Since its founding two hundred years ago, the Xia Federation has been centered around the Parliament, led by an elected First Speaker. Thirty-six states serve as administrative units, each of which is divided into prefecture-level cities. The highest executive officer within a state is the Prefecture Lord, who serves three five-year terms.
There are only thirty-six palace masters in the entire Xia Federation, and each of them has extraordinary abilities.
The selection process for Palace Masters was a gradual process, with each state having its own specific circumstances. However, the position of Palace Master wasn't limited to those with the Force. Many city-level governors were ordinary people, some not even martial artists, yet they still had dedicated protection, so their safety wasn't a concern.
The same is true for the palace lords. Among the thirty-six palace lords, twenty-three are powerful Force users, and the remaining thirteen are martial artists and ordinary people.
The Parliament's definition of this extraordinary ability doesn't refer to strength; it can also encompass wisdom, wealth, and even social skills. Even ordinary people aren't completely without merit, possessing their own unique strengths. Unlike those extreme Force users, each parliamentary term prioritizes the common people when formulating policy.
Otherwise, there would be no need to set up any administrative units. Just let the force users establish their own sects, recruit disciples, screen the strong, eliminate the weak, treat mortals like ants, and herd a country of lambs, ready to slaughter them like cattle and sheep at any time.
Just like the Dark Ages.
But in fact, having emerged from that era of cannibalism, modern human civilized society, under the conditions of peaceful and stable development, can no longer return to the primitive and brutal law of the jungle.
Huang Qi, as the lord of Nanwuzhou, naturally couldn't just sit there and watch the bloody ruins being opened. When he appeared, he ignored Lin Kongzhi and headed straight for the stairs, trying to destroy the medium.
As for the grudge between Lin Kongzhi and the mansion master, it may be traced back to the previous generation, and the reason why he wants to open the bloody ruins this time is to settle this blood feud.
When enemies meet at this time, they are extremely jealous of each other.
The moment he saw the Mansion Master appear, Lin Kongzhi's aura became somewhat unstable. However, upon seeing him flying towards the Zhuyan Steps, he couldn't help but smile. "I've spent so many years setting up this trap, treading on thin ice. Huang Qi... how can you break it?"
Just as the blue light was about to touch the stairs, a bloody mouth suddenly opened between the stairs on the upper and middle levels of the Zhuyan Steps. This mouth was full of sharp teeth and was still chewing, making a harsh "chi chi chi" sound. A large amount of flesh and blood was churning in its mouth, including the bodies of the martial artists who had been killed before.
Then, from this bloody mouth, suddenly emerged the phantom of a huge ferocious beast. The phantom of this ferocious beast was shaped like an ape, with a white head and bare feet. It was wrapped in armor made of red copper. Every piece of armor was engraved with countless weapons of various colors, and the murderous aura rose into the sky.
roar!!!
This is the shadow of Zhuyan, a ferocious beast that appeared in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and left traces in different mythological stories.
It was clearly just a faint shadow at this moment, but the murderous aura it exuded was almost condensed into substance.
The red disgusting shadow swept its copper bell-like pupils across, took a look at the approaching blue light, and the fierce light in its eyes grew stronger. Its body quickly grew larger and flew directly over, covering the blue light.
Bang!
When the two collided, a large ball of light exploded from it, and then a red curtain formed in the airspace where the fight took place, blocking out everything from the outside world, and the situation inside instantly became blurred.
"Is this Zhu Yan?" The bearded uncle from the Black Tower subconsciously licked his lips upon seeing this scene, and exclaimed in amazement: "This is the first time I've seen this thing. I didn't expect those myths to be true."
Originally, they had other intentions towards the bloody ruins, but now that they saw the appearance of Zhu Yan's shadow, they were certain of some things.
"This isn't the real Zhu Yan, just a shadow with a hint of power, relying on the blood sacrifice just now to exist. It doesn't pose a life threat to Huang Qi, but it should be enough to stop him for a while." Lin Kongzhi smiled. He had been planning this for more than a decade, so he naturally took this into consideration. "Zhu Yan's shadow will form an exclusive domain for the enemy, trapping them inside until the shadow disappears. During this process, even if Huang Qi wanted to attack us, he wouldn't be able to do so. But you have to be careful not to get close to that red domain. It doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. Once you're trapped, don't think about getting out for a few days."
"I understand." The bearded uncle's eyes turned, and he looked up at the stairway connecting to the sky. "But how long will it take for this thing to absorb flesh and blood before it can completely condense?"
"Based on the current speed, this staircase will be completely formed in about an hour or two." Lin Kongzhi glanced at the two uncles beside him and said sincerely, "However, if there is any third party blocking us during this period, we will have to rely on you, Chen Zuoshi, to take action."
"That's natural, that's part of the deal."
Chen Zuoshi and the uncle next to him nodded, without saying anything else, just quietly watching the formation of the stairs.
......
Inside the venue.
Gazing at the situation outside through the glass window, Sparrow and the muscular man in black paused, their expressions changing. "The bloody ruins are actually in the sky! We were all deceived by Lin Kongzhi. Not only did he act prematurely, he also told us the wrong location."
The main quest only mentioned helping Lin Kongzhi, but it didn't provide any precise information. They knew they had to open the bloody ruins, but they didn't know where they were located or how to open them.
Lin Kongzhi initially said that they would be underground, and then meet at the back door at night, but now not only did they not act at the agreed time, the ruins were not even located underground.
This revealed a serious problem: Lin Kongzhi had never believed them. While the Crimson Book could help them deceive the natives' perceptions and facilitate the integration and concealment of the descenders' identities, it couldn't determine the natives' thinking abilities.
The team of Sparrow and the muscular man in black did obtain the guest status of the Zhenwu School, but even the confidants of the Zhenwu School could not gain Lin Kongzhi's trust, let alone outsiders like them?
"As the mission states, Lin Kongzhi is suspicious by nature, so the difficulty will be increased in disguise. What a cunning old fox!"
Sparrow cursed in a low voice.
The penalty for failure in their mission is the annihilation of their souls, so there is no such thing as temporary betrayal. And Lin Kongzhi's behavior is clearly making it more difficult for them to survive.
"In that case, let's stop killing for now and go reunite with those allies to increase our chances of survival."
The muscular man in black also looked unhappy. He just grabbed Sparrow and said in a deep voice.
(This is Bloody Ruins 3, wrong number again!)
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