#2043 - State Tournament

Late at night, as the banquet concluded, Jun Wuxie mentioned the matter of moving Apricot Blossom Village to the imperial capital to Hua Qing and Hua Hu.

Hua Qing and Hua Hu were both very excited.

Of course, they were in favor of it.

For generations, their village had dreamed of escaping their predicament, of restoring the glory of their imperial bloodline.

However, they had always been suppressed in the village area, afraid to venture far, and even their population was tightly controlled.

Now, none of that was a problem anymore.

They could leave the village and develop in a place like the imperial capital.

Here, no one would target them anymore.

Because the mastermind behind it all had been exterminated by Lord Jun!

From now on, their imperial bloodline could flourish and multiply.

With a large amount of high-level resources available, their cultivation realms would no longer be limited by the quality of resources!

"Lord Jun, we don't know how to repay your kindness in recreating our Hua Clan!"

The two burly men, Hua Qing and Hua Hu, already had tears welling up in their tiger eyes.

"There's no need to talk about repayment; the descendants of heroes should be treated well.

Besides, I am good friends with your ancient ancestor, the Imperial Daughter."

"Regardless, the Hua Clan will forever remember Lord Jun's kindness!

Lord Jun, we want to bring our clansmen to the imperial capital as soon as possible to let them see the prosperous world outside.

We want to set off back to the village tomorrow."

"Alright, take these few Divine Spirit Vessels.

Now, come with me."

Late at night, they walked out of the restaurant.

Jun Wuxie said to Jing Ya's clone and the others beside him, "Ruoqing, stay behind; you guys go back first."

Immediately, except for Xiao Ruoqing, the other women left and returned to the palace.

Jun Wuxie, holding the hand of a bewildered Xiao Ruoqing, led Hua Qi, Hua Qing, and Hua Hu through the long streets.

"Lord Jun, where are we going?"

Hua Qing and the others were very curious.

"You'll know when we get there."

Jun Wuxie didn't say much.

Based on the direction they were heading, gradually, the hand of Xiao Ruoqing, which was clasped in his, tightened, and fine beads of sweat began to form on her slender palm.

Her face also turned slightly pale.

"This is..."

Finally, they arrived at an area with few buildings around.

The scenery here was unique. In front of them was a mountain range, surrounded by a large number of ruins. On the mountain range, some places were also covered in ruins, but dense vegetation could still be seen.

The heaven and earth essence energy here was much richer compared to other places.

"The Xiao Clan of Lanling Aristocratic Family, the Lanling Royal Mansion, once the most powerful force in Lanling Prefecture.

It was also one of the masterminds behind the plot to exterminate your Hua Clan's bloodline.

The Xiao Clan has been destroyed, the buildings burned, and the treasured land is now vacant.

From now on, your Hua Clan will establish its own clan here.

I will have people help you clear it and build the most basic buildings. As for the rest, you can build it according to your preferred style in the future."

As Jun Wuxie spoke, he could feel Xiao Ruoqing's hand trembling all the time.

He knew that she must be in great pain at this moment.

When he decided to bring her here, he had expected her to react this way.

The scene before her, and the words he spoke, were all deeply stimulating to her.

"Thank you, Lord Jun; this is indeed a treasure land; we like it very much!"

Hua Qing and Hua Hu were overjoyed.

"It's good that you like it; go back and rest early."

"Lord Jun, Divine Empress, we'll take our leave first."

"Master, Mistress, your disciple is leaving."

After Hua Hu, Hua Qing, and Hua Qi finished their greetings, they left one after another.

They didn't know that the Divine Empress beside Lord Jun was the daughter of the current Lanling King, the head of the Xiao Family.

If they had known, they would definitely not have said such words.

By the time their figures disappeared into the night, Xiao Ruoqing was already in tears.

"Wuwu, why, Junlang, why do you treat Qie like this? Did Qie do something wrong to make you angry?"

Xiao Ruoqing choked and sobbed. What saddened her was that he didn't seem to care about her feelings at all, bringing her here.

This feeling of not being cared for was like sharp thorns piercing her heart, causing her heartache to the point of suffocation.

"No, you are very good. From the first time I saw you, you were so good that it made people feel sorry for you.

Look at these ruins."

Jun Wuxie turned her body around to face the old site of the Xiao Family and said, "I brought you here to tell you that everything in the past has vanished like smoke.

The Xiao Family is gone, disappeared into the long river of history.

Those restraints and shackles that were once placed on you no longer exist.

You never belonged to the Xiao Family in the first place.

Although your surname is Xiao, you simply cannot integrate into the Xiao Family. It cannot give you warmth or a sense of security; it will only treat you as a bargaining chip.

I want you to understand who truly gives you a sense of belonging.

In your heart, which family do you truly belong to?

The Xiao Family, or the Jun Family?"

Hearing this, Xiao Ruoqing suddenly burst into laughter through her tears, punching his chest a few times with her hands, and said aggrievedly, "Junlang, you scared Qie to death. People thought you didn't love them anymore..."

