Chapter 247: Do You Remember, Two Months Ago

The appearance of the youths from the five clans of Guanzhong made the atmosphere at the scene become somewhat strange.

Daliang had an unwritten rule: all kinds of competitions within Daliang, especially those involving rewards, excluded martial artists who cultivated in other countries.

This was only because, apart from Daliang, the requirements for martial arts exposure in other countries were different.

The noble children of other countries could even start martial arts exposure from a young age and embark on the path of cultivation, while Daliang martial artists who wanted to enter a martial hall and follow the path of the martial academy had to start from the Wu Tang, and the Wu Tang also had requirements for age.

With such regulations, martial arts families and noble children had many advantages over those martial artists with ordinary backgrounds, but they couldn't form an absolute crushing advantage.

Even if a family had vast wealth, limited by their own stage and physical limits, it gave these youths with ordinary backgrounds a chance to catch up.

Taking youths like Lu Yongfeng and Zhao Jingchuan as examples, they at least had the opportunity to compete with the nobles in the county, and people like Fu Ang in the county had the opportunity to compete with the youths in the prefecture.

There is no absolute fairness in this world. For Daliang, it was just creating an opportunity for upward mobility for martial artists of every class.

Every youth of every class had the opportunity to leap to the next level, but someone like Lin Chen, who jumped directly from the bottom to the top, skipping several levels, was not within the expectations of the Martial Administration Force.

This was already the limit of fairness that the Martial Administration Force could achieve. If it were truly absolutely fair, forbidding all Daliang youths from cultivating before entering the Wu Tang, strictly controlling the cultivation resources of students in martial halls, and treating everyone equally, the latter would lead to Daliang's direct collapse.

People are selfish. If they spent their whole lives cultivating martial arts and created a foundation for their descendants, and their descendants still had to compete fairly with commoners, the result would be that these martial artists would take their entire clans to other countries.

And abroad, there were no such regulations as Daliang's. Many nobles started martial arts exposure from a young age, and there was no such thing as a Wu Tang or Wu Yuan. Martial arts resources were all controlled by the royal family and major families.

Daliang would not stop major families from sending their children abroad, but the default was that after going abroad, they could not return to enjoy the rewards given by the Martial Administration Force to young geniuses.

Even so, Daliang had a batch of people willing to go abroad, with the five clans of Guanzhong as the representatives.

"If they really let the people from the five clans of Guanzhong go on stage and defeat the Yu Beichen brothers, that would be interesting."

In the stands, many who knew the situation of the five clans of Guanzhong had mocking expressions. If the children of the five clans of Guanzhong went on stage and won, it would indeed preserve Daliang's face, but the five clans of Guanzhong didn't cultivate in Daliang; this was a satire on Daliang's Martial Administration Force.

"It's actually them!"

Meng Xing, standing behind Hou Zhan Tian, saw these youths appear, and his expression sank. He knew the identity of the five clans of Guanzhong and what they represented.

"Lord Hou, we volunteer to fight, hoping Lord Hou will give us a chance."

Cui Yunfan looked at Hou Zhan Tian with burning eyes and said loudly: "Although we have grown up in other countries for years, we are still part of Daliang. Now that Daliang is suffering the humiliation of the tiny land of the three islands of Nansha, how can we stand by and watch?"

These words were powerful and resonant, making many Daliang practitioners in the stands cheer.

Since Di Qian and the others had already lost, Cui Yunfan and the others could go on stage. Anyway, Cui Yunfan and the others were also Daliang children.

"Good!"

Hou Zhan Tian didn't hesitate for too long. Cui Yunfan didn't say anything wrong; the five clans of Guanzhong were also Daliang children.

As for the impact of the five clans of Guanzhong winning, that would be decided by the Imperial Court after this battle.

Hearing Hou Zhan Tian agree, Cui Yunfan had a gleam in his eyes and cupped his fists toward Hou Zhan Tian: "Thank you, my lord."

"This time, the Yu Beichen brothers are afraid they won't be able to be arrogant anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"The disciples of the five clans of Guanzhong have been cultivating in other countries since they were young. Their strength is far beyond our local Daliang practitioners. Di Qian and the others are no match for the Yu Beichen brothers, but that doesn't mean these few can't."

"There's such a thing?"

"If these few defeat the Yu Beichen brothers, doesn't it mean that the five clans of Guanzhong sending their children abroad for cultivation is correct?"

"You don't know. As far as I know, the geniuses of other countries start cultivating martial arts from a young age. Only our Daliang limits the age of martial arts practice. If you practice in advance before the age of fifteen, you are not allowed to enter the Wu Tang and Wu Yuan. This is simply a wrong decision."

"The geniuses of other countries start cultivating from a young age, while our Daliang officially embarks on cultivation only after the age of fifteen. There is a huge gap during this period. With the rise of one and the fall of another, Daliang's geniuses are a cut below those of other countries."

