Tribulation of Myriad Races-Chapter 1274: Eve Of Alliance (1)

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Great Xia.

Many things were waiting to be done.

After losing a large number of experts, Great Xia had been forced to withdraw from the Allheaven Battlefield.

Prefect's residence.

Discussion hall.

A group of experts had converged.

Seated on the throne of the prefect, Xia Longwu regarded the gathered crowd and the much emptier hall. In the past, this place would be filled with a significant number of Sunmoons at all times. But now, he could barely see any Sunmoon in the hall.

Very few of their Sunmoons had survived, and a majority of the survivors were recuperating in seclusion.

When everyone arrived, Xia Longwu spoke, "Silence."

Instantly, the crowd stopped talking.

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Xia Longwu was never one to beat around the bush. He went straight to the point, "After my dao affirmation, I had spent a month consolidating my cultivation. Today, I can finally leave seclusion and convene this meeting to discuss our affairs."

The crowd cheered, "Congratulations, Prefect! Glory to Great Xia!"

Xia Longwu stopped the cheer with a gesture and said, "This means nothing. We have still lost a large number of experts. The Martial Dragon Guard has practically been wiped out. Great Xia does not belong to me alone. After becoming an Eternal, I'm afraid I will be too preoccupied to keep running Great Xia. As an Eternal, I have a new set of responsibilities to bear."

"My second uncle has suffered serious injuries. It will take him quite a while to recover. Xia Xinyi is in a similar condition. Xia Changqing is dead. Xia Yunji left."

"There are not many of us remaining. Excluding Xia Huyou and Xia Chan of the direct line, Xia Yuwen of the branch family is still alive. And he is decently talented. Xia Yuwen is a fourth-stage Cloudbreach, Xia Huyou is a third-stage Skysoar, and Xia Chan is a first-stage Skysoar. It is time to select a new prefect for Great Xia. You may elect your choice among the three."

The expressions of a number of individuals turned thoughtful upon hearing that. Administrator Hu, who was attending the meeting even with his injuries, hurriedly asked, "Prefect, is this proper? All three of them do not have sufficient strength. Perhaps you should remain the prefect nominally while the three can serve as acting prefects to have their abilities tested..."

Zheng Ping, who had lost an arm, spoke in his usual coarse manner, "If the prefect wishes to retire, we can't force him to stay. There isn't a need to make this overly complicated. It is perfectly normal and acceptable for Prince Huyou to become the next prefect. He might be weak in cultivation, but he has the decisiveness a proper prefect should have. In any case, both Prefect and Great Xia King will still be around. With their assistance, it won't be too difficult to elevate the prince's cultivation."

Among the crowd, some nodded while some showed no reaction. They were worried that Xia Huyou's appointment would be unpopular. Great Xia was filled with arrogant and ferocious soldiers. Even if he was Xia Longwu's son, that alone would not be enough to win everyone's respect. Furthermore, he had spilled too much blood in the recent conflict. The fact that a large number of those he had killed were their own people didn't help either.

Some would take issue with that, even if Marquis Xia had been made the scapegoat. The smarter ones could easily see through that. They knew that the massacre was Xia Huyou's idea, not Marquis Xia's.

Xia Longwu did not argue. He calmly continued, "Since there is no consensus, we will shelve this matter for now. As for Administrator Hu's opinion—"

He stopped mid-sentence, having noticed something else.

Moments later, a voice reported outside the hall, "Reporting to the Prefect, the mayors of twenty-eight cities are seeking an audience."

"They may enter."

Shortly after, twenty-eight mayors stepped into the hall. These mayors varied in strength, with the weakest among them being Wu Wenhai, the mayor of the recently destroyed Nanyuan who was only a fifth-stage Skysoar. After the destruction, Nanyuan was in the process of rebuilding.

Behind them was a group of guards in golden armor. These guards varied in strength as well, but there was a sizeable number of Cloudbreaches and Mountainseas among them. When Administrator Hu and a few others looked at these guards, they frowned. The life force of these guards felt empty, as though they were without much lifespan left in them.

They also looked completely different from Great Xia Army, Devil Subduing Army, or even the Martial Dragon Guard.

"We greet the prefect!"

The mayors offered Xia Longwu their greetings while the guards dropped down on one knee—a form of military salute.

Xia Longwu nodded at them and asked, "You have all arrived without prior notice. To what do we owe this visitation?"

"Prefect, we are here to discuss the matter concerning the next prefect."

