In the north.
Rumbling noises were heard. Sand was drifting in the wind as the ground shook.
There were rows of cavalries. Like dark clouds, they were as strong as a hurricane and as terrifying as a tsunami. Nothing could stand in their way.
At the Crescent Moon Lakeside, the soldiers from the small country were panicking. No matter how much the commanders were reprimanding them, the situation was not improving and they all felt as though something bad was about to happen.
Even the much stronger soldiers of Wu Country appeared a little panicky, moments before the impending arrival of the soldiers from the Yuan Country. This frightened Fang Yuan a little.
In front of the Yuan Country"s soldiers, even if the soldiers of the Wu Country was strong, they were ultimately still inferior to them.
The horses were galloping at full speed, and there were more than ten thousands soldiers approaching.
As they reached the lakeside, the soldiers stopped in their tracks and started to set up their tents. In the centre of the tents, a giant golden tent was the first to be erected. The ground was laid with top quality sheep"s wool. On the outside, it was decorated with gold foils, jewellery and jades. That tent looked like a palace and it repressed many other countries.
"That is the flag of the King of Yuan!"
Xie Lingyun looked at the flag that was displayed at the golden tent and was furious. "He is just a prince, and he thinks he can represent the whole country? What an arrogant guy!"
"They are stronger than us. What can we do about it?"
Fang Yuan was not bothered by that. "Since the ones in charge are here, we should go too!"
In fact, if the rest of the countries were to team up, Yuan Country would not be able to defeat the rest. However, the rest of the countries already had conflicts with each other, so how would they work together to defeat the enemy?
"Not to mention, Yuan Country has always wanted to attack the powerful countries like Xia and Wu Countries. The other kings will definitely stand aside to watch the show!"
With this understanding, Fang Yuan felt that the conference was rather useless.
After a short while, there was a procession. The kings appeared one by one and went to their seats.
Xie Lingyun however, bit her lip and went to Fang Yuan. "Master…...if something bad happens today, please do take care of your own safety!"
"I know!"
Fang Yuan knew very clearly that ever since he had the possibility of breaking through the Elemental Opening Realm, Xia Country was dependent on him. This was why Fang Yuan"s safety was their top priority.
However, he couldn"t say that to her and therefore just nodded his head slightly to acknowledge. The princess couldn"t do anything about it.
The only thing she could do was to introduce the guests to Fang Yuan.
"That is the king of Qi Country. Qi Country is rich in salt and this is their advantage. Even though the citizens there are rich, not many good spiritual knights or Wu Zong are being cultivated from there….."
Xie Lingyun introduced them one by one in detail to Fang Yuan. "Also, that man with the red face is the king of Kun Country. Even though the citizens living in the Kun Country are poorer, there is a stronger culture of martial arts there. Their citizens were brave enough to fight against soldiers from the Wu Country. In the previous battle of the Yellow Pool, under the leaders.h.i.+p of General Fei Long, Wu Country took almost 5 years but barely defeated Kun Country. After the war, Wu Country had overspent their resources and from then, they had given up the idea of taking over Kun Country….."
Fang Yuan glanced at the king of Kun Country with an interesting look and realised that he was very capable. The king was a cultivator and was at the peak of the 12th Gate. He was an outstanding one among all other kings.
At that moment, a fat king sitting on the opposite saw Fang Yuan and greeted him humbly.
"Who is that?"
There was a saying that one should not go against another who is smiling at one. Fang Yuan looked at the flag that was behind the king and asked.
"That is the king of Zhu Country. He is a good old man. He has been well respected by his people and is similar to the previous kings in Xia Country!"
Xie Lingyun said that with a sarcastic tone.
Fang Yuan knew what she meant as he heard that. The king was a puppet as well, put in place to maintain peace in the country. It seemed that the king of Zhu Country was similar to the king from Xia Country.
However, Fang Yuan had created a mess in Zhu Country and even caught the King of Poison, Jie Wuming. Hence, Fang Yuan was considered murderous and ferocious, and that was why the king was being respectful and fearful of Fang Yuan.
There was a specific etiquette in the Yuan Wu Conference.
At the platform, only kings could sit down. Others who were accompanying would have to stand by the side.
There was a year when the three Prefecture Masters of the Xia Country could only "escort" the king of the Xia Country to the conference and could only protect him from behind.
Now, Fang Yuan and Xie Lingyun were also standing behind the king of Xia Country but this time, their positions were allocated slightly to the front.
"So is this the position that the Xia Country has managed to get from the previous conference?"
Fang Yuan knew that if he was to announce the Secluded Mountain Prefecture as a country on its own in this meet, he would be able to have his own position.
Of course, he would have to achieve that on his own and would have to deal with other countries first.
"I"m not sure what Yuan and Wu Country have prepared for us. I"m looking forward to it!"
Fang Yuan saw many of the kings sitting down and the musicians who were around them started to play some pieces to welcome them. Even though it sounded very ancient, Fang Yuan still enjoyed the music.
Such ceremony was a rare one.
Among the noises from the drums, the king of the Wu Country and the prince of the Yuan Country got down from their horses.
"It is rumoured that Wu Qiankun, the king of the Wu Country, is brilliant and good in martial arts. He is, therefore, a remarkable king who is determined to reform the country, making it stronger day by day….Of course, ever since that defeat, his reputation was affected. Recently, there was also the trouble from Yuan Country…."