"This senior brother's words are a bit too much. The best age to practice martial arts is starting at fifteen. Before fifteen, the bones are not yet formed. If you practice in advance, you will only hurt your own roots."

"That's because you think it will hurt your roots. With the strength and foundation of the five clans of Guanzhong, they have ways to provide better elixir resources for their family children. They can not only avoid hurting their martial roots but also improve their martial arts strength."

"Such elixirs that can avoid hurting roots must be worth a fortune. Ordinary young martial artists simply cannot afford them. If the Martial Administration Force doesn't restrict them, I'm afraid that by the time of martial hall recruitment, those nobles will have opened a dozen acupoints, while ordinary students have just started opening acupoints. How will the two compete then?"

"Survival of the fittest, why not? At least it can ensure that our Daliang martial arts geniuses are not weaker than those of other countries."

In the spectator stands, because of the identities of Cui Yunfan and the others, a fierce verbal conflict broke out.

But no matter what stance they took, there was one point that these Daliang practitioners agreed on: defeat the three islands of Nansha first.

Deal with outsiders first, and talk about domestic matters behind closed doors.

In the stands, Yu Beichen looked at Cui Yunfan and the three of them, his eyes filled with seriousness. He had dealt with people like Cui Yunfan before.

The three islands of Nansha were just a tiny land after all. For this reason, the youths on these islands would also go to other countries to seek martial arts resources. He and Cui Yunfan had both stayed in Han Guo.

Cui Yunfan was very strong, and the most critical thing was that Cui Yunfan and the five clans belonged to the same branch and had also practiced joint attack methods. If Cui Yunfan and the three went on stage, their brothers' advantage of shared mind would be gone.

"Cui Yunfan, don't forget what you said in front of me."

Yu Beichen shouted softly: "Back then, you all said that Daliang ignored you youths in other countries, didn't treat you as Daliang children at all, and even had to guard against you. Is this statement false?"

As soon as Yu Beichen said this, the stands were in an uproar again.

Many practitioners who didn't know the inside story had expressions of incomprehension.

"Our Daliang ignores martial artists who go to other countries to cultivate and even secretly guards against them?"

"In order to go further on the path of martial arts, going to other countries to cultivate is nothing wrong, right? The Imperial Court doesn't need to treat them like this."

"No need?"

A young man in the stands sneered repeatedly: "Although the Martial Administration Force didn't issue a document explicitly, there are private regulations. Any youth who goes abroad cannot enter a martial hall after returning, and has no qualifications to enter a martial academy. It's almost as if they explicitly said that after going abroad, they are no longer Daliang martial artists."

"If you ask me, Senior Cui Lin Shixiong and the others shouldn't have come forward. If they win, no one will remember their good, and if they lose, they will be scolded."

Listening to these discussions in the stands, the corners of Cui Yunfan's mouth rose slightly. Everything was proceeding as he expected.

"Those were just some angry words from before. My Cui family is Daliang's Cui family, and I, Cui Yunfan, am naturally a Daliang child. Daliang is in trouble; how can I stand by and watch?"

Cui Yunfan shook his head. These words drew cheers from the stands.

"This Senior Cui Lin Shixiong is right. Whether abroad or at home, we are all Daliang children." "The Martial Administration Force should actually change. Geniuses like Senior Cui Lin Shixiong who cultivate in other countries shouldn't be ignored."

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. He naturally heard the discussions in the stands.

He already had a guess in his heart.

And soon, the changes on the field verified his guess.

"Senior Cui Lin Shixiong, please forgive me for not wanting to participate in this battle."

A youth standing behind Cui Yunfan suddenly spoke. These words instantly attracted the attention of the whole audience.

"It's not that I don't want to fight for Daliang, but that I made a vow back then. Since Daliang is unwilling to give me any martial arts cultivation resources, I, Xie Kun, will not fight for Daliang once."

"Bastard!"

Hearing this, Cui Yunfan immediately turned back and scolded: "Lin Lin Shidi Xie, how can you be so confused!"

"I understand Senior Cui Lin Shixiong's teachings, but I made a vow back then. If I break the vow now, my thoughts will be difficult to clear, and I fear it will affect the subsequent condensation of my martial arts will."

Xie Kun looked ashamed, and the other youths beside Xie Kun also spoke at the same time.

"Senior Cui Lin Shixiong, I'm sorry, I also made such a vow. Unless the Imperial Court changes its policy, I will never fight on behalf of Daliang."

This sudden change caused an uproar at the scene.

However, can Xie Kun and the others be blamed for this?

In the words of Xie Kun and the others, it was Daliang that abandoned them first!

Since Daliang abandoned them, why should they now fight for Daliang to regain its face?