"Remember, you are a daughter-in-law of the Jun Family. You are a member of the Jun Family in life and a ghost of the Jun Family in death.

What Xiao Family? It has nothing to do with you.

Remember that? Tell me?"

"En, Qie remembers ～"

Xiao Ruoqing looked up at him with tearful eyes, the deep affection in her eyes almost overflowing.

At this moment, she felt so happy in her heart.

He said that she was a daughter-in-law of the Jun Family, a member of the Jun Family in life, and a ghost of the Jun Family in death.

In her heart, no sweet words could compare to the sweetness of these words.

Looking into her eyes, Jun Wuxie's gaze reached her soul.

He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

All the psychological impact that the Xiao Family's destruction had on her had now been completely eliminated.

Moreover, her current state of mind has also greatly improved the emotional deficiencies caused by the Xiao Family in the past.

In fact, the human heart is sometimes like this.

Perhaps for many years, one is repeatedly torn in entanglement, unable to get out of the prison of one's own heart.

Or perhaps, it is just a moment of insight, and the state of mind becomes clear and enlightened.

...

In the days that followed, the people of Apricot Blossom Village came to the imperial capital.

For the first time, all the people in their village came.

After all, they had never left the vicinity of the village and were full of curiosity about the outside world.

Now that they could come and go freely, how could they miss the opportunity to come out and take a look?

They marveled at the prosperity of the imperial capital, and after wandering around the imperial capital for several days, they began to construct on the old site of the Xiao Family.

The people in the village were very diligent.

Not long after the new home was built, the old village chief and others left.

They said that the village could be considered one of the ancestral lands, and there were still magic circle barriers left by the ancient ancestors.

The village must have someone guarding it.

So dozens of them, the elderly, discussed guarding the village and promised Hua Qing and the others that they would return to the imperial capital for a period of time every now and then.

Now that they had the enhanced and improved Divine Spirit Vessel, even the round trip from the imperial capital to Apricot Blossom Village would only take about ten days.

When the old village chief and the others left, Jun Wuxie had people give them a large amount of Divine Second Grade intermediate and advanced resources, and some top-level resources.

Although, they were all conventional resources.

But with these resources, it was enough for them to break through.

The people of Apricot Blossom Village, who had settled in the imperial capital, changed their name to the Hua Family.

With the support of the old village chief and the others, Hua Qing became the patriarch, and Hua Hu became the deputy patriarch.

This time, the people of Apricot Blossom Village brought a massive amount of Divine First Grade corn to the imperial capital.

In recent years, they had not entered the Ferocious Beast Mountain Range again, and had devoted all their minds to corn planting, reaping immense harvests.

When the old villagers and others left, they said that they would return to the village, first, to guard the ancestral land, and second, to plant corn.

In this way, they could prepare more resources for Lord Jun.

After many years, Little Yezi had grown from a child into a young boy, almost as tall as Jun Wuxie's shoulders.

At the first glance of Jun Wuxie, Little Yezi was stunned for a moment, and then he burst into tears.

While crying, he ran over and clung to his arms, making Jun Wuxie very speechless, and the Hua Clan members all showed embarrassed expressions.

This little guy, such a grown-up, still crying like a little kid, and crying so fiercely, with a 'wow' sound, scaring them.

"You're almost at the Divine Realm, and you're still crying? Aren't you ashamed?"

Jun Wuxie slapped Little Yezi on the butt.

Little Yezi looked up, wiped his tears, grinned silly, "Little Yezi just missed Master."

"Stand up straight, wipe away your tears, put away your expression, and straighten your eyes.

Yes, that's right, bring out the masculinity.

A real man should have manliness, don't be as twisted and shy as a girl.

Remember that?"

"Disciple remembers!"

Little Yezi's body suddenly straightened.

"This kid, only Lord Jun can discipline him."

The Hua Clan members said with a smile.

This little monkey, he has caused a lot of trouble in the village these years, no one can subdue him, he's so naughty.

As a result, as soon as he saw Lord Jun, he was like a mouse seeing a cat.

...

It was also during these days that news of the expeditionary army was continuously transmitted back.

Now, the army has pushed all the way to the imperial capitals of Langya and Yingchuan.

The two imperial capitals resisted desperately.

As a result, the Celestial Gods of the imperial families were converted by Jun Wuxie's Primordial Avatar, and all resistance ended as a result.

The two imperial capitals fell, and all the armies laid down their weapons and surrendered.

At this point, the two dynasties announced their end.

The three prefectures merged into one.

The Lanling Dynasty ruled over the three prefectures, ushering in an unprecedented era of prosperity.

After the unification, imperial orders were issued to strictly investigate corrupt officials, corruption, and dereliction of duty, to retry unjust cases, and to greatly reduce taxes for all the people.

These policies immediately received cheers and strong support from the people of both states.

Jun Wuxie's Primal Avatar, while accompanying the army to flatten the cities, had already converted the low, middle, and high-ranking generals of the city's garrison, as well as the cleaner main officials of each city.

With the unification of the three states, everything began to operate in an orderly manner according to unified systems and policies.