As Xie Lingyun said this, her voice became inaudible.
After all, if everything had gone smoothly, he might have been his husband.
However, no one could control the things that were happening. What had happened had already happened.
"Not too bad!"
Fang Yuan looked at Wu Wudao, who was standing behind Wu Qiankun and shook his head. He then looked at the group of people from the Yuan Country and asked. "What about that young lad over there?"
"He is the eighth son of King Yuan from the Yuan Country. His name is Ge Ritu, which meant brightness! Since he is young and has a strong family backing him, he is a suitable candidate for the next person to take over the throne."
Xie Lingyun raised her eyebrows.
When the eighth prince came, she looked very uncertain and realised that she kept looking at the prince, before feeling shy and angry at herself.
"You have sharp eyes indeed!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head and shook his head. "Yuan Country has already been established but they still haven"t been able to remove the original tribal habits. There will be conflicts and I"m afraid there will be a big trouble!"
Among all other countries, everyone believed that the eldest son in the family who be the one taking over the throne in future. Under the influence of the other countries, Yuan Country also paid attention to such matter.
Plus, with the shamans and the advanced medical skills, the lifespan of the people in Yuan Country had been extended. If this continued on, it would mean trouble in future.
It might even lead to a rivalry between siblings in the future.
Ge Ritu"s eyes scanned across the kings from the south and noticed many pale, friendly and fearful faces. "Indeed…..it is true that people from the south are weak and they love internal conflicts. I will be able to rule this whole piece of land in future and this piece of land will be basking in brightness!"
Suddenly, he noticed a lady.
Her white dress was swaying and she looked graceful. She looked royal even with her emotionless look on her face and he was wavered by that.
"Since big brother has offered the princess from the Sunset Division to Father, which appeased him, I should not lose out too."
He then stopped and asked with a southern accent. "You are….."
"Eighth Prince, she is the daughter of the king of Xia Country, Princess Lingyun!"
An official who was beside him replied.
"You"re not bad! Very good!"
Ge Ritu laughed, making Fang Yuan a little displeased.
"Who are you then?"
Ge Ritu turned and noticed Fang Yuan.
"Eighth Prince!"
Wu Wudao then introduced with his malicious voice. "This is the top warrior from the South. He is the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master from Xia Country and his name is Fang Yuan! He is only 20 years old!"
"You are Fang Yuan!"
The Eighth Prince focused on Fang Yuan and said, "How does he fare against my top warrior in the Yuan Country? Zhuo Li Getu!"
The Eighth Prince scoffed and an angry-looking man came forward.
The man was 8 feet tall and he looked brute. His narrow eyes were glittering and he had a high nose bridge, which made him looked like a wolf and an eagle at the same time. He was wearing a plains robe but he revealed his chest and there was a green wolf head tattoo on it.
His name, Zhuo Li Getu, meant that he was fearless in the language of the plains.
The man had an immense amount of energy. From the way Fang Yuan judged him, he was a powerful Wu Zong and was superior to General Fei Long from Wu Country.
"I will bet with 100 battle horses and 10 gold coins that your warrior is inferior to mine!"
The Eighth Prince went forward and glared at the king from Xia Country. "How does this sound?"
"Cough..."
The king of Xia Country gave a cough and his face became even much paler.
Xie Lingyun couldn"t bear the sight of this. She stood out and said, "Please show some respect, Eighth Prince! The conference hasn"t even started and you are already breaking our agreement?"
Ge Ritu was startled when he heard this.
He then realised that he was just a prince and not a king. Plus, his position as the heir wasn"t stable as well.
King Yuan had entrusted him to represent his country for this meet. If he were to cause any trouble just because he was too reckless, his brothers would definitely not let go of this golden opportunity to put him down.
He then gave a cold smile and walked away as he returned to his seat.
The official heaved a sigh of relief and shouted with a deep voice. "All kings can start to inspect their soldiers!"
The Yuan Wu Conference was a platform for everyone to showcase their strength and to choose the leader of the conference!
Previously, this opportunity was only given to Yuan and Wu Countries.
If Wu Country was chosen, the plains would be peaceful and it would take advantage of its position as the leader of the conference to take over land as their territory.
If Yuan Country was chosen, knowing that the southern countries were weaker would make them send off a wave of nomads to the South to plunder from the people living there.
"No matter what…... this would not involve the people! No! These would not even involve the smaller countries…."
Fang Yuan took a glance the kings of the smaller countries and pitied them. "When a country"s government is prosperous, the citizens will suffer. When there is war, the citizens will also suffer! Fortunately, this is an extraordinary world and cultivators like us can still survive!"
"Woo! Woo!"
The bugle was sounded, and it was the signal for the elite forces of every country to come out of their camps. Carefully, they lined up in a formation. Following the order that they were given, they marched past the elevated platform smartly.
Within minutes, there were hundreds and thousands of soldiers below the platform. Their armour were clanging and the swords were glittering in the sunlight, making the whole place much more lively.
"Hmm, most of the elite soldiers are 4th Gate martial artists who have obtained inner power. The average body condition of these soldiers is very high….."
Fang Yuan looked at the formation for a while and understood what was going on.