"Cui Yunfan, stop acting here. Since you don't intend to go on stage, why appear here?"

On the side of the Lingxiao Wu Yuan disciples, Meng Xing spoke directly to expose the true face of Cui Yunfan and the others, but he ignored human nature.

"This is bad!"

Elder Murong Yan whispered and looked at Lin Chen, only to find that Lin Chen was also frowning.

Could it be that Lin Chen also saw it?

The moment Meng Xing spoke, Lin Chen knew Meng Xing had fallen for it.

These words... could be said by others, but absolutely not by Meng Xing.

Meng Xing was a beneficiary of the current policy of the Daliang Martial Administration Force, at least in the eyes of many martial artists.

They wouldn't delve into the fact that with Meng Xing's family background, if he chose to cultivate abroad, his strength would only be stronger than Cui Yunfan and the others.

They only knew that Meng Xing was the first place among the new batch of Lingxiao Wu Yuan disciples, but if Daliang allowed those geniuses who cultivated abroad to return, whether Meng Xing could keep this first place was another matter.

As Lin Chen expected, many practitioners in the stands began to criticize Meng Xing.

What a clever method!

"You Daliang martial artists have two things you cannot lose: one is not losing to Zheng Guo martial artists, and the other is not losing to the martial artists of the three islands of Nansha. Cui Yunfan and the others are grasping this point."

Elder Murong Yan pointed out the key.

Facing the challenge of the Yu Beichen brothers, the Daliang practitioners watching the battle continued to hope that someone could stand out. At this time, they wouldn't think so much; they just wanted someone to defeat Yu Beichen.

Cui Yunfan's appearance gave them hope.

Cui Yunfan looked around the audience, a smile on the corner of his mouth. The next moment, he cupped his fists, his voice like a bell: "Lord Hou, we are willing to fight for Daliang, but the Imperial Court's Martial Administration Force has many constraints on students studying abroad. If we win this battle, we don't expect the lords to change the policy, we just hope to let a few junior brothers enter the Lingxiao Palace, so that they can clear their thoughts."

On the side of the Lingxiao Wu Yuan disciples, there was an instant uproar. Only martial academy disciples could enter the Lingxiao Palace, and even they had to pass an assessment. This Cui Yunfan was clearly taking the opportunity to threaten them.

Fighting for Daliang's face was fake; wanting to enter the Lingxiao Palace to obtain the power of Lingxiao was real.

However, the onlookers in the stands didn't think there was any problem with this request.

"If I remember correctly, a few months ago, Lin Chen defeated the disciples of the Sihe Wu Yuan and the Chaoshang Wu Yuan and was also allowed to enter the Lingxiao Palace of the Lingxiao Wu Yuan. If Cui Yunfan and the others can defeat the Yu Beichen brothers, they should also be qualified to enter."

"This request is not excessive. The Lingxiao Wu Yuan should agree."

Listening to the voices in the stands, Cui Yunfan looked at Hou Zhan Tian with a humble smile, seemingly respectful, but he was self-satisfied in his heart.

In the current situation, this Lord Hou had no other choice.

It was impossible to make the Imperial Court and the Martial Administration Force change the policy directly, but taking this first step, allowing them to enter the Lingxiao Palace of the Lingxiao Wu Yuan, set such a precedent. His father and the others would use this as an opportunity to further force the Martial Administration Force to make changes.

Hou Zhan Tian's face was livid. The five clans of Guanzhong were truly clever, calculating against his Lingxiao Wu Yuan.

At other times, if a few unranked juniors dared to threaten him, he would let them know what the anger of a Ranked martial artist was.

But now, he was being framed.

As the Dean of the Lingxiao Wu Yuan, he couldn't decide the policies of the Imperial Court and the Martial Administration Force, but he could decide the affairs of the Lingxiao Wu Yuan alone.

Now, Cui Yunfan and the others only wanted the opportunity to enter the Lingxiao Palace. In everyone's eyes, this was not an excessive request.

Lin Chen could do it, why couldn't Cui Yunfan and the others?

"If Lord Hou is unwilling, we don't want to force it. Regardless of whether the junior brothers are willing or not, I, Cui Yunfan, will fight on behalf of Daliang."

Cui Yunfan spoke again, retreating to advance!

Everyone's eyes were now on Hou Zhan Tian.

The armrest of the chair Hou Zhan Tian was holding now had cracks, and the smile on the corner of Cui Yunfan's mouth became deeper and deeper.

Just at this moment—

"Why bother Senior Cui Lin Shixiong? The mere three islands of Nansha are enough for us junior brothers to handle."

A clear and bright voice broke the silence. Everyone looked in the direction from which it came, seeing a young figure in green robes.

In the stands, cheers erupted instantly.

Two months ago, it was also here.

It was this figure who turned the tide here.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 248 =====