As time passed, the state competition finally arrived.

The event, which was originally highly anticipated and attracted much attention, saw the venue seething with excitement.

However, the moment Jun Wuxie appeared with Hua Qi, representing the Apricot Blossom Village team,

the entire stadium fell silent instantly.

People looked at him with adoration and awe.

With Jun Shen as a participant, who would dare to compete with him?

The first place in this competition was undoubtedly his, and no one other than the Apricot Blossom Village team could possibly win it.

The other teams could only compete for second and third place, as well as the other rankings.

The participating teams in the state competition all came from the various commandery cities of the Lanling State of the dynasty.

Who could compete with Apricot Blossom Village?

Forget competing, their legs went weak just seeing Jun Shen.

They were simply not at the same level as him.

The rewards for the state competition were extremely generous.

Not only were the grades high, but the quantity was also far greater than that of the previous competitions.

After all, only one city in a state held the state competition, while each state had dozens of commandery cities holding commandery competitions simultaneously, producing too many top three finishers, so the number of prizes was naturally not large.

The state competition was different.

The state competition was set up so that the top eight all received rewards.

The top eight could obtain thirty Second-Grade Top-Level Divine Pills.

The top four could obtain thirty Quasi-Third-Grade Divine Pills.

The third place could obtain ten Third-Grade Elementary Divine Pills.

The second place could obtain twenty Third-Grade Elementary Divine Pills.

The first place could obtain fifty Third-Grade Elementary Divine Pills!

Limit Challenge, you can get three Third-Grade Sub-Advanced Divine Fruits!

After the Voice of Heavenly Dao announced the prizes, the whole scene was in an uproar.

There were actually Third-Grade Elementary Divine Pills, and in such a large quantity!

Unimaginable!

You must know that these are special pills that can be quickly refined and absorbed, improving one's realm in a short period of time.

In this world, Third-Grade Divine resources are too scarce, and even the royal family and top families have difficulty obtaining them.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have so few Heavenly Gods.

Now, in the Battle of Heavenly Gift, the reward is dozens of Third-Grade Elementary Divine Pills at once.

Pills and raw herbs are different.

A single pill requires a lot of raw herbs to refine.

Under normal circumstances, a single pill is enough for a cultivator to break through a realm!

This means that after this competition, many Heavenly God experts will appear in each state.

After all, each state has outstandingly talented Absolute Heaven True Gods.

As long as they take the Third-Grade Elementary Divine Pills, the chances of comprehending the Heavenly God Laws and breaking through the shackles are not low.

… …

The rules of the competition were that the Heavenly Dao Order randomly selected teams to play, and then the team on stage selected a team off stage to challenge.

The result was no suspense.

Every team that came on stage never challenged the Apricot Blossom Village team, which made Hua Qi feel very bored.

However, he was also clear.

Now that it was the state competition, with his current realm, it would be really difficult to achieve a high win rate on stage, and the chances of failure were even greater.

After all, he was only a Middle Heaven True God now.

Most of his opponents were Great Heaven True Gods, and some were even at the Extreme Heaven True God realm.

"The length of cultivation is different, so there is no comparability.

Others have spent twice or even several times as much time as you on this path, so it is normal for them to be stronger than you.

For the state competition, you just need to watch and win without doing anything.

At this level, the process is no longer important to you, only the result is important."

"What Master says is true, in recent years, this disciple's cultivation speed has been very fast.

This disciple's years of cultivation are far less than others, so the realm is naturally not as good.

Even with special Divine Pills in hand, I dare not take them casually to break through realms.

Just as Master has always taught this disciple, we must consolidate the foundation, and this disciple always keeps it in mind."

"Qi'er, I am very pleased that you can restrain yourself.

Sometimes it is not impossible to continuously take special pills to continuously break through realms, the question is whether the foundation is stable.

If it is stable enough, there will be no loose foundation, and you can continue to break through.

If it is not stable enough, then you need to spend time to settle and consolidate the foundation.

Otherwise, in the future, when you encounter enemies with similar talents and bloodlines to you, and the same realm, but his foundation is more solid than yours, you may very likely die at his hands when you compete.

The more solid the foundation, the more extraordinary power can be unleashed in times of crisis.

For example, the duration of extreme sublimation, the upper limit and duration of super-extreme sublimation, and the degree of subsequent backlash.

Why did you stay in the extreme realm for three years last time? It was precisely because your foundation was not solid enough.

These are all related to the solidity of your own cultivation foundation."

"Master, this disciple understands."

"Well, in a few days, I will send you a set of talisman arrays to help you temper your own foundation.

From your perspective, your current foundation can be considered relatively solid.

From my perspective, your foundation is too loose, far from my standards."

"Ah? Is it that bad?"

Hua Qi had a look of despair, feeling that his heart had suffered a huge blow.

"Take your time, your cultivation has been too smooth in this life, lacking tempering, and you have very little combat time, so it is not surprising that your foundation is not so solid.

Just improve it slowly in the future."

Jun Wuxie said to Hua Qi while watching the duel on stage.