs arose within the Council Hall. Among them, Zhong Zhong Yushi, the Second Hall Master of the Qing Ming Court, reacted the most strongly; he straightened his back, his eyes flickering, because as the person currently in charge of the Qing Ming Court, he had already heard rumors of this news.

Currently, the position of Great Hall Master in the Qing Ming Court was vacant, leaving only four Hall Masters, the fewest among the four courts. If one more was to be added now, Zhong Zhong Yushi naturally hoped it would be one of his own people; in that case, he could completely suppress Li Li Rouyun, and the Qing Ming Court would become his own Yiyantang.

At this moment, Li Li Rouyun also glanced at Zhong Zhong Yushi, her eyebrows furrowing imperceptibly. Of course, she also knew that Zhong Zhong Yushi was scheming for the newly added Hall Master position and had made tenfold preparations for it.

Because to compete for the Hall Master position, the conditions were quite harsh: one not only needed a record of service within the Qing Ming Court domain but also personal strength that commanded respect. Looking across the two realms under the Qing Ming Court's jurisdiction in the Dragon Tooth Domain, there were indeed very few people who met these conditions.

And the only two City Lords qualified had already pledged allegiance to Zhong Zhong Yushi.

Therefore, under normal competition, the newly added Hall Master would most likely fall into Zhong Zhong Yushi's hands.

Li Li Rouyun naturally understood this as well. Currently, among the four Hall Masters of the Qing Ming Court, one had already defected to Zhong Zhong Yushi's side, one remained neutral, and she herself, struggling against Zhong Zhong Yushi these past years, was like a single tree unable to support the sky. If Zhong Zhong Yushi managed to seize another Hall Master seat, her authority within the Qing Ming Court would be severely suppressed.

But Li Li Rouyun had no way to change this; her family, the Xiling Li Shi, was merely a marginal family faction, unable to provide her with much assistance, so it was even less likely that a heavyweight Marquis-level powerhouse would defect to her side.

Her original plan for a balancing act was to leverage Li Luo's identity to promote Niu Niu Biaobiao, but the problem now was that Niu Niu Biaobiao had suffered severe injuries and his strength had never recovered; forcing him into the position would instead invite criticism.

So at this moment, Li Li Rouyun's heart was filled with worry.

Thinking thus, Li Li Rouyun could not help but turn her gaze toward Li Luo. Seeing this, Li Luo gave her a reassuring smile. He knew Li Li Rouyun's concerns, after all, Niu Niu Biaobiao's recovery during this period had been concealed by Li Li Jingzhe, so the other high-ranking officials naturally could not probe into it.

Receiving Li Luo's reassuring glance, Li Li Rouyun could only suppress her worries.

"The number of Hall Masters in the Qing Ming Court has always been the lowest among the four courts, so it is indeed appropriate to add another Hall Master to share the pressure." As Li Li Jingzhe spoke, the first to respond was Zhao Zhao Xuanming, the Great Hall Master of the Jin Guang Court. He smiled and expressed his agreement.

Li Li Qingpeng and Li Li Jinpan exchanged glances. They knew Zhao Zhao Xuanming would naturally be pleased with this, because Zhao Zhao Xuanming and Zhong Zhong Yushi, the Second Hall Master of the Qing Ming Court, were quite close, and Zhong Zhong Yushi's rise to his current influence within the Qing Ming Court likely had Zhao Zhao Xuanming's covert promotion behind it.

After all, they were all Hall Masters of different surnames, so forming a bloc was normal.

"Reporting to the Pulse Head, regarding the newly added Hall Master position in the Qing Ming Court, according to past rules, there are currently two best candidates. Their names are recorded here; please, Pulse Head, take a look." Zhong Zhong Yushi respectfully stood up, and two jade slips appeared in his hand, recording the profiles of the two people he recommended.

Li Li Jingzhe raised a hand, and the jade slips floated over to him.

Zhong Zhong Yushi then continued respectfully: "One is Yin Guizi, the City Lord of Tianjing City, with the strength of a Fifth Rank Marquis; the other is Mu Feng, the City Lord of Huangji City. The latter is said to have the possibility of breaking through to a Sixth Rank Marquis."

"They are both masters of upper cities, with sufficient seniority and considerable merit. If we follow the rules, both are qualified to compete for the Qing Ming Court Hall Master position."

His words, heard by the high-ranking officials in the hall, caused some to nod slightly, as they had likely heard of these two City Lords' names, especially City Lord Mu Feng, who might break through to a Sixth Rank Marquis.

Generally speaking, the strength benchmark for competing for a Hall Master position is around a Fifth Rank Marquis. Currently within the Qing Ming Court, both Zhong Zhong Yushi and Li Li Rouyun were Sixth Rank Marquises, while the other two Hall Masters were Fifth Rank Marquises.

However, the Qing Ming Court was the weakest in strength. In contrast, other courts, such as the strongest Jin Guang Court, had Great Hall Master Zhao Zhao Xuanming, who was a genuine Eighth Rank Marquis, with strength even surpassing Li Li Qingpeng and Li Li Jinpan by a notch.

Hearing the two people recommended by Zhong Zhong Yushi, Li Li Rouyun's eyes inevitably darkened slightly, because these two were indeed the most outstanding City Lords in the two realms under the Qing Ming Court's jurisdiction in recent years.

They had both chosen to take Zhong Zhong Yushi's path, making it difficult for others to compete with them.

As the crowd whispered among themselves, Li Li Jingzhe also glanced at the jade slips, absorbing all the detailed information into his mind.

"Both of them have already been summoned by me to Dragon Tooth Mountain. If the Pulse Head is interested, you may summon them directly." Zhong Zhong Yushi continued to speak respectfully, clearly well-prepared.

Li Li Jingzhe remained expressionless. He put down the jade slip in his hand, as if pondering.

At this moment, Li Luo, standing behind him, stepped forward and said respectfully: "Old Master, I also wish to recommend someone to compete for the Qing Ming Court Hall Master position."

His sudden opening remark immediately drew the gaze of everyone in the hall.

Zhong Zhong Yushi said calmly: "Li Luo, Great Banner Head, your recent achievements are stunning. However, regarding the selection of a Hall Master, according to the rules, only other Hall Masters within the court have the right to make recommendations."

He was clever, never straying from the phrase "according to the rules," because everyone in the Dragon Tooth Pulse knew that the Pulse Head was a person who valued rules and principles.

Upon hearing this, Li Luo smiled, then took a token out from his sleeve.

Looking at that token, the corner of Zhong Zhong Yushi's mouth twitched slightly.

Because that was the token of the Great Hall Master of the Qing Ming Court.

Li Luo holding the Great Hall Master's token was undoubtedly acting on behalf of the Great Hall Master; in terms of rules, he indeed had the right to make a recommendation.

Zhong Zhong Yushi glanced slightly sideways, his gaze secretly meeting Zhao Zhao Xuanming's on the right, before finally lowering his eyes.

Very well, let us see what kind of trouble Li Luo can stir up.