The mayor of Beifeng, a seventh-stage Mountainsea, spoke for the mayors, "As an Invincible, it is inappropriate for you to contend yourself with these mundane affairs. The twenty-eight mayors wish to voice our support for Prince Xia Huyou as the next prefect."

A decent number of people in the hall were surprised to hear that. Those of the twenty-eight had rarely concerned themselves with matters of succession. What changed? Some, with keener eyes, noticed that some of the golden-armored guards were actually holding their weapons to the back of the mayors. That discovery alarmed them.

The mayors were apparently reacting differently to this. Some appeared helpless. Some were smiling bitterly. And some looked indifferent.

At that moment, someone else stepped into the hall. It was Xia Huyou. Clad in armor with a cape fluttering behind him, he smiled and said, "Father and seniors, the twenty-eight mayors are insisting that I ascend the throne. I am flattered by their faith in me. They wouldn't even listen to my refusal. Alas, since my lord father has ascended into an Invincible, I have no choice but to accept this heavy burden. Seniors, I will be in your care from now on."

A lot of people grimaced as they looked at his smiling face. What was this?

Not waiting for anyone to say something, Xia Huyou continued, "Cousin Xia Chan has voiced her support to me. Even Cousin Xia Yuwen has withdrawn from his candidacy out of shame for his line's poor performance during the recent conflict. In fact, he has locked himself in seclusion to recover from his intense shame."

Hearing that, Xia Longwu sent his willpower out of the hall. Before long, he discovered a small building in the partially damaged Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. More than ten Mountainseas were standing guard around the building.

Seated inside the building was Xia Yuwen with an ashen expression. The Mountainseas around the building were also clad in gold armor.

Xia Longwu withdrew his attention, glanced at his son, and asked with a smile, "Are you trying to rebuild the Martial Dragon Guard(Martial Dragon = Longwu)?"

"No..."

Xia Huyou declared, "I will be building the Tiger Guard(Hu = Tiger)! Back when you became the prefect, you founded the Martial Dragon Guard. Now that the Martial Dragon Guard is no more, I wish to build my own army, the Tiger Guard!"

Xia Longwu studied his son silently.

Xia Huyou grinned and said, "Father, I'm confident I have everyone's support. Am I right, Lord Administrator?"

He looked at Administrator Hu, who was busy checking his voice transmission talisman.

"Grandpa! Help! Xia Huyou said that if you refuse to support his claim, he will send me to train at Great Qin!"

That was Hu Qiusheng. In fact, many of the seniors in the hall were receiving similar messages from their juniors.

According to those juniors, Xia Huyou had claimed that they were still too weak. With the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy in shambles, he had suggested that they should pursue their studies in Great Qin instead. He was even kind enough to offer them an alternative: Great Zhou.

So what would they say about that? He wasn't threatening their lives. He was sending them to further their studies. That was a boon to them.

Administrator Hu was left quite speechless. He looked at Xia Huyou and solemnly said, "Prince, we are not opposed to you. But...your cultivation is an issue. You won't be able to command faith in many of your subjects."

Xia Huyou grinned, "Says who? My grandpa is Great Xia King. My old man is Carnage King. My brother, Su Yu, is the leader of the thirty-six ancient cities. We will be spending the foreseeable future rebuilding and recovering. During this challenging time, something other than combat strength will be required of the prefect. Great Xia requires a prefect who is capable of leading this process. With Xia Trade Company under my control, my contact network spans the various prefectures. My reach extends to even the Allheaven Battlefield. Who else is more suited to this position than me?"

Xia Longwu laughed. In truth, he had not been the most involved father. Therefore, he was quite surprised to see Xia Huyou taking this initiative. He said, "Are you confident you can shoulder this burden?"

Xia Huyou answered seriously, "Of course! Even Su Yu was able to become the leader of the ancient cities. And I'm much better than him!"

"..."

Was he not embarrassed when making that claim? They reckoned Su Yu could probably kill this brat with a mere sneeze.

With the same tranquil expression, Xia Longwu said, "Being a prefect is not that simple. Courage, strength, luck, and ability. You need all of them. Back then, I had grown one step at a time. When your grandpa perished, your second granduncle could have ascended to the position. But he was...convinced by me to withdraw his candidacy."

Xia Huyou nodded. He was aware of that. According to what he heard, when his second granduncle attempted to lay claim to the position, his old man had given his second granduncle a beating. After that, his second granduncle renounced his claim. Thus, he had learned from his old man's example and used force to secure the throne.

Seemingly having guessed Xia Huyou's thoughts, Xia Longwu said, "I'm not opposed to this. But you need to complete a mission. If you can complete it, you shall be the next prefect."

"I accept, Father."