Chapter 333
Before Lin Hui could depart for his long-anticipated trip to the Royal Capital, news of internal unrest in Black Cloud City forced him to delay.
The conflict had nothing to do with their former Trueblood Noble enemies from the three families. It was an internal dispute. Dissatisfied with Gongsun Wuhan's elevation to City Lord, both the Xie and Zhang families dispatched elders to the Clear Wind Dao to air their grievances. Lin Hui reviewed Gongsun Wuhan's record—then turned his scrutiny to the candidates put forward by the other two families.
The alternatives left much to be desired. A brief inquiry was enough to expose deep-seated flaws in their fundamental ideologies.
One candidate proposed a predatory system in which the strong would devour the prodigies of the weak to consolidate their own power—transparently the ambition of a young Blood Ancestor who had been suppressed far too long.
The other advocated aggressive expansion: conquer the surrounding territories and sea regions, seize their mineral wealth, and guarantee everyone a larger share of the spoils. But when Lin Hui pressed him on the logistics and on the threats such expansion would invite, the man's answers turned vague and evasive. His rhetoric had plainly been fabricated on the spot to drum up support. Worse, the candidate wasn't even a Blood Ancestor—he was an ordinary martial artist, and a mediocre one at that. He merely looked the part and happened to practice the Clear Wind Dao's martial arts.
By now, practitioners of the Clear Wind Dao's martial arts within the city numbered in the millions. The sect's role was to teach them; it did not govern their daily lives. Members gathered periodically only to uphold the established rules.
Many practitioners, after making their initial progress, had left to find their own way in the world. A good number had once lived comfortably, but as the environment deteriorated, they found themselves laboring simply to cover the cost of daily cultivation. Cases like Sha Ye's—who had foolishly ventured out to earn money only to be swindled clean—were far from rare. Most were sheltered youths from wealthy families who, with the sudden environmental collapse and the ruin of their clans, had become perfect targets for con artists: naïve souls with more wealth than sense.
Having assessed both candidates, Lin Hui reaffirmed his choice: Gongsun Wuhan would be the new City Lord.
The delay yielded one unexpected gift, however. Lin Xiaoliu discovered she was pregnant, and she and Tao Changsheng quickly married. As her older brother, Lin Hui naturally stayed to help prepare for the wedding and attend it.